By Ms. Jasleen Rana
Assistant Professor, JIMS Kalkaji
Neuro-marketing is taking the world by a big wave of a storm and has been of use to many brands, retailers etc. Even after such a widespread influence and impact on the marketing world, many people do not know exactly what neuro-marketing is, or how it can be used effectively.
The following are the 10 fascinating examples of neuro-marketing:-
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The Importance of Eye Gaze
It’s old news that ads that feature people are far more effective than those that don’t. In particular, images and videos that include babies tend to capture a potential customer’s attention longer and more intensely. Advertisers have long tried to drive sales of baby products with close-up shots of a cute baby’s face, but with the help of eye-tracking technology, they’ve realized that this alone isn’t enough.
Researchers found that viewers focused more on the baby’s face than the content of the ad when viewed from the front. But when toddlers are directing their gaze to the product or text, the audience is actually focusing on the content.
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Using Effective Packaging
We all know the feeling of being attracted to packaging that is particularly eye-catching or attractive. Advertisers have always known that what’s inside doesn’t always matter, but Neuro-imaging has managed to take this to a whole new level. Brands like Campbell’s and Frito-Lay use Neurohis Imaging and reinvented the package. In the study, customers were shown the packaging and their responses were recorded as positive, negative, or neutral. They were also asked extensively about colors, text, and images.
According to this study, customers responded negatively to glossy packaging, but not to matte packaging. Frito-Lay has since ditched the glossy packaging in favor of a new matte look.
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Colour is Key
When choosing colors, keep in mind that they can affect your prospect’s impression. Colors can evoke different emotions, and studies consistently show associations between certain colors and certain emotions.
Effective use of color can be a powerful marketing tool. One of the most notorious examples is the ubiquitous use of red by The Coca-Cola Company, but many other companies have used color to great effect. A neuromarketer who specializes in color and advertising divides colors into subgroups and shows how to use them effectively. Cool blue, for example, is a great color if you want to dress professionally.
It’s important to understand how color can affect your buying behaviour.
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Ad Efficiency
For many years, brain imaging was the exclusive domain of academics and scientists. However, neuromarketing harnesses the amazing potential of fMRI imaging to give us insight into human behavior and consumption habits.
An example of how neuromarketing has used fMRI is to compare advertising campaigns before they are released to the public. In one particular study, participants were shown three different advertisements of her for the National Cancer Institute’s telephone hotline. Advertising campaigns that elicited the best brain activity in specific regions saw a significant increase in hotline calls. This novel approach is a new way of identifying advertising campaigns that resonate with the masses.
With Neurensics, Philips tested out both visuals to determine which one caused a positive emotional response.
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Decision Paralysis
Studies of consumer behavior sometimes contradict what we used to believe. A Columbia University study found that too many choices can actually alienate potential customers. Using different types of setups, we’ve found that displays with a wide range of options are less likely to stop customers.
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Evaluating Satisfaction
Emotional response analysis (ERA) uses EEG images to identify an individual’s emotional response to products, advertisements, and more.
Our commitment or emotional excitement to our products is invaluable to our advertisers. For example, if consumers react to your product with high levels of frustration, it’s clear that you have a usability issue that you want to address. EEG can be used to assess consumer satisfaction. One study used EEG to assess satisfaction with dermatological treatment. They found that customer satisfaction correlated with activation of neural circuits that evaluate facial beauty.
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Loss Aversion
An interesting insight that Neuro marketing exploits is that people really don’t want to lose anything. People worry as much about what they lose as they do what they gain. This is why the “buy before it runs out” strategy is very effective.
Consumers are more likely to buy when alternative options are presented as a loss. This is why a concept called “framing” is so important in neuro-marketing. This technique allows advertisers to present choices to consumers, increasing the likelihood that consumers will splash out big bucks.
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Anchoring
The first information you receive is very important. It can be the basis for later decisions and set the tone for purchasing behavior. As individuals, we can hardly judge the value of something by its intrinsic value, but by comparing it to the options around it. Take advantage of this “anchor effect”. For example, if you see two similarly priced hotel rooms and one of them offers free coffee in the morning, you’re more likely to choose free coffee. Most of the time we don’t explore the quality and detailed features of the rooms on offer.
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The Need for Speed
Neuro marketing helps you discern your customers’ tendencies. Businesses often try to express a sense of security and peace of mind, but customers may be looking for speed and efficiency. PayPal found this out through research that found that the promise of convenience was more brain-boosting than security. They used this information to attract more buyers to their online payment services by highlighting fast payment systems.
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Revealing Hidden Responses
When testing new ads, Cheetos used focus groups and EEG to measure consumer response.
In this particular ad, a woman plays a prank on her friend by stuffing a white laundry with orange Cheetos. The focus group reported disliking the ads, but when we conducted her EEG survey on the same participants, we found that they really liked them. Participants in the focus group were afraid to voice the fact that they thought the ad was humorous in case other members found it unfriendly. In this way, neuro-marketing can reveal hidden thoughts and preferences.
B-schools like JIMS Kalkaji in India and other parts of the world are including this as a special subject in courses like PGDM, BBA etc. it has also become a part of curriculum of various marketing specialisations provided by such colleges and professional institutions.
