Reptilian Brain

Also called: brain stem

The reptilian brain is the oldest part of the human brain and, in combination with the mammalian brain and neocortex, forms the human brain. The reptilian brain controls our primary life needs. These include our respiration, appetite, need for safety and survival instincts. From this also come the familiar fight and/or flight responses. Another function of the reptilian brain is determining a buying decision which is interesting with regard to marketing purposes. After all, the reptilian brain (also called the brain stem) has a lot of influence on human behavior.

An important distinguishing value of the reptilian brain is that this brain has much influence on the mechanism that automatically responds to stimuli that evoke emotions from a human being. Thus, this can be seen as the unconscious behavior of humans. This can include seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. After all, these are the basic elements of human behavior. This underlying idea is the reason why many organizations consciously choose to stimulate the reptilian brain of the target group with their marketing message. It is precisely by highlighting the added value of a specific offer that the reptile brain of the target group is triggered.

This could include a temporary offer with limited availability. After all, many people are afraid of not only missing out on the financial benefits of an offer but also value the added value that the offer in question has for that person. When designing these types of messages, it is good to realize that a reptilian brain is highly visually oriented. The visual presentation (in the form of colors, shapes and contrasts) determines 80% of the interpretation of a message. In addition, this brain is very sensitive to valuation. This is the reason why many marketers make the choice to make a value comparison in their advertising messages in order to please the reptile brain of the target audience in this way