John Winsor

Does Neuromarketing Work?

Check out Mark Earls' take on Mya Frazier's article in Ad Age entitled, Hidden Persuasion or Junk Science?, in which I was interviewed. Here's an exerpt:

Indeed, in the view of some neuroscientists and marketing researchers, the notion that the human brain should be studied in isolation is deeply flawed to begin with. Measuring the brain's reaction to a TV spot simply does not provide enough data to extrapolate future behavior. Studying how a person interacts within the larger culture is far more important.

'There are many other constraints outside the brain that make us act the way we do,' said John Winsor, VP-director of the cognitive and cultural radar department in Crispin Porter & Bogusky's Boulder, Colo., office.

For example, does it make a difference if a test subject's brain lights up while viewing a Hummer ad in Boulder, where 'you feel guilty if you don't drive a Prius, or where my parents live, in Cody, Wyo., where the norm is to drive a pickup truck?'

'There are other factors that control how we are going to interact, and culture is a big one,' he added.

Mark and I usually agree. Be sure to read his blog. He's always has something interesting to say. I can harldy wait to check out his new book, Herd.

Good Behavior?

Marketplace on American Public Radio has a nice little story on how behavioral economics is effecting finance. Here's what they have to say:

More and more hedge fund firms are using psychological theories to pick what they invest in. Amy Scott explains how "behavioral finance" works.

The story is worth a listen.

Applying Neuroscience to Marketing

Recently, in a post Roger Dooley asked: How can neuroscience inform marketing?

And answers: One example comes from the increasingly hot field of neuroeconomics: a practice called asymmetric paternalism.

Dooley uses the recent New Yorker article written by John Cassidy entitled, Mind Games: What neuroscience tells us about money and the brain to explore these ideas.

Likewise, Mark Weeks, of Added-Value, has been working to build tools to help brands apply the neuroscientific insights into their marketing. To see what he’s up to check out his well written white paper entitled: Discovering the Feeling: Applying Neuroscience to Marketing.

Certainly, bringing neuroscientific insights into the marketing realm has powerful potential. Understanding not only rational behavior more deeply but the power of emotions is sure to change the way that companies think about their brands and engage in a dialogue with their customers.

In today’s rapidly changing media landscape it is essential to know how consumers will emotionally react to not only your product but also your brand message. Who wants the power of a negative dialogue between consumers to be broadcast on YouTube? Just ask the folks at Chevy.

What would have happened if Chevy would have understood the emotions around SUVs and $3 a gallon gas before they launched their Apprentice promotion?

How emotionally connected are your customers to your brand?

Change Hurts

Francois Gossieaux at Emergence Marketing has a wonderful post about new advances in Neuroscience in understanding how we perceive change. I especially like this point:

The brain is very much wired to detect "errors" in its environment - perceived differences between expectations and actuality. When an error is detected, it triggers the fear circuitry in our brain, which is one of the most primitive parts of our brain, and which basically hijacks our thinking. We become emotional and start acting impulsively - our animal instincts take over.

So try changing someones behavior and their brain will start sending powerful messages that something is wrong, thus decreasing their capacity for higher thought. Change results in discomfort and stress...

Deep Inside the Brain

Check out this wonderful podcast of Antonio Damasio from a recent Zocalo event in LA. Here's the intro:

World-renowned neuroscientist and best-selling author Antonio Damasio will take us on a journey through his latest research on the mysterious yet inextricable link between the human brain and the human heart.  He will discuss new breakthroughs in emotion research and explain why it is relevant in medicine and in society. Knowing how the brain processes emotion can help us manage conditions such as depression and drug-addiction. It can also provide the key to understanding day-to-day decision-making, social behavior, and creativity.

Quote of the Day

The problem is this: How does the government provide millions of kids with the stable, loving structures they are not getting at home (in order to facilitate learning)? If there is one thing that leaps out of all the brain literature, it is that, as Daniel J. Siegel puts it, “emotion serves as a central organizing process within the brain.” Kids learn from people they love. If we want young people to develop the social and self-regulating skills they need to thrive, we need to establish stable long-term relationships between love-hungry children and love-providing adults.

That’s why I’m grappling with these books on psychology and brain function. I started out on this wonk odyssey in the company of economic data, but the closer you get to the core issue, the further you venture into the primitive realm of love.

- David Brooks, Of Love and Money, New York Times

Certainly, the “marketing” could be substituted with “economic” in the last paragraph. A substitution of data with some understanding of primitive love can be a powerful tool for marketers.

More On Context

"To understand in a satisfactory manner the brain that fabricates the human mind and human behavior, it is necessary to take into account its social and cultural context. And that makes the endeavor truly daunting."

- Antonio Damasio, Descartes' Error

The Death of Economic Man

It seems many of my posts have been focusing on the emotions of marketing and branding. An article in the latest issue of Harvard Magazine entitled, The Marketplace of Perceptions, is a great introduction to behavioral economics and neuroeconomics. These two fields are other important touchpoints in explaining consumers seemingly irrational behavior when it comes to products and brands.

“We do worse in life because we spend too much for what we want now at the expense of goodies we want in the future. People buy things they can’t afford on a credit card, and as a result they get to buy less over the course of their lifetimes.” Such problems should not arise, according to standard economic theory, which holds that “there shouldn’t be any disconnect between what I’m doing and what I want to be doing,” says Nava Ashraf.

Leave it to emotions.