Response to advertising, the new frontier

This entry is back to my usual pursuits - how the brain works.

I stumbled on a new company that uses brain response measurement to aid the marketing industry. I am not promoting this company's services, but I am intrigued with the new twist.

Called Neuroco, this United Kingdom-based company launched to the marketing communications industry by combining brain science with conventional qualitative research.

The Neuroco web site says it is "a pioneer in the use of modern Electroencephalography (EEG) technology to measure human response to a broad range of marketing stimuli. Neuroco's leadership in the new science of Neuromarketing is due in large part to its in-house development of patented software capable of analysing and benchmarking brain patterns."

The company's execs say that by "totally re-assessing how consumers think, act, and behave towards brands, and delivering new and deeper layers of insight to guide marketing strategy, the new technology can transform the effectiveness of a company's marketing communications."

And this comment from its leadership intrigues: "To date, most Neuromarketing activity has used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). To my mind this is a deeply flawed approach to monitoring brain function for Neuromarketing purposes. The environment is uncomfortable, noisy, and completely unnatural. Further the images produced represent only a snapshot of the brain's response at a specific moment in time. This significantly limits the understanding of what is happening across time, for example when watching a television commercial. In contrast, modern EEG equipment is small, light, unobtrusive, and easily portable, providing freedom to measure human response in a wide range of environments. It allows us to record and analyse brain activity on a second by second basis and so gain a remarkable insight into what's going on in people's minds."

The future looks like it will be filled with more biological examination of consumers' brains and discovering their wants and needs!