Neuromarketing is the commercialized version of all that brain-behavior science you've been hearing about recently.
The basic method is to put someone's head into an fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine, then give them various sensory stimuli. This could be food to taste, a print image to look at, an advertising clip.
The subject's brain reacts to the stimulus, and various special parts of the brain light up. Trained analysts can tell from these patterns of brain activity whether the subject likes the stimulus, is disgusted by it, etc.
I heard more about this from Dr. Karl Moore, a spokesperson for Neurosense, the company trying to commercialize this technology. (Speaking to a QRCA event in Toronto).
The most interesting thing that I heard was that this technology appears to be able to detect lies, which may ultimately be its most marketable benefit. [When they get portable ones, maybe all they'll do at airport security is ask you if you are a risk to others, and they won't paw through your briefcase looking for nail trimmers.]
You may have heard of a study of Coke versus Pepsi done using this technology. When subjects were told they were drinking Coke their liking of the beverage increased.
This should hardly be a surprise, since Coca-Cola has one of the most valuable brands in the world. Even people who don't use the product have strong brand associations.
As we stay tuned for developments in this area, keep a couple of things in mind:
- Liking and wanting are really different things. So if your brain says you like something, that doesn't necessarily mean you want it. And you can want things that you don't necessarily like (like addictive drugs). And neither of these things necessarily translates to purchasing behavior. (I like Porsches, I kind of want one, but I'm not buying one anytime soon.)
- Bigger brands are always more salient to consumers. This is just a hard fact of life for small brands. I think this may present a major problem when comparing brands using this method.
- If you think focus groups are artificial, try a laboratory with a big machine in it. And it is very expensive relative to other types of qualitative research.
On the other hand -- If you are about to spend a ton of money on a new product launch, you could certainly add this to your research arsenal, and potentially take more of the risk out of your decision. Make sure you get out there and observe some customers in their natural environment first -- you might be surprised how much you can learn with a low-tech approach.
Technorati Tags: neuroscience, research, marketing, neuromarketing
