A “Trailblazing Ad Testing Solution” was announced yesterday! A collaborative study between CBS, Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience and Nielsen Catalina Solutions (here) claims to have proven that neuroscience tools can predict the success of ad creative! The study used a combination of EEG, biometric and facial coding consumer response tools.
According to the study, “there are hundreds of different metrics within electroencephalography (EEG) that can be generated for a single ad based on complex brainwave patterns”. Measurements then help bring to light the right combination of body and brain reactions that can help “optimize ideas and turn good advertising into great advertising” and successfully drive (predict) in-store sales. The results: “the study showed that the integration of multiple neuroscience measures results in up to 77% explanatory power with in-store sales”. Explanatory Power…Fascinating, isn’t it?
In another more obscure study sanctioned by the Consumer Neuroscience Foundation and blip.tv, a causal link has been proven between mild torture and increased purchase propensity. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also referred to as “Electric Shock” therapy has been a well-documented and effective way for treating clinical depression. The ground breaking study claims that it also can be used to predict consumer behavior when it comes to in market sales. Consumers are given general anesthesia while electrodes are strapped to the scalp. Clamps are applied to the wrists to keep the consumer from injuring themselves during testing. A series of questions are asked. For example: “will you purchase this (insert test) product?”. If the consumer answers “No” or “Why would I? I have no need for such a product” – low voltage electricity is applied which causes momentary pain and anxiety. The process is repeated until the consumer pledges to purchase anything you ask of him. The study has shown that the integration of electric shock therapy into advertising strategy can increase sales by over 500%. “We believe that this is the holy grail for any marketer seeking to maximize effectiveness and gain increased share of wallet” said Dr. Ned Sterman, chief neurologist at the CNF. “We Definitely see a strong inclination for consumers to avoid pain and discomfort at any cost. They’ll pretty much do whatever you want… including spending money on things they really don’t need.” Fascinating, isn’t it?
Since the dawn of Advertising, we’ve been measuring it all; sales response, behavioral patterns, perception, memory, decision making, sociology, psychology, neuroscience…. and understanding nothing when it comes to those Cockamamie Critters called human beings. If science has proven anything, it’s that we can’t boil advertising success down to a set of rules and principles, and it has been most unsatisfactory in creating effective campaigns. There are so many modes of communication in a given advertisement (color, speech, sound, music, art, choreography, etc..) that coalesce to form a connotative meaning, personal to each consumer, that it all defies any meaningful analysis. Fascinating, isn’t it?
