About the Author
Branislav R. Tanasic
A narrow field of interest is subliminal and neuromarketing. Have own EEG device /electroencephalography/ organize researches aimed at developing the ability to visualize better and understanding consumer subconscious responses. Besides the work of impact of sensory branding on the decision-making process, recently finished the research of impact the health warning label on the cigarette on smokers, currently in preparation for researching the significance of the binaural arousal on the bilateral brain synchronization.
Long-time professor, currently employed at National University, and at Faculty of Management, Sremski Karlovci (FAM) as a professor of Management, Human Resource Management, Business Communication, Marketing.
Foreword
Writing this book, I remembered an exciting episode from high school days. At the break between the two classes, we talked about some huge book that we need to read. Many of us complained that it was bulky and it took time to read it. One of the group's associates quite calmly said that he read the entire book without any problems. We were amazed but there was an explanation, he developed a reading technique of the giant novels by reading only the right-hand side pages so that reduced those terrible books in half.
The theme of this book is exceptionally bulky, and I decided to cut it seriously, so there is no need to apply the friend of mine reading technique. Also, I tried to condense information from a few scientific areas into a space of fewer than two hundred pages only. The content is intended, not only for readers who know neuromarketing but also for a craving population who would like to learn something more about this extraordinarily dynamic and thrilling area. Neuromarketing is today's reality but also the future that evolves greatly in the advanced form called nano marketing.
Neuromarketing is a science field of study at many colleges also. Without the great pretense of the humble opinion that this book can provide basic information to these students, it will be the basis for further advancement in the acquisition of knowledge in this field. The content methodologically and conceptually leads the reader into the essence of neuromarketing. Through methodology and theory of making-decision process trying to find out how consumers value the object of buying desire, that is, which are the essential elements of the decision to make a purchase. We are a witness of every day of the applying of psychological and knowledge of medical sciences through the diverse promotion`s techniques. And this is an additional reason for the existence of this book, developing knowledge about the existence of very imaginative marketing approaches, even manipulations to consumers.
Marketing and psychology co-operation resulted in subliminal marketing, then evolvement of neuromarketing. There remains a question about the direction of those techniques and the measures of their use and abuse, and how to draw clear boundaries between these areas.
1. Prolegomena
In the book The Psychology of Advertising (1904), Walter Scott unequivocally anticipates the development path and significance of psychology application in promotional activities: "Advertising is the basic factor of modern business methods, and wise, business people can better understand the way consumers think they need to know how to influence them more effectively - they need to know how to apply psychology in advertising" (Scott, 1904: 33-34). Given today's business conditions from the time when Scott deals with advertising issues, we can say that his approach has shown decades ahead of his time, almost as a prophetic vision of upcoming bursty market changes. The struggle for the survival of modern companies in the saturated market has made drastic changes in the effort to attract consumers. We are surrounded by promotions at every step, so Hood notes the tremendous amount of promotional information that US citizens are exposed for 17 hours of daily activities: "During a typical day, the average American sees more than 5,000 advertisements" (Hood, 2005: 119-120). A simple account comes up to 294 propaganda messages per hour, or almost five propaganda messages every minute! Which of such a large number of information generally comes to mind, where one can draw the attention of an individual and affect behavior and decision-making? The conscious sphere of the brain is defeated by filtration, the impermeable barrier to the irrelevant data most commonly classified and propaganda messages. The psychic life of a man is organized so that most of the brain processes are automatic at the subconscious level. This is the area where the marketers will attract more and more, so the design and implementation of promotional activities combine the knowledge of other sciences, including psychology. On the other hand, companies are extremely important feedback about the quality and effectiveness of a promotional campaign. The product quantity sold is a direct indicator of the company's success, but it can not be inferred to what extent this is the product of the promotions undertaken, or other factors have prevailed on the decision of the consumer in the selection. The classical approach to the company's business analysis, or the monitoring of the effects of some marketing action, could be achieved through sales tracking and earnings gain, or through traditional market probing through various questionnaires, surveys, direct conversation, etc. Both can provide certain market information as a confirmation of success or the loss achieved through the tracked product, but it is difficult to determine and explain the causes of the outcomes achieved. This brief review refers to classical promotional techniques and resources, as well as decision making that is supposed to be formed by intelligently perceived information. The problem with communicating with consumers is due to the overwhelming number of promotional messages that a contemporary person is exposed daily, thus activating the psychological defense filtering mechanism (Jahn & Dunne, 2004: 547-750). In addition to clear marketing communications, consumers are often exposed to secret messages communicated through associative relationships and symbols (Thomas, 2006: 64; Packard, 2007: 31). Some of the contents are so weak that they can not be consciously perceived, i.e., there is no knowledge that the stimulus happened, such messages are called subliminal messages (Loftus & Klinger, 1992: 761-765; Chessman & Merkle, 1984: 385). No matter how subliminal is not perceived consciously, these weak signals trigger sensory processes and as such are registered (Woodworth, 1908: 472-474). Jastrow and Peirce conducted psychophysical experiments on the possibilities of detecting the self-priming difference (differential limes) that led them to the discovery of perceptions of the unconscious (Jastrow & Peirce, 1884: 76). For the pioneers of mental perception, the Scriptures and Sidis started, and their experiments further confirmed the findings of subliminal perception (Scripture, 1897: 248-260; Sidis, 1898: 169-172). The first well-known practical application of the subliminal was performed by Vicary, during film projection using the tachistoscope (Pratkanis, 1992: 260-272; Rogers, 1992: 12-17). Experiments conducted to prove/deny the possibility of subliminal influence on the judgment and decision-making of the respondents are based on indirect observations and results were often the subject of discussion. With the development of neuromarketing and identification techniques for consumer understanding at the cerebral level, introducing into the experiment of electroencephalographs and magnetic resonance devices, it was possible to monitor and measure respondents' reactions to subliminal stimulation directly. (Cooper & Cooper, 2002: 2213-2227; Karremans, Stroebe & Claus, 2006: 792-798; Verwijmeren & all, 2011: 206-213; Smarandescu & Shimp, 2015: 715-726). Neurophysiological research using the EEG device can prove the hypothesis of the psychologist that the brain undergoes some decisions sub systemically during the automated process (Camerer & Thaler, 1995: 209; Camerer, Loewenstein & Prelec, 2005: 9-64).
In an attempt to overcome the defensive psychological filtering of visual messages and the worn attention of the contemporary man (Lindstrom, 2010: 177), the solution is sought in the engagement of other senses. Smell or olfactory stimulus (Emsenhuber, 2015: 7) combined with traditional promotional techniques can be very effective and improve the promotional effect (Foleanu & all, 2009: 196-198, Zhong, 2011: 381-383, Hulten, 2011: 256- 273). This combination is called Sensory Branding, (Hulten, Broweus & Van Dijk, 2009: 1).
