Neuromarketing:
Just another hype
or legitimate science?
By
Prof. Dr. Christel Claeys
Hogeschool-Universiteit Brussel
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 1

Would you like to understand
your consumer?
Yes!, but
 Consumer prone to rationalization, social desirability biases
and unaware of subconscious processes or emotional drivers
 Limitations in existing market research techniques
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 2

Marketing meets neurology
• Since „80s: psychophysiological measures attempt to obtain a
more direct view into the “black box” and seek to register
unintentional responses;
e.g.
 Electrodermal response
 Voice pitch analysis
 Pupil dilations response measurement
 Eye tracking
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 3

Marketing meets neurology
• Researchers perceive overlap between the interest points of
neuroscience and marketing
– Neuroscience:
decision making, reasoning, object representation, emotion
and memory
– Marketing:
decision making & choice, brand positioning, brand loyalty,
affect, recall and recognition
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 4

Marketing meets neurology
• Technological innovations (in particular fMRI) in neuroimaging
allow to investigate the living human brain while reacting to
stimuli, processing information and making decisions
 brain activity corresponding to manipulated variables
becomes observable
 Where: localization of brain areas
 When
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 5

Neuromarketing: the art of looking into
the consumer‟s brain
• Neuromarketing:
the application of neuroscientific methods to analyze and
understand human behavior in relation to markets and marketing
exchanges (Lee et al. 2007)
• Tools of neuromarketers:
 Electroencephalography (EEG)
 Magnetencephalography (MEG)
 Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
 Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 6

Neuromarketing: the art of looking into
the consumer‟s brain
• Question:
Do market researchers/marketeers benefit from adding high-tech
neural technologies to their toolbox?
• Promise:
a more complete and objective understanding of consumer
behavior
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 7

Review of research evidence
• Neuromarketing/neuroeconomics has localized important brain
structures associated with:
1. The integration of emotion in decision
making
Emotional and rational thinking co-exist, are co-
dependent and interact to reach a behavioral
preference
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 8

We think less than we think

We think less than we think: some
research evidence
– Loyal customers integrate emotions into the decision making process in
a more intense way (Plassmann et al, 2007) and the favorite brand acts
as a rewarding stimulus
– Favorite brands emotionalize the decision process; consumers judge
less analytically but make shortcuts relying on background information,
emotional ties and self-reflection (Deppe et al, 2005)
Use of emotional reinforcers an constitute the
basis for long-term customer retention
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 10

We think less than we think
• Insights from consumer neuroscience activate renewed interest
in methods to measure consumers‟ emotions and subconscious
thoughts
• Alternatives to high-tech neurological instruments?
• ZMET (Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique)
• Facial Coding
• Implicit Association Tests
• Projective techniques
• ….
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 11

Review of research evidence (ctn):
brain structures associated with
2. The processing of products
• The brain responds to different designs of a product or
packaging in terms of degree of activation in the
attractiveness area (Erk et al, 2002)
• Also induces activation in reward-related brain areas
Helpful to establish optimal product design customized
hel to different target segments
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 12

Review of research evidence (ctn):
brain structures associated with
3. The processing of brand information
• Activation of reward system through sensory input , resulting in
taste preference, is overwhelmed by what the brain knows (in
terms of memory, emotional ties) about the brand (McClure et
al, 2004a)
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 13

Review of research evidence (ctn):
brain structures associated with
3. The processing of brand information
• Pepsi – Cola challenge revised with fMRI
– Pepsi preferred based on taste experience only, in unmarked
test condition – major activity in reward center associated
with senses
– Coke preferred when brand information is revealed – more
activity in areas associated with emotion and affect and
higher cognitive processing
– What the brain “knows” about Coke is more important than
wat is “feeling” about Pepsi
It pays off to invest in brand and image development on
top op product development
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 14

Review of research evidence (ctn):
brain structures associated with
4. Price effects
• Identification of brain areas associated with experiences of
gains (reward) and losses (punishment) allow to study price
limits
• Experienced value of products is not only dependent on
intrinsic aspects but is impacted by a.o. price
5. Effectiveness of advertisements
• Attractive ads act as rewarding stimuli (Kenning et al, 2007)
• Essential component are positive facial expressions
• Advertisements are better remembered if connected with
emotional images (Ambler et al, 2000)
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 15

Applying neuromarketing: some
practical concerns
• Using neuroimaging technology is cost and time intensive
• This technology allows for rather simple designs only and is at
present restrained to laboratory settings – validity?
• Both the technology and the data analysis are complex. This
necessitates a deep understanding of the underlying
neurophysiological processes and the biology of the brain
• Brain research identifies activation patterns in consumers‟ brains
pointing to pleasure, arousal, emotion …NOT the way to achieve
this activation
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 16

Is that a neuromarketer inside your
head?
• Concern: technology allows to “read” the consumers mind and
manipulate their thoughts and behaviors
• Will marketeers soon be able to create legions of consumer
zombies?
– No easy access to “buy buttons in the brain”
– No one-to-one mapping between a brain region and mental state
and behavior
• Ethical considerations are in place to the extent that consumers
can be influenced at a subconscious level – requires codes of
conduct
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 17

Neuromarketing: here to stay?
• Neuromarketing can confirm or contradict, reconfigure and improve
conventional theories in marketing and consumer behavior
• However, research to date needs to be further validated and
expanded
• Not a challenge to traditional market research but a fascinating and
promising complement to current qualitative research techniques
• Important contribution: emotions, unconscious and automatic
processes play a central role in generating behavior
• Study in marketing will be further facilitated by continuously
evolving technology
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 18

Neuromarketing: relevant for you?
• Synergy between neuroscience and marketing leads to:
– A better understanding of consumer behaviour,
– And in particular of the role of emotions in decision making,
which enables marketeers to
• develop more effective methods to trigger those
• measure the intensity of individual‟s likes and dislikes
• build greater trust and brand loyalty
• to improve marketing actions that are based on a better
satisfaction of (unconscious) emotional needs
• be more persuasive
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 19

Thank you
Christel.Claeys@hubrussel.be
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 20

Interesting read
• Ariely, D. (2008), Predictably irrational: the hidden forces that shape our decisions,
Harper Collins
• Ledoux J. (1998), The emotional brain: the mysterious underpinnings of emotional
life, Simon & Schuster
• Fugate, D. (2007), Neuromarketing: a layman‟s look at neuroscience and its potential
application to marketing practice, Journal of Consumer Marketing
• Kast, B. (2008), Hoe de buik het hoofd helpt te denken, Wereldbibliotheek,
Amsterdam
• Renvoisé P. & C. Morin (2007), Neuromarketing: understanding the buy buttons in
your customer‟s brain, Thomas Nelson
• Shaw, C. (2007), The DNA of customer experience: how emotions drive value,
Palgrave Macmillian
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 21

Bibliography
• Ambler T., A. Ioannides & S. Rose (2000), Brands on the brain: neuro-images of advertising,
Business Strategy Review
• Erk S., M. Spitzer, A. Wunderlich, L. Galley & H. Walter (2002), Cultural objects modulate reward
circuitry, NeuroReport
• Deppe, M., W. Schwindt, H. Kugel, H. Plassmann & P. Kenning (2005), Nonlinear responses within
the medial prefrontal cortex reveals when specific implicit information influences economic decision-
making, Journal of neuroimaging
• Fugate, D. (2007), Neuromarketing: a layman‟s look at neuroscience and its potential application to
marketing practice, Journal of Consumer Marketing
• Hubert, M. & P. Kenning (2008), A current overview of consumer neuroscience, Journal of Consumer
Behaviour
• Kenning, P., H. Plassmann & D. Ahlert (2007), Applications of functional magnetic resonance
imaging for market research, Qualitative market research: An international journal
• Lee, N., Broderick A., & L. Chamberlain (2006), What is neuromarketing? A discussion and agenda
for future research, International Journal of Psychophysiology
• McClure, S., J. Li, D. Tomlin, K. Cypert, L. Montague & R. Montague (2004), Neural correlates of
behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks, Neuron
• Plassmann, H., T. Ambler, B. Sven & P. Kenning (2007a), What can advertisers learn from
neuroscience?, International Journal of Advertising
• Plassmann, H, P. Kenning, & D. Ahlert (2007b), Why companies should make their customers happy:
the neural correlates of customer loyalty, Advances in Consumer Research
18/06/2009 Christel Claeys - HUB 22