Market research: Mind reading

The newspaper's story detailed a study by Viacom Brand Solutions, one of a growing number of companies adopting brain-scanning technology as a consumer insight tool. As the headline shows, the technique lends itself to images of Big Brother-style mind control - US organisation Commercial Alert, co-founded by consumer activist Ralph Nader, has even demanded a Senate inquiry into the practice.

Given the current state of neuroscience, there is little to justify these fears. The discipline is much more advanced than a decade ago, but nobody claims to have found a specific 'buy button' in the brain, let alone a way for marketers to push it.

That said, the findings of neuroscientists are important for the research industry. The discovery that emotion plays a far stronger role in decision-making than previously thought has made researchers eager to find techniques that can get beyond the rational responses of consumers to investigate the emotional impulses that underpin them.

Inside the mind
Brain scanning is at the vanguard of this trend. In recent years it has left the confines of the hospital or laboratory and become a commercial research tool. There are now a number of companies on both sides of the Atlantic claiming to offer clients the ultimate in research: to get inside their customers' minds.

There has been no shortage of clients experimenting with the techniques in their search for an advantage over competitors. Several major FMCG firms have used it for advertising and concept testing - for example, Kimberly-Clark is planning a study in the US and Europe early next year. Motor firms have used it to research car designs, and food manufacturers to test smells and flavours.

In the past year, the technique has generated plenty of discussion within the research community, but little agreement. For its advocates, it offers the chance to get a 'clean read' of a consumer's response to a stimulus, untainted by hidden agendas or interviewer bias.

For its detractors, neuromarketing is little more than a way to extract money from gullible clients by blinding them with science.

Two types of scanning are currently on offer as market research tools. One is fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), which involves a large, immobile scanner. The other is a variant of EEG (electroencephalography), which has evolved into a highly portable mechanism, small enough to fit inside a hat, that measures electrical activity in the brain. Both have their pros and cons: fMRI offers a far more detailed scan than EEG, but subjects must stay in the lab. EEG can be taken to a consumer's natural habitat, such as a home or shopping centre. It also provides many more readings per second, making it easier to see exactly when changes in brain activity occur.

Cost vs benefit
Neither comes cheap. Although EEG costs less than fMRI, a basic study using either runs into tens of thousands of pounds. Both require a skilled neuroscientists to interpret the data. A scan can only show that the brain is active, not why it is active, so standard research is also needed, which adds to the cost.

The question is whether brain scanning can generate insight beyond the reach of traditional studies, and whether that extra insight is worth the considerable expense.

Sarah Langan, Kimberly-Clark's insight director for Europe, hopes the company's trial of EEG, to be conducted by UK firm Neuroco, will complement its existing consumer insight research. But she admits that the technique must prove its worth if it is to be used regularly. 'It is expensive,' she says. 'We need to demonstrate that it delivers added benefit.'

Testing consumer response to ads is one of the most popular applications of the technology, but the jury is still out on whether it provides added value. Millward Brown set up a test in the US to compare an EEG study of consumers' responses to ads with a standard survey based on the company's Link methodology. The results were remarkably similar, with the conclusion that the EEG study, though interesting, delivered little added insight.

Graham Page, global director of research and development at Millward Brown, believes it will be difficult to sell scanning as a pure ad-testing tool, as this is an area where return on investment is at a premium. 'The hardest nut to crack is ad research,' he argues. 'It needs so much validation against sales.'

Page believes brain scanning may have more potential in areas such as concept or design testing, where there is less pressure to prove ROI.

Gemma Calvert, co-founder of fMRI scanning firm Neurosense, agrees that this is a fertile area. She points to the number of products that are launched and then fail, even though they have been rigorously tested.

'If scanning can help save you spending millions on a product that fails, it is certainly worth the money,' she says.

Advertising response
Neurosense conducted research for Viacom examining how the brain responds to TV programmes and advertising. The results were intriguing. The study focused on nine areas of the brain believed to be linked to effective communication. During a TV programme, the area associated with concentration was highly active, indicating that the subjects were focused on the show's content. When the ads came on, activity in this area weakened, but all the other eight areas, linked to processes such as memory and emotion, became more active. This implies that we may not focus on the ads as much, but in many ways, we absorb more from them.

Nick Bampton, managing director of Viacom Brand Solutions, plans to use the findings as evidence of the power of TV advertising and help his company develop effective packages for advertisers. 'We are using this to learn and understand,' he says. 'If you can do that, you will succeed, and that is what makes this study worth the money.'

Viacom is not the only company looking at this application. Media planning agency PHD has conducted an fMRI study into how the brain responds to different media and recently launched a planning tool based on the results.

The Viacom and PHD studies are examples of how insights from brain scanning can feed into business models to deliver long-term returns. Yet neither is the sort of study that requires frequent updating. If neuromarketing is to be more than a niche interest, it has to attract regular clients that use it as part of their standard research portfolio.

So, while the discipline has attracted the attention of a number of clients, the challenge for market researchers experimenting with the technology is to provide evidence that the insights are both valid and worthwhile. Only then will clients be prepared to take their interest further.

CASE STUDY - IN-STORE EEG EXPERIMENT
The EEG method of scanning, which measures electrical activity in the brain, has been around for decades, but in recent years the equipment has become more technologically advanced. It is now portable and lightweight enough for studies to be conducted discreetly in public spaces rather than the laboratory.

To illustrate some of the applications of the technique, neuromarketing firm Neuroco conducted an experiment for Marketing at Lakeside shopping centre. A respondent was fitted with a neuro-sensor cap worn under her hat; the EEG recorder, the size of a VHS cassette, was placed in her shoulder bag. She also wore a pair of glasses containing a microscopic video camera to track her actions and correlate them with the brain patterns.

The respondent set off on a 30-minute walkabout through the shopping centre and a variety of stores to record her subconscious responses. She was then interviewed to probe her conscious reactions to the store experiences and the marketing messages to which she was subjected. These cognitive responses were analysed and interpreted alongside the EEG/video data.

This test is purely illustrative, but shows how neuroscience can be tailored to measure a range of specific marketing and retail activities.

EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD
Stimulus: Toiletries store Lush
Response: High level of activity in the frontal regions, indicating high attention and emotional arousal. The smells in this store are intense, and the interview revealed our respondent liked them, yet did not buy anything.
Interpretation: The bombardment of her senses in a shop where the products can be touched, examined and smelt was so powerful that it made it difficult for her to decide what she liked enough to buy.
Implications: While the aromas definitely arouse and appeal, the cocktail may be too overpowering for some.

LACK OF INTEREST
Stimulus: Vodafone store
Response: The EEG reveals a total lack of interest as the Eye-Cam captures her inspecting a mobile phone. The only high-level activity can be seen around the region on the left side associated with speech, although she did not say a word while examining this handset.
Interpretation: Her speech centres may have been activated as she subconsciously spells out complex technical descriptions. The interview reveals she felt bored in this shop.
Implications: The store could devote more energy to finding ways of welcoming, attracting and engaging casual shoppers.

DISENGAGEMENT
Stimulus: Lingerie shop La Senza
Response: Briefly touching one of the garments was enough to trigger a negative emotional response and disengagement, as shown by high-level activity on the right side of her brain.
Interpretation: She is considerably less relaxed in this store than in others. The interview reveals that she feels out of shape, making her self-conscious. As a result, it is unlikely she will buy anything in this store.
Implications: This retailer needs to be finely tuned to customers' personal sensitivities and develop strategies to overcome them.

NEUROSCIENCE - THE TECHNOLOGY
fMRI
Pros: Very detailed scan. Cons: Restricted to laboratory. Can only scan every couple of seconds Expensive.
EEG
Pros: Can be taken into everyday environment. Shows exactly when brain is activated. Cheaper than fMRI. Cons: Not as good at showing where in the brain something is happening.