Nielsen Buys Into Neuromarketing

by on 10 February, 2008 - 10:33

by: Roger DooleyHas neuromarketing arrived? If not, it has reached a new plateau of credibility as the privately held Nielsen Company has invested in NeuroFocus, a firm that uses brainwave, eye-tracking and skin conductance measurements to measure consumer reactions to ads and products. Nielsen, best known for its television viewership ratings, has a diverse portfolio of businesses involved in media and marketing. According to their press info,

The Nielsen Company and
NeuroFocus are joining forces to initially bring an array of new
science-based products, services and metrics to clients in consumer
packaged goods, television, film and emerging media. At the same time,
Nielsen will integrate NeuroFocus' techniques into existing services to
better understand the elements of successful consumer engagement. For
example, NeuroFocus' techniques will become a permanent feature in
Nielsen's Digital Labs research centers at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
and at CityWalk in Los Angeles.

"Because Nielsen is focused on
bringing innovative products and services to clients, this alliance is
an extraordinary opportunity to incorporate ground-breaking science
into our product offerings," said Nielsen Executive Vice President
Susan Whiting. "This alliance will enable us to gather truly unique
insights about consumers' attitudes and behavior about which they
themselves may not even be fully aware and will complement our other
measures of consumer behavior." [From Nielsen Makes Strategic Investment in NeuroFocus, an Innovative Leader in Neuromarketing Research]

Nielsen CEO David Calhoun will assume a position on the board of NeuroFocus.

NeuroFocus
has used EEG as its primary method of measuring brain activity. While
not able to localize brain activity in three dimensions like fMRI, EEG
equipment is far cheaper and more portable than fMRI.

This is
great news for neuromarketing - having a company with the name
recognition and resources of Nielsen in the market should help, rather
than hurt, smaller players.

Original Post: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/nielsen-buys-into-neuromarketing.htm