ImaginativePRO Blog

A MANIFESTO ON NEUROMARKETING, OR HOW TO GET INSIDE THE MIND OF TODAY'S CONSUMERS AND WIN THEM OVER

 

It takes more than a fancy logo, fancy catch phrase or brand character to connect with today's consumers.  Today, what counts far more than a puma, a monkey, or a snarling aardvark is the cross-sensory experience your brand offers.  It's not just the emotion, beliefs, personality and desires your brand evokes, but its feeling, touch, view, sound and smell, of which the logo is just one small part. 

When marketing to today's Generation Y (a.k.a. Millennials) and Generation X consumers it's very important for marketer's to use a sensory marketing approach that appeals to the five senses:  sense: hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste and fulfills their social needs or values.

The sensory marketing approach has given rise to the science of neuromarketing, a new field of marketing that studies consumers' sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective response to marketing stimuli.  In effect, getting inside the head of the consumer.  Neuromarketing has often been equated with brainwashing, an evil concept if there ever was one, which results in the forced modification of human behavior by repeatedly exposing individuals to the same stimuli over-and-over again.  

Neuromarketing has been used very successfuly in the political arena, where candidates for public office use "negative" advertisements that paint their opponent as "soft" on a popular political issue (e.g. national defense, crime enforcement, etal) or "for" an unpopular political issue (e.g. abortion, universal healthcare, etal).  If voter's are continually told that Barack Obama is not a legal American citizen or is a muslim, a lot of people will eventually believe that as true.  Both parties are guilty of using negative ads, but I won't get into political issues.

Without reallly realizing it, marketer's have been using neuromarketing for quite some time. When you come to think about it, a firm's brand equity, is really the sum of all the influences, both sensory, emotinal and social that consumer's connect with a brand.  No where is this more importan5t than when marketing to Generation X and Y.   This is based on my observance of human behaviors especially among Millennials and Gen-X because they are both sensory and social animals.  They are very susceptible to sensory stimulation and place very high value on social interaction and relationships.    In fact, I have developed a manifesto or marketing strategy built on two pillars:  

• Sensory Approach - A marketing approach that involves the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. 
• Social Approach - A marketing approach that involves the social needs of the individual.

It has been my experience that employing only a sensory approach will not prove as successful, and that marketer's must integrate a social approach into the equation.  Trust me, you do not want to get this part wrong.  

In developing my manifesto, I discuss the general marketing principle's I have employed in marketing to Gen-Y and Gen-X,  and the best and least successful advertising and promotions strategy's that should be used for both demographics.         

Marketing To Gen-Y and Gen-X 

GENERATION-Y MARKETING APPROACH
Gen-Y consumers are the most ethnically diverse of all demographics.  Gen-Y’s are interested in pop culture, being part of the latest fad, things or activities that are trendy, hip and cool, experiencing new tastes, listening to the latest music, wearing the trendiest clothes, playing the latest online games, interacting and communicating with their friends, expressing their opinions and showing off.  Their friends are very important and part of their social DNA.  They ignore traditional advertising and rely more on word-of-mouth.  Gen-Y’s are the “we want it now” generation and interested in immediate gratification.  Gen-Y’s work hard until they get bored.  Gen-Y’s are less brand loyal and always looking for a good value.  These qualities require a marketing approach that is both sensory and social.
The Sensory Approach	The Social Approach
The sensory  marketing approach involves the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.	The social  marketing approach involves satisfying a Gen-Y’s need for social interaction and being part of social groups or communities.
Marketers must be aware of the importance of the five senses in reaching Gen-Y’s.  Gen-Y’s must be sold on the great taste, texture, aroma, look and quality of a food product (taste, smell, sight and touch).  By the same token, Gen-Y’s would be attracted to a new electronic music gadget by its overall design, sound quality and features (sight, touch and hearing).  The Internet with its compelling digital imagery, video and sound is a natural media channel for Gen-Y’s as it offers elements of all five senses.  Gen-Y’s are among the heaviest users of the Internet for news, information, entertainment and interacting with others.	Gen-Y’s are social animals so marketers must incorporate social elements into the design of a business whether it is a website, retail or eating establishment.  Businesses are no longer solely for shopping, eating or drinking, but places to meet friends, hangout, read a book, surf the Net, socialize and exchange gossip.  Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are excellent examples of social networking sites that appeal to a Gen-Y’s need to network and interact with others.  Starbucks, Abercrombie & Fitch, Borders, Steve Madden, American Eagle and Best Buy are excellent examples of retail establishments that incorporate social design elements like cool and trendy store interiors, the latest in fashion and electronic gadget’s, piped in music, visual displays, and in-store food and beverage facilities.
In the case of a business establishment, whether brick-and-mortar or digital, Gen-Y’s must be sold on the convenience, product selection, atmosphere and total experience that the business establishment offers (sight, hearing, smell and touch).  The success of eBay, Starbucks, Facebook, Myspace and Borders are excellent examples of brands that have capitalized on the importance of the five senses in developing successful products and services.	Gen-Y’s are notorious multi-taskers who communicate with their friends and relatives by telephone, text messaging, instant messaging (IM) and mobile devices like smartphones and iPhones. They interact by sharing video’s and music, rating products, services and business establishments and posting comments over the Blogosphere. Gen-Y’s have an insatiable desire to interact with others and are the driving force behind online social networks like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook and Starbucks.
GENERATION-X MARKETING APPROACH
Gen-X marketing requires elements of high perceived value, quality, purity, less hype, more facts and a marketing message that is honest and straightforward.  Gen-Xers are cynical about advertising.  Less likely to be taken in by fads or product hype, and more likely to say, “show me”.  Their tastes and preferences overlap with both Gen-Y’s and Boomers, making them an elusive target.  They are less brand loyal that boomers, and more likely to experiment with other brands, new drinks and foods.  Gen-Xers are very technologically savvy.  They tend to be first adopters of the latest electronic gadgets like iPods and iPhones.  Gen-Xers support social causes like the environment and world hunger.  They enjoy social events, leisure activities and get-togethers with family and friends.  They are known as the “family-first” generation because they value their family over their jobs.  Success with Gen-Xers requires a marketing approach with less hype, more facts and a social approach centered around quality of life, social causes and importance of friends and family.
Less Hype, More Facts Approach	The Social Approach
Gen-Xers are interested in less hype and more facts and figures.  They are interested in knowing the nutritional value of a food product: How many calories, how much fat, cholesterol and nutrients a product contains.  Gen-Xers look for products with high perceived value and quality like the fuel-efficiency of Japanese cars and durability of German-made automobiles. Gen-Xers take delight in experiencing new foods, beverages, films and products.  It is best to deal with Gen-Xers in an honest, respectful and straight forward manner.  Gen-Xers seek products and services that are relevant, solve a problem or fill a real need in the marketplace and offer a high value-added component: Superior quality, design, durability, features and convenience.	Gen-X have a social need that is grounded in placing a premium on quality of life, leisure activities, social causes, strong parental and family values and spending time with family and friends. They enjoy family get-togethers, activities and socializing with their friends.    Marketers must incorporate social elements whether they are an online, retail, eating or entertainment establishment.  Businesses that have succeeded in doing this include McDonald’s (children’s playgrounds), Las Vegas Hotels & Casino’s (electronic games, rides and attractions), Disneyland (family-oriented rides and attractions), Gymboree (early childhood development programs), Target (family-oriented merchandise and refreshments), DisneyOnlineForFamily.com (Disney entertainment for the entire family) and BabyCenter.com (Young mothers with infants),    Advertising that works with Gen-Xers include ads depicting the crash safety of Volvo cars and high performance of Michelin tires fit in perfectly with Gen-X’s strong parental values.

Advertising & Promotions Strategy

Although there is some overlap between Gen-X and Gen-Y, they differ in lifestyle and are difficult to reach through traditional media channels, requiring: 1) commercial messages and content that is relevant to their social and psychological needs, 2) selecting the appropriate media channel for each group and 3) carefully targeting our advertising and promotions to insure we reach them most cost-effectively.   

REACHING GENERATION-Y

MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING CHANNELS
Internet Advertising - Gen-Y’s spend more time online than watching television, reading publications or newspapers.  62% of Gen-Y’s watch TV programs episodes online. Gen-Y rank the highest in joining social networking communities, viewing and uploading online videos, downloading music, playing online games sending instant and text messages and reading online blogs.  Popular Gen-Y sites include: Online Social Communities:  MySpace , Facebook and Bebo Video Sharing: YouTube, Veoh, Break, ManiaTV, Hulu  and MetaCafe. Online News and Information: Diggs, Technorati and StumbleUpon. And a large broad array of Blogs.  Marketers can achieve success reaching Gen-Y’s by targeting websites where they are likely to congregate and socialize.	Viral Marketing - Gen-Y’s go online and rely on word-of-mouth to obtain product and information, so it is vital that firms have a great website that is fully-optimized for search engines and listed in all the major search engines. Firms should have a promotional page on popular social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter and video sharing sites like YouTube. Street Marketing – Gen-Xers enjoy new experiences and street marketing is a great way to create marketing buzz and reach them face-to-face. Street marketing include neighborhood promotional stunts, free product samplings, and rollouts in specific venues (street fairs, music festivals, concerts, college campuses, bars and clubs, etc).  This is also a great way to pass out flyers, free offers and discount coupons.
Contests and Sweepstakes – Gen-Y’s are wild about winning a contest or receiving a gift, especially something meaningful like an iPod, concert tickets, vacations, cell phones and FREE sample servings.  This is a great way to increase store traffic, create brand awareness and get them to try a product.    Flyers and Discount Coupons – These should be incorporated into a firm’s street marketing as a way to create excitement, interest and additional traffic. “ONE FREE PIZZA” and “BUY-ONE, GET ONE FREE” coupons work the best.
Paid Search – Nearly 90% of Gen-Y’s use online search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN Live Search  to find online information, news and entertainment sites.  Radio Advertising – Radio ranks third for Gen-Y’s in hours per week behind the Internet and TV as their preferred media.  Marketers should incorporate targeted radio into its media mix picking stations with the largest reach and most effective CPM’s.
Mobile Advertising – Gen-Y’s are the biggest users of iPhones, Smartphones and portable multimedia devices like iPods. Gen-Y’s prefer text message over email and this is a great way to reach them through one of their most preferred methods of communication.
LEAST EFFECTIVE MARKETING CHANNELS
Television, Direct Mail, Publications and Newspapers – Gen-Y’s cannot be reached effectively through traditional marketing channels.  Direct mail, magazine ads, newspaper ads and television advertising does not work well with Gen-Y’s.  They do not respond to he marketing messages that appeals to their parents and grandparents.  A Gen-Y’s favorite TV programs  include sitcoms Friends and Seinfeld, reality TV shows Survivor and Project Runway, Animated TV shows The Simpsons, Music contest shows like American Idol, music video programs like MTV and TV comedy shows like The Daily Show With Stewart., just to name a few.

REACHING GENERATION-X

MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING CHANNELS
Internet Advertising - Gen-Xers are No 2 behind Gen-Y’s in spending time online than watching television and reading publications or newspapers.  57% of Gen-Xers watch TV programs episodes online. Gen-Xers are just behind Gen-Y’s in joining social networking communities, viewing and uploading online videos, downloading music, playing online games sending instant and text messages and reading online blogs. Gen-Xers over forty represent the largest segment online gambling. Popular Gen-X sites include: Online Social Communities:  MySpace , Facebook, Twitter and Bebo Video Sharing: YouTube, Hulu, Veoh, Break, ManiaTV  and MetaCafe. Online News and Information: Diggs, Technorati and StumbleUpon. And a large broad array of Blogs. Viral Marketing - Gen-Xers trust themselves and the opinion of their friends and rely testimonials and word-of-mouth on product and services. It is important that firms have a great website that is fully-optimized and listed in all the major search engines. Firms should have a promotional page on popular social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, and run online ads on popular video sharing sites like YouTube and Hulu.	Street Marketing – Gen-Xers enjoy new experiences and street marketing is a great way to create marketing buzz and reach them face-to-face. Street marketing include neighborhood promotional stunts, free product samplings, and rollouts in specific venues (street fairs, music festivals, concerts, college campuses, etc).  This is also a great way to pass out flyers and discount coupons.
Contests and Sweepstakes – Gen-Xers enjoy winning a contest or receiving a gift, especially something meaningful like an iPod, iPhone, concert tickets and FREE sample servings.  This is a great way to increase store traffic, create brand awareness and get them to try a firm’s products.    Flyers and Discount Coupons – These should be incorporated into a store’s grand opening and street marketing as a way to create excitement, interest and additional store traffic.  Women with children, in particular, are attracted to discount coupons if there is high perceived value in the offer. Offers that work most often include “ONE FREE DESSERT”, “BUY-ONE, GET ONE FREE” and “BUY-ONE-ADULT serving and receive ONE-FREE child serving.
Direct Mail – Direct mail works best for older Gen-X (Over 35) men and women, especially with children.  The offer must be compelling, without a lot of hype, and sold on the basis of high perceived value or in support of a social cause.  Some offers that work best include “FREE AIR FARE” or “10% OF PROFITS GOES TO SAVE-THE-WHALES”.                            Paid Search – Nearly 90% of Gen-Xers use online search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN Live Search to find information, news and entertainment sites.  Paid search is an effective way to reach Gen-Xers and drive traffic to a firm’s website.
Radio Advertising – Older Gen-Xers (Over 30) rank the highest in listening to the radio for music, news and information.  Marketers should incorporate targeted radio into its media mix, selecting stations with the largest reach and most effective CPM’s. Mobile Advertising – Young Gen-Xers (25-30), like their Gen-Y counterparts, are the biggest users of iPhones, smartphones and portable multimedia devices like iPods. Younger Gen-Xers prefer text message over email and this is a great way to reach them through one of their preferred methods of communication. Marketers should incorporate mobile advertising into its media mix.
LEAST EFFECTIVE MARKETING CHANNELS
Television, Radio, Direct Mail, Publications and Newspapers – Gen-Xers are stuck in the middle between Gen-Y’s and Boomers so there are some overlaps with both generations, making them an elusive target.  Younger Gen-Xers cannot be reached effectively using traditional marketing channels like direct mail, print ads, newspapers, radio and television advertising.  Older Gen-Xers (over 35) can be reached through direct mail, radio and television as their media tastes are similar to Boomers in many respects. Gen-Xers are impervious to the marketing messages that appeals to Boomers, who they treat with some resentment.  Favorite TV shows of Gen-Xers include prime-time shows like ER, CSI, Friends, reality TV shows like Survivor and The Apprentice, animated shows likeThe Simpsons, music video shows like MTV  and TV comedy shows like The Daily Show. With Stewart., and late night talk shows like David Letterman and Conan O’brien just to name a few.

I first developed my manifesto for marketing to Gen-X and Gen-Y in 2006/2007, at about the time that social networking really began to take hold, and I realized then that in order to successfully market to these two generatioins, a social approach was also needed.   So far those observations have proven to be correct.   Although my manifesto is albeit a bit dated, the basic concepts of neuromarketing work for all demographics.     

If you are marketing to Millennials or Gen-Xers you might be interested in reading some of the following blog articles:

• 9/24/10 - "IN ORDER TO ENGAGE WITH TODAY'S GENERATION Y YOU MUST MAKE IT AN EVENT"
• 10/1/10 - "GENERATION-Y IS QUITE LITERALLY A "WIRED" GENERATION OF TECH SAVVY AND SOCIAL NERDS"
• 12/18/10 - "MARKETER'S NEED TO CUT THE CLUTTER TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS WITH TODAY'S COLLEGE STUDENTS"

Courtesy of Tommy Toy, PBT Consulting

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV SCIENTISTS DISCOVER THE ON-OFF SWITCH FOR HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS DEEP WITHIN THE BRAIN

When the region of the brain, called the claustrum, is electrically stimulated, consciousness — self-awareness, sentience, whatever you want to call it — appears to turn off completely. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Researchers at George Washington University are reporting that they’ve discovered the human consciousness on-off switch, deep within the brain. When this region of the brain, called the claustrum, is electrically stimulated, consciousness — self-awareness, sentience, whatever you want to call it — appears to turn off completely. When the stimulation is removed, consciousness returns. The claustrum seems to bind together all of our senses, perceptions, and computations into single, cohesive experience. This could have massive repercussions for people currently in a minimally conscious state (i.e. a coma), and for deciding once and for all which organisms are actually conscious. Are monkeys conscious? Cats and dogs? A fetus?

When it comes to human consciousness, much like the rest of our brain’s operation, there isn’t a whole lot in the way of actual scientific knowledge. Despite a century of “modern” neuroscience, we still only have a rough sketch of how the human brain works. Most theories, though, generally agree that consciousness is probably created by a part of the brain that integrates activity from different regions of the brain into a single, holistic experience. To put it in (very loose) computing terms, this seat of human consciousness would be somewhat like a CPU; without it, you’d just have a bunch of different parts that are theoretically functional, but not really capable of getting anything useful done.

The claustrum, below the neocortex, in a human brain (Click Image To Enlarge)

The research, led by Mohamad Koubeissi at GWU in Washington DC, was originally tasked with analyzing a woman with epilepsy. The neuroscientists were stimulating regions of the brain with electrodes in an attempt to discover where her seizures originated from. Then, when they stimulated the claustrum — a thin region of the brain underneath the neocortex — the patient slowly lost consciousness. When the stimulation was removed, consciousness returned. When the claustrum was stimulated, the woman just stopped whatever she was doing (speaking, reading, moving) and stared blankly into space; when stimulation was removed, she continued as normal with no recollection of what had just happened. [DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2014.05.027 – “Electrical stimulation of a small brain area reversibly disrupts consciousness”]

Speaking to New Scientist, Koubeissi said: 

“I would liken it to a car. A car on the road has many parts … but there’s only one spot where you turn the key and it all switches on and works together. So while consciousness is a complicated process created via many structures and networks – we may have found the key." Read: Human consciousness is simply a state of matter, like a solid or liquid – but quantum.

As you might expect when it comes to bleeding-edge neuroscience, there are some caveats to the research — most notably, the study only looked at the brain of one person, and due to her epilepsy (and previous removal of part of her hippocampus) she doesn’t necessarily represent a “normal” brain. In short, more research needs to be done — and following the publishing of this paper, you can be guaranteed that there will be more research into the claustrum.

COMMENTARY:  While most of us automatically identify the brain as the headquarters of our awareness, neuroscientists seek a more precise location (and understanding) for this unique if everyday phenomenon. A new study by neuroscientists of Vanderbilt University finds that consciousness does not make its home in just one brain region.  Instead, researchers say, awareness degrades the brain’s modular function and substitutes an integrated connectivity in which widespread communication arises across areas of the cortex. Consciousness, then, arises from cooperative and not solo brain activity.

Since the beginning of thought, philosophers have wondered where we derive our consciousness, and with the advent of sophisticated imaging technologies, neuroscientists have begun to explore this question in steadily increasing depth. Most recently, a 2014 study suggested that one region of the brain works as an on/off switch for awareness — when researchers electrically stimulated the claustrum of a patient (see video below), she instantly became unconscious. While this experiment does not prove consciousness resides in the claustrum, it raised many questions about the function of this unusual brain region: a thin, irregular structure of neurons hidden beneath the surface of the neocortex.

Francis Crick and Christof Koch, two pioneers in the field of human consciousness, theorize the claustrum functions as “a conductor coordinating a group of players in the orchestra, the various cortical regions.” Their hypothesis is based on the fact that the claustrum receives input from — and projects back to — almost all regions of the outside layer of the brain, the cortex.

Graphs and Images

For the current study, Vanderbilt University researchers investigated whether one or just a few areas of the brain might produce awareness. To accomplish their work, they used graph theory, a branch of mathematics focused on understanding highly complex, advanced networks, and a simple brain imaging experiment.

The experiment began with participants lying down on the hard bed of an MRI scanner. While researchers observed, participants performed a simple task of detecting a disk as it briefly flashed on the screen before them. After each participant completed a number of trials, the researchers compared all the results. They labeled those tests when participants detected the disk as “aware” and those when they missed the disk as “unaware.”

Upon analysis, the researchers discovered that no one area or network of areas in the brain stood out as particularly active during awareness. In fact, the whole brain appeared to become more connected following each report of awareness.  The authors wrote.

“These results provide compelling evidence that awareness is associated with truly global changes in the brain’s functional connectivity.”

Douglass Godwin, one of the authors of the study and a graduate student at Vanderbilt, told KurzweilAI.

“We take for granted how unified our experience of the world is. We don’t experience separate visual and auditory worlds; it’s all integrated into a single conscious experience.  This widespread cross-network communication makes sense.”

Courtesy of an article dated July 14, 2014 appearing in Extreme Tech and an article dated March 17, 2015 appearing in Medical Daily

Follow Me:   Twitter: turk5555    Facebook: 797743955    LinkedIn: turk5555 

Subscribe To My Blog Newfeed

HOW BEYOND VERBAL MAPS THE PATTERNS AND FREQUENCY OF OUR VOICES EXPRESSING OUR EMOTIONS TO CREATE EMOTION-DRIVEN APPS

When a startup called Beyond Verbal began mapping the patterns and frequency of voices expressing various emotions, they noticed something odd: Love and hate looked almost identical. Yet despite the apparent similarities, our human minds can easily grasp the difference, and now machines are learning how to do it, too. In May, the startup revealed a technology that it says can identify hundreds of emotions in real time based on a voice alone.

The key to algorithmically deciphering the difference between love and hate? Beyond Verbal CEO Yuval Mor demonstrating the huffy tone of hatred says.  

“When you hate someone you really push the air and speak out.”

Then he switches to a kinder, cooing quality:

“When you love someone, this is the ‘pull’ kind of method.”

While to human ears the two tones are obviously different, on paper, their sound patterns look quite similar--except for these “push” and “pull” qualities, which the company built into its algorithm.

Yoram Levanon (Top) and Lan Lossos (Bottom)

Beyond Verbal’s technology is based on research that two PhD students, Yoram Levanon and Lan Lossos, began in 1995. At the time, they were investigating emotion’s role in decision-making. That developed into gigs as advertising consultants, and eventually, after realizing the connection between intonation and emotion, they started a business that improved call centers by identifying caller emotions. That company went into liquidation, but others saw opportunities for the researchers' data-driven emotion identifier beyond the narrow scope of call centers.

Dominance - This diagram represents the relative location of a voice filled with dominance in each aspect of basic acoustics (Click Image To Enlarge)

If, say, Apple’s Siri understood how you were feeling in addition to what you were saying, it could pull up not just a playlist, but rather a playlist that matched your mood. Politicians could use the technology to practice enhancing qualities such as leadership in their voices while giving speeches. People with Asperger's syndrome, who often have communication difficulties, could use it to understand verbal cues that extend beyond literal words. It could even help air traffic controllers identify when pilots were under stress.

Excitement - This diagram represents the relative location of a voice filled with excitement in each aspect of basic acoustics (Click Image To Enlarge)

Since a tiny startup couldn’t pursue all of these options at once, the researchers helped start a new company, Beyond Verbal, that focuses on making their technology available for developers to use in their own apps. The company has not yet announced its first customers.

Desire - This diagram represents the relative location of a voice filled with desire in each aspect of basic acoustics (Click Image To Enlarge)

During a demonstration in Fast Company’s offices, VP of Marketing & Strategic Accounts Dan Emodi played a video of President Obama talking about Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election. Beyond Verbal’s test app, Moodies, identified emotions in his voice like “provocation” and “cynicism.”

 

While listening to Princess Diana talk about her troubled marriage in a 1995 interview with the BBC, it noticed “love,“ “grief,” and “feeling of loss.“ 

 

You can try it on your own bit of monologue here.

The diagram below represents the relative location of a voice filled with Fear in each aspect of basic acoustics. The color represents the degree and location of the tested emotion, in this case fear, within that grid.  

Emodi says.  

"You think about fear, and fear is cold.  We didn't touch this...it so happened that fear is represented by blue colors [in our system for mapping the relationship between voice and emotion]."

Click Image To Enlarge

The app is not attempting to understand what you say, but how you say it. Researchers based the technology on an analysis of more than 1,000 speeches and questionnaires from several thousand study participants who listened to sound clips and chose corresponding emotions. Beyond Verbal has tested it by asking about 60,000 people online in 26 countries whether the machine had correctly paired sound clips and emotions. That research is continuing, says Emodi, and humans agree with the machine’s analysis 75% to 80% of the time, with success being slightly lower in countries such as Vietnam that speak tonal languages.

Is a machine that understands emotions creepy? A bit. Will politicians use it to practice their false apologies until they sound genuine? Probably. But, argues Mor, you could just as easily use the technology to practice sounding confident as a leader or loving as a parent, and through practice affecting these qualities, a la the “make it till you fake it” method, you may actually achieve them. In any case, you’ll be more in tune with the importance of how you say things.

Mor says.

“It’s not that you are necessarily [just] talking differently.  You’re listening. You’re listening to yourself.”

COMMENTARY:   In a blog post dated June 21, 2012, I commented on the neuroscience technology developed by Berkeley, California based NeuroFocus which measures the emotional responses of the human brain to external stimuli and how these differ between men and women. What is even more significant is how both sexes neurologically react to advertising and what aspects of an advertisement stimulates them, creating positive responses that ultimately lead to making a purchasing decision.  This new research into the human brain has led to the development of the new science of neuromarketing which explores the dynamics of consumer purchasing decisions, customer brand affinity, and customer brand engagement. 

Neuroscience research is making it increasingly clear that many of the decisions people make about what products they will buy or what services they will use are a result of intuition and unconscious mental processes rather than analysis or reasoning.  Consumers have emotional responses and logical responses to marketing and advertising.  And in both types of responses can occur on a conscious basis or an unconscious basis.

Experts at NeuroFocus suggest that approximately 11 million bits of sensory information is processed by the human brain every second. But only 40 bits of sensory information is processed consciously - this is all the conscious mind can handle - and all the rest of the information is processed unconsciously.

Advertising and marketing efforts are part of the universe of sensory information that the brain processes every day in a typical environment in the developed world. Images used in advertising, colors and designs used in packaging, music and fragrances associated with services, and the rich attribute sets of products themselves are all subject to the conscious and unconscious sorting that happens in the marketplace.

I believe that the creaton of emotion-driven apps for voice-activated apps in response to our voice patterns could eventually lead to customized marketing messages that increase the effectiveness of a brands advertising.  I could easily see a situation where I could make a phone call to order something and by decoding the emotional patterns of my voice, a salesperson or automated system could custmize its sales pitch to better serve my needs and increase the likelihood of a purchase.

I think that Beyond Verbal's voice pattern technology still have a way to go, and a lot of data still has to be gathered and analyzed, before generalizations can be drawn about the voice patterns of the population as a whole.  As NeuroFocus has discovered, there are distinct differences between how males and females respond to marketing messages.  The same thing maybe true in our voice patterns.   

Courtesy of an article dated July 17, 2013 appearing in Fast Company