Reporting from neuroscience’s waste basket, we discover that Nielsen has discovered Blink!:
Nielsen monitors brain waves to track memory, emotional engagement and the attention levels of viewers. Burrus said Nielsen clients have identified a correlation between ads that score high on its brain metrics and those producing sales gains.
…
“We make decisions very differently than we thought we did,” Burrus said. “We form opinions very differently than we thought we did. We’re much more emotional and instinctive in our thinking than we ever realized. Neuroscience is showing that we make decisions much faster, in the blink of an eye.”
Cold water:
McCarthy doubts whether the technology will ever replace surveys as a research tool because “you can’t confuse the initial neurological response of somebody to the eventual attitude they form.
You mean, like, a guy could really react to a red hot Ferrari but end up buying a Toyota SUV? Whodathunk?
Yet, onward, neuromarketers! With the really big clients that Nielsen’s Neurofocus aims at (who can afford the technology), facts like these are apt to get lost in the corporate bureaucracy for years, and the company’s cheques will cash in the meantime.
And when Blink! starts to play out, let’s move to another reliable neuroscience concept, Nudge.
Hat tip: Stephanie West Allen at Brains on Purpose