When your friend excitedly explains that they are in love with their new designer jeans, they may not be exaggerating. Marketers have always known that one of the most powerful motivations for our buying behaviour is our emotions, yet while they knew it appealed to our less rational ‘feelings’, what they didn’t know was why. “Well, not until now,” points out Taryn Schmidt, Head of Marketing at Wonga SA. Marketers have long capitalised on the link between emotions and ‘perceived value’, particularly during holiday periods when consumers may be prone to spending more than their budgets allow them to do. “By appealing to emotions, and not the rational mind, marketers manage to tap into what makes us most human. By understanding how this happens, consumers will be in a better position to make more rational spending decisions and avoid unnecessary debt.” A team of researchers at the Duke University in North Carolina recorded the brain activity of a number of experimental subjects, includi...