The human brain is a funny thing… with all its complexity, some of its habits are really pretty simple to understand… Even with little babies!

And understanding those habits goes a long, long way in both mastering your own habits and actions, and really understanding the ins and outs of why customers behave the way they do…

Now, think about a piece of your daily routine, maybe your commute to an office or the walk from your bedroom to the kitchen… something you do time and time again…

In those moments of totally ingrained repetition, studies have shown that you’re blinded to the details around you. Do you even look up at the picture on the wall, now that you’ve passed it on the way to the kitchen 1000 times?

You probably don’t…

Not by any fault of your own… that’s just how brains work!

The more often you (or anybody else) are subject to the same stimulus, the less effect it has on you. This process is called habituation, and is… well… one of the more straightforward tricks our brain plays on us…

We get bored!

After a while, the same things just don’t grab our attention the way they did when we first encountered them.

Studies have even shown this is especially apparent in babies – show an infant the same object or image over and over… and little by little, they will stop paying attention. Bring in a new object, and they’re right back with you!

In the scientific world, FMRI machines even slow a gradual decline in brain activity when the same stimuli is repeated…

Ok, all of this does actually have a point…

Because the human brain is built to pay attention to novelty and ignore repetition, what does this say about your marketing?

If you’re not standing out, it’s just more repetitive noise that people’s brains are naturally predisposed to ignore!

While a headline like this is something we’d probably all expect…

A message like this one will surely stick out (that’s a pretty big number, after all…).

This is about the best reason there is (among all the others) to do everything in your power to be different than the other guys…

If a little baby’s brain is capable of recognizing and quickly brushing aside familiar information… how do you think an adult, subject to an overload of information every single day, will respond to the same old marketing material?

You have GOT to be different if you want to be noticed…

If you aren’t… it’s just more static that we’ve all been programmed to disregard.

In your corner,

Charlie