The idea of using the latest techniques in the field of neuroscience to study consumer behavior has become a hot topic. The presentation delves into the debate over borrowing knowledge and techniques from neurosciences to bypass consumers’ rationalizations and get to the truth about their behavior. My point of view is that the answer is not in consumers’ brains but in ours: Strategists and Creatives, who are the endless students of human behavior.
This presentation was given at the 2007 AHAA Conference in NYC.
Is looking at consumers' brain the ultimate solution?
1. the quest for the truth
with neurosciences
is looking at consumers’ brain
the ultimate solution?
Esteban Ribero
Strategy Director
2. how can we really understand consumer behavior…?
…we need to influence it
we usually have inaccurate or
partial understanding of it
3. client bias
…they only see what
they want to see
“the consumer said...”
4. consumer bias
they tell you what you want to hear…
“consumers tell you one thing
but they do other”
5. consumer bias
consumer’s inability to know
the true causes of their
behavior
…they don’t need to know them
in order to behave!
6. we’ve tried…
…borrowed techniques and theories
from behavioral sciences
7. …from psychology and anthropology
traditional consumer research…
projective techniques
ethnographies
word association
collages
psycho drawing
metaphor elicitation
personification
personal diaries
photo sort
perceptual mapping
sentence completion
apperception test
storytelling
laddering visualization
8. …from psychology and anthropology
the pros
• no need to fully articulate an answer
• consumers give cues, the planner interprets
them
• “bypassing” the rational filters
• a way to get to the “unconscious”
• usually affordable
9. …from psychology and anthropology
however…
• too open to personal interpretation
• little power to generalize
• still depends on consumer’s input
• too biased by the consumer
…and the researcher
14. …from physiology
pupil dilatation
…assessing the level of interest
pupil dilates in response to:
light
but also,
• emotional state
• interest and novelty
• cognitive workload
15. …from physiology
pupil dilatation
…windows to the soul
Eckhard H. Hess 1960
23. …from physiology
gaze tracking
…individual differences
men women
24. …from physiology
gaze tracking
…individual differences
are they comparing
themselves?
do they feel
threatened?
men
25. …from physiology
face recognition
…emotional states are reflected in the face
Paul Ekman
26. …from physiology
face recognition
…the six basic emotions
anger fear disgust
surprise joy sadness
27. …from physiology
face recognition
…a methodology to assess the emotions
28. …from physiology
face recognition
…emotion recognition software
university of amsterdam
29.
30. …from physiology
the pros
• no need to “ask” the consumer
• get “true” reactions to different stimuli
• assess different degrees of arousal in an
“objective” way
• “avoid” the subjectivity of the researcher
31. …from physiology
however…
• too vague
• hard to interpret
• can’t really know what it means (too many
variables working at the same time)
not specific enough to get to “the truth”
33. the mind and the brain…
…putting cognitive psychology
under context
“if we can see the brain,
we can see the mind”
34. the mind and the brain…
…the mind is a set of modules
that process different types of information
those modules have identifiable
neurological structures…
35. the field of neuromarketing…
…a discipline that incorporates the knowledge
about the brain processes in order to improve
the effectiveness of the marketing activities
36. …from neurosciences
electroencephalography (EEG)
…measures electrical activity on the outside
of the brain using electrodes
37. …from neurosciences
electroencephalography (EEG)
• records timing of activity very precisely
(~1 millisecond) but spatial resolution is poor
(ERP)
38. …from neurosciences
electroencephalography (EEG)
• it’s “cheap” and portable
• can be combined with eye tracking
Dr. A.K. Pradeep, President and Chief Executive Officer
44. …from neurosciences
“we can tell generally what parts
of the brain are active when
you're doing different things, but
no, I can't tell you what you're
thinking"
Dr. Reich
45. some examples…
the Pepsi/Coke challenge
vs.
Dr. Read Montague
Neuron, October 14, 2004
46. some examples…
the Pepsi/Coke challenge
preference fMRI
= =
47. some examples…
the Pepsi/Coke challenge
preference fMRI
> >
48. some examples…
the Pepsi/Coke challenge
confirmed what
we already knew…
…brand associations
strongly bias
our preferences!
49. some examples…
strong vs. weaker brands
>
positive emotions working memory
self-identification > greater information
and rewards processing
<
Dr. Chistine Born’s study
50. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
Dr. Marco Iacoboni
UCLA Brain
Mapping Center
51. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
“the winners” “the big flops”
I’m going to Disney caveman
Disney FedEx
airport security wopperettes
Sierra Mist Burger King
approved
GoDaddy.com
52. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
“the winners” “the big flops”
live the flavor Robert Goulet
Doritos Emerald Nuts
grand theft auto crave
CocaCola Honda CR-V
hitchhiker connectile dysfunction
Bud Light Sprint
53. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
successful ads stimulated many more areas
than less powerful ones…
…engaging stories that stimulated
the brain throughout the entire spot
54. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
I’m going to Disney
Disney
mirror neurons
- indicating
identification
and empathy
55. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
I’m going to Disney
Disney
ventral striatum
- indicating reward
processing
56. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
caveman Snickers
FedEx
amygdala
-emotional processing.
responding to threat and
fearful stimuli.
>clear feelings of anxiety
57. some examples…
who won the super bowl?
caveman
FedEx
amygdala activity
“the scene looks funny and
has been described as
funny by lots of people, but
your amygdala still
perceives it as threatening”
Dr. Iacoboni
58. some examples…
phd’s neuroplanning
strategic planning process
neuroplanning allows the user to identify
the most appropriate model of behavior
within the communication channels
59. some examples…
phd’s neuroplanning
…a channel evaluation tool
influence vs. reach
different areas of the brain are
“stimulated” by different media…
64. the promises of neurosciences…
…for planners
• better understanding of consumers and their
relationships with brands
• better understanding of their decision making
processes
• better understanding of their reactions to
commercial stimuli
• bypassing the consumer
67. proximate causes…
….ultimate causes
neuromarketing is concerned mostly in
understanding how? what? where?
…but to get to the truth we
need to understand why?!