Neuroscience
Last week's news had several reports about a new functional MRI study looking at taste preferences and brand loyalty. Here is the abstract of that study:
Today's New York Times Science section includes a look at this study and what so-called "neuromarketing" applications might develop.
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Neuroscience
Neuromarketing: Brand Loyalty and the Brain
Last week's news had several reports about a new functional MRI study looking at taste preferences and brand loyalty. Here is the abstract of that study:
McClure SM, Li J, Tomlin D, Cypert KS, Montague LM, Montague PR. Neural correlates of behavioral preference for culturally familiar drinks. Neuron. 2004 Oct 14; 44(2): 379-87.
Department of Neuroscience, Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030 USA.
Coca-Cola((R)) (Coke((R))) and Pepsi((R)) are nearly identical in chemical composition, yet humans routinely display strong subjective preferences for one or the other. This simple observation raises the important question of how cultural messages combine with content to shape our perceptions; even to the point of modifying behavioral preferences for a primary reward like a sugared drink. We delivered Coke and Pepsi to human subjects in behavioral taste tests and also in passive experiments carried out during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Two conditions were examined: (1) anonymous delivery of Coke and Pepsi and (2) brand-cued delivery of Coke and Pepsi. For the anonymous task, we report a consistent neural response in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex that correlated with subjects' behavioral preferences for these beverages. In the brand-cued experiment, brand knowledge for one of the drinks had a dramatic influence on expressed behavioral preferences and on the measured brain responses.
PMID: 15473974 [PubMed - in process]
Today's New York Times Science section includes a look at this study and what so-called "neuromarketing" applications might develop.
If Your Brain Has a 'Buy Button,' What Pushes It?[ ... Read the full article ... ] (free registration required)
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE
New York Times
19 October 2004
Knowing what brand you are buying can influence your preferences by commandeering brain circuits involved with memory, decision making and self-image, researchers have found.
When researchers monitored brain scans of 67 people who were given a blind taste test of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, each soft drink lit up the brain's reward system, and the participants were evenly split as to which drink they preferred. But when the same people were told what they were drinking, activity in a different set of brain regions linked to brand loyalty overrode their original preferences. Three out of four said that they preferred Coca-Cola.
The study, published in the Oct. 14 issue of the journal Neuron, is the first to explore how cultural messages penetrate the human brain and shape personal preferences.
Circulating in draft form over the last year, the study has been widely discussed by neuroscientists and advertisers, as well as people who worry about the power of commercials in determining consumer behavior.
At issue is whether marketers can exploit advances in brain science to make more effective commercials. Is there a "buy button" in the brain?
- Extras
10 eye-catching studies that didn't make the final cut: Watching your favourite TV shows restores your levels of self-control. Nearly one third of pedestrians were distracted by their phone when crossing the road. Extreme political views are often...
- The Mere Sight Of Alcohol Impairs Drinkers' Memories
For students who like a tipple or three, the mere sight of a bottle of Jack Daniels can have a detrimental effect on their memory. Dennis Kramer and Stephen Schmidt, who made the observation, said this is probably due to the emotional salience alcohol...
- Choosing Between The Indistinguishable
Is it possible to have a preference for one taste over another without being able to distinguish between the two? That’s apparently the case with patient B, a 72-year-old man brain-damaged by Herpes simplex encephalitis in 1975. Patient B suffered bilateral...
- The Luxury Of Neurobranding
Speaking of marketing campaigns, neuromarketing is in the news [or at least, a scientific journal] again, along with other neuro words (more on that later). A recent fMRI study examined branding and the brain by showing participants pictures of logos...
- The Values Of Distractions
From today's New York Times: Study Points to a Solution for Dread: Distraction By SANDRA BLAKESLEE Published: May 5, 2006 The New York Times For those who dread a colonoscopy or a root canal so much that they avoid it altogether, scientists have...