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According to Wikipedia, “neuromarketing is a new field of marketing that studies consumers’ sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective responses to marketing stimuli. Researchers use technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure changes in activity in parts of the brain, electroencephalography (EEG) to measure activity in specific regional spectra of the brain response, and/or sensors to measure changes in one’s physiological state such as heart rate, respiratory rate, galvanic skin response, etc. The goal is to learn why consumers make the decisions they do, and what part of the brain is telling them to do it.”

It’s long been known that people aren’t necessarily truthful when asked if they like a product and why? So, neuromarketing takes market research to the next level and focuses on the subliminal nature of the brain’s response. It’s really neuroscience combined with marketing research. Neuromarketing helps the marketer understand what exactly the consumer is reacting to, whether it be the color of the package, the sound the product makes, or some other nuance.

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the author described how Campbell’s Soup recently used neuromarketing to rebrand its soups. They now have categorized their various product lines and have made the brand more evident by color coding the labeling. The company identity is much smaller and at a lower eye level so it isn’t so prominent. Campbell’s is hoping that an emotional response will be triggered when consumers see the new branding in grocery stores, and, in turn, will stimulate sales of their soups.

In the past, neuromarketing was a very expensive approach to marketing, but it is definitely more affordable as technological advances have been made. So, it is more accessible to more companies. Now, you may not be ready to embrace this type of market research for your company, but you may be able to stretch your marketing efforts a bit to really understand what drives your customers to purchase your products. As the technology matures, neuromarketing also will grow in popularity and use.