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focusneuromarketing
T
HE MERITS of neuroscience-based FIGURE 1 this ad, the car is shown being built entire-
techniques continue to spark debate. Implicit associations ly from cake, with very little explicit mes-
However, as one of the first com- saging. The implicit associations evoked
panies to explore this space, the issue for Implicit ideas evoked by Skoda ‘Car Bakers’. by the ad are shown in Figure 1. These dif-
Millward Brown has become less about The brand and the concept of ‘femininity fered from the explicit associations evoked
whether to use neuroscience, and more were strongly evoked by the ad – when asked directly, few peo-
about how to get the best out of it. Feminine Strong ple mentioned the idea of ‘femininity’
Skoda associations
In the past six years, we have studied Family (they focused on the fun tone and unusual
Features Moderate
the main neuroscience techniques and Unreliable associations
approach). However, given the Julie
compared them with our existing meth- Silly
Clever
Andrews soundtrack, it’s natural that this
ods. We have found significant value in Unsafe idea may be evoked, but not mentioned, as
Warm Weak
specific neuroscience methods – when Caring associations it’s not overt.
used alongside existing approaches, and Well-built Whether this is a ‘good’ result for the
only if interpreted with care by people Bars represent the strength with which each
idea was evoked by watching the ad
brand depends on its strategy – but the ad
with experience in the field. performed excellently on other explicit
Source: Millward Brown
Millward Brown has rolled out neuro- measures within the Millward Brown
science-based methods alongside more Link system, and we gained a more round-
FIGURE 2
established tools. But each method is used ed view of communication from the ad by
only when it will add value, and when it is Branding: focus of attention integrating this implicit approach.
relevant to the client issue. In selecting We used a similar idea to test the appeal
Good Skoda branding in ‘Car bakers’ is
methods, we have asked: supported by tight attention when badge
of a series of brand logos for a Polish client
● Does the method tell us something is affixed to car in the financial services industry. The
meaningful about brands or marketing? results from explicit ratings correlated
● Does it tell us something we don’t with results from an implicit test – but the
already know (and enough to justify implicit method pulled out a much clearer
the costs)? winner, suggesting that this is a useful
● Is it practical and scalable? approach for this type of research.
● Does adding the method increase our Each dot represents the eye fixation of a participant On the whole, this type of approach lets
when watching the ad
ability to predict behaviour? us see in more depth whether a brand is
Source: Millward Brown
We feel the approaches we are using achieving its desired positioning, or if a
with clients pass the first three tests in par- campaign or logo has the potential to
ticular – and have the potential to pass the are systematically biased by their reac- shape a brand’s perceptions as intended.
fourth. These methods fall mainly into tions to brands or ads. These methods have
three areas: a long history of use in cognitive psychol- Eye-tracking
● Implicit association measurement ogy to infer implicit (unstated) processes Eye-tracking is widely used, partly because
● Eye tracking and responses, and we have worked with it has become greatly simplified and more
● Brainwave measurement. US academics on the most powerful meth- affordable in recent years. The benefits are
We use other methods as the need aris- ods for online research projects. What clear – eye movements can be a good guide
es. Functional magnetic resonance imag- they add to established tools is an insight to the focus of visual attention, with more
ing (fMRI), for instance, is hugely power- into an extra level of communication – the detail and accuracy than self-reported
ful. We have used it with Royal Mail. But it ‘raw’ ideas stirred up by brands and ads, answers. But the methods say nothing
is limited in its scalability, so we have used before any filtering for sense or social about why a particular area catches the
it less extensively than others. A range of desirability – but which still may play a eye, or their response to it, so, in isolation,
approaches is needed as different methods role in shaping consumers’ responses. it can be difficult to interpret. We have
are useful at different times. Our clients have used these methods to used this approach in several markets and
understand the implicit associations acti- have found it a useful, additional diagnos-
Implicit association measurement vated by brands, by ads, and by hard- tic variable, which helps explain advert-
While this is not strictly a ‘neuroscience’ to-discuss stimuli, such as brand logos. We ising or packaging performance as meas-
technique, this approach shares with used a variation on the ‘emotional stroop’ ured via survey instruments.
more biometric methods the principle of effect (whereby reaction time to name the Figure 2 shows the results from a scene
inferring consumers’ responses, rather colours words are written in are biased by from the Skoda ‘Car bakers’ execution.
than asking a direct question. The infer- the extent to which ideas connected to This ad was shown to be powerfully
ence comes from measuring consumers’ those words are active in the brain) to branded to Skoda in our Link study, and
reaction times or accuracy on tasks that research the Skoda Fabia ‘Car bakers’ ad. In eye-tracking helped illustrate why. Visual