All about Brand ELIOT

A test for unconscious preference that helps predict consumer choices

We have all been in this situation. We hear comments from a focus group or results from a survey which indicate high preference levels for a brand. We then compare this with actual sales figures and sometimes it just doesn't fit. Consumers say they prefer a brand but actually only buy it sporadically, alongside a portfolio of other brands or sometimes not at all. How does that work?

One of the reasons for this discrepancy is that many traditional research tools measure conscious preference and they encourage a rational answer (why do you prefer this brand?). However, there are two components to brand preference – a rational component and an emotional component. For many consumers the emotional component can be unconscious and therefore be difficult to measure.

Research has found that consumers who hold an unconscious bias for a brand, as measured by ELIOT, have a significantly higher consumption of that brand than consumers who simply state preference, show high satisfaction or score high on brand loyalty. This means unconscious desire turns into a conscious decision to buy.

As you can see from the table below, Warburton's consumers who have a high ELIOT score additionally to a high brand loyalty score buy 52% more Warburton's loaves, increase their consumption share of Warburton's by 9% and are 33% more likely to be 'Warburton's only' users. Considering the size of the UK bread market this means that if Warburton's take action to increase the ELIOT score of as few as 10% of their loyal customers they could be activating around £11.6 million worth of annual sales.

We have also looked at a range of other brands, such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nike and Adidas, and found that, overall, consumers who have a high ELIOT score buy 25% more than consumers who only have high brand loyalty; they increase their consumption share of any particular brand by 6% and are 16% more likely to only buy from that one brand within its specific product category.

How do you measure unconscious preference?

Brand ELIOT is a brand preference testing tool that measures both conscious and unconscious preference including rational reasons and emotions. ELIOT measures response times to a set of words to identify unconscious automatic biases for or against brands. The principle is simple – things that are associated with each other by the consumer get activated together. For example most people associate the colour green with apples. So when we show them the colour green and then the word apple they recognise the word apple quicker than if they had not been shown the colour green first. Following the same principle consumers who unconsciously prefer Coca Cola will react quicker when seeing positive words in conjunction with Coca Cola than consumers who have a preference for another brand. The ELIOT score goes from -2 (people with bias against the brand) to +2 (people with strong bias for the brand) and scores of 0.5 or above are classified as medium to strong biases.

Can a consumer consciously prefer one brand and unconsciously prefer another?

Absolutely. Our research indicates that consumers who buy a brand portfolio can have a conscious preference for brand A but an unconscious preference for brand B. This may indeed partly explain why people buy a portfolio of brands – some days the consumer follows their rational thinking and makes the prudent choice. On another day caution is thrown to the wind and the brand that makes me feel good is chosen. A third brand may fall somewhere in-between (make some sense but also has some more emotional elements) and therefore is the compromise.

One example where this dynamic works is the butter and dairy spreads market – most consumers buy at least one butter brand and one spread brand. The butter holds most of the emotional factors, whilst the spread appeals to rational reasons (lower cholesterol, lower price, convenient).

What will ELIOT do for my brand?

For the price of a standard online survey you can complete an ELIOT test with a statistically significant sample of users of your product or service. This will measure the conscious and unconscious strength of your brand. A following stage of qualitative research will then uncover the factors that drive this unconscious attachment to tell you how you can maximise the unhidden sales potential.

There is sales potential within the unconscious mind of customers and non-customers - now is the time to activate those sales with Emotional Logic.

Admap Magazine article: Unconscious Petrol Preferences

Click here to read our article published in the October 2011 issue of Admap magazine.

Case Study: Unconscious Cola Preferences

Click here to read our case study on cola preferences.