A Review of Studies on Neuromarketing: Practical Results, Techniques, Contributions and Limitations

Abstract

This article surveyed the main neuromarketing techniques used in the world and the practical results obtained. Specifically, the objectives are (1) to identify the main existing definitions of neuromarketing; (2) to identify the importance and the potential contributions of neuromarketing; (3) to demonstrate the advantages of neuromarketing as a marketing research tool compared to traditional research methods; (4) to identify the ethical issues involved with neuromarketing research; (5) to present the main neuromarketing techniques that are being used in the development of marketing research; (6) to present studies in which neuromarketing research techniques were used; and (7) to identify the main limitations of neuromarketing. The results obtained allow an understanding of the ways to develop, store,

Consumer neuroscience for marketing researchers

“…For example, Venkatraman et al (2015) presented an List of abbreviation: ACC, anterior cingulate cortex; BA, Brodmann area; dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; dlPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; dmPFC, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex; ECG, electrocardiogram; EEG, electroencephalography; EMG, electromyography; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; FTDS, functional transcranial Doppler sonography; GSR, galvanic skin response; HR, heart rate; IAT, implicit association testing; lOFC, lateral orbital frontal cortex; LORETA, low-resolution electromagnetic tomography; MEG, magnetoencephalography; mOFC, medial orbital frontal cortex; NAcc, nucleus accumbens; OFC, orbital frontal cortex; PCC, posterior cingulate cortex; PET, positron emission tomography; PFC, prefrontal cortex; rTMS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; SST, steady-state topography; TMS (single-pulse), transcranial magnetic stimulation; vmPFC, ventromedial prefrontal cortex; VTA, ventral tegmental area overview of EEG, fMRI, implicit measurements such as implicit association testing (IAT), eye tracking, and biometrics of heart rate, breathing, and skin conductance to test the interactive relationships of attention, affect, memory, and desirability of advertising messages. Fortunato, de Giraldi, and de Oliveira (2014) briefly discuss fMRI, EEG, PET, MEG, eye tracking, facial recognition (electromyography [EMG]), heart rate (electrocardiogram [ECG]), and galvanic skin response (GSR) in addition to a much broader review of neuromarketing. Ohme and colleagues (Ohme, Matukin, & Pacula-Lesniak, 2011;Ohme, Reykowska, Wiener, & Choromanska, 2009) outline eye tracking, EEG, facial recognition (facial EMG), and GSR.…”

A gateway to consumers' minds: Achievements, caveats, and prospects of electroencephalography‐based prediction in neuromarketing

“…In the last decade it has been flourishing, with more publications appearing each year and a growing community of scientists conducting studies in the field. This has resulted in an abundance of meta‐analyses and reviews (e.g., Ariely & Berns, ; Fortunato, Giraldi, & Oliveira, ; Genevsky & Knutson, ; Harris, Ciorciari, & Gountas, ; Hsu, ; Hsu & Yoon, ; Javor, Koller, Lee, Chamberlain, & Ransmayr, ; Karmarkar & Plassmann, ; Karmarkar & Yoon, ; Lee, Brandes, Chamberlain, & Senior, ; M. H. Lin, Cross, Jones, & Childers, ; Plassmann, Venkatraman, Huettel, & Yoon, ; Schneider & Woolgar, ; Smidts et al, ). In the last 5 years, top business schools (e.g., The Wharton School, Kellogg School of Management, Rotman School of Management, Fox School of Business, MIT Management, RSM at Erasmus, and more) have been hiring an increasing number of neuroscientists and have launched new programs and initiatives in an attempt to apply neuroscience to business applications and theories.…”

Neuroscience in service research: an overview and discussion of its possibilities

“…Access to neuro-data may push our understanding of specific processes and mechanisms that drive human behavior, such as subconscious responses toward socially undesirable products or cues, levels of neurotransmitters, active brain parts, or visual patterns (e.g., Karmarkar and Plassmann, 2019;Murray and Antonakis, 2019;Waldman et al, 2019). In this sense, the neuro-toolbox is particularly adept to overcome several types of systematic measurement errors that come with more traditional tools, such as social desirability bias, halo effect, and unwillingness to answer (see Table 1; Boshoff, 2012;Fortunato et al, 2014;Poels and Dewitte, 2006).…”

“…The use of neuro-tools, in general, comes at a cost. Neuro-studies are typically more expensive than their traditional counterparts, sample sizes are often small, and most neurotools imply a certain level of invasiveness for participants (e.g., Bell et al, 2018;Fortunato et al, 2014).…”