|
|
Neuromarketing Do we see what we think? part 2
Neuromarketing is an interdisciplinary collaboration of radiology, neurology, neuropyschology and
market research. The goal of neuromarketing is to gain a better understanding of the emotional and
cognitive conditions and processes in the human brain and thereby obtain insight into the real needs
and wishes of consumers. Ethical aspects must of course be considered. With functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMR, fMRI), developed in the 90s, the necessary foundation for this new
development was laid. It is therefore currently the most respected method in marketing-specific brain
research. “Neuromarketing is surely a hype, since companies expend lots of money to market a
product without knowing if the advertisement is effective. People want objective information about the effect of advertising,” emphasised Dr. Meindl.
Functional MRI is an imaging method to visualise the brain and its functions. It is promising due to
high spatial resolution as well as the possibility of detecting active brain structures. The methodology
originates from the field of medicine and is used primarily to visualise pathological, abnormal brain
processes. The potential of this method was recognized relatively early in psychology and
complements the classical neuropsychological procedure of subject testing with surveys to understand the functioning of the human brain. The function of many different small and tiny anatomical brain structures and their interaction during complex thought processes have been identified. In contrast to conventional (structural) MRI, oxygen consumption in brain regions can be displayed and therefore inferences about the activity can be drawn. With the aid of high-resolution images, even thought processes – perceptions and feelings – can be visually depicted.
In this specific application, conscious and subconscious buying motivation as well as the effectiveness of advertisements can be visually determined, which allows conclusions to be made about crucial
stimulation of the human brain.
The goal of neuromarketing is therefore a better understanding of the emotional processes in the human brain, to research the so far invisible conditions and processes that control the decision behaviour of a potential consumer for or against a product and to relate these with visible patterns.
Product images that a consumer strongly identifies with create a different activity pattern than brands that are not anchored in the consumer’s consciousness. It has been proven that strong product brands activate areas that play a central role in the positive emotional assessment of actions. The stronger a customer is emotionally activated, the higher his receptiveness is and therefore the better his information processing is. The decisive factor is that emotion-based actions are ‘gut feelings’ and can
often not be explained logically afterwards.
With the ongoing development of this technology, the product's path from communication to buying
experience and becoming the consumer's property can be illustrated. By doing so, you cannot change the needs of the individual consumer, but you can understand how these are represented in the brain and how buying decisions occur.
Source:ECR 08 Viennna
|
