I recently read this article called “Songs Stick in Teens’ Heads” which discusses how neuroscience technology can predict a song’s commercial success by documenting involuntary neural reactions to pop music. I have been reading and exploring how to incorporate neuroscience with eye tracking technology, and was lucky enough to visit NeuroFocus lab in San Francisco to understand brain wave data and neurometrics. What is my conclusion, is neuromarketing research in fact a viable method to predict marketing, design, or music success or fiction?

Before I answer that question, let’s review the state of neuroscience…

Measuring the Brain (Quick Intro)

I would suggest reading this paragraph if you have never heard about this type of research. If you have, skip on to the next paragraph. For those of you who are thinking this is just weird science Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system dating back to ancient Egypt, and neuromarketing is a new field that stemmed off neuroscience studying consumers’…

• Consumer Attention
• Cognitive Processes
• Affective Response
• Memory Retention

in order to inform the development of products and communications. Researchers use technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure changes in activity in parts of the brain, electroencephalography (EEG) to measure activity in specific regional spectra of the brain response to learn why consumers make the decisions they do, and what part of the brain is telling them to do it.

Brain Science, Good for Business?

It is commonly accepted that traditional market research is flawed because consumers don’t know, can’t articulate, or will even lie in a focus group about their purchase motivations.

Advertisers demand more accurate, insightful research, and having a deep understanding of consumers emotions is critical. Neuroscience research has revealed important new discoveries about how the human brain is structured and how it plays a key role in decisions. Helping marketers determine product configurations and price points that consumers feel represent a good value.

Today more companies are investing in the technology and studies; pretty much any major brand you can think is investing or thinking about investing.

NeuroStandards Project

The practice of neuromarketing is not without its critics and issues. The application of this complex science to marketing is still developing. Scientists still poorly understand how networks of neurons produce complex cognition’s and purchase behaviors. Plus the old age problem of artificiality within lab studies even when having brain data and behavior the experience doesn’t equate to that of buying a new product in a mall.

The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) designed an independent study of current neuromarketing methods, the science underlying those methods and the validity of the conclusions. Measuring specific emotions and purchase intent is not easy even when looking at brainwaves. In web analytics you need a standard formula for bounce rate and the ARF are trying to standardize best practices for identifying neurological and biometric methods.

If your company is thinking about investing in this type of research I would go to their website and learn more about their insights.

Neuromarketing Development & Research

Neuromarketing is poised to grow in use and influence, but the field is young and a bit like the wild west. Nielsen recently invested in NeuroFocus increasing the influence and credibility of neuromarketing. The two companies will work together to develop new forms of measurement and metrics based on the latest advances in neurosciences.

What the neuromarketing industry really needs are some published, controlled tests that demonstrate the effectiveness of properly interpreted EEG, fMRI. There are a few case studies out there (Coke vs Pepsi), but if you read carefully none of studies demonstrates unequivocally that changes in brain function are associated with — much less able to predict — purchasing behavior.

Buying into the Science

For the moment, there is simply no data available to justify neuromarketing whereas there is an abundance of data demonstrating that established brand effects are actually captured quite well by direct questioning when the brand is visible. The financial and intellectual yield of neuromarketing research remains entirely unsubstantiated, even if you had a $100K it would probably be best to invest in a good user experience strategy.

My Reality Check

As a researcher, I would love nothing more than correlating stimuli to emotions, but I am still hesitate to fully embrace this method. Different images elicit reactions with different lag times, hence why eye tracking and neuroscience still haven’t made an official union.

Neuromarketing will in fact one day be able to tap into the brains “buy now” spot, but as of right now I recommend waiting a few more years for the industry to grow, create reliable metrics, and provide transparent techniques for measuring emotion.

I welcome any feedback or updates to any of the comments made in this article. Have you been considering neuromarketing, if so what are some of the question you would ask a neuromarketing firm?

I just received my UX magazine from the UPA, which I love because it’s light and the articles are interesting.  There was one article called “Mommy, can I play with your iPhone?” which caught my eye because it talked about a plush  iPhone protector called the Woogie for children.

The article reviews a toy called Woogie, and I genuinely thought to myself what a great solution for moms on the go. Entertainment, education, and the safety of knowing that your phone was no longer in danger of your kid’s shotput arm. Plus it was only $19.99. Sold!

However, as I started to think about the article, the title states “mommy” not “daddy”, which was odd because an iPhone is an expensive item that no parent wants to hear crack on the floor.  Curiosity got the best of me and I tallied the opinions I found in product reviews online . The results? Dads seemed to be haters and moms couldn’t thank God for the blessing called Woogie.

Critical Point of View

Let’s break down the reviews (in case you want to do this experiment type in “The Woogie” in Google Search).

Male Review: “The Woogies: Why, God, Why?” This reviewer actually mentions that his phone has come back with jam on it and nearly broken but supervising your kids is the way to go versus getting some “freaking fluffy” case.

I don’t know about you sire, but I rather buy a $20 case then have my phone covered in jam or salivated on?

Female Review: “Make your iPhone Child-Safe with Six-Armed Plush Case” This reviewer puts herself in a mom’s shoe and how painful it must be to handover your phone to your child. She also supports the toy because of the education apps it comes with. (If you have time to read the comments you will also see a divide stance of the genders.)

Designing Beyond the Interaction

I read 10 or 12 reviews before I stopped and created a small check list that analyzed the statements made by reviewers that related to the usability or design of the product.

* There was no follow up survey with the reviewers,  I simply read and ran this check list based on their expression and experience.

The Woogie is advertised to be 50% stuffed animal (for kids) and 50% protective case (for your iPhone or iPod touch) with built-in speaker and mobile apps. If we take two steps back, and analyze the intent of the Woogie’s design between the genders then perhaps we can uncover the triggers of each response.

Decisions Based on Moods

I just finished reading this paper called “Getting in the Mood: The role of mood in product design and interaction” in which the author,  Frank Spiller, presents his idea of interaction design and how emotions are one of the strongest differentiators in user experience. What I took away from the paper and experiment was the Woogie was designed to protect a phone but on a larger scale it was designed to not only keep the user happy but offer an emotional relief for the parent.

Designers need to understand mood in order to design products that offer emotionally significant experiences that can outlive usage scenarios. Being able to sustain positive experiences across time and across product ownership is a key goal of interaction design.

What do you think? Are you a dad with a different opinion, or are there moms out there that can share what the Woogie from a design and emotional standpoint means to them? Any ideas or corrections are welcome!

User Research Friday, have you heard it’s coming to San Diego? I have been going to this annual San Francisco conference for only two years, but let me say that it’s more than just an educational tutorial that the gentle folk Bolt|Peters offer.

When I come out of this conference not only do I leave with valuable information about usability or behavior patterns of designer, but motivation to do something and help the community. Content and networking will be awesome, but expect some emotional trigger that motivate you to do more than what your currently doing.

Well we are proud to sponsor and bring down this amazing conference from Bolt |Peters, below is the line-up you don’t want to miss:

Sara Summer – User Experience Evangelist at Microsoft and has a personal design mantra: happy, healthy designers and developers working and playing together to create beautiful, inspirational products.

Veena Nath – Market Research Manager and Innovation Catalyst at TurboTax where she supports strategic initiatives through qualitative and quantitative insights.

Mark Trammel – Design researcher at Twitter. His work on the Web spans 14 years including coauthoring two books on Web standards

Ben McAllister - Associate Strategy Director at Frog Austin studio. His work focuses on making decisions in uncertain environments, where strategy considers the interplay between human behavior, technology, and markets

If you wanted more information about the speakers or how to get tickets to the event please click on the this link (http://urfriday.com/)