Ever heard of "happy hormones"? It's those words scientists use to describe the joy we feel when we bite into a freshly baked sourdough bread or the ironic satisfaction we experience from torturing our bodies with fitness. These hormones are produced independently and spike at different times based on specific triggers in our environment.
One such hormone is dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that forms part of the brain's reward system. Nearly all pleasurable experiences involve the release of dopamine, meaning it also drives the addiction to things like gambling and shopping.
Marketers consistently design campaigns around the psychology of anticipation, reward and satisfaction, which drives dopamine. However, their understanding of the hormone has been proven to be somewhat flawed.
Conventional market wisdom suggests that consumers respond to rewards because rewards make them feel good. Yet, recent neuroscience research indicates that dopamine is just as strongly associated with anticipation as it is with the reward itself. In other words, the expectation of a reward can be just as powerful as receiving one.
Let's break this down more. Many brands rely on predictable rewards to maintain engagement. Loyalty programmes offer the same points for the same actions. Newsletters arrive with the same format every week. Promotions follow recognisable patterns. While this consistency remains important for building trust, the predictability of it is possibly working against attention.
A study published early this year in the Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science found that dopamine responses weaken when rewards become certain — the same also happens when rewards never materialise. The strongest dopamine responses occur when there is some degree of uncertainty, novelty, or anticipation attached to the outcome.
Marketers know that a good sale every now and then entices consumers, but it's how these rewards are delivered that they need to consider. Look at product teasers, limited edition releases and surprise rewards from brands as examples. They generate an excitement that is not even remotely comparable to traditional promotions.
The best way to sustain attention is through the art of curiosity — but frequent rewards combat this. The biggest threat to consumer attention is excessive predictability. If you want your consumers to stay engaged, rewards need to remain meaningful, somewhat unpredictable, and tied to anticipation.
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*Image courtesy of Canva
**Information sourced from Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science