pick up a package or enter a store.
By connecting the conscious and
nonconscious response patterns
we now can have a depth of
understanding never imagined.
This brings market research leaders
such as Ipsos to observe that it is
the perfect time for connecting
traditional Marketing Research
with Neuro and Behavioral Science
methods. It also leaves us wondering,
“Shouldn’t every analysis have a
nonconscious data component?”
New Methods For Unlocking The
Consumer Brain
The reason that Market Research
has been able to leverage these
advancements in consumer
understanding is because there
are a number of neuroscientific
based methodologies which
lend themselves to meaningful
nonconscious measurements. Most
are adapted to get at engagement and
emotional response.
At the Ipsos Neuro and Behavioral
Science Center, all the leading
System 1 measurement tools are
offered around the world and
integrated into ongoing research
programs such as ad testing
tracking, product testing, brand asset
evaluation and shopper research.
Below is a continuum of available
methods from least sensitive for
nonconscious measurement to most
sensitive. The area in the middle
showcases the System 1 tools that
are most popular because they
provide useful insights, are easy to
integrate into surveys, comfortable
for consumers and affordable.
Briefly, Facial Coding captures
online response to advertising using
machine learning software and the
computer camera to measure facial
expressions for revealing 6 types
of positive and negative emotion,
second by second. IRT™ or Implicit
Reaction Time testing is an online
36 MAL 17/17 ISSUE
‘‘After more than
100 years trying to
understand consumer
behavior by mostly
asking questions
and observing, we
now have an array
of nonconscious
measurement tools
which can help us
get at how people
feel when they see
an ad, pick up a
package or enter a
store. By connecting
the conscious and
nonconscious
response patterns we
now can have a depth
of understanding
never imagined.’’
analytics approach that measures
the speed of response to questions
and ratings to indicate nonconscious
conviction and certainty.
Eye Tracking is an invaluable tool
for understanding natural attention
and viewing patterns. It tells us what
is noticed, how long the interest is
held for and in what order the eye
travels from element to element. Plus,
eye tracking is now possible online,
in central locations and moving
naturally with mobile glasses through
stores and customer experiences with
great accuracy.
EEG and Biometrics are very
sensitive for evaluating packaging,
media context, shopper experience
etc. Voice Pitch analysis is still
experimental, but can reveal many
types of emotional responses based
upon audio recordings of responses to
open ended questions.
All of these mentioned, relatively
new Neuro Market Research
measurement tools are used by Ipsos
everyday somewhere in the world to
make our research more insightful
and our clients smarter about how to
optimize and select among marketing
alternatives. We have standard
integrated solutions for copy testing,
product testing, tracking, brand asset
profiling, shopper, etc.
Many of these study types serve to
provide greater insights and optimize
results. But sometimes Ipsos conducts
leading edge R&D research to gain
new knowledge. The following Neuro
and Behavioral Science Shopper
Research Study called “Flower Power”
is an example of the type of discovery
that is now possible with the right
combination of System 1 tools.
Breaking New Ground In Shopper
Research: Case Study “Flower Power”
One of the important things we
learn from brain science is that
context makes a huge impact
on how we perceive stimuli like
advertising and how we respond
to consumer experiences. Knowing
also the importance of emotion
on decision making, we asked
ourselves, can a positive in-store
experience change a shopper’s
mood? And, if mood is uplifted,
what impact might be measured
with respect to the shopper’s
response and behavior?
To explore these questions,
Ipsos conducted a major in-
store study in a large American
supermarket. It was a test/control
cell study where all shoppers were
intercepted at the front of the
store and asked to continue with
their intended shop while wearing
biometric devices and eye tracking
glasses.