The concept of neuromarketing creates a understanding of subliminal reasoning for the customer to decide whether the product they are offered is actually appealing. Marketers are using the concept of neuromarketing to understand consumer’s cognitive response to products. The concept of neuromarketing allows for marketers to better target and understands consumer behavior.
This may create several problems for us the consumer because it appeals to our wants and stimuli rather than consumer reasoning. For example, do I want this product? Or Do I need It? Practitioners of neuromarketing would like to use our cognitive responses to blind side our “want” response and rather spin the product as a necessity. Have marketers found a way around our general defense mechanisms? Oftentimes consumers may react to a product extremely different when questioned in a survey. However, they may feel that the product may be inadequate and still respond with a general approval when questioned. The time of using surveys, blind studies, and customer purchase habits may be coming to an end if neuromarketing develops into a plausible means for advertising and marketing. Internet browsing activities as discussed in earlier blog post have already established a method for companies to target the right market for advertising on the internet. But the use of neuromarketing has taken this to an extremely different level.
In a recent study on neuromarketing, two major soft drink manufacturers Pepsi and Coca Cola were tested using the “Pepsi Challenge” The neuromarketing used on consumers was to us a EKG machine to monitoring the frontal lobe cortex response to be given Pepsi and then told it was coke. The participants were hooked up to the EKG machine and given Pepsi and the levels of brain activity raised with the appearance that participant enjoyed the product and indicated a reward for consumption. However, Coca Cola far outsells Pepsi because of their marketing and advertising campaigns.
I believe that this type of marketing while extremely effective may infringe upon consumer privacy. However, with today’s world changing so rapidly and new concepts being applied can anyone really stop it.
Reference
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/neuro/neuromarketing_ajc.html
http://e-marketingforsensiblefolk.blogspot.com/
http://www.drdavidlewis.co.uk/assets/NeuroMarket1.pdf
I agree, this type of marketing will only continue to become more intrusive. It has been proven in recent years with the advent facebook and myspace that privacy is not a chief concern among most people. The benefits provided to corporations by neuromarketing technology will certainly outweigh the cries for privacy by the public.
ReplyDeleteI agree that neuromarketing affects what the consumer wants and what motivates them. As for the consumer’s defense mechanism, it might me down for a while if marketers know what were feeling and can manipulate products as a necessity. I am not completely sold on marketers manipulating are thoughts, but I am not dismissing the possibility. Nueromarketing will continue to grow, since marketers can point out how a consumer’s brain responds to certain stimuli making products and campaigns more effective.
ReplyDeleteHaven't advertisers always tried to appeal to what consumers want, vs. what they actually need? The potential benefit of neuromarketing is that it might be better at finding out what you and I really want compared to, say, a focus group or a questionnaire.
ReplyDeleteRoger