The latest news from the neuromarketing experiment at New Scientist magazine is that sales of their August issue were up 12% over the previous year, and seemed unusually strong for August. The cover of that issue was tweaked after Neurofocus studied The bigger news, I think, is the attention that this modest experiment has received and continues to receive.
The latest to jump on the bandwagon is the New York Times:
In early August, the British magazine New Scientist published a cover that had scored well on a test conducted by neuromarketers, who study the brain’s response to products. But the question remained: would that good review translate to sales on the newsstand?
The short answer is yes. [From NYTimes.com – Brain Waves and Newsstands by Joseph Plambeck.]
Neuromarketing press coverage seems to come in bursts, and this particular surge is probably the largest so far. It’s too bad that a year-on-year sales comparison won’t do much to convince neuromarketing skeptics that the technology is a valid tool for market research. Even New Scientist’s Graham Lawton acknowledges that the study doesn’t offer scientific proof.
Still, I think the coverage has been overwhelmingly positive, and the involvement of a publication like New Scientists both adds credibility to the field and will encourage properly controlled studies. Overall, this is a big win for Neurofocus, New Scientist, and the neuromarketing industry.
Doubt the skeptics will ever be convinced. That’s OK. If widely accepted, less of a competitive advantage — also:
“You don’t want to take in the evidence that contradicts your belief. It requires you to undo so many assumptions about what your life is about, and who you’re hanging out with, that it’s just cognitively and emotionally too high a price to pay.”
The study is fascinating. The evidence seems to support the validity of neuroscience and a predictor of consumer behavior. Glad to see the positive press.
Neuromarketing isn’t a fad or catchy buzzword – it’s a formidable & disruptive marketing discipline which may be still embryonic but will gather momentum quickly. Stay the course Roger – we’re behind you!