The three-year study used brain scan technology to reveal findings in consumer behaviour and is claimed to be the biggest breakthrough in marketing in decades. The research aims turn market research practices on their heads, and refute what was thought about why people buy.
The Buyology Symposium, touring more than 50 countries in 18 months, will start its Africa tour in Johannesburg on 9 March, 2009 before moving to other African countries later in the year with Lindstrom appearing at each event. International events organiser, Global Leaders has been awarded the contract for a number of countries in Africa and the Gulf.
The research project cost US$7 million, and was conducted in association with a panel of scientists based in Oxford. Among the companies to take part in the research were: Apple; Coca-Cola; American Express; Ford; Louis Vuitton; Nike; Samsung; Sony; and Tiffany & Co.
According to the findings, the majority of the $600 billion global advertising spend is currently wasted - TV commercials are “dead in the water” and product placement is completely off-track. The application of neuroscience and Lindstrom's findings will attempt to accurately predict what budgets are wasted and what products will fail.
“The whole purpose of advertising has been to persuade people to buy - and to buy more. But most of the money invested in marketing has been wasted. We estimate that between 50 and 80 percent of all advertising investment has been wasted. That percentage, without a change in practice, is set to grow along with the increasing amount of advertising clutter that clamours for our attention," said Lindstrom.
“The role of neuromarketing in advertising is to figure out what works and what doesn't, before the product is launched and millions spent on a campaign. Imagine a world in which the only advertising that exists was what worked, persuaded consumer choices and managed to be relevant and interesting. Advertising would take on a whole new role in society - one that was a welcome and harmonious part of our everyday lives rather than an annoyance,” he continued.
“By the age of 65, consumers in the developed world will have seen, on average, two million adverts - the equivalent of watching eight hours of television, seven days a week, for six years,” he explained. “85 percent of our behaviour is driven by our subconscious mind.
“Your subconscious mind receives countless signals from marketers, but your conscious mind is not able to retain and process all of them. Buyology's neuromarketing research has revealed how marketers should be working with consumers if they want us to remember their messages.”
Apparently, the added value of neuromarketing is the insight it gives into the subconscious mind, and enabling marketers to predict the likely success or failure of a product far more accurately.
Lindstrom added: “Currently, eight out of 10 products released are failing. Sensible research using neuromarketing can help avoid losses on products that are unlikely to be unsuccessful. By giving us an understanding of the subconscious mind at work, neuromarketing can examine how brands interact with consumers' minds and, therefore, advise on how to build them for success.”
The Buyology Symposium plans to address why everything believed about why people buy is wrong and how to replace the broken tools to enhance the success of advertising and branding.
More details about the event are available at www.globalleadersevents.com or www.martinlindstrom.com.
