Neuromarketing tries to scan the brain

Do we buy things because we really need them, or is it just reaction to some well created campaign? Maybe you are just following someone else’s signals, and you do not even know that? Is the main goal of gigantic companies and scientists to satisfy our needs or to manipulate us? By Adrijana Milosavljević (Belgrade, SERBIA)

Neuromarketing, as its name says, is a combination of neuroscience and marketing. During the last few years, interest in this field of studies has grown tremendously. The term “neuromarketing” was coined by Ale Smidts and first used in 2002. This relatively new field of marketing studies changes in brain activities, measures activities in specific regional spectra of the brain response and learns why consumers make the decisions they do, and what part of the brain is telling them to do it. To simplify, neuromarketing is “getting into” consumers’ heads.

Researchers use technologies such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Electroencephalography (EEG), Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate and Galvanic Skin Response. This way marketer will know what the consumer reacts to, whether it was the color of the packaging, the sound the box makes when shaken, or just the idea that they will have something more exclusive. Martin Lindstrom in his book “Brand sense” explains the way that companies can make the influence on customers through their senses. Now, we can find out why people are happier when they drink yoghurt than when they eat ice-cream.

Differences between verbal and brain responses

When companies carry out endless surveys and focus groups, asking us (just verbaly) what we buy and why, they might not gather sincere answers. Now, scientists can compare verbal and brain responses and see the difference between them. Studies have indicated that only about 70 percent of the verbally given answers match. People do not give true or complete answers because they do not want to damage their previously created image or they are afraid of betraying expectations of others. For example, in one experiment, a student claimed that he likes Adidas sneakers the most, but magnetic resonance showed that his brain makes stronger reaction to the Puma brand. Later, the student admitted he liked Puma more, but it is beyond his financial possibilities.

Important is not the taste but the experience with a brand

The neuroscientist Read Montague, the director of the Human Neuroimaging Lab, published in 2004 his research results representing a group of 67 people. They had their brains scanned through “Pepsi Challenge” research, a blind taste test of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Half of the subjects chose Pepsi, and Pepsi tended to produce a stronger response than Coca-Cola in the brain’s ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region thought to process feelings of reward. But when the subjects were told they were drinking Coca-Cola, three out of four said that Coca-Cola tasted better. The results demonstrated that Pepsi should have half the market share, but in reality consumers are buying Coca-Cola for reasons related less to their taste preferences and more to their experience with the Coca-Cola brand.

“To affect the mind, you must affect the body”

Recently, the journal Neuron published an article titled “Neural Predictors of Purchases” made by a group of scholars from three leading US universities. The researchers had used brain imaging to monitor on computer screens the mental activities of shoppers as they evaluated products and prices. By watching how different neural circuits light up or go dark during the buying process, the researchers found they could predict whether a person would end up purchasing a product or passing it up.

High-tech consulting firms, with names like NeuroFocus and Neuroconsult, a few neuromarketing institutes and labs already exist. The most famous is BrightHouse, a marketing consultancy based in Atlanta, whose clients are Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines and Home Depot.

There are different opinions about neuromarketing. Some people think it is just a manipulation and call it “customers’  brainwashing”. An Example for that is showing adds on some sport events, when some brand is being presented to the audience in stage of collective agression and the strongest emotions. Many bloggers think neuromarketing is not ethical. But the answer of scientist is that they are just looking for the best way to satisfy customers’ needs. And as it is said: “To affect the mind, you must affect the body“.

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