By David Jenkin
A young science
Every decision is the result of both conscious and subconscious processes in the brain of which marketers have long sought a better understanding. Traditionally, this has been acquired through surveys and focus groups, but when this field of research began to incorporate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and other neuro-technologies to properly map these processes and apply the data, true neuromarketing was born.
This field has been receiving increasing attention as it gains credibility and influence, even in South Africa. In 2014, the
Neuromarketing Association of South Africa (NMASA) was founded, a non-profit organisation which works with corporate and individual neuromarketers, academics, researchers and thought-leaders to provide an information portal and platform for sharing research and encouraging dialogue.
NMASA’s co-founder and innovation director, Werner van Zyl, explains; “Neuroscience can be used to determine responses to anything – advertising campaigns, written messages, experiences and different situations. The applications are endless. The South African marketing landscape, however, unfortunately lags very far behind in using neuromarketing to effectively strategise when constructing campaigns.” He says that although this is slowly changing, it has yet to become a major selling point in South Africa.
Where to start
Neuroscience is a vast field of research where those who opted to focus their careers on design and marketing tend to be out of their depth. Rather, it warrants specialisation which Van Zyl says has not yet become widespread. “We have seen an interest by some large corporates to develop this capability in-house for their own use, but no concrete development further.” At this stage, for agencies wishing to incorporate neuromarketing strategies, hiring a consultant is the best option, he says. “This may be the case for some time until institutes of further education catch up and start offering neuromarketing as a subject or specialisation field.”
However, a huge amount of information is available online, allowing for a degree of self-education. He says; “Marketers can spend time researching the principles of neuromarketing and understanding the tools used in the field, how they are interpreted, and what they could mean for their own marketing strategies. It would also be beneficial to look at successful campaigns conducted overseas that have used neuromarketing.”
A widely cited global authority on neuromarketing is the American author, blogger and Forbes contributor, Roger Dooley. His blog,
neurosciencemarketing.com, contains a great deal of information in the form of articles and practical guides, written by himself and guest experts, serving as a library of resources for marketers to utilise. One example, an especially concise one by guest author Jeremy Smith, is titled
67 Ways to Increase Conversion with Cognitive Biases. Smith lists these biases in alphabetical order with points on how marketers can overcome or utilise them.
For example, there’s the ‘choice-supportive bias’, which Smith summarises as: “The tendency to remember one’s choices as better than they actually were.” He adds, “If your customer makes a choice, praise them. They will forever think that they made the right choice. Pepper your conversion funnel with affirming messages, and email them to congratulate them on their purchase.”
Applying the science: The OOH example
Terry Murphy, marketing and services executive for Primedia Outdoor, cites the results of neurological research conducted by the self-described world leaders in neuroscience-based market research, Neuro Insight (presented by Australian outdoor company OOH! at a
FEPE conference), when she claims that out of home methods can play a crucial role in pushing an ad campaign into long term memory. Capturing ‘iconic trigger moments’ on billboards – scenes from television commercials with the greatest audience impact – helped to drive long term memory encoding which ultimately leads to sales.
She says; “Billboards and other out of home treatments reproduce the iconic trigger image in a different setting – one in which the image will stand out. In addition, viewers might encounter it a number of times throughout their day while they are out and about. The image won’t have to compete with a whole lot of other ads fighting for the viewer’s attention – a billboard can make a single strong impression, and cut through clutter.”
Van Zyl concludes that while it’s difficult to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different types of advertising media, such as out of home versus radio, “Every form of marketing can be optimised to maximise its impact using neuromarketing.”
Do you think neuromarketing will change the way we think about marketing? Tell us in the comments below.