The Future of Consumer Neuroscience: Bridging the Gap Between Education and Adoption | Industry Insights | All MKC Content | ANA

The Future of Consumer Neuroscience: Bridging the Gap Between Education and Adoption

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By Dr. Carl Marci, Chief Neuroscientist, Nielsen

It’s no secret that advertising has changed dramatically over the last several years - or that the pace of change continues to hasten. Messages seem to have invaded every inch of real estate around us – from buildings and buses to bars and bathrooms. Audience targeting and segmenting continue to get more dynamic - and the ubiquity of mobile devices (which, at least by one measure, occupies more than three hours of our days) make advertising literally a constant arm’s reach away.

As media and marketing evolve, so must the tools for measurement that surround it. That is why so many marketers have begun to turn to neuroscience. Traditional tools struggle to generate the insights needed to break through in complex environments and understand the complex ways our brains process information. We just don’t process enough information consciously for what we say to give marketers a complete picture.  As David Ogilvy opined, “Consumers don’t think how they feel, they don’t say what they think and they don’t do what they say.”

The ANA conducted a research study taking a closer look at consumer neuroscience; analyzing its many uses, levels of awareness, validity, and value to marketers. The short takeaways are that while questions and barriers remain, marketers are optimistic about the future use of neuroscience: they strongly believe that it is not a fad and for those who can attribute revenue gains to the use of the technologies, they are finding a very high ROI. However, results also showed that the industry must create educational materials and address perceptions about expense and complexity to move forward.

Following are some further findings in the full report, which can be viewed here.

In a sample of 187 marketers across B2B and B2C segments, ranging from associates to senior management with over half reporting 10 or more years of experience, most marketers (73 percent) were familiar or very familiar with some form of consumer neuroscience technology. In addition, consumer neuroscience appears to be poised for a bright future, with 90 percent reporting that they expected it to either complement (64 percent) or replace (30 percent) more traditional techniques.

It is challenging to correlate the use of any market research tool directly to revenue growth.  However, of those who were able to attribute revenue growth to the use of neuroscience methods, the average increase was 16 percent, which translates to approximately $80 million - a sizable increase. And for those marketers who classified themselves as “Innovators” or “Early Adopters” (two of the five personas, according to the Diffusion of Innovations theory and framework who use the technology first and most often), they saw an average 26-percent increase in revenue attributed to neuroscience.  This translates into an estimated $130 million impact from consumer neuroscience.

While some were able to measure their market successes using consumer neuroscience and saw great returns on their investments, others saw the expense and complexity of using these tools as a significant barrier. This is the gap that consumer neuroscience has been tasked to fill – finding a way to validate and measure its success in order to convert the “Late Majority” and remaining skeptics into full-fledged adopters of the technology.

While finding and developing concrete success measures for consumer neuroscience is not something that can happen overnight, what can take place in the meantime is a more thorough education of neuroscience techniques for marketers to facilitate a better understand of the capabilities and to help navigate the complexity. This would include learning materials for end users to more fully appreciate that no single neuroscience technology has a monopoly on the truth, and that each has its place depending on the scope of the project and the materials for testing. 

Technology is driving major changes for marketers. As the number of channels and types of ads one can produce grows at such a rapid pace, industry experts are doing their best to keep up with the latest trends and topics that will help push their brands forward.  But producing great creative that engages consumers remains the primary path for delivering revenue to marketers in an increasingly complex world. Consumer neuroscience is positioned to progress alongside the advancement of the industry, providing marketers and their respective brands with a new level of measurement, insight and accuracy that goes beyond any previous understanding of the consumer’s mind.

For more information on how neuroscience can help you engage consumers more efficiently and effectively, visit ANA Marketing Futures.

Source

"The Future of Consumer Neuroscience: Bridging the Gap Between Education and Adoption." Dr. Carl Marci, Chief Neuroscientist and EVP at Nielsen Neuroscience, July 15, 2018.

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