Page 131 - Marketing Management

108 PART 2 CAPTURING MARKETING INSIGHTS

regions of the brain as subjects were exposed to advertising. Brain wave
activity in different regions indicated different emotional responses. For
example, heightened activity in the left prefrontal cortex is characteristic
of an “approach” response to an ad and indicates an attraction to the
g
Marketing InsightInsight stimulus. In contrast, a spike in brain activity in the right prefrontal cor-
Marketin
tex is indicative of a strong revulsion to the stimulus. In yet another part
of the brain, the degree of memory formation activity correlates with
purchase intent. Other research has shown that people activate differ-
ent regions of the brain in assessing the personality traits of people than
Understanding Brain Science they do when assessing brands.
By adding neurological techniques to their research arsenal, mar-
As an alternative to traditional consumer research, some researchers
keters are trying to move toward a more complete picture of what goes
have begun to develop sophisticated techniques from neuroscience that
on inside consumers’ heads.Although it may be able to offer different in-
monitor brain activity to better gauge consumer responses to marketing.
sights from conventional techniques, neurological research at this point
The term neuromarketing describes brain research on the effect of mar-
is very costly, running as much as $100,000 or even more per project.
keting stimuli. Firms with names such as NeuroFocus and EmSense are
Given the complexity of the human brain, however, many researchers
using EEG (electroencephalograph) technology to correlate brand activ-
caution that neurological research should not form the sole basis for
ity with physiological cues such as skin temperature or eye movement
marketing decisions. These research activities have not been universally
and thus gauge how people react to ads.
accepted. The measurement devices to capture brain activity can
Researchers studying the brain have found different results from
be highly obtrusive, such as with skull caps studded with electrodes,
conventional research methods. One group of researchers at UCLA
creating artificial exposure conditions. Others question whether they offer
used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure how
unambiguous implications for marketing strategy. Brian Knutson, a pro-
consumers’ brains responded to 2006’s Super Bowl advertisements.
fessor of neuroscience and psychology at Stanford University, compares
They found that the ads for which subjects displayed the highest brain
the use of EEG to “standing outside a baseball stadium and listening to
activity were different from the ads with the highest stated preferences.
the crowd to figure out what happened.” Other critics worry that if the
Other research found little effect from product placement unless the
methods do become successful, they will only lead to more marketing
products in question played an integral role in the storyline.
manipulation by companies. Despite all this controversy, marketers’ end-
One major research finding to emerge from neurological con-
less pursuit of deeper insights about consumers’ response to marketing
sumer research is that many purchase decisions appear to be charac-
virtually guarantees continued interest in neuromarketing.
terized less by the logical weighing of variables and more “as a largely
unconscious habitual process, as distinct from the rational, conscious,
Sources: Carolyn Yoon, Angela H. Gutchess, Fred Feinberg, and Thad A. Polk,
information-processing model of economists and traditional marketing “A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Neural Dissociations between
textbooks.” Even basic decisions, such as the purchase of gasoline, Brand and Person Judgments,” Journal of Consumer Research 33 (June 2006),
pp. 31–40; Daryl Travis, “Tap Buyers’ Emotions for Marketing Success,” Marketing
seem to be influenced by brain activity at the subrational level.
News, February 1, 2006, pp. 21–22; Deborah L. Vence, “Pick Someone’s Brain,”
Neurological research has been used to measure the type of emo- Marketing News, May 1, 2006, pp. 11–13; Martin Lindstrom, Buyology: Truth and
tional response consumers exhibit when presented with marketing stim- Lies About Why We Buy (New York: Doubleday, 2008); Tom Abate, “Coming to a
Marketer Near You: Brain Scanning,” San Francisco Chronicle, May 19, 2008; Brian
uli. A group of researchers in England used an EEG to monitor cognitive
Sternberg, “How Couch Potatoes Watch TV Could Hold Clues for Advertisers,”
functions related to memory recall and attentiveness for 12 different Boston Globe, September 6, 2009, pp. G1, G3.
Mail Contacts The mail questionnaire is one way to reach people who would not give personal
interviews or whose responses might be biased or distorted by the interviewers. Mail questionnaires
require simple and clearly worded questions. Unfortunately, the response rate is usually low or slow.
Telephone Contacts Telephone interviewing is a good method for gathering information
quickly; the interviewer is also able to clarify questions if respondents do not understand them.
Interviews must be brief and not too personal. Although the response rate has typically been higher
than for mailed questionnaires, telephone interviewing in the United States is getting more difficult
because of consumers’ growing antipathy toward telemarketers.
In late 2003, Congress passed legislation allowing the Federal Trade Commission to restrict tele-
marketing calls through its “Do Not Call” registry. By mid-2010, consumers had registered over
200 million phone numbers. Marketing research firms are exempt from the ruling, but given the
increasingly widespread resistance to telemarketing, it undoubtedly reduces the effectiveness of
telephone surveys as a marketing research method in the United States.