BIG BROTHER IS NOT JUST WATCHING YOU,
HE'S MONITORING YOUR BRAIN TOO! (parte II)



"Dave, Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a... fraid"

"As chief scientist at market research company Neuroco of Weybridge, England, [David] Lewis conducts similar experiments for global players including Bridgestone, Hewlett-Packard, and some in the food, beverage, and cosmetics industries. The United Kingdom’s first agency built on the nascent science of neuromarketing, Neuroco is at the forefront of a new discipline being touted as the most important breakthrough in marketing research in a generation. The theory is certainly intriguing: by studying activity in the brain, neuromarketing combines the techniques of neuroscience and clinical psychology to develop insights into how we respond to products, brands, and advertisements. From this, marketers hope to understand the subtle nuances that distinguish a dud pitch from a successful campaign.

'There’s a lot to learn about consumer behavior by opening up the black box,' says Harvard University economics professor David Laibson. (...) A self-described embryo in the sprawling $358 billion global advertising industry, privately held Neuroco hopes to parlay its neuromarketing insights into riches. Because neuromarketing is so new — and so potentially creepy — Neuroco’s brandname clients are reluctant to talk about the research they’ve commissioned. (...) But Neuroco is off to a promising start; founded in March, the company has already signed up six multinational clients and established relationships with many of Britain’s largest advertising agencies. (...)



Take insurance — an industry not known for running unnecessary risks. Hired by Royal & SunAlliance, the second-largest U.K. insurance company, Lewis evaluated one of Royal’s 30-second television spots by wiring 60 volunteers with electrodes. Then, shot by shot, frame by frame, Lewis examined the subjects’ EEG readings as they watched the commercial.
He discovered that the viewers’ brains were most engaged during the ad’s dramatic action scene, but interest flagged significantly at the tagline, 'You’d better ring the Royal.' 'The results suggested that the catchphrase was unlikely to prove memorable,' Lewis concluded. Royal pulled the spot shortly after the experiment.

To dig out such secrets, Neuroco charges an average of $90,000 per study. And its list of services is growing: the firm will evaluate the subliminal power of colors, logos, or product features. It measures the mental might of music or jingles, the heft of celebrity endorsers, and the most brainwave-soothing designs for store layouts. (...)

'If you get the emotional impact of the message right, everything else will follow,' Lewis says."
(repescado daqui porque deverá mesmo ser lido)



"Este método de analisar o cérebro, desvendar as decisões dos consumidores e indicar a gestores e técnicos de marketing a melhor forma de falar com os clientes já é utilizada por empresas como a Procter & Gamble, Audi e Hewlett Packard. A 20th Century Fox também recorre a esta ferramenta para aumentar ou cortar cenas de filmes em função do seu impacto." (in Expresso/Economia de 16.02.08)

(2008)