Nuromarketing - Experimental first steps

Some companies are commissioning their own fMRI studies à la Montague's test.

In a study of men's reactions to cars, Daimler-Chrysler has found that sportier models activate the brain's reward centres -- the same areas that light up in response to alcohol and drugs -- as well as activating the area in the brain that recognizes faces, which may explain people's tendency to anthropomorphize - attribute form or personality to inanimate products like cars or other such lifestyle products.

Steven Quartz, a scientist at Stanford University, is currently conducting similar research on movie trailers.

Political advertising is also getting in on the game. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have found that Republicans and Democrats react differently to campaign ads showing images of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Those ads cause the part of the brain associated with fear to light up more vividly in Democrats than in Republicans.

While neuroscientist Montague's Pepsi Challenge suggests that branding appears to make a difference in consumer preference, BrightHouse's research promises to show exactly how much emotional impact that branding can have.

Marketers have long known that some brands have a seemingly magic appeal; they can elicit strong devotion, with buyers saying they identify with the brand as an extension of their personalities. The BrightHouse research is expected to show exactly which products those are.

"This is really just the first step," says Meaux, who points out that no one has discovered a ‘buy button’ in the brain.

But with more and more marketers peeping into the minds of their consumers, could that be far off?

(To be concluded)