WHAT MAKES

SWEETS SELL
We do not just buy sweets.
By integrating intrinsic
functionality with predefined
meaning we create and
express the master
narratives of our lives.
We derive the maximum value from
narratives that are automatically identifiable
and viscerally classifiable as evolving parts of
our human experience
What deeply engages us
always fulfils some
fundamental motive,
evolutionarily-preserved
dispositions that have
helped us survive and
grow
Concepts are neural
structures that allow us
to order and categorise
all stimuli around us
Our psyche consists of a code. We are an ordered pattern
of fundamental motives capable of generating life.
Successful brands
coherently express
the very patterns of
our psyche
Using , for the first time, a
multidisciplinary approach, including
brand communication decoding,
motivational research, psychology,
affective neuroscience, cognitive
linguistics, cultural anthropology,
sociology, philosophy and their
proprietary tools, BRAND AVIATORS
has studied the motives underpinning
buying behaviour in more than 70
global categories of goods including
sweets
Beneath all the phantasmagoria of global marketing communication,
lies order and rhythm, the source code of our human behaviour
What follows is a brief analysis of the deep motives
for buying sweets. The motives are presented in
order of increasing relative importance in line with
their power to influence our buying decisions. The
further we read, the stronger the associations they
build in our mind, the more powerful their influence
on the sales and profit in the confectionery category.
INDULGENCE: On an initial
layer of motivation we
consume sweets because
they are not for nourishment.
The meaning of their
purchase is precisely that it is
non-essential. We buy them
as luxurious indulgences,
expressions of snobbery,
gourmet at times.
PLAYFULNESS: Proceeding into a deeper layer
of motivation, some of the most successful
narratives are based on the intrinsic capacity
of sweets to enliven us. Sweets are an
essential part of playfulness, flirting and lifting
the spirit. They are things that we do things to -
we want to handle them before we commit
them to our tongues, where we play with
them anew. As they delicately explode in the
mouth, the glucose rush elevates the mood,
removes mental pain, and tips the balance of
life in favour of amusement. Above all, sweets
mock seriousness.
ESCAPE: More significantly, sweets help
us get away from the monotonous
grind of our everyday work. Anticipation
has always been associated with sweets
that come in huge varieties that excite
curiosity like in a treasure hunt. And we
are impatient to see the different pieces
that each box contains, to reach the core,
to find the gift inside.
STRENGTH: On a deeper layer of
motivation, what makes sweets
sell are narratives that make us
experience them as usable
energy. Intrinsically, sugar is a
fuel producing heat and energy
and the primary energy source
for brain cells.
SOCIABILITY: Sweets are democratic, unpretentious and
convivial. They are made for sharing. Sweets have
always been used to build relationships. The most shared
product in the world, chewing gum is the quintessential
candy. Eating a sweet is itself a substitute of company.
DEFIANCE: The very nature of
sweets is to be ambivalent
and subversive. As is the case
with all passions, sweets are
dimorphic: We want more of
that which is forbidden.
METAMORPHOSIS: Sweets are
subtle, paradoxical, alchemical,
polymorphous substances, magical
objects that change our mood: Our
eyes open wide, our face and
body are filled with energy, the
volume of our voice increases, we
are filled with an appetite for life,
with an appetite to solve our
bigger problems understanding
that all depends on our mind and
our mood.
HEDONISM: On a more profound
layer, embodying the inherent
gustatory and emotional pleasure
of sweets, some of the most
successful brands claim the sensual
nature of sweets as their own.
Dont we call our lover honey,
sweetie, sugar baby? Dont
we often give chocolate as gifts on
a first date? For our mind love
itself is sweet.
SECURITY: On the innermost level of
human motivation, sweets are the
most efficient emotional
compensators. Humans want to have
good feelings now. The speed with
which sugar is digested is one of the
reasons we like sweets. Sugar
provides swift sensations of fullness
and satiation and with this the
feeling of security.
This map
illustrates the
way some
leading brands in
the confectionary
business are
positioned in the
consumers mind
Deep category understanding
is just the first step in creating
engaging narratives. To build
a proposition that is deeply
engaging, the brand must
germinate the bare motives
that drive the category in a
unique and profoundly
human way.
Having captured, for the first time, our
fundamental human motives at the
deepest levels of their deployment, all
the way from their biological value to
the neurosystems they engage in our
brain, to the cognitive operations and
psychological states they activate, to
the major social reinforcers they cause
and to the rich hierarchy of inherent
concepts they infuse into our everyday
life, BRAND AVIATORS helps
marketers develop Intrinsically
Engaging Narratives
Based on in-depth
research and practical
implementation, BRAND
AVIATORS helps
marketers develop brands
with a solid inner
architecture deeply rooted
in the fundamental human
motives, using a three-
phase methodology
Phase 1: Map the territory
The first phase of the methodology
deconstructs the fundamental human
motives driving the sales and profit of the
category, establishes the relevant
psychographic territories and reveals the
way that the brands are mapped in peoples
mind
Phase 2: Give soul to
your brand
To be authentic and engaging,
narratives must always be
sourced from the core of the
brand. The second phase
captures the core of the brand,
and mobilises its genuine codes
in order to satisfy our common
motivations relative to the
category.
Phase 3: Enrich
peoples lives

Powerful strategies require

effective articulation. In this
third phase, the consumer
proposition is translated into
ownable experiences written
in the language that uses our
primary emotions as
structural elements.
There is a direct correlation
between our fundamental
human motives and the
level of sales and profit
Nothing fuels creativity more
than understanding and
mobilising our fundamental
motives and the rich hierarchy
of inherent concepts they infuse
into our everyday life
The efficiency of communication
budgets is maximised when the
authentic codes of the brand
match the deepest motives which
drive sales and profit in the
category. Nowadays, we have no
excuse for saying that we waste
half of our advertising budget but
we dont know which half.
Above all, by founding brand
strategy on our fundamental
human motives, and by embedding
Intrinsically Engaging Narratives
the brand becomes deeply
humanistic in that it offers holistic,
universal experiences that no
longer simply satisfy some
individual needs but the needs of
the species
 To discover more about the deepest motives for buying
sweets and how to boost your brand feel free to contact us:
http://www.brandaviators.com/contact-us
research@brandaviators.com