Marketing and Neuroscience

Anecdote

Many people are familiar with the Pepsi Challenge: In a blind-taste test, consumers are asked to choose between Pepsi and Coca-Cola—and to no one’s surprise, Pepsi wins. However, a decade ago, neuroscientist Read Montague created a Pepsi Challenge of his own, connecting his test subjects to an MRI machine to track brain activity and he observed that intense activity had in the prefrontal cortex, part of the brain that controls higher thinking; as well as in the hippocampus, which relates to memory.

Montague concluded that the thoughts and emotions connected to the branding were ruling reactions to the actual quality of the product. In 2004, he published his findings—and as a result, Neuromarketing emerged from the shadows and into the public eye.

What is Neuromarketing?

Neuromarketing is the formal study of the brain's responses to advertising and branding. Companies use technologies such as fMRI and EEG to measure specific types of brain activity in response to advertising messages and learn why consumers make the decisions they do, and what parts of the brain are motivating them to do so.

Who employs Neuromarketing?

Neuromarketing isn’t cheap. In fact, an fMRI machine can cost as much as $5 million (and twice that to set up). Additionally, a single ad sample group of 20 people can cost in excess of $10,000. For that reason, it is primarily used by large companies and organizations.

For instance, Microsoft uses EEG data to better understand its users' interactions with its personal computer and laptop, including feelings of "surprise, satisfaction, and frustration."

Frito-Lay studied the female brain in order to learn how to better position its advertising. The company discovered that it needed to avoid talking about “guilt”—even “guilt-free”—and instead focus on making "healthy" associations in its advertising.

What career titles work with Neuromarketing strategies?

• Client Managers

Client Managers are responsible for the development and presentation of neurological studies authorized by clients.

• Neuromarketing Consultants

Neuromarketing Consultants take the information acquired by Neuromarketing methods and train other companies on how to implement those findings.

Opinions

Still Nascent After All These Years

Neuromarketing is still a nascent industry despite the progress that has taken place. Its activity has definitely increased in various ways. Here’s a graph showing the 10-year trend in Google searches for “Neuromarketing.”

Neuromarketing Worldwide

The global interest about Neuromarketing appears stronger. This chart shows a concentration of interest outside the U.S., with a particular strength in Spanish-speaking countries.

Academic Preparation for Neuromarketing Jobs

There are a few academic programs specifically focused on Neuromarketing or consumer neuroscience. Schools are more focused on related fields, like consumer behavior, neuroeconomics, and decision science.

A recent Temple University study concluded, “Our findings clearly demonstrate the potential of neurophysiological measures to complement traditional measures in improving the predictive power of advertising success models.”