Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing

Communications and Leadership ConferenceWestern New England College

April 7, 2010

Western New England College | April 7, 2010 | Copyright © 2010 Bidwell ID, Inc. and Verilliance | 2

Agenda

Neuromarketing Defined

Controversies

Case Studies

Take Aways

Cautions on Applications


Neuromarketing Defined

Strict Definition: Measuring brain response to marketing ads.

Expanded Definition: Additional use of biometrics to include heart rate, breathing rate, and galvanic skin response.

Loose Definition: Marketing tips/decisions based on neuroscience, neuromarketing, behavioral economics, psychology, etc. knowledge but not actual measures.


Neuromarketing Biometrics/Tools

EEG: Measures brain waves to determine what parts of the brain are activated.

Eyetracking: Measures where a subject is looking.

fMRIFunctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.•Measures brain activity in real time.•Vastly more expensive and cumbersome than EEG, but gives •more accurate picture of the brain.

Measures what?Attention.•Retention (memory).•Emotion (positive vs. negative).•


How Data Is Used

To determine what parts of an ad (still or moving) show the highest engagement across the three measures: attention, retention, and emotion.

Firms are also collecting proprietary data to determine patterns. For example, one firm has seen that dark backgrounds consistently result in lower engagement.


Controversy: Pseudo-science

Some claim neuromarketing is a pseudo-science because there is a paucity of information sharing. This lack of information is because:

Private vs. academic. No requirement for peer review.•

Neuromarketing clients rarely release data or •results to the public. Concerns about negative perceptions by consumers (mind-control, manipulation) and giving knowledge away to competitors.

Any “results” released to the public is in •reference to ROI, not comprehensive.


Controversy: Big Brother/Mind Reader

Books like Neuromarketing–Find Your Customer’s Buy Button or Buyology can overstate findings to suggest to marketers that neuromarketing can identify magic bullets.

Advocacy groups have been quick to believe neuromarketing hype leading them to believe neuromarketing will lead to consumer mind control.


Controversy: Ethical Concerns

Either of the above two theories regarding neuromarketing lead to ethical issues.

Should marketers have access to our unconscious minds? •

Should the technologies be limited to adult consumers?•

Who should determine standards and regulation?•

Should businesses be forced to disclose use?•

How can businesses be protected from faulty claims and large •expenditures of money?


The Truth

Lies somewhere in between. Neither pseudo-science nor mind control. It is morally ambiguous and complicated.

Big business has already used marketing in harmful ways by targeting the animal brain, particularly when selling addictive substances.

Big tobacco.•Alcohol.•Big pharmaceuticals.•Video gaming industry.•Sex industry (sex sells when it’s selling sex!).•Gambling.•


The Truth

Neuromarketing has potential to advance what we know about decision making much more quickly than academia.

Though not peer reviewed, ROI is a review process. Firms or techniques that don’t work will be quickly discarded in favor of results.

Neuromarketing has just as much potential for good.

Education.•Producing better products. •Creating better usability and design.•Use by social movements.•Educating consumers about their own •irrational decision making.


Example: Campbell’s

ProblemNeed to sell more soup.•Budget-conscious consumers have little tolerance for •price increases.

GoalIncrease soup sales 2% over the next two years.•



Studies2-year study and over 1,500 subjects.

Various teams were brought in at different stages to conduct different types of analysis, and each interacted with the other to triangulate the data.

Multiple methodologies (triangulation)Focus groups are not enough.•Traditional consumer feedback.•Neuromarketing techniques.•Deep interview process called ZMET (The Zaltman •Metaphor Elicitation Technique).In-store consumer behavior.•Biometrics.•




Example: Coca-Cola (vs. Pepsi)

StudyUnderstand the cognitive processes behind the choice •between Coca-Cola and Pepsi.67 people had their brains scanned while being given •the “Pepsi Challenge,” a blind taste test.



FindingsHalf the subjects chose Pepsi.•Pepsi tended to produce a stronger response than Coke •in their brain’s ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region thought to process feelings of reward.When the subjects were told they were drinking Coke •three-quarters said that Coke tasted better.Their brain activity had also changed. •The lateral prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that scientists say governs high-level cognitive powers, and the hippocampus, an area related to memory, were engaged.



ResultsWhile Pepsi’s and Coca-Cola’s success was similar in •blind tests, a strong bias toward Coca-Cola was found in brand-cued tests. Demonstrated that Pepsi should have half the market •share, but in reality consumers are buying Coke for reasons related less to their taste preferences and more to their experience with the Coke brand.


Example: Frito-Lay

SituationMarketing to women, who snack twice as much as men.

Research and InferencesCommunication center in women is more developed, leading to •infer that women can process ads that contain more info.Hippocampus—the memory and emotional center—was larger, •and concluded women look more for characters they can empathize with. Anterior cingulated cortex, which processes decision-making •was larger in women, so they are more susceptible to feelings of guilt.


Example: Frito-Lay

Research100 women kept journals for a couple of weeks—showing women feel guilty a lot about a lot. Conclusion: we can’t alleviate guilt, but we must be sure not to trigger it.

Marketing changesTone down packaging: not shiny yellow, •but beige.Show off healthy ingredients.•Cartoon ads with empathetic figures, •like animated Sex in the City. Only in a Woman’s World series.Not girlie: no pink, no big calorie count.•

Results?


Take Aways

RulesNeuromarketing is not exempt from marketing good practices.

Always triangulate.•Context: audience, media, social climate.•There will always be exceptions/outliers. Example: less is not •always more.


Take Aways

Keep it simple.Poor memory for detail.•The “good idea”.•Less really is more.•Cognitive fluency.•Tips for keeping it simple.•

You don’t have much time.

Subliminal messages do influence.

Be aware of bias.Social validation.•Confirmation bias.•Hindsight bias.•


Take Aways

Stories are how we remember and decide.Narrative is the foundation for both memory and decision making.•Narrative overrides facts (refer back to Coke vs. Pepsi).•

There’s no escape from stereotyping.The brain groups data, takes mental shortcuts.•Men vs. women.•The best marketing is not gender neutral—it speaks to both •genders.Taps into stereotypes in a transcending way •(i.e., Old Spice ad).


Take Aways

We’re wired for nostalgia.It’s good for our health and promotes positive feelings.•The mind is predisposed to positive mood. •Music is especially powerful.•Nostalgia surges in tough times.•Fake nostalgia works too.•Tips for using retro to invoke nostalgia in your marketing.•

Engage all the senses.Sound often ignored in marketing.•Sound directly affects the brain and emotions.•How to market with music.•


Take Aways

Emotion brings recall and relationships.Emotional responses influence brand recall and liking.•Positive emotions work best.•Make sure the emotion fits the brand.•Emotions interest, facts justify.•Sharing emotion builds relationships.•How to encourage customers’ emotional participation.•


Cautions on Application

As more proprietary data is gathered and released we can more •confidently apply findings.

Much is still unknown. •

The brain is complex, and results in a lab may not hold true in •various real life contexts.

Data from neuromarketing is still best used when triangulated •with more traditional data such as interviews, questionnaires, and historical data.

Level of engagement is the best predictor we have so far, but it •is imperfect. It is not a cause and effect. Engagement does not guarantee conversion.


Contact Information

Jennifer Williams, Owner | Verilliance | www.verilliance.com/blog

John Bidwell, President | Bidwell ID | www.bidwellid.com

Date post:	25-May-2015
Category:	Education
Upload:	osamam65
View:	1,892 times
Download:	0 times