the pdf

INFO PLUS 8
NEUROMARKETING
What is it?
The term “neuromarketing” appeared at the turn of the century to describe a new practice in the fields of marketing and advertising.
Neuromarketing uses neuroscience, i.e. knowledge of how the brain and nervous system work, as well as various medical technologies to
understand consumers’ unconscious and involuntary reactions and attitudes towards products or services. Electroencephalograms,
magnetic resonance imaging, skin conductance and eye tracking are among the techniques used.
It allows companies and advertisers to:
• Know which brain stimulus leads consumers to decide to buy.
• Identify their reactions to the colour of the packaging, to the music or image associated to the brand, etc.
• Measure attention, emotional and activation levels of areas of the brain an advertisement triggers by observing brain, heart, skin,
sweat and eye movement reactions when consumers are exposed.
• The information obtained is far more sophisticated than survey answers or focus groups about a product, and it is used to develop
effective marketing strategies.
Viral and digital interactive marketing among youths
Viral and digital interactive marketing integrate tactics derived from neuromarketing research.
Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut are among the leaders in these types of marketing and apply them to their
brand-linked websites, interactive and online games, Facebook activities, YouTube contests, etc.
By being able to create an avatar or profile on social media or to participate in blogs, video creations or network games, teenagers feel
connected to what appeals to them and concerns them: contacting peers spontaneously and frequently, interacting socially, expressing
themselves, exploring their identity, making independent discoveries, being sought out in a personalized manner, having their own
universe away from adults, etc.
What’s more, viral and digital interactive marketing are developed taking into account the neural pathways between emotions, thoughts
and actions (e.g. impulse purchases or choosing one brand over another) in the context of adolescent hormonal and psychological
changes.
Brains assaulted in games!
Advergames and in-game advertising are two advertising tactics that are growing in popularity among soft and energy drink producers,
who use them to expose their brand, image or message in entertainment content.
Advergames or advertising videogames are games that revolve around characters wearing company logos, or where these same logos are
integrated to the background to draw players’ attention to the product. Advergames remain full videogames. Their fun sides draw in youths
who are then exposed repetitively to the brand. They are usually free and available online.
INFO PLUS 8
NEUROMARKETING
In-game advertising uses online or console games (e.g. Playstation, XBox, Nintendo) as an advertising channel. In a similar
fashion to product placement in the movie industry, soft and energy drink companies integrate their products and messages within
the gameplay itself. This strategy provides several benefits:
• They include dynamic advertisements (e.g. personalized, interactive messages that may change from game to game) that
complement static ads (e.g. signs in sports simulations).
• They prevent viewers from skipping ads via personal digital recorders.
• They make for a potential impact of some twenty or thirty hours rather than a few minutes as is the case for advertisements broadcast
on television or at the movies.
Effective and lucrative advertising!
Studies show the public react positively to in-game advertising:
A large majority of consumers (82%) reacts positively to advertising in videogames.
Participants find the appearance of real products make the game more realistic; in their opinion, this form of advertising is neither frustrating nor distracting – quite the opposite, it strengthens their immersion in the game.
These studies also show a positive influence on the advertised brand:
• 61% of participants say they have a better opinion of products presented after having played.
• A high number of respondents with a negative perception of the product changed their opinion after having played a game with
advertisements for the product.
• More than a third say that ads influenced their future choice of purchases.
• About one quarter of participants noticed the product in the game the more subtle the integration to the game, the more impact the
advertisement has
Videogame developers greatly increase their revenues thanks to this form of advertising.
In-game advertising first appeared in 2009 in Canadian online advertising investments and was valued at $3 million. Overall, online
advertising in Canada almost doubled between 2008 and 2009 and represented 13% of the 14 billion invested in all types of media.
Information drawn from the following sources: ABC net-marketing. Définitions marketing. Online: http://www.definitions-marketing.com/Definition-Neuromarketing Dooley R (2006). What is neuromarketing? Neuromarketing.com, June 27, 2006. Online: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/what-is-neuromarketing.htm;
Wikipedia. Neuromarketing. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromarketing (all accessed in November 2010).
Montgomery KC, Chester JJ. (2009). Interactive food and beverage marketing: targeting adolescents in the digital age. Journal of Adolescent Health. Sept. 45 (3 Suppl): S18-29.
Wikipedia. Advergame. Online: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/advergame (accessed in November 2010).
Raggal (2003). Pub dans les jeux : l’offensive. Gamekult.com. Online: http://www.gamekult.com/actu/pub-dans-les-jeux-l-offensive-A0000025422.html (accessed in November 2010).
Wikipedia. In-game advertising. Online: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-game_advertising (accessed in November 2010).
Jeuxvideo.com La pub dans les jeux vidéo confortée par une étude.
Online: http://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2008/00026729-la-pub-dans-les-jeux-video-confortee-par-une-etude.htm (accessed in November 2010).
Brault A (2008) La publicité dans les jeux vidéo. Online: http://www.slideshare.net/antoinebrault/publicit-dans-les-jeux-vido (accessed in November 2010).
Tom’s Game (2005). Publicité et jeux vidéo : un couple qui a de l’avenir. Online: http://www.jeuxvideopc.com/news/2161-publicite-jeux-video-couple-qui-avenir.php (accessed in
November 2010).
Beauchemin Communication. La publicité in-game, un procédé à double tranchant. Génération nouvelles technologies. June 29, 2007.
Online: http://www.generation-nt.com/publicite-in-game-actualite-42652.html (accessed in November 2010).
Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada. 2009 Canadian Online Advertising Revenue Grows To $1.82 Billion; 2010 Budget Set At $2.1 Billion. IAB Canada Newsletters,
August 10, 2010.
Online: http://www.iabcanada.com/newsletters/081010.shtml (accessed in November 2010).