How Smart Brands Hack Your Brain
The Copywriter Column #226
Summary
Ever wonder why some brands suddenly feel "everywhere" after you first notice them? There's a psychological phenomenon behind this that smart brands like Mastercard and Liberty Mutual have been exploiting for decades to own mental real estate. And most copywriters are sabotaging their own success by changing their message right when it's about to work.
Ever buy (or want) a car and suddenly see that exact make and model everywhere?
It's not a coincidence. It's your brain's pattern recognition system working overtime.
Once something becomes relevant to you, your brain starts filtering for it, and what was always there becomes impossible to ignore.
This psychological quirk is the secret weapon that smart brands use to own a piece of your mental real estate, even when they only own a tiny piece of the actual market.
The psychology behind pattern recognition
Cognitive scientists call this the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon or frequency illusion. Once your brain flags something as important, it actively seeks confirming evidence.
Each exposure strengthens the neural pathway, the pattern becomes easier to spot, and suddenly, the brand feels everywhere.
A handful of LinkedIn posts about a new tool/platform and suddenly it feels like "everyone's using it." One company sponsors five podcasts you listen to and they seem massive.
But your market share doesn't create mind share.
Your repetition does.
The repetition paradox every copywriter faces
Here's the thing about repetition that trips up most copywriters: You'll get sick of your message long before your audience does.
Most brands change their messaging right when it's starting to work because they get bored. They think everyone else must be bored too (I see brands do this way too often).
But your audience isn't reading every piece of content you create.
They're catching glimpses.
Fragments.
The occasional impression.
It takes 7-12 exposures before a message even registers and another 5-10 before it sticks (even dozens more before it becomes automatic).
How brands master the frequency illusion
For over 20 years, Mastercard ended every ad the same way:
"There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard."
They didn't just run ads. They burned a neural pathway into our collective brain. They own that mental territory.
Liberty Mutual did the same thing with their jingle (you can probably hear "Liberty, Liberty, Liberty... Liberty" right now).
McDonald's owns "I'm Lovin' It."
Burger King claimed "Have It Your Way."
State Farm made "Like a good neighbor" automatic.
Each brand found their signature phrase and hammered it home until it became cognitive architecture.
Creating your own frequency illusion
If you want to build the same kind of mental real estate for your brand, here's one way to leverage the psychology of repetition:
Start with one distinctive signature phrase. Not three different value propositions. Not five key benefits. One core message that becomes synonymous with your brand.
Show up consistently in the same handful of places. Don't chase every new platform. Find where your audience already spends time and become a fixture there.
Develop a visual identity so consistent that people recognize your content before they read your name. Colors, fonts, layouts—make them as consistent as possible.
Keep using that same core message long after you're bored with it! When you think everyone must be tired of hearing it, you're probably just getting started.
The courage to be boring
The brands that win aren't the ones with the most creative messages. They're the ones brave enough to “kick a dead horse.”
Boring enough to repeat themselves.
Boring enough to say the same thing in slightly different ways for months or years.
Boring enough to trust the process when the novelty wears off.
Your boredom with your own message is actually a good sign. It means you've reached the threshold where repetition starts working its magic.
Build neural pathways, not just campaigns
The frequency illusion teaches us that perception shapes reality more than we think.
When you commit to consistent, repetitive messaging, you're not just running marketing campaigns – you're building neural pathways and mental shortcuts that make your brand the automatic answer to a specific problem.
So stop chasing the next shiny message, and start repeating the one you have.
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