In case studies in the literature or from the field, we often read about the great added value that neuromarketing offers to marketing-oriented projects. But what is the reality? What are the effective options? What is the difference between the expected potential of neuromarketing and its actual possibilities, challenges and limitations in practice. And, what is the return on investment of neuromarketing methods?
The VLAIO TETRA project Neuromarketing van Thomas More tries to answer this by combining market research and literature study with testing neuromarketing techniques in practice. We spoke to employees of 13 Belgian companies to gain insight into their experiences and expectations. We also delved into the available literature and studied relevant case studies.
The final part of our research was a series of practical tests. We analyzed 6 advertising videos using four different neuromarketing techniques: eye tracking, facial expression analysis, skin conductance measurement and EEG. This combination of methods allowed us to gain a complete picture of both the theory and practice of neuromarketing. This allowed us to compare companies’ vision with the actual possibilities of neuromarketing. Moreover, we were also able to thoroughly evaluate the ease of use, effectiveness and reliability of the different techniques.
Also contributing to this article: Dieter Struyf, Nele De Witte in Audrey Verrall.
Better understand the reality of neuromarketing
According to the literature and our interviews with companies in Belgium, the market sees great potential in using neuromarketing to collect data about (unconscious) emotions, behavior and reactions of consumers and apply it in various contexts. This makes it possible to create effective marketing and advertising strategies and give campaigns a greater chance of success. There are also case studies, both from Belgium and worldwide, discussing the potential of neuromarketing and its benefits. However, many case studies carry a risk of bias. Literature and reports written by companies often highlight neuromarketing success stories, while the limitations of neuromarketing techniques receive less attention. However, it is important to better understand the reality of neuromarketing in order to apply it more effectively in practice.
Selecting an appropriate method of neuromarketing can be challenging for companies. They often prefer cost-effective and scalable solutions. While these factors can be very important, it is also necessary to select techniques based on their capabilities and applications.
Neuromarketing techniques such as eye tracking, facial expression analysis, skin conductance and EEG each offer unique insights into consumer behavior and experiences. These techniques measure different aspects, ranging from visual attention and emotional responses to physiological arousal and brain activity.
Choosing a technique
When choosing a technology, you want to determine what information your company needs. Sometimes a combination of methods can provide the most complete picture. For example, eye tracking can show what someone is looking at, while EEG can indicate how they are reacting emotionally to it.
It is important to note that each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. These are more apparent in practice than in the literature or case studies that often emphasize success stories. A thorough evaluation of the techniques in the specific context of the company is therefore important for an effective application of neuromarketing.
1. Eye tracking
Eye tracking is an accessible and relatively affordable neuromarketing technique. It is highly effective at measuring visual attention and engagement, making it particularly valuable for optimizing visual marketing content. The technology can accurately map what consumers look at and for how long, which is useful when designing effective advertisements, packaging or websites.
Accuracy may of course vary depending on the type of device. For example, remote eye tracking or eye tracking glasses are usually less accurate than lab tests. Moreover, eye tracking has its limitations. Although it shows what someone is looking at, it does not provide insight into the reasons behind this viewing behavior. A long look can mean both interest and confusion. To overcome this limitation, it is often useful to combine eye tracking with other methods, such as self-reporting or additional neuromarketing techniques.
2. Facial expressions
Facial expression analysis is a versatile technique that provides insight into consumers’ emotional responses. This method is relatively easy to implement, but it can sometimes have a higher cost than eye tracking, depending on the software chosen. The software can detect subtle changes in facial expressions and translate them into probabilities of different emotions.
This technique focuses on identifying significant emotional differences between key moments in a video or in the emotional response to an image or text. However, the interpretation of the results requires nuance. For example, ‘21% chance of happiness’ is not an absolute measure, but rather an indication that requires further interpretation. Furthermore, individual differences in expressiveness can complicate the analysis, with some individuals showing little visible emotion.
For the most reliable results, it is recommended to combine this technique with other measurement methods and carefully consider the context of the stimuli.
3. Skin conductance
Skin conductance involves measuring sweat production on the skin (usually fingers or wrist) which gives an indication of arousal (excitement/activation in the body). This allows you to analyze certain key moments in videos with events that wish to provoke great emotions.
However, in practical terms, skin conduction has some limitations (around application of the device, differences between skin types, etc.), which means that skin conduction is not the most obvious neuromarketing technique to use in practice. Skin conductance also has three interpretation limitations:
- It is often difficult to link specific moments with a response. Skin conduction reacts slowly while marketing videos change scenes quickly.
- It only measures arousal and does not provide insight into specific emotions, such as anger or happiness, both of which can be associated with increased arousal.
- Sweat production is very individual. For example, person A may sweat quickly when stressed, while person B remains outwardly calm, despite possibly similar internal stress.
However, skin conductance is used in situations where the scenes do not change quickly and/or when it is important to measure the difference in arousal between different moments. Think of watching a relatively long movie or a match to find the best moment to show an ad.
4. EEG
EEG (Electroencephalography) is an advanced neuromarketing technique that allows measurements of brain activity via electrical signals. This method offers unique insights into cognitive and emotional processes that are not visible through traditional marketing research. Such as the degree of attraction or involvement.
EEG is often found in the literature, but is a complex method. You can certainly use EEG to discover trends in brain activity in general, although it is important to note that it is a rather expensive technology and the data collection and analysis is not self-evident. The interpretation and analysis of EEG data is very complex and requires specific knowledge about the interpretation of brain waves and skills in data analysis. This may entail further investments in training, data analysis software or external expertise.
EEG may offer added value if sufficient participants are tested, a sufficiently high-quality device (with a large number of sensors) is used and there is collaboration with a highly specialized partner who has a good command of the analyses.
Also consider ROI as a factor
In addition to the properties and limitations of techniques, the return on investment (ROI) is also an important factor to consider. While the market hopes that neuromarketing as a research tool can help them better understand consumer responses and thus create more profits, neuromarketing is not a panacea. The ROI of each method may vary.
The ROI of neuromarketing techniques varies widely depending on the specific goals of the study and the resources available. Eye tracking offers an excellent balance between cost and ease of use, which means it can deliver a high ROI. Facial expressions, despite the higher initial costs that may vary depending on the software chosen, can offer a medium to high ROI thanks to their link to self-report measures such as purchase and use intention.
However, it is important to properly manage the variability between individuals. Skin conductance proved to be less suitable for most marketing applications and will have a low ROI in this context. EEG has a rather low ROI for marketing applications, due to the need to invest in high-quality equipment and expertise.
In summary, it is important to understand the reality of using neuromarketing in practice. It concerns the capabilities, advantages, disadvantages, limitations and ROI of different methods.
So choose consciously whether and with which method you want to work as a company. To choose an optimal technique, it is first important to formulate the research questions and clarify the purpose of the research. Also see which techniques suit the limitations and priorities of the research or company.
To facilitate this we have a clickable decision tree created: companies can easily choose a method based on the goals, priorities and limitations of their research. After choosing a method, they can click further to more information in the sheets.
Source: www.frankwatching.com
