NEUROMARKETING by Natalia Zaucha

Topic: Neuromarketing Authors: Natalia Zaucha and Laura Irwin

Definition Neuromarketing is the application of marketing and neuroscience, to access the understanding of the purchasing and decision behaviour of a consumer. This field research applied enables to gain a greater understanding of the emotional and cognitive responses behind one’s purchase. The neuromarketing practice provides testing to assess consumers’ unconscious decision in response to products, advertising, packaging, expectations, behaviour prediction and consumer preference.

Usage (Purpose) From the analysis of physiological changes from the consumer, this information allows marketers to employ an in-depth research to improve their marketing strategies and products. As Blokdijk1 believes: “Nuromarketing is here to stay. It shows you how to stay relevant, add value, win and retain customers” As it is also seen as a more beneficial practice in market research than traditional practices. It is because brain responses may not be consciously performed by the tested consumer. Georges, Boyle-Tourtoulou and Badoc2 claim that appealing directly to the brain, neuromarketing avoids the biases of the questionnaire, the interlocutor and the difficulty in describing emotions or what our senses express. Resultantly, demonstrating that neuromarketing can be more revealing and beneficial than traditional methods such as surveys or focus groups. Testing the perception of brands and products can be measured by analysing the types of brain activity and relevant responses. The application of neuromarketing consist of various methods, such as: facial coding which is used to measure the emotion that is being displayed on their faces. Eye tracking is implemented to analyse where the consumer is looking at in an image and voice analysis can be used to study the tone of voice. These findings can inform companies about the emotional bond that consumers have with a product, and what part of the brain is rousing them to do so. These findings aid marketers to know how their products and brands can be enhanced to make the emotional connection stronger. However, ethics have been questioned implementing neuromarketing as a research method. Considering the goal according to Meck-Sloan3 “neuromarketing is to understand consumers’ unconscious processes” debates if marketers have the right to manipulate the consumer’s subconscious. Therefore, there is a serious consideration whether marketers are influencing or manipulating their consumers.

Blokdijk G. Neuromarketing. Australia: Emereo Publishing; 2015 Georges P, Boyle-Tourtoulou A and Badoc M. Neuromarketing In Action. America: Kogan Page Publishers; 2013 3 Meck-Sloan C. Neuroeconomics and Neuromarketing. [Internet] 2015 [Cited 2015 Oct 10] 6 (2): 133-136. Available from ESBCOhost: http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rgu.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=70563d02-24a4-445f-9d0102e6aeb79945%40sessionmgr4003&vid=4&hid=4112 2

Sub-Conclusion Neuromarketing is a great tool to study signals issued from the brain to show what consumers really think about brands and products. In today’s society with advertising pollution, neuroscience is a beneficial implement, to understanding the market and consumer behaviour. Nevertheless, ethics should play a role of a “good cup” that guards consumers from being manipulated and controlled by companies on the capitalist markets.

Current examples of usage

Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola In the experiment conducted by Shimp and Andrews4 involving 40 participants, consumers were blind tested for the preference between the Pepsi and Coca-Cola drinks brand. After the blind test, participants were scanned using a Functional Magnetic Resonance image (fMRI) showing the reward centre of the brain (ventral putamen) a preference for Pepsi. When participants were told the brand of the drinks, the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain associated with cognitive actions, such as judging and self-image, became active. These findings demonstrated how the positive image of Cola influenced customer’s choices, even if they preferred the taste of Pepsi.

Yahoo testing their TV ad idea As described by Laurie Burkitt5 Yahoo has a 60-second television commercial that features happy, dancing people around the world. Yahoo ran it by EEG-cap-wearing consumers prior to launching the advertisement. The brain waves showed stimulation in the limbic system and frontal cortices of their brains, where memory and emotional thought occurs. As a result, the ad aiming at encouraging more users to use Yahoo search engine finally aired in September (2009).

Possible usage (now vs. future) Having acknowledged how broadly neuromarketing is used today, it is imperative to stop and think about its possible usage in the future. The Orweillian idea of measuring subconscious (reptilian) reactions and preferences of people is becoming more and more real. Facial coding, eye tracking, voice analysis (tone, not the actual words and content), skin conductance (known as the old lie detector), EEG (electroencephalogram), MRI (brain oxygen consumption)6, and even webcam-based emotion tracking7, you name it.

Shimp T and Andrews C. Advertising, Promotion 2013, p.39. Neuromarketing: Companies Use Neuroscience for Consumer Insights: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1116/marketing-hyundai-neurofocus-brain-waves-battle-for-thebrain.html 6 Is There a Buy Button Inside the Brain: Patrick Renvoise at TEDxBend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rKceOe-Jr0 7 Your Computer Is Watching You: AOL Rolls Out Emotion Tracking: http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2013/06/14/aol-realeeyes/ 5

All of the aforementioned are now common tools for neuromarketers and marketers in general, as neuromarketing is becoming an integral part of traditional marketing discipline. In fact, companies including big players like Coca-Cola, are quite open about it and do not even bother to deny that they use neuromarketing as their primary tool to attract and retain customers8. However, the real question is where and how the discipline is going to develop? Should we, consumers, be anxious about being analysed too such an extent, that we no longer have the decisive power when it comes to buying and consuming? Is it morally correct to play on humans’ most vulnerable characteristic – feelings and emotions?

Spread and adoption There is clearly a significant shift from reading subconscious behaviour patterns to controlling or even triggering them9. Designing desired behaviour in consumers and thinking one step ahead of them, to predict and act upon their future purchase decisions, is the next step for neuromarketing. Although it is already happening at the moment to some extent (e.g. by collecting retailers and shopping data and combining it with the above methods of neuromarketing), it is still not being used to its full potential. According to Martin Lindstrom10, a well-known brand-builder and bestsellers’ author, “we’re currently witnessing a merger between Big Data, neuromarketing and anthropology generating highly advanced consumer insight, which in some occasions are able to predict 95% of what the consumer is likely to do before he or she is even aware of it”. With that merger comes the ethical issue described in previous sections of the report: is it ethically correct to use those prediction to design never-existing purchase cravings or preferences? This is a question that everyone involved or interested in neuromarketing should ask. It is worthwhile to mention that neuromarketing could perhaps have its broader application. Given content and news overload of today’s world, media regulatory bodies all over the world could use neuromarketing tools to filter out unworthy content and promote that of a more educational value.