Does an artistic representation of brand logos increase their effect on customers?

Abstract Background In numerous fMRI studies, brands strongly confound the customer’s economic decisions on a neural level by modulating cortical activity in reward-related areas. Objective To test the hypothesis that the effect of logos can be increased by artistic logo representations, we presented logos in original and artistically changed versions during fMRI. Methods Following a pre-study survey on the familiarity of original brand logos, 15 logos rated as “familiar” and 10 logos rated as “unfamiliar” were selected for fMRI experiment. During fMRI, 15 healthy subjects were presented with original and artistically changed logos out of the familiar/unfamiliar categories. A whole-brain and ROI analysis for reward-related areas were performed. Moreover, logo-induced valence and arousal were measured with the self-assessment manikin. Results Whole-brain analysis revealed activation in bilateral visual cortex for artistically changed logos (familiar/unfamiliar) compared to original logos. No significant effect could be detected for the ROI analysis. On average, the logos caused neutral emotions. However, when analyzing valence and arousal for familiar/unfamiliar and original/artistically changed logos separately, familiar original logos evoked stronger positive emotions than familiar artistically changed logos. Artistically changed logos (familiar/unfamiliar) excited participants significantly more than original logos. Conclusion Artistically changed logos elicit activation in the bilateral visual cortex but not in reward-related areas.