A neuroscience perspective on consumer responses to marketing communication

Glenn Leshner, Russell Clayton, Glenna Read, & Kevin Wise (in press). “A neuroscience perspective on consumer responses to marketing communication,” in R. G. Magee (Ed.), The DeGruyter Handbook of Marketing Communication. DeGruyter, Inc.

Abstract: Neuromarketing is the application of biometric tools not only to measure message effects but also to provide insights into psychological processes and states. In this chapter, we discuss neuromarketing—its meaning, theoretical basis, benefits, drawbacks, ethical considerations—and summarize the tools and methods most often used by consumer neuroscience researchers. We describe measures of both the central and peripheral nervous systems and explain how they can inform cognitive and emotional processing of media. A key feature of this approach is not only the “tools” neuromarketing researchers may employ, but also what those measures may mean in terms of consumer cognition, emotion, and behaviors. Although data from the measures we discuss here may be interesting and practical themselves, these measures are most useful when they indicate psychological and emotional states during message exposure that affects how individuals cognitively and emotionally process marketing communication touchpoints.