Why brands use neuroscience to maximise PR campaign impact

Dr Jack Lewis is a neuroscientist, author and broadcaster. After graduating with a first-class degree in neuroscience from the University of Nottingham in 2001, he completed a PhD at University College London four years later.  

Since 2007, Lewis has become a familiar face on TV, appearing in science documentaries and shows such as I Am Gen Z, The People Watchers (BBC Two) and Britain’s Best Brain (Channel 5). He’s also penned best-selling books such as Sort Your Brain Out (2014) and The Science of Sin: Why We Do the Things We Know We Shouldn’t (2018).

Lewis’s consultancy business Neuroformed (which he founded in 2009) helps businesses with neuroscience-led approaches to personal development, problem-solving and decision-making. He’s also helped brands such as Cunard Cruises, Magnum and Müller with their PR campaigns by unlocking fresh insights into how consumers’ brains work.

Luke Skywalker helped me get a first-class degree in neuroscience. Remember when Luke Skywalker gets his arm chopped off by a lightsaber and tests a new robotic arm in The Empire Strikes Back? I decided to write an essay about how a collar could ‘talk’ to the nerves in the human arm and grow new neurons. 

I didn’t have the patience for an academic career. I respect those scientists who’d spend three or four years painstakingly researching a subject and then writing and publishing one paper. 

Being the ‘PowerPoint Guy’ led to my TV career. It was a nickname I acquired when doing a placement at [pharmaceutical firm] SmithKline Beecham. I’d always animate the science of the experiments I was doing, rather than other scientists who’d just talk around large blocks of text. I got into telly purely because I was better at presenting than other neuroscientists …

My first show involved secretly filming people doing social psychology experiments. I got the job on BBC Two’s The People Watchers after a production company advertised for a neuroscientist on ProductionBase – something that rarely happens. 

I feel privileged to have been in the last gasp of science TV. Few people visit Netflix or Amazon to intentionally seek out science shows.

I helped Deloitte add £100m to their bottom line over a decade. They pitched for Tesco’s auditing business alongside the rest of the big four. Deloitte restructured their pitch around neuroscience and the importance of understanding how brains make decisions – and won. 

And no, I didn’t get a cut of that £100m. I only got my fee but that’s fine! 

PRs are experts in what the public wants to read or hear. They have an intuitive grasp on whether something is old hat or not.

PR firms advising neuroscience labs is a real business opportunity. It would help scientists refine their work, present their findings and make their research more relatable and engaging to the public. 

Using neuroscience can boost a PR campaign.  Earlier this year I worked with Cunard Cruises, where they did EEG (electroencephalogram, which uses sensors on the scalp to record the brain’s electrical activity), physiological, psychological and creative tests on passengers when they arrived and five days into their holiday. It showed benefits in mood and problem-solving capabilities. In short, being on the cruise sharpened their brains. 

I worked on a gen Z dating PR campaign. People in their 20s struggle with relationships because they’re socialising less. But they like wellness. I did research looking into how workouts prime the brain for social interaction – it tweaks neurohormones and neurotransmitters, while also raising oxytocin (aka the ‘cuddle hormone’) levels. But nobody organises a date directly after a workout. Müller did and invited some influencers to a pop-up gym in London, where I gave a talk on the science behind it.

People love to hear about how their brain works. When PRs put a newsworthy angle or zeitgeisty spin on top of the science, there’s a real synergy which uplifts any campaign. 

If you’re marketing a new product or service, familiarity is essential. The human brain loves familiarity. Yes, it likes neophilia [new things] too, but unless people can relate to it, your campaign might struggle to get the eyeballs. 

Stories are the way in which the human brain has evolved to absorb and share information with others. Think about the Bible, Koran or other religious texts. Because they contain lots of wisdom, they’ve managed to get billions to subscribe to their belief system and survive for centuries. 

Our brains thrive when we have strong social connections. People who are lonely have a shorter life and are more likely to die of cancer or heart disease. Our tech might make us feel we’ve got 1,000 Facebook friends but we only need one or two close friends to get these psychological benefits.

Endless scrolling isn’t good for our neuroplasticity [the ability of the brain to heal]. If you’re on your phone six hours a day, your brain adapts to that environment. But it’s not an environment which nourishes you. It’s much better to go out into nature and find time to talk to passers-by – perhaps saying good morning or a chat about the weather. These interactions might seem spurious, but they give us a boost (what I call a “tryptophan milkshake”) because it makes us feel connected to others.

BJ Fogg has a lot to answer for. He’s a social scientist at Stanford University and taught Silicon Valley bros about the lure of dopamine and what your tech devices need to do so people find them addictive. 

Our phones take us away from things which make us happy. Playing a musical instrument, doing crafting or even singing karaoke has intrinsic value, because we gain a sense of reward, or it triggers the parts of our brain dedicated to precise finger movements or engages our diaphragm and larynx when we sing.  Most of our screen interactions plunge us into isolation, which isn’t good. 

Tech also hinders our empathy skills. Why? It’s because we’re looking at screens rather than at people’s faces, which would help us become better at analysing facial expressions.

We’ve lost an entire generation to screen inertness. Kids might be adept at scrolling and using screens, but they’re not building the cognitive capacities they need – today some are even arriving at school unable to tie their shoelaces. But it’s the adults who need to get a handle on their own screen use, because children mimic the behaviour of parents and teachers. 

Jonathan Haidt’s work is critical. Haidt [the social psychologist co-author of The Anxious Generation] says kids should only be issued with dumb phones – think of those bricks which only have the game Snake on them – because giving them unfettered access to the whole adult internet is hugely damaging. 

If you get generative AI to do your critical thinking, your brain will go to mush. The problem is those kids short cutting with ChatGPT may never develop those capacities in the first place. 

Want to improve your brain health? Drink a large glass of water as soon as you wake up (it helps combat overnight dehydration which causes brain cells to send messages slower than usual) and eat berries – they’re packed full of [serotonin-boosting chemical] tryptophan.

We can all learn from Rylan [Clark, TV presenter]. He’s much smarter than he lets on. I was interviewed by him for Celebrity Big Brother. While off camera, he grilled me about the neuroscience. But as soon as the cameras started rolling, he started playing slightly daft. It’s a valuable trick if you want to have generic appeal – nobody wants their TV presenters to be smarter than them. In my case, I try to speak plain English when explaining complex topics. 

• Hear Dr Jack Lewis at the CIPR Annual Conference in London on 13 November. Join in-person (limited tickets remaining) or via live stream for the main stage sessions. Find out more about Dr Jack Lewis's work.

Christian Koch is an award-winning journalist, editor, content strategist and brand consultant.

Further reading

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