80% of consumers forget branded content after 3 days

After all of the consumer and market research, the long days, the design and implementation process, how long does your delicately crafted branded content stick in consumers’ minds?

Well, according to research by Prezi, for 80% of consumers the answer is three days.

The research, carried out in conjunction with renowned cognitive neuroscientist Dr Carmen Simon, found that the main three reasons consumers forget content are:

–          irrelevancy (55%)

–          a lack of motivation to remember it (35.7%)

–          too much content to retain (30%)

Perhaps surprisingly, distractions were reported by only 18% of respondents as the primary reason they forget the majority of the content they come into contact with.

This means that the problem is likely to be the content itself.

Video and conversation comes out on top

When looking at which types of content are the most memorable, the research found that:

–          content which ‘tells the audience something new’ was the most memorable (27%)

–          49% said content that talks about something good that happened helps them remember

–          37% rated video as the most memorable, followed by articles (28%) and face-to-face presentations (21%)

Meanwhile, 70% of 16-24 year olds reported that conversation is the best way to convince them to buy from a particular brand, as long as they felt the brand were interacting and engaging with them.

Equally, 77% of respondents thought that interactive presentation software would help them retain more information.

Spencer Waldron, Prezi’s European regional director, said:

“Marketers are wise to the fact that content can be incredibly powerful influence on perceptions and purchasing decisions. But in order for content to influence or actually deliver that sale, it needs to both hold the audience’s attention and be memorable.

“From a presentation standpoint, taking a conversational approach and using storytelling, covers both of these elements.”

Dr Carmen Simon said:

“This research found that 87% of people feel that presenters who engage them in conversation will keep them focused and attentive. Conversations can impact memory because the frequent switching of stimulus between the speakers prevents the brain from habituation and offers novelty. The brain enjoys the buzz of novelty.”

The research coincides with the launch of Prezi Next – a new platform that was designed specifically to allow individual users to more easily create conversational presentations, move freely between topics and adapt on the fly.

Find out more about The Science of Attention report below: