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Can't wrap your head around neuromarketing?

Writer's picture: Jan MarinoJan Marino

I must confess, I didn’t have top of mind awareness of neuromarketing either. Basically, the premise is that our brain’s reaction to what we see can be measured and so the packaging of products, flyers and brochures and other marketing collateral we see can be measured and it all matters! Neuromarketing was thought of as an extravagant frontier science and in many ways it still is, for smaller companies, but we can learn from the studies conducted by larger companies and universities.





Ocala, Florida has no companies with a huge workforce where you might expect to find a neuromarketing department. Companies such as Coke and Pepsi, on the other hand, have departments focused on this research, they have human guinea pigs that are tested via fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and EEGs. As the results become known, sales and marketing professionals still wonder if there are tools that are useful and how can marketing be done best to




ensure more customers. Interesting that when Coke and Pepsi were conducting their studies, the reactions weren’t swayed when the brands were not identified. But… once the brands became known, reactions increased, there was enhanced activity in the brain, and it demonstrated that knowledge of the brand changed how the brain perceived the soda.


There was another study done with wine. Three wines were tasted, and the prices for each were given to the test subjects. They preferred the more expensive wine overall, but in reality, the wines were all exactly the same. Knowing the price of an item triggers a reaction in our brain. Price makes us calculate if the product is worth the price but if we only have the product to judge, we may just wonder if we like the product or not. More information, such as the price, can affect how we perceive and judge a product.


Some of the other large companies who have done much neuromarketing testing should come as no surprise: NBC, TimeWarner, Microsoft, Google and Facebook all have neuromarketing departments. There are specialist consulting firms out there, but of those available, very few of them offer real value to smaller companies. It’s one thing to tout yourself as an expert but quite another to have concrete evidence to back it up. A consulting firm may have scientists on staff, but are they also expert marketers? Is there a track record of success? Can the consulting firm prove that they can offer insights beyond what can be gleaned through traditional methods?


Let’s assume you live in a small community like Ocala, Florida. You may not be interested in conducting a fMRI test for your small business and cost would certainly be a prohibitive factor, but you can still learn from the testing of others. Let’s take a look at 15 powerful examples of neuromarketing that you can make use of in your own company.


1. Eye Gaze – Ads that include people are much more effective than those that don’t. If it was appropriate for your business, by all means, put a baby in your ad. But there’s more to it. Studies on Eye Gaze have determined that having a baby facing directly off the page will cause the reader to look at the baby, but not at the product being sold. Having a baby on the page that’s looking at the product being sold will cause the reader to check out the cute tot and then look at the product.

2. Use Effective Packaging – Campbells and Frito-Lay decided to improve their packaging because they found that people reacted to color, text and the images. Customers have a negative response to shiny packages but not to matte finishes.


3. Color is Key – Remember that you may be influencing how your potential clients or customers feel when you have a color palette for your brand. Recently a counselor who deals with widows chose a soft, gentle color. No red here! Colors can touch a range of emotions and there is a link between certain colors and certain emotions. Speaking of red, Coke uses red and very well as does Target. The Home Depot’s color is orange. Caterpillar’s choice of color is yellow while John Deere is famous for it’s use of green. Who else uses green well? Starbucks. Blue goes to Facebook and there’s a specific kind of blue for Tiffany. What color is right for you? Our logo incorporates CYMK because as a commercial printer, we use the four ink colors; cyan, yellow, magenta and black.


4. Ad Efficiency – If you have more than one ad to choose from, do an in-house test and select the one that speaks to the highest number of people.

5. Decision Paralysis – Sometimes our customers will surprise us. Too many choices are actually a deterrent for some. Instead of a wide array of choices, focus on only a few select and keep the variety to a well-thought-out variety.

6. Evaluating Satisfaction – An EEG can shed light on the most effective ways to advertise if this is in the realm of possibility for your company.

7. Loss Aversion – Ever hear of FOMO? It’s the Fear Of Missing Out. When you can establish some critical time factor, show an alternative option as a loss, “buy before it’s gone” or create a sense of urgency, clients or customers may be more likely to open their wallet and go for it. This concept is called “framing”.

8. Anchoring – Many times choices are made, not on the product or service itself, but in comparison to what else is available. If a choice needs to be made between two hotel rooms, but one has free coffee, the free coffee will likely sway the guest without exploring the quality of the rooms offered or other features. Anchoring can help you swing deals quickly.

9. The Need for Speed – PayPal found that the promise of convenience motivated buyers more than security, so they were able to convert more shoppers to their online payment service by emphasizing their speedy payment options. Talk more about fast and efficient and don’t worry as much about safety and security. People like easy.


10. Revealing Hidden Responses – Cheetos used a focus group to evaluate consumer responses. In an ad, a woman played a prank by filling her white load of laundry with orange Cheetos. Focus groups didn’t like the ad but based on reactions via an EEG study, it turned out they actually like it, but didn’t want to voice the fact that they were tickled by the prank just in case they might be thought of as unkind. Neuromarketing can reveal hidden thoughts and preferences.

11. Reward and Punishment – Video game makers are beginning to use neurmarketing techniques using reward and punishment to make the games more engaging and keep people playing longer. The rewards increase as the game gets more difficult. Takeaway for us all is to create a pleasurable experience to keep them attached to your product or service.

12. Prototype Testing – Hyundai used EEG to test car prototypes and measured brain activity in response to different design features. This resulted in a change to the exterior of their cars.

13. Setting the Right Price – Everyone realizes that setting a price at $9.99 is a pricing tactic over a $10 tag, but does it work? Maybe not! Rounded numbers are more likely to work versus complex numbers and cents because they make the brain work harder.

14. Website Layout – Neuromarketing techniques are being used in the design of websites from the colors to the layouts, fonts used and more. A new and important rule of thumb is that certifications, testimonials and social widgets are much more likely to bring in customers than websites that don’t have these features. Also, the new horizontal website layouts are actually less effective than the old vertical ones because people are more likely to keep on scrolling down.

15. Memorable Headlines – They must stand out and grab the potential client/customer. Researchers at a London college found that a familiar phrase is slightly altered, our brain engages and our attention goes on high alert. If you can surprise the brain, the campaign is much more likely to be effective.


And now to disprove a few myths you held so near and dear. Sorry to burst your marketing bubble.


MYTH 1: People who have used your brand before will remember you better. FALSE

Just because you have used the brand, doesn’t mean you will return. Coke and Pepsi and McDonald’s have had millions and millions of customers and yet they still advertise to keep top of mind repeat customers.


MYTH 2: Public service announcements need to be scary to help change behavior. FALSE

Using humor that’s fresh and new and has a sensible story around it can help change behavior more effectively than scaring an individual. And make it short.


MYTH 3: Consumers are completely rational shoppers. FALSE

Actually, people tend to buy irrationally and more on cognitive biases. How is the customer experiencing the website or Facebook page or the brochure they are looking at? Make it fun or entertaining.


MYTH 4: Mobile advertising is a great way to reach your audience. SOMEWHAT FALSE

Mobile ads need to be thought out. They need to engage the customer, limit the disruptive nature of advertisements and incentivize viewing.


MYTH 5: Having a celebrity endorsement helps your brand. SOMEWHAT FALSE

While a celebrity can grab your attention, it can also eclipse the product or service, so be careful who you use as your face/voice for your product or service.


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