- Past Event Highlights
- Article
Neuro: TV Brand Attraction Advantage Over Digital
Bill Harvey – Executive Chairman, Bill Harvey Consulting
Elizabeth Johnson, Ph.D. – Executive Director & Senior Fellow, Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, UPenn
Michael Platt, Ph.D. – Director, Wharton Neuroscience Initiative, UPenn
Audrey Steele – EVP Sales Research Insights & Strategy, FOX Corp.
The presenters discussed their study focused on the link between attention and sales. Attention is required for engagement. Eyes on screen do not predict sales well. However, three main brain measurement dimensions account for sales and branding effects: brand attraction/joy (=motivational signals in fMRI and EEG), memory (=Theta power in EEG) and synchrony (=collective resonance across audience brains, in fMRI and EEG)—all require more than 1-2 seconds to unfold and measure. Using neuroanalysis can help unmask hidden thoughts and feelings (via fMRI). Additionally, scaled up, other predictive bio and neuro metrics can be just as predictive. The research shows that patterns of brain activity predict sales best: the sum of all perceptual, attentional, emotional, social and memory processes. We can also use EEG to tell us about frustration, attention, memory, sleep/introspection. Research using EEG shows that EEG measuring brand attraction/joy can predict 80% variance in sales. Notably, brand attraction/joy takes 15 seconds to peak. Brain memory also predicts sales. Notably, memory encoding picks up after 10 seconds. Finally, synchrony—collective audience response—predicts more than 90% of sales but also has temporal dynamics, peaks at 5 seconds and picks up again after 15-20 seconds. Wharton Neuroscience investigated predicting how different content and platform impact sales lift. The study design: eight ads in eight verticals tested in each of the 10 experimental cells (7 TV, 2 smart phones, 1 control condition). Four ads at a time are shown between TV show. Each viewer will only see one kind of content. Findings from the 3% of total sample: attraction and memory are sustained for ads shown in premium channels compared to YouTube. Value of context is enormous! YouTube has a drop at 4 seconds whereas TV continues. Key takeaways:- Attention is an incomplete measure by which to select media contexts and platforms for specific campaigns.
- Premium longform content and contexts have more sales and branding impact than digital, especially in new customer growth due to emotional immersion in TV context vs. brevity of ad attention/engagement in digital.