Recently, I logged onto Facebook and right away my eyes were drawn to a familiar picture on the right side of the page. But it wasn't an old photo a friend posted or a picture I was tagged in - it was an advertisement! On the advertisement was a picture of the exact pair of Jessica Simpson shoes I had been looking at while browsing on the Macy's website just a few days earlier. Coincidence? I think not...
I thought that marketers hacking into my Facebook account or tracking my every Google search was bad enough, but I was wrong. Enter: Neuromarketing. Companies are throwing piles of money to engage in this type of marketing that literally tries to get inside your brain as a consumer. Neuromarketing is becoming a trend in many companies who are trying to go outside the box to reach their customers on a new, and definitely more personal, level.
The Wall Street Journal recently discussed the use of Neuromarketing techniques by Campbell Soup as a way for the company to try and understand why customers aren't purchasing soup. According to the article, when the Campbell company asked consumers why they weren't buying more soup, the typical response was that "they don't think of it" when going grocery shopping. So Campbell's is completely changing its soup displays and labels in hopes of helping consumers "connect to the soup on a deeper level"..... Really?? How connected can someone ever really be to a can of condensed soup?!
Companies engaging in these Nueromarketing techniques might end up creating enemies instead of new customers as many people view this type of marketing as an invasion of privacy. Nonetheless, while many consumers think it crosses the line, the trend is growing as companies view Neuromarketing as having the potential to boost their sales and profits by finally understanding what it is the consumer really wants.. And who knows, it actually might do just that. But at what cost to the consumer?
Neuromarketing: Good business or going to far? You decide.
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I agree that marketers might know what we really want with smart advertising. Did you end up buying the shoes? If you did then their strategy worked and if you didn't, it still worked because you kept on thinking about it to this very day. It will be interesting to see how far marketers will go before it gets the point of invading our privacy. I can see why they would want to track what you viewed on the Macy's sight but where does that tracking stop? Soon they might be tracking all of our moves on the internet, which I am sure people would not support. Right now I think it is a good business practice, however in the future I can see it taking the next step and going too far.
ReplyDeleteI think is very interesting to analyze the different practices that marketers are taking to expand the reach of their products. If you look around, there are names, brand, Logos everywhere you look. We are continuously bombarded by advertising in every type of communication possible and when that is not sufficient NeuroMarketing is around the corner. What is next? Since hopefully most of us have become rational consumers, we make decisions base on factors that directly affect our lives, now what about the products that we don’t really “need”. I think that is the niche of new Neuromarketers, they will try to look for an Achilles heel of the consumers.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at my blog for more information on neuromarketing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, at times one may feel violated by the thought of some company recording your behavior when you are in "the privacy of your computer" and rightfully feel that it's a bit much. But at the same time, if the ultimate goal is to cater my greatest needs and desires, my attitude will be: go right ahead, investigate, record and provide me with options. With all the technology advances, the fact that you can tailor marketing campaigns to each individual particular needs is extraordinary. Like Facebook, Spotify, a digital music service in Europe, can filter each target market and send out a product add for that particular segment. This helps everybody, it helps companies concentrate their efforts on their particular target market and also gives consumers products they can relate to more. Neuromarketing goes one step further to optimize this process, it actually gives you even more accuracy in the system. Some opposers would feel is way too invasive, and I discuss this notion further in my blog Tracing Marketing. I think that like everything new, people need to get used to the concept, but undoubtedly, Neuromarketing is here to stay.
ReplyDeleteI have also noticed that Facebook has even been advertising similar items to what I list in my 'interests' and advertisements on sports from my hometown teams and college teams! Pretty scary indeed. It makes me wonder how much they can access and gain from our information without our knowledge or approval. However, as I have mentioned in my blog, many companies want to make the advertisements more personalized so they do not waste money on unnecessary advertisements.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see how the majority of consumers will view neuromarketing. I do not like the idea at all, since I feel it is more an invasion to our privacy than making our lives easier at the store. If this is going to end up like the Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report," I definitely do not want advertisements calling my name and random people knowing personal information about my life.