Neuromarketing: the hope and hype of neuroimaging in business

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Dan Ariely, Duke University; Gregory S Berns, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2010-04
• Publisher: Nature Research (part of Springer Nature): Review Journals
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v11/n4/full/nrn2795.html
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Nature Reviews Neuroscience
• ISSN: 1471-003X
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 4
• Start Page: 284
• End Page: 292
• Grant/Funding Information: National Science Foundation (BCS0827313); Office of Naval Research and Air Force Office of Scientific Research; National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA016434 and R01DA025045)
• Research Categories: Economics, Commerce - Business; Economics, General; Business Administration, Marketing

Abstract

The application of neuroimaging methods to product marketing — neuromarketing — has recently gained considerable popularity. We propose that there are two main reasons for this trend. First, the possibility that neuroimaging will become cheaper and faster than other marketing methods; and second, the hope that neuroimaging will provide marketers with information that is not obtainable through conventional marketing methods. Although neuroimaging is unlikely to be cheaper than other tools in the near future, there is growing evidence that it may provide hidden information about the consumer experience. The most promising application of neuroimaging methods to marketing may come before a product is even released — when it is just an idea being developed.