FAMILIARITY
by Yasushi Kusume
‘A person is not aware of a particular prior experience as being the source of effects on performance’.
Becoming Famous Overnight, Larry L. Jacoby, Colleen Kelley, Judith Brown and Jennifer Jasechko,.
In their article, Illusions of immediate memory, Jacoby, Whittlesea and Girard write that, ‘The experience of familiarity has a simple but powerful quality of 'pastness' that seems to indicate that it is a direct reflection of prior experience. They continue by saying that, ‘It is thus plausible that familiarity is simply a conscious feeling that accompanies retrieval of memory for past experience’.
In the study their article described, Jacoby and his colleagues set out to discover whether non-celebrity names presented to test subjects one day, would then be mistakenly remembered as those of celebrities 24 hours later. The thinking behind the test was this: Although none of us carry around a file of information about non-celebrity names, when we re-encounter the same names at a later date, we are inclined to think that they may belong to a 'famous' person simply because they sound familiar. This is because we experience a greater cognitive ease when we encounter something that makes recognition 'easier'. Because we have heard of it, or seen it, it feels familiar and therefore 'safer'. It follows, therefore, that if we are 'primed' to recognise something, then when we encounter it again, we automatically feel 'good' about it.
Repetition = familiarity = safety
In his article, Attitudinal effects of mere exposure, Robert B. Zajonc wrote that repetition induces cognitive ease and a comforting feeling of familiarity. 'Mere repeated exposure of the individual to a stimulus object,' he said, 'enhances his attitude toward it’. In other words, the repetition of something creates a comforting feeling of familiarity within us. It's a phenomenon the advertising industry has long known about and used it to its advantage.
The effect of familiarity explains why cover versions of past popular songs can be such good business. The new version triggers a positive response in listeners, one based on something they heard repeatedly when young. It produces a sense of cognitive ease and automatically calls up many of the emotions linked to their youth. They feel comfortable because the music sounds so familiar.
Familiarity also explains the reason for the success of the new Mini’s and Fiat 500’s – the new design is founded on a familiar brand equity and the application of a recognisable design based on a rich heritage. People remember the old Mini’s and Fiat 500’s and feel comfortable.
Leveraging familiarity
Leveraging familiarity is a powerful approach – and there are many ways of doing so - but the key to a successful adoption lies in understanding what your audiences are familiar with.
This takes work, of course. It means carefully observing and monitoring the subtle - and rapid - changes of taste of different generations in different cultures. It calls for a detailed understanding of people and what they feel familiar with. But hard as it is, it's essential work. Because it's the brands which succeed in understanding their customers that will be the only ones capable of reaping the full benefits of familiarity.