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In a fascinating New York Times article, author Clive Thompson
describes a new world of marketing where advertisers can see
into the brains of their consumers. This so-called "neuromarketing"
involves using MRI machines to gauge whether certain parts
of a person’s brain, the part that controls self-image
for instance, become activated when they see a certain product.
What one researcher discovered is that a person’s perception
of a product (it’s brand, image, etc.) has a large influence
on how they feel about it. The researcher recreated "the
Pepsi Challenge" taste test, in which participants taste
Coke and Pepsi. When the taste test was blind, participants
chose Pepsi overwhelmingly as better tasting. However, when
they knew which product they were tasting they chose Coke
as better tasting.
There were changes in their brains to reflect these preferences
as well. When the participants drank Pepsi in the blind taste
test, there was activity in the ventral putamen, a region
thought to process feelings of reward. However, when they
were told they were drinking Coke, there was activity in the
medial prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that controls
high-level cognitive powers. The researcher concluded that
the participants were bringing in impressions and memories
of Coke and using it to decide on the taste.
The
New York Times October 26, 2003
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