NeuroFocus

NeuroFocus, Inc.
Industry Neuromarketing
Founded 2005
Headquarters Berkeley, California
Key people
 Dr. A.K. Pradeep, Founder
Website http://neurofocus.com/

NeuroFocus, Inc. was an American multinational neuromarketing company with locations in London, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Bogotá, New York, and Dallas. Headquartered in Berkeley, CA, NeuroFocus combines neuroscience research with consulting and marketing practices. NeuroFocus claimed to be the “global market leader in neurological testing.”[1]

Corporate history

Founding

Chief Executive Officer Dr. A.K. Pradeep states that he started NeuroFocus as a way to provide answers to his marketing clients who were frustrated in their inability to accurately predict consumer responses. According to Pradeep, his moment of inspiration arose from a conversation with a neuroscientist sitting beside him on a flight back to San Francisco. The neuroscientist told Pradeep about his studies of the brains of patients with Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Pradeep says that it was due to this conversation that he realized the link between neuroscience and marketing. He postulated that when viewing a product, customers experience some of the same neurological effects that his neuroscientist neighbor studied.[2] Marketing companies’ frustrations could therefore be addressed by referring to cognitive neuroscience’s technology and methodology. Neurological studies could help marketers discover if the customer would pay attention and remember their product. In 2005 Pradeep founded NeuroFocus’ headquarters with these principles in Berkeley, California. The scientific efforts of NeuroFocus are guided by Dr. Robert Knight, Professor of Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley. The Advisory Board of NeuroFocus comprises faculty from MIT, Harvard, Oxford University, UCSF, and the Hebrew University of Israel.

Growth, and Acquisition

In February 2008, The Nielsen Company became a strategic investor in NeuroFocus. Nielsen Executive Vice President Susan Whiting issued a statement announcing, “this alliance is an extraordinary opportunity to incorporate ground-breaking science into our product offerings."[3] Also in 2008, NeuroFocus expanded internationally into Asia, and specifically into Korea and Japan. In March 2009, NeuroFocus ventured into Europe, acquiring its competitor, Neuroco.[4] Within that same year NeuroFocus, opened its European headquarter in London, England. Since then, NeuroFocus has also established locations in Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Bogotá, New York, and Dallas. In March 2010, NeuroFocus announced the addition of Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel to NeuroFocus’ advisory board.[5]

NeuroFocus was acquired by Nielsen in May 2011. In 2013, two years post the acquisition by Nielsen, Dr. A.K. Pradeep assumed the role and title of Chief Provocateur of Nielsen. Pradeep resigned from the company on June 2, 2014. 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.

Services and offerings

NeuroFocus’ premise is that it can provide key insights about customers that traditional marketing techniques cannot. NeuroFocus utilizes electroencephalography (EEG), eye tracking, and biometrics such as galvanic skin response (GSR) [6] to obtain insights into customers’ conscious and subconscious feelings, emotions, and preferences.[7] NeuroFocus states that these insights are more accurate than traditional focus group responses as they are gleaned directly from the brain and are therefore uncontaminated by cognitive bias.[8] NeuroFocus also claims that its methodology allows it to access the subconscious desires that cannot be expressed by the consumer.[7]

NeuroFocus’ offers to provide its clients with a prediction of effectiveness through specific scores on the attention, emotion, and memory metrics as well as its derived metrics of novelty, awareness, and purchase intent.[9][10] NeuroFocus determines these metrics based on the brain wave data collected while consumers view the client’s product.[11] NeuroFocus states that it can address a client’s needs for insights into their brand, products, packaging, in-store marketing, and advertising.[12][13] As of June 2010, NeuroFocus announced that it had developed a 3D virtual reality simulation store research tool that would enable clients to test product designs and store layouts more effectively.[14][15]


NeuroFocus states that it provides services to a growing number of Fortune 500 companies,[16] commissioning specialized on-site “Neurolabs” to those clients who desire a lab to perform constant testing tailored to their individual needs.[17]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0bd88596-4426-11df-b327-00144feab49a.html
  2. ↑ Smith, Rick (September 2009). ‘‘The Leap: How 3 Simple Changes can Propel Your Career from Good to Great’’’. New York: Portfolio. pp.134-139. ISBN 978-1-59184-256-9
  3. ↑ http://en-us.nielsen.com/content/nielsen/en_us/news/news_releases/2008/0/nielsen_makes_strategic.html
  4. ↑ http://www.neurofocus.com/news/neuroco.htm
  5. ↑ http://neurofocus.com/pdfs/ERIC_KANDEL_RELEASE.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=80987
  7. 1 2 http://www.businesstodayegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=8837
  8. ↑ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92768079
  9. ↑ http://www.cablefax.com/cfp/cfp/just_in/37342.html
  10. ↑ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/media_entertainment/does-emotionally-powerful-programming-prime-advertising-effectiveness/
  11. ↑ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/19/BUNF10MEPI.DTL
  12. ↑ http://www.neurofocus.com/pdfs/Insidethemind_DDi.pdf?vnu_content_id=1003783738 Display and Design Magazine
  13. ↑ http://www.mrsa.com.au/index.cfm?a=detail&eid=222&id=4702
  14. ↑ http://www.research-live.com/news/technology/neurofocus-goes-virtual-with-new-3d-store-research-tool/4002875.article
  15. ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/breakthrough-3d-virtual-reality-based-in-store-research-neurofocus-introduces-n-matrix-3dtm-system-95604464.html
  16. ↑ http://chiefmarketer.com/crm/1027-neuromarketing-loyalty-brain/
  17. ↑ http://www.research-live.com/news/technology/ae-television-networks-orders-neurolab/4002728.article

External links

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