Contributions of Neuromarketing to Design

Bruno Silva

, Agostinho Sousa Pinto

and Cristina Costa-Lobo

2,3 c

Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim s/n, S. Mamede de Infesta, Portugal

CEOS.PP - ISCAP - Polytechnic of Porto, Rua Jaime Lopes Amorim s/n, S. Mamede de Infesta, Portugal

Instituto de Estudos Superiores de Fafe & Cátedra UNESCO de Juventude Educação e Sociedade, Portugal

Keywords: Consumer Behavior, Design, Marketing, Neuroscience, Neuromarketing.

Abstract: The reported study aims to assign different perspectives for reflection; to consider how neuromarketing can

assist in understanding consumer behavior, intending to investigate the best way to develop products and

improve communication through neuroscience. The systematic literature review referred here applies as a

scientific method of research and analysis in a specific area of science. Following the PRISMA guidelines

(2009), the research was carried out in March and April 2020, in seven electronic databases for the inclusion

of quantitative, qualitative, or mixed studies published in Portuguese or English, master's or doctoral theses

and research reports that focused in neuromarketing. One hundred and fifty studies were conducted, 20 of

which, met the inclusion criteria. 1st filter: title, abstract, keywords and references; 2nd filter: introduction

and conclusion of studies; 3rd filter: full reading of the studies (Liberati et al., 2009).

1 INTRODUCTION

Paying attention to something is a conscious process,

but for that to happen, an activation must occur in our

brain causing us to be able to pay attention to a

particular stimulus. Since this process requires a great

deal of cognitive effort, our ability to maintain

attention is limited and, therefore, focusing on

something is one of the most difficult tasks for our

brain. In the middle of so many stimulus in which we

are daily exposed, catching the attention of the

consumer and maintaining it, is an arduous mission

(Dias, 2014; Kandel et al., 1997).

Facing constant changes, in 1999, Kevin Ashton

gave name to the term “Internet of Things” (Internet

of Things -IoT). The author's use of this term refers

to a high integration and connectivity between objects

/ devices in an intelligent way (Ashton, 2009). It is

undeniable that facing a globalized world, the speed /

exchange of information occurs in a meteoric way

and reflects in the way individuals relate and also in

the way they consume (Lipovetsky & Richard, 2008).

With the market becoming increasingly fierce, it

is difficult to establish competitive advantages. This

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0913-8650

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1454-030X

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4459-8676

is because most of the companies continue to follow

the same methods as for delivering their value

proposition; consequently, to use the same practices

and reap the usual results (Crescitelli, 2004). The

need to get closer to the consumer, become even more

relevant to understand him and, thus, devise more

assertive strategies. Empathy, putting yourself in the

other's place; living the other's "pain"; comes to make

even more sense for generating ideas / insights

(Brown, 2013; Norman, 2004).

2 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

AND DESIGN

Jordan defends the user experience using a model

based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, placing as

main characteristics, the pleasure, functionalities, and

usability. The author proposes a holistic approach to

products based on human fatigue by two pleasures.

So, understanding the human being as a whole

indivisible that can not be explained separately by

different physical and psychological components

(Gawel, 1996; Jordan, 2002).

Silva, B., Pinto, A. and Costa-Lobo, C.

Contributions of Neuromarketing to Design.

DOI: 10.5220/0010000901390144

In Proceedings of the 17th International Joint Conference on e-Business and Telecommunications (ICETE 2020) - Volume 3: ICE-B, pages 139-144

ISBN: 978-989-758-447-3

139

In addition to corresponding to the desired

experience, a product only makes sense if it

establishes an affective connection with the consumer

(Brown, 2013; Jorge & da Costa, 2019). After all,

what is relevant for the consumer when choosing a

particular product or service? Are the differentials

that the company invests really important for its

consumer? Can the company deliver / communicate

its value proposition? Both positive and negative

emotions can help to draw consumers' attention to a

particular product. The fact is that for a long time,

companies have focused their efforts on large-scale

production, neglecting to establish a closer

relationship with the consumer through emotional

connection (Desmet, 2002; Norman, 2004).

For Jordan (2002), pleasure is divided into four

types: physical, social, psychological and, ideological.

The physical is derived from the relationship of the

artifact with the sensorial organs, for example, the

texture. The social pleasures are interactions between

several people, provided by the artifact. The

psychological partners are associated with emotional

and cognitive reactions concerning the artifact. Jordan

refers to the pleasure of the mind in carrying out tasks

related to usability and compatibility of two products

friendly considered. The performance of the product

must be satisfying so that the benefits are positive

(Jordan, 2002; Norman, 2004).

The ideological pleasures are associated with the

aesthetic and ethical values of a certain culture,

generation, or individual. You will find here the eco-

sustainable values of social, political, and moral

responsibility. Consuming ecologically correct

artifacts demonstrates a moral concern with the world

and can be traced to the user. These elastic values can

be influenced by idioms and the cultural industry

(Jordan, 2002).

3 MARKETING

The principle of the marketing is to meet the needs of

consumers and for that, it has as a premise, the search

for understanding the consumer behavior (Schewe &

Smith, 1982). This requires that marketing

professionals have solid knowledge in different areas,

such as: Administration, Economics, Psychology,

Neuroscience and Communication. The

interdisciplinary of profiles and competencies are

seen as complementary to critical thinking, resulting

in the development of more effective strategies

(Kotler & Keller, 2006).

The marketing recognized the added value of

being as close to customers as possible in the early

1950s in the USA (Schewe & Smith, 1982). Hence, it

was also noted the need to promote adjustments in

products / services and approaches - the way it

communicates with customers. From there, the

principle of diversification and personalization was

enhanced. That is, products that until then were

produced like commodities gained new forms, versions

and even purposes / purposes. For such transformations

to be possible, it was necessary to reassess several

practices, such as: planning, pricing, promoting and

distributing goods and services (Stanton et al., 2004).

Intuition and subjectivity can no longer drive a

company's strategy. In many segments, profits become

increasingly divided, potentially reducing the chances

of errors (Kotler & Keller, 2006).

4 TRINO BRAIN - THE

SEARCH OF THE

BEHAVIOR SOURCE

The triune brain theory was developed in a post-

World War II period, between the 60s and 70s.

Created by the American doctor and neuroscientist

Paul MacLean, the theory is based on the study of the

evolution of species; to which the author attributes

three functional changes that occurred in the

constitution of the human brain (MacLean, 1990).

1 Reptilian or primitive - corresponds to the oldest

and most original part of the brain of the first

animals, reptiles. Responsible for instincts and

vital functions, such as feeding, reproduction, and

breathing.

2 Limbic, paleo mammal, or emotional system -

tasked with managing and administering

emotions/feelings and pleasures.

3 Neocortex, neomamiferous, or rational -

responsible for logical reasoning, reason.

Understood by the author, as the most modern part

of the evolutionary brain.

According to Paul MacLean (1990), these three

layers are seen as independent and capable of

generating internal conflicts. The fact is that the

theory is fragile because it does not constitute a

validation of scientific methods, since, through

technological advances linked to the studies of

neuroscience and evolutionary biology, results have

been obtained that deconstruct the theory in question.

As an example, it is not possible to relate human

evolution from reptiles (Damásio 2012; MacLean

1990; Tieppo, 2019).

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5 SOCIAL COGNITIVE

NEUROCIENCE

It is impressive how an organ weighing

approximately one kilogram and three hundred grams

still holds incalculable hidden values. The study

through neuroscience aims at a greater understanding

of brain activity by mapping billions of neurons that

reflect in the behavior of individuals; those who

suffer from influences from the internal and external

environment, as well as from other cultures -

experiences from the past and which are still closely

linked (Kandel et al., 1997).

Generally speaking, all human beings believe that

they are unique and that they need to be seen as such.

The fact is that the search for mapping and

understanding such patterns becomes a complex task

in view of the constant transformations/stimuli

presented in daily life (Poon & Prendergast, 2006). In

view of the referred context, some recent studies until

now under the domain of neuroscience have

contributed to the achievement of notable

interventions in neuromarketing; concerning, they are

the works of: (Barrett et al., 2016; Eysenck &

Brysbaert, 2018; Kolb & Whishaw, 2015).

Still, for some scientists, researchers, and authors,

even in the face of undeniable technological and

scientific developments, the human being preserves a

prehistoric brain/behavior. Much of this is attributed to

the behavioral biology of individuals; which results in

many brain stimuli, such as the impact of hormonal

issues. One of the reasons why experiments with

animals are justified is that many of them not only have

an incredible genetic similarity but also exhibit

behaviors similar to those of humans (Camargo, 2013).

6 NEUROMARKETING

Neuromarketing is understood as the use of

neuroscience experiments with marketing. The

purpose is to obtain new ideas for the development of

products that can be better adapted to the needs and

desires of consumers. Unlike marketing that

traditionally seeks and extracts information through

conventional research; focus groups, ethnography,

and others, neuromarketing works in search of

understanding the subconscious, mapping brain

stimuli (Plassmann et al., 2015; Schwarzkopf, 2015;

Yoon et al., 2012).

In common, all human beings have the same brain

structure and from there, marketing understood the

importance of using experiments from neuroscience

as a strong ally in the search for a greater

understanding of consumer behavior. The conception

of the neuromarketing concept was attributed to Jerry

Zaltman in the late nineties (Wilson et al., 2008).

Until then, "quantifying emotions" and understanding

neurological stimuli was something that was even

more subjective.

The Neuromarketing has been widely used to

develop more attractive products that have a value

more suited to the needs and desires of consumers.

From a different perspective, neuromarketing plays a

somewhat controversial role. One of the valuable

findings of neuroscience is that almost all decisions

are made unconsciously. Through the knowledge

obtained from neural analyzes, it is possible to foresee

decisions that until then were pre-conscious and / or

unconscious (Balmer, 2014). Therefore, consumers

can be more easily influenced by consumption that is

not necessarily conscious (Dias, 2012). Persuasion is

a term that attributes an interaction where the two

parties sign a mutually satisfactory agreement

(Garver, 1994). Manipulation, on the other hand, is

about convincing someone to do something instead of

influencing them because of something that is

relevant to both parties (Roiz, 1996).

7 METHODOLOGIES APPLIED

TO NEUROMARKETING

One of the substantial aspects that contributed to the

credibility of neuromarketing, were the advances

coming from neuroscience, mainly through

neuroimaging techniques. (Baker et al., 2017).

According to one of the main neuromarketing

research institutes in Latin America, Fore Brain, some

of the methodologies adopted for analysis are (Fore

Brain, 2020):

 Electroencephalography - The EEG technique

allows you to extract implicit measures of

attention, motivation, and memorization;

 Eye Tracking - The technique allows you to

calculate the salience, visualization and

engagement indices for each evaluated element or

region;

 Pupilometry - It allows analyzing the variation of

the consumer's pupil diameter, which represents

an implicit measure of the emotional intensity

value;

 Electrocardiography – It allows you to analyze the

variation of the consumer's heart rate, that is, to

detect changes in the speed at which the heart is

working.

Contributions of Neuromarketing to Design

141

 Reaction Time - The reaction time techniques

reveal the degree of association between the

chosen attributes and the evaluated stimuli;

 Salivation - The appetite appeal, in turn, can be

related to the level of pleasantness generated by

the stimulus;

 Facial Electromyography - The results show an

implicit measure of emotional valence;

 Sweating - This methodology represents an

implicit measure of the value of emotional

intensity;

 Behavioral Economics - Different behavioral

economics games provide purchase intention

indices for each evaluated element.

Fore Brain (2020), understands that through the

referred neuromarketing methodologies, it is possible

to conceive innovative and personalized solutions,

namely in the areas of: product development,

marketing and communication, merchandising and

media (Fore Brain, 2020).

8 METHOD

The systematic literature review corresponds to a

method of scientific investigation containing

retrospective and/or experimental observational

studies of recovery and critical analysis of the

literature (Mendes et al., 2008). Therefore, it was

identified as being the most adequate to meet the

study objectives in question. The research has the

purpose of constituting a synthesis resulting from the

most relevant studies on the field of neuroscience,

marketing, and design. The purpose is to structure the

collection of data, so that it is possible to group them,

interpret them, with similarities or not, to contribute

to a reflection with more possibilities.

The systematic review of the referred literature

corresponds essentially to three initial phases:

1 Selection of keywords - a previous floating

reading was established, to assist in the

identification of key terms. The combinations

used were: “neuromarketing and neuroscience”,

“neuromarketing and neuroscience”,

“neuromarketing”; “neuroscience”;

“neuroscience” and “design”.

2 Research and selection in scientific databases that

allow access to studies in full in the areas of

Psychology, Neuroscience, and Administration.

APA PsycNet, b-on, CAPES, ELSEVIER Scopus,

Pepsic, Scielo, and Web of Science.

3 Article selection criteria - i) refer to marketing and

science (or neuromarketing) in a context that

contemplates consumer behavior; ii) approaching

design from an experience perspective; iii) works

in Portuguese or English. It was also decided not

to restrict the research as to time, in order to

consider the relevance of each author in their

respective area of expertise.

One hundred and fifty articles resulted from the

research, of which, 20 corresponded to the pre-

established inclusion criteria (1st filter: title,

summary, keywords, and references; 2nd filter:

introduction and conclusion of studies; 3rd filter: full

reading of studies). As for the management of the

theoretical framework, the tool used in order to

organize citations and sources was Zotero.

To highlight the authors who most referred to the

terms Neuroscience (NS), Marketing (MK) and

Consumer behaviour (Design), the table 1 presenting,

in descending order, the authors who most dealt with

the concepts incorporated in the present study was

elaborated, with the following points: yes (1), no (0)

and partial (0.5). Those with at least 1.5 points were

submitted.

Table 1: Most relevant authors.

Authors NS MK Cb

Dias, Á.

(

2012

)

1 1 1

Fore Brain (2020) 1 1 1

Schwarzkopf, S. (2015) 1 1 1

Balmer, A. (2014) 1 1 0,5

Barrett, Lewis, & Haviland-Jones,

(2016)

1 1 0,5

Dias, S. W. (2014) 0,5 1 1

Camar

(

2009 and 2013

)

1 0,5 0,5

senc

& Br

sbaert, M.

(

2018

)

1 0,5 0,5

Jor

e & da Costa,

(

2019

)

0 1 1

Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. (2015) 1 0,5 0,5

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2006) 0 1 1

Plassmann, Venkatraman, Huettel

& Yoon,

(

2015

)

1 0,5 0,5

Schewe C. & Smith, R. (1982) 0 1 1

Stanton, Etzel, Walker, Báez &

Martínez,

(

2004

)

0 1 1

Baker, D., Ware, J., Schweitzer, N.,

& Risko, E.

(

2017

)

1 0 0,5

Damásio, A.

(

2012

)

1 0 0,5

Kandel, Schwartz, & Jessell

(

1997

)

1 0 0,5

MacLean, P. D. (1990) 1 0 0,5

Poon & Prendergast, (2006) 1 0 0,5

Tieppo, C. (2019) 1 0 0,5

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9 CONCLUSIONS

The object of study referred here addressed a brief

contextualization and reflection from different

perspectives that often prove to be complementary,

and that in common, aim to obtain a better

understanding of the behavior of individuals through

neuroscience studies/techniques with marketing. The

importance of establishing an emotional connection

with consumers through design was also mentioned;

this factor is important to build better experiences and

smoothies the “essentially commercial character” in

the transactions.

Although neuroscience is still a relatively new

field, through the aforementioned literature review, it

was possible to notice significant transformations,

mainly due to the foundations resulting from

technological advances. Its contribution in the search

for a better understanding of the subconscious has

resulted in more and more assertive experiments that

sometimes are complementary and even deconstruct

what was previously believed. The historical context,

merges with the future perspectives, in order to

preserve such complexity when exploring the human

brain.

Meeting the 17 sustainable development goals

established by the United Nations Organization

(UNO), the work also aspires to make a significant

contribution to society, especially by addressing a

brief reflection in favor of conscious consumption

(Habitat, 2017). The fact is that it is useless to attract

the consumer's attention, appeal to their emotions and

convey the message if the value that is perceived in

the product is not adequate to the consumer's desires

and other personal issues.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

"This work is financed by portuguese national funds

through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia,

under the project UIDB/05422/2020".

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