Market research Although neuromarketing is controversial and more expensive than conventional market research, the importance of researching and exploiting unconscious emotions is increasing in the USA. This is because there is great potential for savings.
If you ask women in conventional surveys what they think of action star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, most of them rate the former wrestler as not particularly attractive: He comes across as too aggressive to them, too insensitive. But Steven Quartz, a neurologist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), has found out what they are looking for: because recordings of their brains imply exactly the opposite. A person's PR departmentLike a growing number of scientists, Quartz wants to demonstrate in this way that unconscious emotions play a greater role in recognizing personal preferences than previously assumed. In the case of "The Rock", his wrestling past probably masked the more subtle reactions that a movie star often elicits: sexual attraction, for example, or secret admiration from afar. Even trust, a quantity previously considered almost unmeasurable, can be detected with the help of brain scans.
For Hollywood, this research, which Quartz resells with the help of agency Lieberman Worldwide, could prove invaluable: The more images they pack into a trailer that elicit positive reactions, the more moviegoers they attract to theaters. "You shouldn't poll consumers, you should poll their brains," says Colin Camerer, who works with Quartz at Caltech. "Language is like a person's PR department. You can't rely on what's really going on behind the facade."
Cracking trust mechanismsNeuroscientific studies that can be used for practical market research purposes are becoming increasingly popular in the USA and the UK. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (FMRI) is the name of the most frequently used technology for taking images in magnetic resonance tomography. Electroencephalographic technologies are also currently being tested. These devices can be used to show blood flow in the brain. It is also possible to identify which regions of the brain are particularly stimulated by certain visual, tactile or olfactory stimuli. The corresponding emotional centers of the brain - for example, when the test participants see a familiar face, expect a reward or have the feeling of being cheated - light up accordingly on the images.
Camerer, for example, used the "investment game" to research how trust influences financial decisions. Two participants were tested on their willingness to invest a sum of ten dollars - with astonishing results. For example, the brain scans revealed that men who took an investment risk were more likely to feel rewarded, while women were more worried. Other studies found that societies whose members generally trust other people are relatively prosperous. "Understanding trust mechanisms in the brain may allow us to understand economic decisions from a societal point of view in the future," Camerer believes.
Using emotional strategiesAs a result of the trend towards discovering unconscious emotions, a number of agencies and consulting firms have already emerged that work with corporations to take advantage of so-called neuromarketing. The oldest such company is Brighthouse Neurostrategies in Atlanta, which has been working on questions such as "How can I build a loyal customer base that has lasting preferences?" since 1995.
Brighthouse does not place its test participants directly in front of photos with brands to see what they trigger, emphasizes Justine Meaux, who is responsible for the "Emotional Strategies" area. Consumer research is more about questions such as "ethical standards, i.e. trust or how to establish a relationship", rather than the usual rational criteria such as age, education or income.
When conducting research on behalf of an airline, the credo is that it is not just about where and how quickly you are transported to your destination, but also whether you as a customer can identify with the company's image. Once you have screened your potential customers for heart and morals, you can go one step further and see "what that means for a company when it wants to launch a new product", says Meaux. Brighthouse now has more than 30 customers, including well-known companies such as Delta Airlines, Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Jack Daniel's.
The agency gets its data from neurologist Clinton Kilts from Emory University in Atlanta. In his research, he found that the Ben & Jerry's ice cream brand is not bought primarily because of its taste, as one might expect, but because the two company founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are committed to environmentally friendly projects and appeal to the positive memories of the hippie clientele of the sixties with ice cream varieties such as Cherry Garcia.
Advertising agencies as customersA similar experiment was conducted by Read Montague, a neurologist at Baylor College in Houston, with the Pepsi test: When subjects were given Coca-Cola or Pepsi in neutral glasses, they had no particular preference. However, if they knew that they were drinking Coca-Cola, the brain centers associated with reward and identity lit up in their FMRIs. Pepsi cans did not produce this effect: a successful coup by the Coca-Cola marketing department.
A similar strategy to Brighthouse is being pursued by the British company Neurosense in Oxford, where a group of neurologists has been working with focus groups of between 15 and 30 test subjects since 1997. While the initial orders mainly came directly from industry, Neurosense is now increasingly bombarded with inquiries from media planners and advertising agencies, says co-founder Gemma Calvert.
Opportunity to save moneyCalvert emphasizes that neuromarketing is a "complementary tool" for market research that is by no means intended to replace existing methods. However, many companies invest a lot of money in product development and yet only one in 50 is successful. Although neuromarketing is considerably more expensive than conventional methods, many companies end up saving money because of the quality of the research, Calvert believes.
The consultants are still keeping quiet about what exactly is being researched on behalf of which companies. Not only do the clients oblige them to remain silent, they also want to anticipate the increasingly loud ethical debate.
The consumer group Commercial Alert, which was founded by former US presidential candidate Ralph Nader, has protested most consistently. The organization accuses the advertising industry of trying to manipulate consumers by finding the "buy button" in people's heads. Richard Peterson, for example (see interview on page 9), a psychiatrist and marketing consultant, argues that the companies concerned should divert funds to an information campaign on the methods and effects of neuromarketing.
The New York media critic and corporate consultant Douglas Rushkoff is even harsher in his judgment of neuromarketing. "Of course the industry wants to use this technology to make money," he exclaims. The debate about ethical standards, however, is merely a diversionary tactic to cover up the fact "that it simply doesn't work. The marketing gurus want to persuade companies that they know what criteria consumers use to make a decision. But the fact is that a decision to buy something depends on many things that can change all the time."
In Europe, too, research into the relationship between economics and human behavior has been going on for years, but so far less with the aim of working directly with companies, says Peter Kennig, neuroeconomist at the University of Münster. "In Europe, economists tend to approach neuroscientists, whereas in the USA it's the other way around."
Focus on the prefrontal cortexRichard Peterson on predictions, greed and the male reward system.
WW How can companies improve their advertising and product design with the help of neuromarketing?
Richard Peterson By emphasizing those aspects that attract the most attention. Companies can choose the design that is most attractive to their subjects. They can drive brand loyalty by designing advertising in a way that builds trust and an emotional connection. At the same time, attributes that evoke fear or uncertainty can be eliminated.
How do you use this research to work with financial service providers?
My aim is twofold: Firstly, I want to inform people about their neurological prejudices when they are confronted with financial matters ...
What do you mean by neurological biases? The same as psychological biases, i.e. decisions that we make systematically, repeatedly and unconsciously, for example when we spend money. Neurological means that these prejudices originate in the brain. Greed, for example, is a neurological bias, it originates in the nucleus accumbens, the inner core area of the end brain, and greed often leads to impulsivity and excitement, which in turn can result in faulty decisions. In addition, I design prediction schemes for stock markets, how irrational and emotional behavior influences prices.
What exactly do your clients expect from neuromarketing? Investment funds, for example, can tailor their advertising so that it appeals directly to our greed. One company, for example, shows a photo of a woman in a bikini, thus activating the reward system in men's brains. Another advertises with its performance. So investors believe this has something to do with its performance in the future. Many people lose a lot of money because they let their greed lead them to do so.
So you teach your clients how to activate consumer greed? no, I specialize in training traders and portfolio managers and how they can make more profit, for example by avoiding certain stimuli - namely turning off the TV and ignoring most Wall Street analysts. Or how to recognize the signals that tempt you to make bad investments. For example, if a certain stock gets a lot of attention, this increases expectations and at the same time the risk of possible disappointment later on. In exciting times, such as the internet hysteria, even professionals become emotional and buy shares that they would normally classify as overvalued.
Are there already tangible results of neuromarketing, i.e. how a company can improve its marketing or its product range as a result? Advertisers should activate consumers' reward centers, i.e. the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens, if they want to inspire confidence and sell more products. At the same time, they must avoid stimulating the insula, which is the pain center of the brain.
Interview: Gerti Schön
> Richard Peterson is Managing Partner at Market Psychology Consulting in San Francisco.
The brain in demand: Neuroscientific studies also provide marketers and advertisers with valuable information.
Head full of feelings: Where does trust arise, where pain?
Gerti Schön
