Chris Gray

Dr. Chris Gray is a pioneer in consumer psychology with more than three decades of experience helping major global brands—like Coca-Cola, P&G, Adidas, and Nestle—create powerful, ethical strategies that influence buyer behaviour. His expertise bridges the gap between science and storytelling, enabling marketers and business leaders to cut through the noise and truly connect with their audience. Chris has built a career around decoding how the brain filters information and why relevance, not just disruption, is key to brand success. As a consultant, educator, and keynote speaker, he reveals how smart brands use psychology to command attention and build loyalty. His mission? To empower businesses to gain an unfair advantage—by understanding how customers think, feel, and choose—without ever crossing the line into manipulation.

How do you cut through the noise and make your brand truly unforgettable?

Every business wants to stand out—but too many are shouting into the void. In this episode of Talking with the Experts, Dr. Chris Gray reveals why most branding efforts fail to make a lasting impression and how to use the brain’s attention system to your advantage.

Chris is a renowned expert in consumer psychology and buyer behaviour, with a career spanning three decades and clients like P&G, Nestle, and Adidas. He’s not about hype—he’s about science-backed branding that works. Chris explains how the human brain filters out over 90% of sensory input, making it essential for marketers to use both disruption and relevance in tandem.

We dig into how to ethically capture attention, connect emotionally with your audience, and create long-term brand loyalty. You’ll hear real-world examples, actionable insights, and strategies that help you stand out without selling out.

If your brand is getting lost in the crowd, this episode will show you how to rise above—with clarity, psychology, and purpose.

🎯 KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. How to use relevance and disruption together to command attention and create memorable brand messaging.
2. Why understanding selective attention is essential for crafting marketing that connects and converts.
3. How to ethically influence buyer behaviour using neuroscience-backed strategies that big brands swear by.

Introduction to Consumer Psychology

• Chris Gray, a pioneering expert in consumer psychology with three decades of experience, discusses the importance of understanding consumer psychology in marketing.
• Chris Gray’s background in clinical psychology led to a career in consumer psychology, where they have worked with major brands like P&G, Coca-Cola, The North Face, and Adidas.

The Role of Curiosity in Marketing

• Curiosity is essential for marketers to continuously learn about their customers and avoid blind spots and biases.
• Developing curiosity can be achieved through purposeful questioning, engaging in new experiences, and being mindful of daily activities.

Selective Attention and Its Impact on Marketing

• The brain processes about 11 billion bits of information per second but can only consciously handle about 40 to 50 bits per second.
• Marketers must capture and maintain attention by being relevant to their target audience, as attention is a finite cognitive resource.

The Importance of Self-Awareness and Empathy in Marketing

• Self-awareness helps marketers recognize their cognitive biases and blind spots, which is crucial for effective communication.
• Empathy in marketing involves understanding the customer’s perspective, needs, and motivations to create relevant and engaging content.

Strategies for Capturing Attention: Disruption and Relevance

• Disruption involves standing out against the environment through visual, auditory, or other sensorial means to capture immediate attention.
• Relevance ensures that the captured attention is sustained over time by being meaningful, important, and motivating to the target audience.
• The combination of disruption and relevance is crucial for effective marketing, as demonstrated by brands like McDonald’s and Nike.

The Use of Colour in Marketing

• The effectiveness of colours in marketing depends on the context and the associations they evoke in consumers.
• Brands like McDonald’s use colours not only for disruption but also to create emotional associations and recall positive experiences.

The Role of Emotion in Marketing

• Emotion can be a brand’s biggest asset or its most formidable challenge, depending on how it is approached.
• Marketers should be strategic in evoking specific emotional responses to create positive associations and build trust with their audience.

The Importance of Trust in Branding

• Trust is the foundation of every brand, and it takes time, effort, and patience to develop.
• Negative associations can harm a brand’s trust, making it challenging to rebuild, but empathy can help anticipate and avoid such mistakes.

Ethical Considerations in Consumer Psychology

• Using psychology tricks to manipulate consumers into buying is not recommended, as it can lead to negative emotions and avoidance.
• Being open, honest, and authentic with customers, understanding their needs, and helping them achieve their aspirations builds a valuable relationship.

Chris Gray’s Newsletter: The Buycologist Brain Trust

• Chris Gray’s monthly newsletter provides a deep dive into various aspects of consumer psychology, offering practical tips and insights.
• The newsletter aims to help readers apply academic concepts to real-world business, sales, and marketing scenarios.

• Effective marketing relies on capturing and maintaining attention through selective attention, a crucial concept in consumer psychology.
• Chris Gray’s journey into consumer psychology began from a background in clinical psychology, driven by a fascination with how people think and behave.
• Curiosity is essential for business success as it helps in continuously learning about customers and avoiding blind spots and biases.
• Self-awareness and empathy are critical in marketing to understand and connect with customers’ perspectives and motivations.
• Disruption and relevance are key strategies for capturing and maintaining customer attention, with relevance being more sustainable over time.
• Colours in branding are contextual and emotional, playing a significant role in evoking memories and associations that attract and retain customer attention.
• Emotion is a powerful tool in marketing, and brands should strategically evoke desired emotional responses to build trust and long-term relationships with customers.
• Building and maintaining trust with customers is crucial, as negative associations can significantly harm a brand’s reputation and customer base.
• Using psychology tricks to manipulate customers into buying is discouraged in favour of open, honest, and authentic relationships that lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.
• Chris Gray offers a monthly newsletter, ‘The Buycologist Brain Trust Newsletter,’ providing deep dives into consumer psychology topics with practical applications for business.

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