Brain Science Not Ready to Replace Mad Men
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June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Martin Lindstrom, the globe-trottingDanish branding expert, estimates that a whopping 90 percent ofour buying decisions take place at a subconscious level. Theauthor of the 2008 business best-seller “Buyology,” Lindstromadvises marketers to cut out the middlemen -- the buyersthemselves -- and ask their brains directly: Will you buy ourproduct? Forget focus groups and questionnaires. The brain isthe route to the heart’s desire.
Lindstrom is part of an upstart generation of Mad Men knownas neuromarketers. They apply the tools of neuroscience, such asfunctional MRI and brain-wave technologies, to learn howconsumers’ brains react to ads and products.