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What Is Neuromarketing - Definition & Examples
What Is Neuromarketing - Definition & Examples
What Is Neuromarketing - Definition & Examples
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Home > Marketing and sales
DEFINITION
neuromarketing
Ben Lutkevich, Technical Features Writer
u
c What is neuromarketing?
Neuromarketing is the study of how people's brains respond to advertising and other brand-
o
related messages by scientifically monitoring brainwave activity, eye tracking and skin
i response.
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These neuromarketing techniques are used to study the brain to predict consumer decision-
making behavior. It's also possible to use neuromarketing to try to manipulate consumer
behavior.
Marketers use neural and other physiological signals to gain insight into customers' motivations,
preferences and decision-making processes. They also use this research to predict how a
particular product, service or marketing campaign will perform.
The results of neuromarketing research can be surprising. In his 2008 book, Buyology: Truth
and Lies About Why We Buy, Martin Lindstrom documented a three-year study, starting in 2004,
that included the following findings:
Warning labels on cigarette packages stimulate neural activity in an area of the brain
associated with craving -- despite the fact that subjects said that they thought the warnings
were effective.
Images of dominant brands, such as the iPod, stimulated the same part of the brain that
religious symbols activate.
An image of a Mini Cooper activated the part of the brain that responds to faces.
Benefits of neuromarketing
There are many benefits of neuromarketing, including the following:
Granular insight. Neuromarketing provides a more granular look at human behavior than
traditional market research, which evaluates consumer behavior at a higher level using
techniques such as surveys and focus groups. Neuromarketing strategies take a precise
look at consumer behavior, preferences and tendencies. They use data that is otherwise
unquantifiable data to determine how a customer is feeling or how they might react.
Neuromarketing can also provide moment-by-moment insights into customer behavior.
Honest feedback. Because customers cannot lie in a neuromarketing context, these
methods generate more reliable data. Just asking a person how they feel about something
can change their feelings. Neuromarketing bypasses this problem, generating objective
results that a traditional customer satisfaction survey cannot provide.
Subconscious revelations. The approach can reveal insights into the subconscious mind,
and short responses that people generally do not remember.
Cost effective. Neuromarketing can lower the price and increase the value of marketing
research.
Holistic strategies. Neuromarketing is paired with traditional methods for a more holistic
approach to marketing research.
Criticisms of neuromarketing
Critics of neuromarketing warn of a variety of dangers, including these three:
k Check out the advantages and drawbacks of neuromarketing.
An fMRI tracks blood flow with continuous measurements. It is precise and a good tool for
tracking activity deep in the subcortical regions of the brain.
An electroencephalogram (EEG) uses sensors placed on subject's scalp to track changes
in brain activity. It is useful for tracking brain activity quickly, in fractions of a second. And
while an EEG is less precise than an fMRI, it is generally less expensive. FMRIs cost
millions of dollars, while EEGs cost tens of thousands.
There are also tools for measuring physiological proxies for brain activity. Some examples of
these tools include the following:
Eye tracking records where a person fixes their gaze for a certain amount of time,
indicating heightened interest on the fixation point.
Arousal is measured by specific physiological proxies and biometric data, including heart
rate, respiration rate, skin conductivity and pupil dilation.
Facial coding involves reading the subtle muscle movements of a person's facial
expressions to gauge their emotional response to something and perform sentiment
analysis.
k Neuromarketers use a variety of tools. Here are seven worth knowing about.
Examples of neuromarketing
In one 2003 neuromarketing study, Read Montague, a neuroscientist at Baylor College of
Medicine, used fMRI machines to study what he called the Pepsi Paradox. In the study, subjects
were evenly divided when they did a blind taste test of Pepsi and Coca-Cola. However, when
the subjects knew what they were drinking, three-quarters preferred Coke. Montague saw
activity in the prefrontal cortex, indicating higher thought processes. He concluded the subjects
were associating the drink with positive images and branding messages from Coke
commercials.
Future of neuromarketing
Although neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience have become mainstream
methodologies, they are still considered nascent fields. Part of the reason for this is that the
technology is expensive and still in development. As neuromarketing technology progresses
and becomes more accessible, more companies will adopt neuromarketing methods.
It's anticipated that virtual reality (VR) will be a prominent part of neuromarketing in the future. A
VR headset could be combined with an EEG device to collect neurological data. This would be
a much cheaper option than buying a standard EEG machine, and it would make it easier for
consumers to participate in neuromarketing research methods.
VR devices could also contain eye trackers that follow what a customer focuses on. Eye
tracking and facial recognition may also become prevalent in the retail and restaurant space to
improve customer experience.
Some also speculate that in the future there will be VR contact lenses available capable of
measuring dilation of a consumer's pupil size when viewing an advertisement.
The emergence of neuromarketing will involve businesses collecting and using many types of
customer data. Learn four best practices for collecting customer data.
This was last updated in April 2022
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