I have always been fascinated with the debate that Marketing is an Art or a Science. Now Campbell’s Soup is introducing Neuroscience into the discussion.
Neuromarketing
Neuromarketing is a relatively new approach for companies to delve into customer responses to marketing and advertising.
Researchers are divining what small changes in biometrics like skin moisture and heart rate mean. These learnings are driving the form of advertising and product labeling utilized.
Are We Thinking Too Much?
When asked our reactions or thoughts about a product or service we stop and think. Neuroscience eliminates the thinking and simply shows our reactions. Neuroscience and biometrics have their skeptics. Many new techniques have needed to prove themselves over time.
To Tell the Truth
Neuroscience has the capability of separating the wheat from the chaff, to use an analogy. What we think versus what we feel is shown.
What Campbell’s found was that the positive image people had at home disappeared when they looked at rows and columns of cans in the store. People were not engaged in a biometric way at the store.
What to Do?
The research is changing the way Campbell’s labels it soups. Soup, especially condensed soup, is thought by many to be old or “fuddy-duddy.” Product proliferation and line extensions have caused too many choices for consumers.
Here are some lessons learned that you can apply to your business.
- Color code or create a visual cue for each line of products.
- Update your fonts so they are not stale.
- Update your graphics to keep customer interested.
- Decrease your logo size, if large, to leave more room for other messages.
The Takeaway
Continuing to use tried and true marketing techniques is safe. However, new ideas like Neuroscience should be explored to add to your marketing toolkit.
Over to you. What do you think?
- Are you using the same techniques over and over?
- When was the last time you tried something new?
- Do you believe Marketing is an Art or a Science?
Copyright © 2010 Rob Berman
David:
Most disciplines have the structured and unstructured portion to them. As you point out even hard sciences have the method but also the creativity. The creativity allows us to make leaps from one set of facts to another.
Rob
Steve:
I think you are correct about mixing the science and art. Good observation.
Rob
Aren’t all arts sciences and vice-versa. Music is an art, yet it invokes the science of sound waves and tonality. Same thing with painting and light. It’s almost always both.
To answer your last question, I believe there has to be both art and science in order for marketing to be effective. The science part is fairly straight-forward – test, test, test. The art comes in with what you’ll do with the results of those tests, because if you are doing it right, the tests will drive you to create something that’s never been done before.
Thanks!