Dr. Bianca Wittman of University College London found that making novel choices activates the ventral striatum of the brain. This area is associated with rewarding behavior. Thus, labeling a product as “new” may increase its sales because of this brain wiring. Also, familiar brands also cause higher levels of brain activation, so the perfect pitch may be a new product from an established brand. Hmm, “Apple iPhone,” maybe? Read more about the study here at the Neuroscience Marketing blog. Incidentally, this is a great blog that you should read frequently–I just added it as a NEW feed to my NEW site Marketing.alltop.