Measurement of consumer emotions – Neuroscience for AD TESTING
Numbers are known to be coldly accurate but thoroughly incapable of assessing softer aspects like consumer emotions, feelings and behavioral insights.
First and foremost ensuring that consumer emotionally connects with the brand message is important.
Secondly knowing that they have connected leads to measuring it effectively.
Today’s consumers access content across media platforms.
Consumers in India continue to view television commercials to be among the most trustworthy sources of advertising. Also given the popularity of TV, viewers are bombarded with more ads than ever before. This is making it that much more difficult for brands and agencies to create commercials that truly connect with their audiences.
The media industry has a long history of measurement solutions that assess an ad’s impact on its intended audience—understanding what works and what doesn’t. But they don’t determine whether an ad creates an emotional connection with the viewer. From here on this represents a significant opportunity for marketers because studies show that purchase decisions are driven by emotions.
Measuring Consumer Emotions
Consumer Emotions are intangible. And measuring them is no small task. Direct response surveys mislead because they presume that respondents will accurately verbalise their emotions. Verbal responses require respondents to express. Therefore rationalize, as feelings. Emotions are instinctive reactions to external stimuli, whereas feelings are the mind’s interpretation of those emotions. Therefore, subject to personal bias, culture, setting, past experiences and ingrained beliefs many emotions don’t break the surface of conscious awareness. And making it impossible to be interpreted as feelings.
For many modern researchers, using techniques that directly measure neurological and biological reactions are the best way to evaluate emotions.
These reactions include heart rate, sweat, posture, facial reactions, electrical impulses in specific regions of the brain, etc. these techniques are collectively referred to as neuroscience. And recent technical innovations in this field are helping break new ground in our understanding of consumer behaviour. This is also setting a new standard for ad testing.
USING NEUROSCIENCE FOR AD TESTING
Neuroscience provides a deep, clear view into the real world. In fact a real-time reaction of consumers at the most elemental level: their brainwaves. The human brain reacts to stimuli in milliseconds. And by capturing these reactions deep within the subconscious. Consumer neuroscience reveals exactly how consumers perceive brands, marketing and the message. At the most granular level. Pure, instantaneous, unfiltered responses. Measured at the subconscious level of the mind offer far more accurate and reliable insights than other consumer research methodologies.