Brainfluence

Ron Johnson built the Apple Store from a blank sheet of paper, turning a company that couldn't get shelf space at Best Buy into the most profitable retailer on earth. Before that he helped make Target "Tar-zhay," and after it he had one of the most publicly dissected tenures in retail history as CEO of JCPenney. In this episode of Brainfluence, Roger Dooley talks with Ron about his new book, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius (co-written with Zander Nethercutt), and the lessons behind each chapter of that career. Ron explains why good design costs no more than bad design, what architect Michael Graves taught him about creating instead of copying, and how half an hour with the Ritz-Carlton's head of HR changed the entire vision of the Apple Store, including the bar that "dispensed advice instead of alcohol." He also makes the case that stores still work in an online world, weighs the future of department stores, and gives his candid account of JCPenney's everyday-pricing experiment: a strategy he still defends, executed at a speed he now regrets. Show notes page with audio, text, resources: https://www.rogerdooley.com/ron-johnson-shop-different/ Amazon - Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius: https://link.amazon/B0iLSKZTu LinkedIn - Ron Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-johnson-589233b9/ Connect with Roger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dooley/ https://www.facebook.com/roger.dooley https://www.instagram.com/rogerdooley/ Roger's Stuff: Website: https://www.rogerdooley.com Neuromarketing: https://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/

In this solo Brainfluence episode, Roger Dooley argues that the strangest-looking experiments in behavioral science are usually the most useful ones. He opens in 1969, when psychologist Robert Zajonc put 72 cockroaches through mazes in front of an audience of other cockroaches. That setup wasn't a joke. It was a precise piece of engineering: strip out self-consciousness, and you can finally see whether an audience by itself changes performance. The organizing idea comes from Dan Ariely, who describes a good experiment as a painting rather than a photograph. You don't reproduce every detail of the real-world problem. You capture its essence and build a tiny world containing that and almost nothing else. Roger walks through four studies built exactly that way: a swaying suspension bridge two hundred thirty feet above a canyon, a beer menu at a Chapel Hill brewery, a pile of Lego Bionicles, and an energy drink sold at two different prices. Each one carries a direct lesson for marketers and managers, from why people can't tell you why they bought something to why discounting can make a product objectively worse. The episode closes with four rules that separate experiments which transfer from experiments that produce a one-time winner, and a twist: fifty years on, someone re-ran the cockroach study, and only half of it survived. Show Notes page with audio, text, resources: https://www.rogerdooley.com/weird-behavioral-science/ Dan Ariely on how he designs experiments: https://danariely.substack.com/p/on-experiments Neuromarketing - the beer study: https://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/behavioral-science-beer.htm Video - why the same wine tastes better at a higher price: https://youtu.be/uN1gIsuEUfI Connect with Roger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dooley/ https://www.threads.net/@rogerdooley https://www.facebook.com/roger.dooley https://www.instagram.com/rogerdooley/ Roger's Stuff: Website: https://www.rogerdooley.com Neuromarketing: https://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/

In this solo episode of Brainfluence, host Roger Dooley shares ideas from his new book, The Persuasion Engine (Wiley). The big shift he wants every marketer, business owner, and leader to notice isn't the customer—people still decide partly consciously, partly unconsciously, and mostly emotionally, just as they always have. What's changed are three things happening at once: the tools for understanding customers have gotten dramatically cheaper, decades of behavioral science now live inside AI models you can talk to, and AI has turned out to be surprisingly good at predicting how humans will react to a message—even though it can't feel anything itself. Roger calls this combination Neuromarketing 2.0. Along the way he explains why the real bottleneck was never the psychology but access to it, how to "critique before you create," why AI can flag the empathy gap in tone-deaf corporate messages, and how reducing resistance often beats pushing harder. He closes with a simple three-question audit you can run on any message that matters—no book required. Show Notes page with audio, text, resources: https://www.rogerdooley.com/persuasion-engine-podcast Amazon - The Persuasion Engine: https://amzn.to/3MfaL2b Connect with Roger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dooley/ https://www.threads.net/@rogerdooley https://www.facebook.com/roger.dooley https://www.instagram.com/rogerdooley/ Roger's Stuff: Website: https://www.rogerdooley.com Neuromarketing: https://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/

In this Brainfluence episode, host Roger Dooley sits down with behavioral scientist Eva van der Broek and advertising creative Tim den Heijer, co-authors of the intriguing new book, The Housefly Effect: The Nudge Psychology That Steers Our Everyday Behavior. Together, they dive into the quirky yet profound ways that tiny changes—think a simple housefly sticker in a urinal—can dramatically shift our decisions and habits. Join us as Eva and Tim unpack the stories and science behind these small interventions, from the power of naming an "effect," to surprising marketing strategies, the influence of groupthink, and real-world examples like the "Cobra Effect." Along the way, you'll learn why imperfections can make products more appealing, how unintended consequences play out in public policy, and why sometimes being nudged in the right direction matters more than knowing exactly why you changed your behavior. Whether you're a marketer, policy maker, or just curious about how our minds work, this episode is packed with playful insights and practical advice on harnessing the subtle art of nudging. Show Notes page with audio, text, resources: https://www.rogerdooley.com/the-housefly-effect/ Amazon - The Housefly Effect: https://amzn.to/3Ky34E4 LinkedIn - Eva van der Broek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evdbroek/ LinkedIn - Tim den Heijer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timdenheijer/ Connect with Roger:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/dooley/ https://www.threads.net/@rogerdooley https://www.facebook.com/roger.dooley https://www.instagram.com/rogerdooley/ Roger's Stuff: Website: https://www.rogerdooley.com Neuromarketing: https://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog  Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/

In this episode of Brainfluence, Roger Dooley is joined by Thomas Ramsoy, CEO and founder of Neurons, to discuss the evolving fields of neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience. Thomas Ramsoy shares insights from his book, "How to Make People Buy," which delves into the science behind what drives consumer behavior—emphasizing that genuine engagement, interest, and desire are far more effective than manipulation or trickery. He highlights how the understanding of unconscious decision-making, micro-decisions, and behavioral design is transforming the way marketers approach their craft. The conversation also covers the practical implications of neuroscience and AI in marketing, including the importance of capturing attention within the first second of a digital ad and avoiding common design pitfalls such as the "corner of death." Thomas Ramsoy explains how AI is making neuromarketing tools and insights more accessible to businesses of all sizes, enabling more precise prediction and optimization of campaigns. By integrating neuroscience methods and advanced machine learning models, companies can diagnose and improve their customer engagement strategies while keeping ethical considerations at the forefront. Show notes, audio, transcript, resources: https://www.rogerdooley.com/thomas-ramsoy-buy/ BOOK: How to Make People Buy (Amazon) - https://amzn.to/4i2EGGE Connect with Thomas: Website - https://www.neuronsinc.com/  Website: https:/thomasramsoy.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzramsoy/ Connect with Roger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dooley/ https://twitter.com/rogerdooley https://www.threads.net/@rogerdooley https://www.facebook.com/roger.dooley https://www.instagram.com/rogerdooley/ Roger's Stuff: Website: https://www.rogerdooley.com Neuromarketing: https://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/