The thoughts behind marketing response

Founded in 2014, the Neuromarketing Association of South Africa (NMASA) serves individuals and organisations interested in learning about the exciting new field of neuromarketing, as well as those who are already active and operating in the field, who want to share knowledge globally with a South African focus.

Annemi Olivier, Director of eQ, a full-service marketing strategy company, and member of the international Neuromarketing Science and Business Association, has recently founded NMASA - the Neuromarketing Association of South Africa. Along with co-founders Werner van Zyl and Cheryl van der Merwe, marketing specialists with expertise in the fields of neuromarketing, strategy and communications, Olivier felt the need for an association that can educate those interested in learning more about neuromarketing, and also share knowledge globally with a South African focus.

Many people do not understand neuromarketing, or have an incorrect perception of what it is about, defaulting to "subliminal messaging in advertising" when pressed for an answer.

Neuromarketing, however, is far from trying to put messages into someone's brain against their will. Ale Smidts coined the term in 2002, but psychologists at Harvard University developed the concept as early as 1990. Neuromarketing is simply a field of marketing research that studies consumers' responses to marketing stimuli.

Responses are segmented by whether they are sensorimotor, cognitive or affective responses, and are measured using various technologies to learn and understand why consumers make the decisions they do, and what affects these decisions.

Scientists use functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), EEG (electroencephalography) and SST (steady state topography) to measure activity in different parts of the brain. They also use sensors to measure changes in a person's physiological state (heart rate, respiration rate and galvanic skin response, amongst others) to more accurately determine the response and its cause.

"Because this is a relatively new field for marketers in general, and in South Africa in particular, the opportunities for research and practical application are endless. This is an exciting time for those of us involved in the field, and I look forward to seeing marketers benefit from planning their strategies using scientific research and innovation, and sharing their research with neuromarketers around the world, using NMASA as a platform. The time for neuromarketing is now."

For more information, go to www.nmasa.co.za.