Neuromarketing and AI: What Marketers Must Know in 2024

As we enter 2024, the focus intensifies on AI and the myriad opportunities it presents in marketing, business, and daily life. From revolutionizing content creation to duping ex-boyfriends through AI-generated imagery, AI's exponential growth is transforming our world in unprecedented ways, raising both possibilities and challenges.

One undeniable effect of this rapid growth is AI's impact on our cognitive processes and behaviors - and the challenge it presents to marketers.

AI, through its integration in digital platforms, social media, and various technologies, is constantly shaping the way we think, decide, and act. This influence on cognitive function is evident in the changing landscape of consumer behavior and decision-making processes.

For marketers, the rapid pace of these changes, driven by AI, presents a formidable challenge. Traditionally, shifts in consumer behavior occurred over decades, allowing marketers time to adapt and evolve. However, AI's pervasive presence in every aspect of consumers' lives is accelerating these changes, pushing marketers to rapidly innovate or risk obsolescence.

The key to thriving as a marketer in the age of AI lies in a deep understanding of the consumer's brain - how it processes information, makes decisions, and reacts to marketing stimuli in an AI-driven world.

In an era where AI is reshaping consumer behavior at a rapid pace, neuromarketing provides the tools to decode these changes.

This article will help equip you with the foundational knowledge of these shifts and guide you in employing the same neuromarketing techniques, used by big brands like Cheetos and PayPal, to develop data-driven, impactful marketing strategies that resonate with the AI-influenced consumer.

Key Points:

• AI's Influence is Growing: 77% of consumers are using AI platforms, significantly influencing consumer decision-making and interaction with brands.
• Neuromarketing is Gaining Importance: 72% of companies using neuromarketing techniques report increased marketing campaign efficiency.
• Enhanced Engagement through Neuromarketing: 73% of businesses employing neuromarketing techniques have seen improved customer engagement.

What is Neuromarketing?

Neuromarketing, the intersection of neuropsychology and promotion, offers insights into consumer behavior by analyzing how the brain responds to marketing stimuli.

Did you know? The brain makes a purchasing decision 4 to 8 seconds before a person has the conscious experience of making the decision. Understanding the brain's reaction to marketing stimuli allows for more effective campaigns.

There are two interpretations of the term 'neuromarketing':

Traditional Neuromarketing

Considered the traditional approach, this relies on generalized studies, often utilizing psychological principles that are mostly outdated or taken out of context. (I call this "Regurgitated Neuromarketing.")

For example, this approach might suggest using a particular color like yellow in marketing materials to evoke happiness, irrespective of the context or the target audience. These generalized principles lack the precision and contextual relevance needed to build effective campaigns, especially in today's rapidly changing market influenced by AI.

Applied Neuromarketing

In contrast, the second school of neuromarketing - which is what marketers must pay attention to - focuses on live, contextual market research. This approach involves directly measuring a consumer's brain activity in response to specific marketing stimuli, environment, texture and more, using techniques such as Electroencephalography (EEG) and predictive software.

By directly measuring brain activity, marketers can gain insights into the subconscious reactions of consumers, uncovering deeper emotional and cognitive responses than can be evident through traditional marketing research methods.

Neuromarketing vs. Traditional Market Research

Neuromarketing represents a significant evolution from traditional market research methods. Unlike conventional approaches that often rely on highly faulty self-reported data from surveys and focus groups, neuromarketing delves directly into the consumer's subconscious mind.

Why Consumer Surveys Don't Work

Surveying your audience in an Instagram poll is an effective way of driving engagement. But that's where the value of surveys comes to a screeching halt.

Market research is a big business and even the most reputable firms are fallible to errors that make results from surveys and focus groups inaccurate and therefore, ineffective in driving decisions. It stems from one central flaw: wrong source of data.

Consumer surveys and focus groups collect data from formulated thoughts: we are asked a question, we formulate an answer based on a variety of factors that range from familial, societal, political and economic filters to whether we had enough caffeine that day or whether the focus group facilitator reminds us of our first-grade teacher.

Much like the fallacy of memory, the respondents' ability and willingness to accurately report their feelings and intentions leads to discrepancies between what people say and what they actually do.

This has been well-documented in the 'green' market: A consumer might claim to prefer a certain brand due to its eco-friendly image, but their purchasing decisions might be more heavily influenced by price or convenience, factors they might not openly acknowledge.

How Neuromarketing Solves That Problem

Neuromarketing bypasses these potential biases by using technologies like EEG (Electroencephalography) and fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to observe the brain's response to marketing stimuli. These methods provide more objective data on how consumers emotionally and cognitively engage with a product or brand.

For example, EEG paired with eye tracking tech can reveal the intensity of emotional engagement a consumer experiences when exposed to an advertisement, offering deeper insights into what truly captures their attention and drives their behavior.

Furthermore, neuromarketing can uncover insights that traditional methods might miss. It can detect subtle, unconscious reactions to a brand message or product feature, providing a level of detail that self-reported data cannot match. This depth of understanding is becoming increasingly important in a market where consumer preferences are rapidly evolving, influenced by factors like AI and digital media.

Neuromarketing Methods

Neuromarketing employs a variety of methods to understand consumer behavior at a neurological level. These techniques are designed to bypass conscious biases and access the driving force behind consumer decisions.

Some of these methods may appear advanced and extensive, but it's important to be aware of them. Then, I'll introduce you to other, more streamlined options.

1. Electroencephalography (EEG): EEG is one of the most commonly used tools in neuromarketing. It measures electrical activity in the brain to understand emotional engagement, attention, and memory retention. We use EEG to gauge how consumers not only react to advertisements, branding, and product design, but how the environment they are in affects their response to the marketing stimuli.
2. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI): fMRI provides a more in-depth look at brain activity by measuring changes in blood flow. It helps us understand which areas of the brain are activated in response to certain stimuli, offering insights into consumer preferences and decision-making processes.
3. Eye Tracking: Eye tracking technology, which can be used with hardware or software, tracks where and how long a person looks at various parts of an advertisement or product packaging. As eye movement is largely involuntary, this method is valuable for optimizing layout and design elements to capture consumer attention effectively.
4. Facial Coding: By analyzing facial expressions, which are also largely involuntary, marketers can assess emotional responses to their content. Facial coding software can detect subtle changes in expression that indicate joy, surprise, disgust, or other emotions.
5. Galvanic Skin Response (GSR): GSR measures the electrical conductivity of the skin, which changes with emotional arousal. This technique helps in understanding the intensity of emotional responses to marketing stimuli.
6. Implicit Association Testing (IAT): IAT is used to uncover subconscious associations between brands, products, and various attributes or emotions. It helps in understanding deep-seated brand perceptions that consumers might not be consciously aware of.

These neuromarketing methods offer marketers detailed and nuanced insights into the consumer's psyche, allowing marketers to craft more effective campaigns.

Case Studies: Brands That Use Neuromarketing

Several leading brands have successfully incorporated neuromarketing techniques into their strategies, gaining valuable insights into consumer behavior and enhancing their marketing efforts.

1. PepsiCo: PepsiCo utilized fMRI studies to understand consumers' preferences between Pepsi and Coca-Cola. The study revealed that while blind taste tests favored Pepsi, the brand preference changed when consumers were aware of the brand they were drinking. This highlighted the strong influence of brand perception on consumer choice.
2. Cheetos: In a unique neuromarketing campaign, Cheetos used EEG to study the brain's response to a playful marketing concept called "Cheetos Vision." This app transformed everyday objects into Cheetos, and EEG results showed that this humorous approach led to positive emotional engagement with the brand.

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1. Hyundai: Hyundai employed EEG and eye-tracking technologies to test their car designs. By understanding how potential customers visually interacted with different design elements and how these elements triggered emotional responses, Hyundai could make data-driven decisions in their design process.
2. Daimler: The automotive giant used fMRI to test consumer responses to car designs. The study aimed to understand the emotional impact of different design elements, which helped Daimler in creating cars that not only met functional needs but also resonated emotionally with customers.
3. eBay: eBay used EEG to optimize their website design. The study focused on understanding how different design elements affected emotional engagement and cognitive workload. This led to a user-friendly interface that enhanced the customer shopping experience.

By leveraging the latest advancements in neuroscience, these brands were able to create more effective and engaging marketing strategies. Today, more marketers have the ability to use neuromarketing to do the same.

Predictions for Neuromarketing and AI in Advertising

With data on AI's impact on being fresh, I went directly to the source and asked ChatGPT, "Do you believe that neuromarketing is more or less important now that AI is here?"

Its response, "The advent of AI in the marketing landscape has not diminished the importance of neuromarketing; rather, it has enhanced it."

I will share the entirety of its reasoning another time, but we agree that Neuromarketing and AI will enhance each other's individual powers in:

1. Drastically improving how we predict consumer behavior and design brands.
2. Evolving the profession of marketing - rapidly.
3. Prioritizing emotional intelligence as marketers, brand builders and campaigners.

2024 will see a significant shift in how marketing is done. AI's influence on consumer behavior will make neuromarketing something marketers can no longer ignore - if they want to thrive, that is. With its prevalence will come software for smaller projects like digital and print designs, as well as testing centers, like the ones facilitated by Sell the Brain, where marketers can send their larger projects to be tested.