Innerscope Research

Last updated
Innerscope Research
Type Private
IndustryMarket Research
Founded2006
Headquarters Boston, USA
Key people
Carl Marci
Brian Levine
ProductsConsumer research
Market measurement
Website Innerscoperesearch.com

Innerscope Research was an integrated consumer neuroscience research firm that was acquired by Nielsen in 2015. Founded in 2006, Innerscope was based in Boston, Massachusetts with an office in New York City. Using applied neuroscience tools such as biometrics, eye tracking, facial coding as well as fMRI, often integrated with traditional measures of self-report, the company aims to measure in a more comprehensive way consumers’ non-conscious emotional connection to brands, products and services.

Contents

The company services Fortune 500 clients and works in multiple domains using a neuroscience informed framework (sometimes referred to as neuromarketing). Its research offering includes the evaluation of video advertising, shopper marketing, media platforms, online/mobile user experience as well as a variety of custom studies from testing fragrances to automobile driving experiences. Innerscope’s goal is to help its clients understand the role of non-conscious processing in decision making.

On May 27, 2015, Nielsen completed an acquisition of Innerscope Research and renamed its combined offering as Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience. Dr. Carl Marci was named Chief Neuroscientist.

Projects

Innerscope annually studies the Super Bowl to identify which ads are most emotionally engaging – a far better predictor of success than traditional research methods. [1] Each year, during television’s most watched event, Innerscope collects live biometric data to measure viewers’ non-conscious responses to advertisements with the goal of understanding advertising effectiveness and consumer behaviors. The results of its 2012 Super Bowl study were featured on CNN.

In 2014, Innerscope partnered with Time Warner Medialab and Temple University to conduct a study that allowed viewers to watch the Super Bowl in an environment that would resemble a live viewing of the sporting event. The research was designed to measure consumer engagement and media habits, using biometrics technology, in settings like a theater, a living room, a mock shopping area, and eye-tracking stations. [2] The researchers then gave ads based on levels of biometric engagement to Temple University to measure the brain activity using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). [3]

Innerscope also conducted research concerning path-to-purchase and consumer packaging with companies including Campbell Soup Company. [4] The research firm’s work played a significant role in Campbell Soup Company redesigning its condensed soup label. [5] The research looks at physiological responses such as perspiration and increased heart rate and marketing. [6]

History

The company was founded by Dr. Carl Marci and Brian Levine in 2006 who had worked at the MIT Media Lab. [7]

On May 27, 2015, Nielsen completed an acquisition of Innerscope Research and renamed its combined offering as Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience. Dr. Carl Marci was named Chief Neuroscientist. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advertising</span> Form of communication for marketing, typically paid for

Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a specific good or service, but there are wide range of uses, the most common being the commercial advertisement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumer behaviour</span> Study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with consuming

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. Consumer behaviour consists of how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and preferences affect buying behaviour. Consumer behaviour emerged in the 1940–1950s as a distinct sub-discipline of marketing, but has become an interdisciplinary social science that blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, marketing, and economics.

Nielsen Holdings plc is an American information, data and market measurement firm. Nielsen operates in over 100 countries and employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide.

Direct response television (DRTV) is any television advertising that asks consumers to respond directly to the company — usually either by calling a toll-free telephone number, sending an SMS message, or by visiting a web site. This is a form of direct response marketing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advertising management</span> Part of the advertising industry

Advertising management is a planned managerial process designed to oversee and control the various advertising activities involved in a program to communicate with a firm's target market and which is ultimately designed to influence the consumer's purchase decisions. Advertising is just one element in a company's promotional mix and as such, must be integrated with the overall marketing communications program. Advertising is, however, the most expensive of all the promotional elements and therefore must be managed with care and accountability. Advertising management process also helps in defining the outline of the media campaign and in deciding which type of advertising would be used before the launch of a product.

Neuromarketing is a commercial marketing communication field that applies neuropsychology to market research, studying consumers' sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective responses to marketing stimuli. The potential benefits to marketers include more efficient and effective marketing campaigns and strategies, fewer product and campaign failures, and ultimately the manipulation of the real needs and wants of people to suit the needs and wants of marketing interests.

Social neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field devoted to understanding the relationship between social experiences and biological systems. Humans are fundamentally a social species, rather than solitary. As such, Homo sapiens create emergent organizations beyond the individual—structures that range from dyads, families, and groups to cities, civilizations, and cultures. In this regard, studies indicate that various social influences, including life events, poverty, unemployment and loneliness can influence health related biomarkers. The term "social neuroscience" can be traced to a publication entitled "Social Neuroscience Bulletin" which was published quarterly between 1988 and 1994. The term was subsequently popularized in an article by John Cacioppo and Gary Berntson, published in the American Psychologist in 1992. Cacioppo and Berntson are considered as the legitimate fathers of social neuroscience. Still a young field, social neuroscience is closely related to affective neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience, focusing on how the brain mediates social interactions. The biological underpinnings of social cognition are investigated in social cognitive neuroscience.

Sensory neuroscience is a subfield of neuroscience which explores the anatomy and physiology of neurons that are part of sensory systems such as vision, hearing, and olfaction. Neurons in sensory regions of the brain respond to stimuli by firing one or more nerve impulses following stimulus presentation. How is information about the outside world encoded by the rate, timing, and pattern of action potentials? This so-called neural code is currently poorly understood and sensory neuroscience plays an important role in the attempt to decipher it. Looking at early sensory processing is advantageous since brain regions that are "higher up" contain neurons which encode more abstract representations. However, the hope is that there are unifying principles which govern how the brain encodes and processes information. Studying sensory systems is an important stepping stone in our understanding of brain function in general.

Social television is the union of television and social media. Millions of people now share their TV experience with other viewers on social media such as Twitter and Facebook using smartphones and tablets. TV networks and rights holders are increasingly sharing video clips on social platforms to monetise engagement and drive tune-in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZADZADZ</span>

ZADZADZ was an online video database of current television commercials, featuring everything from video games to hair care products grouped into consumer-desired categories. After the site's successful testing phase in late 2007, ZADZADZ officially launched on January 17, 2008.

Marketing buzz or simply buzz—a term used in viral marketing—is the interaction of consumers and users of a product or service which amplifies or alters the original marketing message. This emotion, energy, excitement, or anticipation about a product or service can be positive or negative. Buzz can be generated by intentional marketing activities by the brand owner or it can be the result of an independent event that enters public awareness through social or traditional media such as newspapers. Marketing buzz originally referred to oral communication but in the age of Web 2.0, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube are now the dominant communication channels for marketing buzz.

Consumer neuroscience is the combination of consumer research with modern neuroscience. The goal of the field is to find neural explanations for consumer behaviors in individuals both with or without disease.

Affectiva is a software company that builds artificial intelligence. The company claims its AI understands human emotions, cognitive states, activities and the objects people use, by analyzing facial and vocal expressions. An offshoot of MIT Media Lab, Affectiva created a new technological category of Artificial Emotional Intelligence, namely, Emotion AI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement</span>

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) is a trade group founded in 2009 by television content providers, media agencies and advertisers to explore ways to measure audiences across media in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Marci</span>

Carl D. Marci, is a physician, scientist, entrepreneur and author of the book, Rewired: Protecting Your Brain in the Digital Age. He is currently Chief Psychiatrist and Managing Director at OM1, a venture-backed health data company using artificial intelligence to improve patient outcomes. He is also a senior advisor to early stage health tech start-ups and a part-time psychiatrist within the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Gemma A. Calvert FRSA is a British neuroscientist and pioneer of neuromarketing. She is the founder of Neurosense Limited, the world's first neuromarketing agency established in 1999, and in 2016 she co-founded Split Second Research, a company which provides implicit research for companies worldwide. Calvert is a professor of marketing at the Nanyang Business School at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Ace Metrix is an advertising analytics company based in El Segundo, CA. The company screens and scores video advertising based on a survey method which measures an advertisement's creative impact including that of persuasion, watchability and emotional factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moran Cerf</span> American-French-Israeli neuroscientist and business professor

Moran Cerf is am American-French-Israeli neuroscientist, professor of business, investor and former white hat hacker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbell's Kids</span>

The Campbell Kids are the advertising cartoon mascot of the Campbell Soup Company. Drawn by Grace Drayton in 1904, the characters became popular almost immediately, leading to the production of dolls, cookbooks, cards, plates, T-shirts, and many other items fashioned in their likeness. The Campbell Kids have spanned many generations and still represent the Campbell Soup Company today.

NeuroFocus was a neuromarketing and neuroscience research company founded in 2005 by a group of academics and engineers from UC Berkeley that focused on applying neuroscience, neurology, and neurological testing to a wide range of fields such as marketing, advertising, consumer research, branding, product development, and entertainment content. In 2011, consumer research and analytics firm Nielsen Holdings acquired full ownership of NeuroFocus as part of the Nielsen’s Product Innovation Practice.

References

  1. "What the tech?: Mapping Human Responses to Super Bowl Ads". Boston Magazine. January 29, 2014.
  2. Kutz, Erin. "From MIT's Media Lab to Time Warner's: Innerscope's Biometric Tech". xconomy.
  3. Avrill, Tom. "Temple takes a scientific look at responses to Super Bowl commercials". philly.com.
  4. Brat, Ilan (February 17, 2010). "The Emotional Quotient of Soup Shopping" (PDF). The Wall Journal.
  5. Terry, Lisa (25 July 2011). "How Campbell Soup Fixed Its Confusing Shelves". Advertising ge.
  6. Brat, Ilan (February 17, 2010). "The Emotional Quotient of Soup Shopping" (PDF). The Wall Journal.
  7. Matheson, Rob (19 August 2014). "Our Connection to Content". MIT News.
  8. Dooley, Roger. "Nielsen Doubles Down On Neuro". Forbes . Retrieved 2015-09-25.