The science of neuroscience marketing can be either fascinating (if you are a brand) or slightly creepy (if you are a consumer at whom these efforts are focused). Rarely, though, are they seen as relevant to digital marketing. It is understandable: most of the sexy research or case studies are very much focused on actual consumer goods. But, in fact, there are a number of related studies that - while perhaps not formally considered neuroscience marketing - can still be applied to digital marketing campaigns.
The Sexy Examples
Still, though, it can be fun to read about the larger projects in the tangible world — not to mention informative– as it shows how much of an impact even a seemingly minor design change can be. For instance, Neuroscience Marketing blog points to a redesign of the Chips Ahoy package.
"Resealability was known to be a valued feature, but the resealability claim itself was driving negative emotional reactions; it was too jarring on the current packaging and too difficult to read on the proposed. The cookie visual on the proposed packaging was also problematic. Despite its prominence, it didn’t appear to be effective because it only drew neutral reactions."
The study led to significant refinements to both design elements prior to launch, it said — the resealability tab was made more legible, while the cookie visual was given more energy with flying chips visuals.
Another new study, by DervalResearch, finds that a woman's hormonal makeup drives her taste in fabrics and textures, with "estrogen-driven" women preferring animal fabrics such as wool, fur, leather, or silk, while "testosterone-driven" women go for vegetal materials such as cotton and linen. Diana Derval of the market research firm DervalResearch recently presented these findings at the 15th annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN) in Mexico.
Such tactile segmentation is also valid for men, says Derval. Her research has found that men on average are more sensitive than women to synthetic textiles such as nylon, but important variations can be observed among age-matched men of the same ethnicity. These findings, Derval believes, are critical not only for the fashion and luxury industries, but also for businesses involved in consumer packaging. "This research will aid them in designing the right sensory mix for their target markets," she explains.
Now For Online
In the online world, similar studies are emerging.
One recent study conducted by EyeTrackShop concluded that - with a few surprising differences - both sexes look at various online ads in the same manner. EyeTrackShop enlisted 100 participants using test ads from the H&M website, Reebok and Saab to determine how, if at all, gender plays a role in the way consumers look at ads, packages and other stimuli. One exception was women's images. Men spent 40% more time looking at their faces, as opposed to bodies, than women.
Who Can You Trust?
A University of Melbourne study finds that consumers are 20% more trusting of websites than they were five years ago — online shoppers are 30% less loyal to online businesses than in 2007. Author of the study Dr. Brent Coker developed a formula, called Webreep, to track patterns and trends in online behaviors and purchasing. It creates a score for 130 website industries based on seven dimensions of quality: visual appeal, trustworthiness, ease of use, search quality, information quality, information relevancy and load speed.
Coker found that the increase in online consumer trust is largely linked to the visual appeal of websites. "As aesthetically orientated humans, we're psychologically hardwired to trust beautiful people, and the same goes for websites. Our offline behavior and inclinations translate to our online existence. As the Internet has become prettier, we are venturing out, and becoming less loyal. "With websites becoming increasingly attractive and including more trimmings, this creates a greater feeling of trustworthiness and professionalism in online consumers."
Am I Interesting?
He also found that the biggest source of frustration is the inability to find relevant information on a website. The best way to stop defection to other websites, and increase loyalty, is to be interesting, he said — “being pretty, but with nothing to say, is not enough." The research found that if a website has poor navigation or access to information, or is slow (i.e. more than two seconds to download), web surfers are more likely to opt against purchasing and navigate to an alternate website.
