How Neuroscience and Marketing Are Connected
Marketing companies in San Diego are more focused than ever on trying to connect with consumers. Technology once relegated to the medical profession is playing a role in achieving this goal. Welcome to the world of neuromarketing, a relatively new field of marketing using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate the brain’s response to marketing stimuli.
Common Tests
While experiments in neuromarketing can be all over the place, one of the most common studies involves eye contact. The goal with such tests is to determine where the human eye naturally looks first when seeing an ad or reading some type of marketing content. Other common tests involve:
- Determining how the brain reacts to familiar brand logos
- Gauging the brain’s reaction when viewing the same ad with subtle differences
- Evaluating the impact of subliminal messaging in ads
Interpreting Data
There is no gold standard for evaluating and interpreting data from experiments. For instance, research conducted by a car company suggested similar brain activity for car drivers and jet pilots. The resulting ad was based on how the company interpreted those results, but it was far from being a valid conclusion.
Mind-Body Connection
More serious experiments in the field of neuromarketing attempt to determine what influences the decision-making process in the human mind. The purpose of such cognitive research is to pinpoint what it is in the mind that convinces a person to physically make a purchase. One study evaluated electrical reactions in the skin to determine how physiologically arousing certain ads were for test subjects.
The field of neuromarketing is not an exact “science” by any means. Factors considered can vary widely from one study to the next, with data often being more subjective than conclusive. When you consider that the human brain unconsciously evaluates trust within a fraction of a second, however, it’s still an aspect of marketing worth exploring.
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