Journey from Attention to Impact – Immersion Playbook for Customer Transformation

Dr. Zak shares his findings on how immersion can be used to create better ads, improve training and education, and even enhance personal well-being. He advocates creating immersive experiences that evoke strong emotions and leave a lasting impact on viewers, and drive impact.

Highlights of Conversation

Immersion, not “liking,” is the key to effective communication : Dr. Zak explains that people may consciously claim to like something, but their brain’s unconscious response reveals a different story.

Immersive Experiences are Social : Dr Zak explains that extraordinary experiences arise from understanding social value. Positive social interactions create loyalty and enhance overall experience.

Immersive ads lead to sales bumps: Dr. Zak shares examples of ads that were initially disliked but ultimately drove sales due to their high immersion levels. He says “”High immersion ads that are not very likable can still be compelling to your brain.” Immersive ‘Flavoured Diet Coke’ ads in 2018 , were not well liked but led to a significant sales bump.

Place ads during Peak Immersion Moments: Successful advertising should place branding and calls to action during peak emotional moments within the narrative, rather than at the end when immersion is typically lower.

The future of advertising is immersive: Dr. Zak suggests that advertisers should focus on creating shorter, impactful ads that evoke strong emotions and leave a lasting impression on viewers. He says “Immersive ads create memorable experiences that drive behaviour.” He advises advertisers to learn from movie trailers which often tell half a story, leaving the resolution to drive ticket sales.

The Tuesday app promotes emotional fitness: Dr. Zak’s team has developed an app that provides daily goals for social interaction and tracks emotional well-being.

Dr. Paul J. Zak is a Professor of economics, psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University. His newest book is Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and Source of Happiness.