NLP in marketing and the power of VAK

9 INCH AXIOM – VAK

‘Figure out which learning style resonates the most with your target audience.  Tailor your integrated plan accordingly, but don’t ignore the other senses’

Back in January I attended a seminar where the trainer introduced the concept of NLP.  NLP stands for neuro-linguistic programming.  The reason for introducing NLP was to discuss the concept of mirroring through an understanding of VAK.  

VAK is an acronym for Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic.  The concept is that people learn in different ways, but they will usually gravitate towards one of their senses: Sight (Visual), Hearing (Auditory) or Touch / Feeling (Kinesthetic).

Curious as to what ‘learning style’ you are?  Here is a free multiple choice test

I started thinking how VAK may apply to marketing.  Specifically, if you could zone in the predominant way your target market best receives messaging, then you could tailor your content and marketing mix.  In doing some research I came across the following article published in the Journal of Marketing Communications in 2003.  Here are some of the key findings:

Speaking the same language: the relevance of neuro-linguistic programming to effective marketing communications

by Heather Skinner and Paula Stephens

Studies of neuro-linguistic programming have indicated that each individual tends to have a preferred sensory representational system [VAK]. Market segments are comprised of individuals who, although possessing similarities across traditional segmentation bases, also have different preferred sensory modalities [hearing, sight, touch/feeling]. Therefore, if consumers within any given target market segment do not all talk the same sensory language, marketers are failing to get their message across to everyone within that segment. This study is concerned with examining the efficacy of television advertising in communicating to those within a target group by exploring the links between the advertisements that ’speak’ to them most and their preferred representational systems. It finds that participant reactions to those advertisements that they regarded as having the most effect were expressed predominantly in language relating to their preferred sensory representational systems. 

A few key learnings / thought starters:

1.  Be media agnostic going in.  You need to understand your target consumer and which sense(s) they gravitate towards.  This will allow you to select the appropriate mix.

2.  It’s not a one size fits all approach.  Put together an integrated plan with an aim that your creative touches on each element of VAK.

3.  Understand that engaging multiple senses increases your ability to connect.  Take experiential for example:  branding / signage tells the visual story, the brand ambassador communicates key messaging and the consumer gets to touch / demo the product.

Your thoughts?  NLP has its detractors?  Is VAK oversimplified or is there something here?

Today’s Lagniappe  (a little something extra) 

I’m a fan of acronyms (NLP, VAK), but I’m a HUGE fan of Palindromes.  A palindrome occurs when a word or a group of words are spelled the same way forwards and backwards.  Here are a couple of examples:  racecar and ‘Never Odd or Even’.  Here is a link to some of the best palindromes.  Here are my three favorites:

“A man, a plan, a canal . . panama”

“Decaf I lived on, no devil I faced”

“Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog”

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