Interdisciplinary Approach

To Consumer Understanding

Winter 2023
 Interdisciplinarity

Intradisciplinary Crossdisciplinary Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary Transdisciplinary

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 Issues With Traditional Marketing Research

Narrow Focus; Process Focus

• Narrowl y focussed on research as in traditional textbooks
• The courses: Process-centred
not
• Focus on marketing research as being just surveys and focus groups
• Focus on The What (methods and data analytics) not so much on the ‘So -What’ Outcome-centred
• Focus on research through asking questions

Not Interdisciplinary:
• Need to look at adjacent disciplines – concepts & methodologies from which are being
used extensively in industry to do more well -rounded research
• We will attempt to make it interdisciplinary

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 Issues With Traditional Marketing Research

Need To Be Holistic
• A person is not just a ‘buyer ’ or a ‘user ’ or a ‘consumer ’ – she is a human being with
emotions, feelings, life issues, family context, cultural context. Brand choice is performed in
the context of this life, not in isolation.
• Marketing Research needs to help understand the whole human being.

Need to move to:

1 . O u t c om e - Foc u s e d: T h e S o - W h a t , n o t j u s t t h e W h a t & H o w
Hence
2 . I n t e r di s c i pl i na r y

3. Holistic Human Being Focused

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 Why Do We Need To Go Beyond Traditional Marketing Research
To Interdisciplinary Consumer Understanding

• Bring interdisciplinari ty into the approach.

1
Interdisciplinarit y
• A discipline does not thrive in isolation, in a silo. It needs cross -fertilisation of ideas
with other disciplines to be able to provide a well -rounded appreciation of the topic.
• Marketing research is at the crossroads of various disciplines – neuromarketing,
social media, sociology, psychology, behavioural economics, to name a few.
• We need to integrate concepts and methodologies from these disciplines into
preparing our students for the way marketing research is done in the real world.

2
Outcome Focus
• We need to focus on the outcome, not the process.
• Marketing Research (The What & The How) is the Process
• – Consumer Understanding, Insights, Better Marketing Decisions are the Outcom es .
• Focus on the So -What as much as the What & How.

Hence, Interdisciplinary Approach to Consumer Understanding

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 Interdisciplinary Approach To Consumer Understanding

1 Neuroscience
2 Social Sciences >
Methodologies > Ethnography
Neuroscience
Neuromarketing Ethnography
Neuromarketing Tools Access to the customer’s
symbolic world
Implicit measurement rather Traditional Micro-cultural meanings
than explicit asking Marketing Research that underlie behaviour

Measuring brain activity to assess

consumer response to brand & marketing.

3 Asking questions in context – priming, anchoring, framing

Behavioural Economics Engaging System 1 or System 2 brain – depending on which

system is engaged in real life for that kind of decisions

‘Nudge’ experiments to see how consumers make choices

when presented with different stimuli or nudges
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 Sample List Of Resources

Behavioural Economics
Neuromarketing
Ethnography
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Dan Ariely – On Irrationality

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9
 Blue Pink
Yellow Orange

White
Black Green
Tell me a familiar number….like your date of birth in numerical format, e.g. 14-06-1996

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• A bat and a ball cost Rs 110 in total. The bat costs Rs 100 more than
the ball. How much does the ball cost? _____ rupees

• Every day the amount of water in a lake doubles. If it takes 24

days for the lake to be full, how long would it take for the lake
to be half full? _____ days

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12
The Two Brains
 Context Is Everything

Priming: Associative Activation. A stimulus activates an association. Nonconsciously.

In Explicit Research, consumers will never admit that their choice of wine was influenced by the music.

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15
 We All Have Two Brains

SYSTEM 1 SYSTEM 2
Fast Slow
Effortless Deliberative
Emotional Logical
Intuitive Conscious
Associative Post-Cognitive
Pre-cognitive Deductive
Implicit Research helps to tap into the hidden associations that are triggered
by System 1 brain, without the rationalising influence of System 2 brain. 16
 Research Methods

Spectrum Of Consumer Research Methods

Ask Questions Do Not Ask Questions

Implicit
Neuromarketing Behvaioural
Qualitative Quantitative Reaction Ethnography
Based Methods Experiments
Time

Explicit Implicit

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 Why Do We Need To Go Beyond Explicit Research

• People are notoriously unreliable at reporting their own behaviour, even with the best of
intentions to report it honestly and accurately.
• Implicit Research helps in the study of seemingly mundane decisions and actions by getting
to the real unfiltered and non-rationalised feelings of people.

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Why Do We Need To Go Beyond Explicit Research

David A. Aaker - Managing Brand Equity

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 Why Implicit Reactions Matter?

Brown rice is
I don’t really like healthy and I like it
eating brown rice…

When people are asked explicitly (e.g. in an interview), they may or may not reveal
(or even be consciously aware of) their true feelings towards the product.
Implicit measures get to people’s true underlying beliefs, emotions, and
motivations.
Implicit and explicit results may not agree, and in these differences or
similarities lie the most crucial insights about people’s motivations.

Implicit answer Explicit answer

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 What is Implicit Reaction?

1. Question 2. Implicit reaction 3. Explicit reaction

Not really… Of course..

Do you think this
product is tasty?

Before ~ 500 milliseconds

After ~ 600 milliseconds

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 Implicit Research Combined With Explicit Research
• Implicit research is not a replacement for explicit research.
• It is complementary and provides another layer of understanding.
• Explicit research shows how people would like to be seen – and that is important too
• while implicit tells us what they really feel inside, even though they may not reveal
it or might not even themselves consciously realise it.
• Brand choices are made based on both intuitive and considered responses.

• Addressing both types of beliefs is important for crafting brand

messages.

• We should combine the learning from both Implicit and Explicit parts
of the research to come up with holistic conclusions & recommendations.

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Emotional Messages Implicit Research Combined With Explicit Research
Brand Associations Based on Implicit Research

H I D D E N AT T R I B U TE S C O R E P O S I T I O NI N G AT T R I B U TE S
HIGH

• These attributes are implicitly linked to the brand

• Attributes here are rated highly in both
• But consumers are consciously not aware of
Explicit and Implicit research
these links or downplay these links
• The brand owns these attributes and needs
• These can be the hidden motivators that should
to make these the core positioning platform.
be used in our brand’s communication.

N O T L I N K E D TO T H E B R A N D R AT I O N A L IS E D AT T R I B U TE S

• These attributes are not linked to the brand • In Explicit Research, consumers say the brand
either explicitly or implicitly. owns these attributes.
• These can be ignored, as they are unlikely • But the Implicit connection of the brand with
to motivate consumers, explicitly or these attributes is weak.
• Use in communication: project how consumers
LOW

implicitly, to use the brand.

like to be seen when using the brand.

LOW HIGH
Brand Associations Based on Explicit Research
Rational Messages
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 Interdisciplinary Approach To Consumer Understanding

1 Neuroscience
2 Social Sciences >
Methodologies > Ethnography
Neuroscience
Neuromarketing Ethnography
Neuromarketing Tools Access to the customer’s
symbolic world
Implicit measurement rather Traditional Micro-cultural meanings
than explicit asking Marketing Research that underlie behaviour

Measuring brain activity to assess

consumer response to brand & marketing.

3 Asking questions in context – priming, anchoring, framing

Behavioural Economics Engaging System 1 or System 2 brain – depending on which

system is engaged in real life for that kind of decisions

‘Nudge’ experiments to see how consumers make choices

when presented with different stimuli or nudges
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Neuromarketing As A Tool For
Consumer Understanding
 Neuromarketing

NEUROSCIENCE NEUROMARKETING NEUROMARKETING

TOOLS
Application of Any method that studies
The science of the brain neuroscience to t h e a c t i vi t i e s o f t h e b r a i n
a n d h o w i t a ff e c t s t h e marketing. – wi t h t h e a i m o f l i n k i n g
b e h a vi o u r a n d c o g n i t i ve t h a t a c t i vi t y t o t h e
functions of the human Study of the brain marketing stimulus.
being. functions to understand
response to brands, To u n d e r s t a n d wh a t
P u r e s c i e n c e , wi t h u s e i n communication, and i m p l i c i t l y m o t i va t e s
medicine. Not related to other marketing stimuli. consumers to like a brand
marketing or market or a marketing stimulus.
research. Use of brain scanning,
brain imaging, and other I n c l u d e s f M R I , E E G , E ye
b r a i n a c t i vi t y t o m e a s u r e Tr a c k i n g , G S R , E C G ,
consumer response to I m p l i c i t R e a c t i o n Ti m e …
brand & marketing.

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 We Need To Talk To The Brain

Millions of micro emotions are triggered when we

see a stimulus…Point is, try putting these micro -
emotions into words or writing them down in a
roomful of strangers. It can’t be done. That’s why
the true reactions and emotions we as consumers
experience are more likely to be found in the
brain, in the nanosecond lapse before thinking
is translated into words. So, if marketers want
the naked truth – the truth, unplugged and
uncensored, about what causes us to buy – they
have to interview our brains.

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 Brain Parts & Consciousness

• The brain is an archaeological site – the only human organ that has layers of
evolution all at the same time
• The 3 Layers of the Brain – Physical, Emotional, Rational
• Physical Brain – reptilian, at the base connected to the spinal chord.
• Manages most primal functions, breathing, circulation, digestion, sleeping,
eating, No learning, just performs repetitive tasks. It manages the most primal
responses. Survival, safety, sustenance, dominance, anger…

• Emotional Brain – Limbic System – social bonding, memories, emotions.

• Has parts like Amygdala, Hippocampus, Hypothalamus…
• Amygdala associates emotions to an event.
• Hippocampus creates associative memories, amygdala attaches emotions to them
• Assigns value to objects, events, ads, brands…by attaching emotions and relating them
to past memories.
• Tapping into the limbic system results in memorable brands and ads.

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 Brain Parts & Consciousness

• Rational Brain – Neocortex or Cerebral Cortex – the commonly recognised wrinkly part.
Cognitive functions – language, speech, writing, problem solving, maths….
• Conscious reasoning, deliberation, moral decisions, considered choices, rational restraint.
Higher order thought. Perception of self and identity.
• Right hemisphere – more spatial, artistic, abstract…
• Left hemisphere – more linear, rational, verbal.

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 The Emotional Brain
• Emotional brain is the primary driver of our behaviour .
• Rational mind acts as a backseat observer.
• Our rational mind can apply brakes, but for most decisions we don’t
• The three layer approach is a useful metaphor – neurological buckets
• Our decisions are based on:
• The physical experiences of our body
• The emotions and feelings in our heart
• The rationalisations and logic in our head
• Marketing strategies need to address all three

• Linking back to Daniel Kahneman System 1 and 2.

• System 1 simplifies decisions ; allows judgements to be made more quickly and easily.
• System 2 evaluates options more deliberately . But in most cases, this evaluation is
little more than a rubber stamp
• System 1 is so effective in simplifying decisions that no great consideration is needed.

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 System 1 & System 2

• Kahneman calls System 2 the “lazy policeman” – it monitors System 1 decisions and
has the authority to intervene, but usually doesn’t because it is effortful to do so.
• System 1 underpins every decision we ever make – you can’t switch it off.
• All choices involve System 1 simplifying decisions, before the “lazy policeman” either
waves them through or stops them and examines them more carefully.
• In our everyday lives, System 1 is far more influential and powerful . It governs the
majority of our decisions.
• System 2 is only there for the rare occasions when System 1 cannot make a quick decision.

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 What Is Neuromarketing

• Neuromarketing – understanding how marketing actions/stimuli influence the brain and what
actions does it lead people to take
• Neuromarketing is the marketing research application of Brain Sciences:
• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuromarketing helps understand the Intuitive Consumer instead of the Rational Consumer

• Traditional rational consumer model – AIDA; believed that consumers have complete access
to their mental state and purchase motivations
• The real brain processes when exposed to stimulus are:
• Forming impressions
Nonconscious
• Determining Meaning & Value
• Deliberating & Analysing
Conscious
• Speaking & Acting

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 Reaching The Brain

• We need to move beyond outw ard expressions of attitudes and behaviour – get to
internal processes behind these attitudes.
• Most of our external behaviours have internal neurobiological determinants .
• Many processes in our brain occur automatically and without the involvement of our
consciousness. This prevents our mind from being overloaded by routine tasks .

• Brain cells: neurons; communicate through junctions (synapses)

• When a neuron is active – sends electrical impulse – creates a chemical event –
neurotransmitter (messenger) – bridge between neurons
• Activated neuron (‘neuron fired’) creates connections to thousands of other
neurons (circuits), then to networks, then to systems
• Neurons that fire together are wired together

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 Creating Memories & Recognition

How
How
• Product performance proof, RTB
What • Appeal to Procedural Memory

What
Why • Rational description of product features
• Appeal to Semantic Memory

Why
• The real reason why you should like the brand
• Appeal to Episodic Memory

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 Limitations Of Research That Accesses Just The Rational Mind

• Episodic memories and life events, stored in the brain, are activated when choosing a
Coke over a Pepsi – the conscious mind doesn't have access to most of this information
• When asked, we post -rationalise – I chose Coke because it tastes better.
• Pepsi taste preferred in blind tests, but Coke preferred branded – emotions are triggered by
Coke brand, memories, events, emotions, dopamine is released, pleasurable memories.

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 Measuring Brain Activity

• fMRI – functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging – measures the magnetic properties

of haemoglobin – the component of the red blood cells that carry oxygen around the
body.
• fMRI measures the amount of oxygenated blood in any part of the brain.
• The harder a part of the brain is working, the greater amount of fuel it needs –
oxygen is fuel.
• When more oxygenated blood in a part of the brain, the more the fMRI will pick it up
– and show as a 'hot' area.
• Neuroscientists can measure which areas of the brain are flared up by what stimulus

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Neuromarketing Tools
 Mapping The Neuromarketing Tools

Central Nervous System (CNS) Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Brain Body

Measure the activity in the bodily functions – heart

Measure the activity inside the brain –
rate, blood pressure, skin perspiration, pupil
neuroimaging technologies
dilation…

Somatic Nervous System Autonomic Nervous

Blood Flow Measures Electrical Measures
(SNS) System (ANS)

At least partially voluntary Automatic – perspiration,

Assess brain activity Capture the
– facial expressions , eye heart rate, breathing,
by measuring blood electrical signals
movement, blinks… pupil dilation…
flow to activated when neurons are
neurons activated
Faster Slower

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 Specific Neuromarketing Techniques

Central Nervous System (CNS) Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Brain Body

Measure the activity inside the brain –

Measure the activity in the bodily functions
neuroimaging technologies

Somatic Nervous System Autonomic Nervous

Blood Flow Measures Electrical Measures
(SNS) System (ANS)

Facial Expressions Galvanic Skin Response

Blood Oxygenation: Electrical Fields:
fMRI EEG Facial Muscle Movement Heart Rate

Eye Movement Tracking Blood Pressure

Behavioural Reaction Respiration

Time
Pupil Dilation
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Neuromarketing Tools:
1. Galvanic Skin Response
 Autonomic Nervous System – Measuring Impact

• Autonomic Nervous System controls our vital functions – breathing, heartbeat, blood
pressure etc.
• This system also prepares us for fight-flight in case of danger
• When we are scared our heart races, our breathing becomes rapid, our mouth becomes
dry, our muscles become tense, our palms become sweaty…we do not consciously
decide all this, it is managed by the autonomic nervous system.
• What is its use in marketing research? Autonomic Nervous System responds at a non-
conscious level to marketing stimuli.

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 Galvanic Skin Response

• Galvanic Skin Reaction (GSR) – a tool to measure the response of a marketing stimulus
on skin perspiration.
• The tool works on the principle of electric conductance property of the human skin
• Epidermis (outer layer of the skin) has sweat glands – fill up with sweat in response to
stimulus – more sweat in sweat glands = lower resistance = more conductance of electric
current through them.
• Equipment – GSR Amplifier
• Small amount of current passed through the skin through two electrodes.

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 Galvanic Skin Response

• This first measures the ‘base level’ skin conductance’ – Skin Conductance Level (SCL)
• When a marketing stimulus is exposed – visual, smell, taste – there is an increase in
conductance – this higher level is Skin Conductance Response (SCR)
• The difference between SCR and SCL tells us whether the stimulus is getting an emotional
response.
• Measures:
• Amplitude – difference between SCR and SCL (How Much impact)
• Latency – time between exposure to stimulus and start of GSR (How Quickly) – usually,
2 to 5 seconds
• Rise Time – time between start of response and peak response (The Build Up – Slow
Burn vs Spike kind of response)
• Half-Recovery – time from peak response and reduction to half of the peak (How
Persistent Or Stable)

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 Galvanic Skin Response

• GSR is an excellent measure of emotional arousal caused by a marketing stimulus.

• Issues:
• Latency: happens 2 -5 seconds after exposure, so not useful for measuring real -time
moment-to-moment response
• Also, does not indicate the direction of the response. Can’t say if the emotional
response is like or dislike. Just know that the stimulus evoked a response.
• Hence, GSR is usually an additional or confirmatory tool in measuring emotional response,
not a standalone tool.

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Neuromarketing Tools:
2. Facial Expressions & Facial Muscle Movement
 Universal Facial Expressions

• Facial expressions are a reliable expression of emotional state – they are partially
controllable (SNS)
• Facial expressions are the voluntary and involuntary movements that occur when one or
more of the 43 facial muscles on the face are engaged.
• Facial expressions are a rich source of non -verbal communication and display a vast
amount of emotional and cognitive information.
• Charles Darw in – universal facial expressions of emotions
• Paul Ekman – studied emotions and facial expressions in different cultures
• Seven basic universal emotions, each with their own unique and distinctive facial
expressions, which are shared and understood around the world.

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 Seven Universal Facial Expressions
1 2 3 4

5 6 7

Happiness Sadness Fear Disgust Anger Contempt Surprise 55

 Reading Facial Expressions – FACS

• Ekman developed a system for reading facial expressions – Facial Action Coding System
(FACS)
• Manual coding of facial expressions by tracing the associated muscle movements
• Slow motion videos to identify muscle movements and micro -expressions
• Manual coding FACS is accurate but very slow and labour intensive and needs skilled
analysts. Hence expensive
• Automated facial expressions reading – view the face through a webcam, and the
software detects muscle movements. Less expensive, fast, and scalable.
• This facial expressions reading plus eye tracking – good measure of response to
packaging or entertainment.

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 Reading Facial Expressions – EMG

• To measure underlying muscle movement, sometimes use Facial Electromyography (EMG)

• EMG or fEMG uses sensors attached to face connected to an amplifier/monitor. It measures
the electrical activity in activated muscles and links it to known muscle activation for each
emotion.
• Captures the underlying muscle movement, which is entirely nonconscious, even if the
person suppresses the external expression.

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Reading Facial Expressions – Example Of fEMG

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Neuromarketing Tools:
3. Eye Tracking
 Eye Tracking
• Our eyes automatically follow what interests us or attracts us
• Changes in eye movement:
• Speed of eye movement
• Location of fixations
• Duration of fixations
• Pattern & frequency of blinks
• Gaze path
• All these provide useful information on what is of interest to the respondent in the stimulus

• Eye-tracking accurately records where people look as they perform tasks – so it is possible
to precisely see where people look, what they read and what they miss. This is vital
information for those involved in brand and advertising communications.
• Eye Tracking is used for exploring:
• Shopping behaviour and store navigation
• Usability studies (websites, apps)
• Product or packaging research (what people see and read)
• Advertising & POS and how it attracts their attention

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 Eye Tracking Metrics
• Fixations:
• Eye stationary at one place on the ad/pack/website.
• The device measures positions of fixations and durations.
• Gaze Path:
• Direction
• Speed
• Pathway: whether straight and smooth or circuitous and back and forth.
• Blinking :
• Frequenc y and specific moments the eye chooses to blink.
• Blink Rate and Blink Duration indicate attention allocation at different times while viewing a
stimulus.
• Pupil Dilation:
• ANS controlled
• Responds to emotional arousal and attention
• Reliable, quick, and sensitive measure of emotional state
• But cannot tell the direction of the emotion: has to be read in conjunction with other measures
that read the nature of the emotion
• Also, works for stimulus which does not have changes in brightness during exposure

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 Eye Tracking

Static vs Mobile Eye Tracking

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Eye Tracking
Neuromarketing Tools:
4. Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Respiration
 Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Breathing

• Heart Rate:
• Responds to emotional arousal.
• Measured in beats per minute
• Even though it is an ANS response, it can tell direction of emotion
• Positive stimulus evokes an increase in heart rate; negative stimulus evokes a decrease
in heart rate
• Blood Pressure:
• Not a very sensitive nor a reliable indicator of changes in emotional state
• Not often used in neuromarketing research
• Breathing:
• Breathing rate – how fast and how deep – is affected by emotional state
• Respiration rate increases with positive (happiness, excitement) and negative (fear.
Anger) emotions.
• This metric can only tell the amount of emotional impact, not the direction.
• Since it is very similar to skin conductance (Galvanic Skin Response) it is redundant
and not often used in neuromarketing research

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 Specific Neuromarketing Techniques

Central Nervous System (CNS) Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Brain Body

Measure the activity inside the brain –

Measure the activity in the bodily functions
neuroimaging technologies

Somatic Nervous System Autonomic Nervous

Blood Flow Measures Electrical Measures
(SNS) System (ANS)

Facial Expressions Galvanic Skin Response

Blood Oxygenation: Electrical Fields:
fMRI EEG Facial Muscle Movement Heart Rate

Eye Movement Tracking Blood Pressure

Behavioural Reaction Respiration

Time
Pupil Dilation
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Neuromarketing Tools:
5. Measuring Brain Signals
 Brain Signals

• Tw o Types Of Brain Activity That Can Be Measured From The Outside:

• Blood Flow
• Electrical Activity

• Blood Flow :
• Increased activity in a part of the brain increases the need for oxygen
• This leads to more blood flow to that part of the brain
• More oxygenated blood in a region of the brain means a stronger magnetic field there

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fMRI

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 fMRI
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI):

• Measures magnetic activity

• Issues:

• Cost – very expensive equipment

• Participant discomfort – have to lie still, inside the huge equipment: scares some
participants and causes claustrophobia

• Noise of the magnets is distract ing , especially if the stimulus is sound or voice focussed

• Slow – records reaction in 2 -6 seconds, not milliseconds; as it takes time for blood to flow

• Just tells you this part of the brain is fired up – hence this stimulus is making the participant
happy or angry or confused…but doesn’t answ er the w hy: what in the ad is evoking that
response. Needs to be used in conjunction with other methods.

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 Brain Signals

• Electrical Activity:
• Electrical activity directly measured through scalp surface sensors
• Brain neurons communicate through electrical signals – these measures pick up the signals
directly instead of through the resulting increased blood flow
• Hence, extremel y fast and real time – measures activity as it is happening in milliseconds
• However, cannot display three dimensional spatial resolution
• As the measurement is at the surface level, cannot pinpoint where the activity is happening
• Also, needs data cleaning to remove other electrical signals picked up – like muscle movement

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EEG

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 Brain Signals

• Electroencephalography (EEG):
• Measures electrical activity
• Electrode cap connected to an amplifier
• Relatively cheap technology, compared to fMRI
• Directly measures electrical activity
• Fast – 1 to 3 milliseconds

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 Neuromarketing Tools – Summary
• No magic tool
• Different tools answer different parts of the puzzle
• Not use tools for the sake of using tools – avoid getting caught up in the glamour of the
technique
• Ask the appropriate business question – translate into the right research questions – then
go with the right measurement for the research questions. It may be explicit or implicit
research, and any of the various methods of implicit research.
• Methodology is a means to an end .
• The So What is the end objective – these techniques just provide the What. The value add
is in the interpretation and implications.
• The end objective is better business decisions , not the most flashy data collection tool.
• Need to be aware of the ethical issues raised about neuromarketing – media talks about
neuromarketing being a surreptitious covert way of making people buy what they don’t need.
Neuromarketing is only a method for measuring w hat’s already in the consumer brain –
it doesn’t put any new ideas into the consumer brain.

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