Neuromarketing — New Tools in Consumer Behavior Analysis
For the past 15 years, a new study domain has made considerable space into both scientific research and market analysis: Neuromarketing.
The field of Neuroscience gained momentum in the study of cells and interactions between brain areas and systems, but it really took off when it became associated with consumer behavior. This connection opened up a range of possibilities, enabling professionals to identify people’s reactions to specific stimuli, such as a television commercial, the size and placement of a company’s logo on a package, or a slogan, through observing brain behavior.
But before delving into this topic, it is important to differentiate between two expressions:
Neuromarketing consists of
the use of Neuroscience tools to enhance insights about consumers and the effects of marketing on them (Ramsoy, 2012)
while Consumer Neuroscience is
more of an academic exercise aimed at better understanding consumer psychology and behavior. (Ramsoy, 2012)
In the context of Neuromarketing, researchers use medical technology to identify reactions that people demonstrate when exposed to various stimuli. As Vicky Phan states in her article (2010), through these brain observations, scientists can predict whether you prefer Pepsi or Coca-Cola more accurately than consumers themselves.
Thus, it can be said that advertising is becoming a scientific practice with the ability and potential to completely change the way companies compete for consumer attention — which is increasingly scattered among a multitude of ads that alternate between the real and virtual worlds and are contested by concurrent tasks.
Evolution of advertising
Advertisements, in the form of images, banners, and jingles began to expand in the mid-1950s, when fast-food chains spread throughout the United States, winning over customers with quick, cheap, and tasty meals.
Three decades later, when VCRs and cable TV became popular, reaching the general public of middle-class families, the project gained new visibility, allowing executives in the field to start drafting interest profiles and designing people’s subconscious interests.
Despite clichés, formulas, and slogans that torment our minds for hours (eventually, some of them are fun), we all somehow tend to gravitate towards familiar symbols — and this is where Neuromarketing comes in.
Currently, various technologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG) are used in this process, with fMRI being the most popular because it allows for a very clear construction of brain activity images.
This mapping works based on the identification of clusters of hemoglobin, oxygen carriers in red blood cells, and their movements throughout the body. In practice, the higher the concentration of hemoglobin in a particular area, the higher its activity index will be, as this requires a greater amount of oxygen. The measurement is made through caps with electrodes that capture these signals.
From this mapping process, neuroscientists can trace stimuli triggered by the exposure to a given advertising, and thus help to improve the development of more targeted campaigns.
A classic example of the application of these resources is the famous “Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola” experiment. Scientists tried to unravel what the real motivators of a choice were — or if there was, in fact, a question related to taste preference.
In the experiment, some people were divided into two groups that tasted the sodas and expressed their preference: the first group was given a blind test, and for the ones in the other, researchers informed which drink the person was having.
Results were very interesting:
- In the blind test, the part of the brain responsible for “rewards” was activated. In this case, Pepsi had an advantage over Coke
- In the other group, the activated part responsible for memory and emotions was activated. Here, the Coke won the battle, suggesting that
cultural information can modulate brain responses related to rewards and (…) visual arts and marketing messages may have insinuated themselves into the participants’ nervous system. (McClure, 2004)
Thus, regardless of taste, Coke was able to build a connection with its consumers who, as a result, retributed creating bonds with the brand. The discovery is important for it allows Neuromarketing campaigns to focus on the determining aspects for the acceptance and consumption of a product or brand.
In another experiment conducted by Innerscope Research in 2012, 40 movie trailers were shown to approximately 1,000 people, while their heart rate, breathing, sweat level, eye movements, and brain activity were monitored. Based on these parameters, the laboratory developed an emotional engagement index, capable of predicting with relative accuracy which movies would be successful at the box office. In light of this, major studios such as Fox and Paramount began using Neuromarketing in their own research.
How far have we gone?
Ethical and moral issues came up when people realized that these studies could “trick” people’s brains into consuming something that is contradictory to what their bodies indicate: during the Pepsi vs. Coke experiment, for example, we can see that the brand was able to impose itself on people’s taste even though there are other drinks that elicit a greater sense of pleasure, or are more palatable.
It may be a bit early to regulate such approaches, but Neuroscience technologies are evolving and being gradually incorporated into the Marketing sector. And although there are some apocalyptic foresights (“we will all be manipulated by coldly constructed brain forces to control us”) and parallels with the Orwellian Big Brother’s watchful eye, more optimistic views are also being discussed to find out how this science field can help us control undesirable behaviors — such as smoking and drinking— and direct more effective public policies to help people overcome them.
References
Bridger, Darren & Lewis, David (2005). Market researchers make increasing use of brain imaging. ACNR, 5(3): 36–7.
Hannaford, Alex. (2013). Neuromarketing: can Science predict what we’ll buy? Artigo publicado no The Telegraph em 13 de abril.
McClure, Samuel M.; Li, Jian; Tomlin, Damon; Cypert, Kim S.; Montague, Latané M.; Montague, P. Read (2004). Neural correlates of behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks. Neuron, vol. 44, pp. 379–87, October 14.
NOBEL, Carmen. (2013). Neuromarketing: tapping into the ‘pleasure center’ of consumers.
Phan, Vicky. (2010). Neuromarketing: who decides what you buy?
Ramsoy, Thomas Zoega. (org., 2014). Selected readings in Consumer Neuroscience & Neuromarketing.
Yglesias, Matthew. (2013). Sweet Sorrow — Coke won the cola wars because great taste takes more than a single sip.
Footnotes (whatever that means in the digital space)
[1] Even though I’m not a big fan of movies, I watched and really enjoyed The Founder, a film that tells the story of the emergence and expansion of the McDonald’s chain through the figure of Ray Kroc, played by Michael Keaton. Some marketing aspects are addressed, making it a good blend of entertainment and culture.
