cover story the new consumer
"If you are spending a
large amount of your
time in a [gaming]
world where your
actions don't have
consequences in life,
then you're going to
take more risks
because there's
nothing to lose."
Baroness Greenfieid, professor of
pharmacoiogy at Oxford University
casestudy
How Microsoft has tracked brain activity
With an overload of information from multiscreen
use and diminishing attention spans,
how can marketers assess just how engaged
consumers are with advertising on different
platforms?
To gauge the effectiveness of some of its
campaigns on the Xbox platform, Microsoft
looked to neuromarketing. It wanted to get a
clearer picture of how stimulated the brain
was during 30 and 60-second TV ads
compared with in-game ads run on the Xbox.
"We knew intuitively from our own behaviour
that when we are on a gaming console we are
highly engaged, but effectiveness research also
showed us an incredible lift in the traditional
brand metrics - favouribility, awareness,
memorability - on Xbox," says Ginny Musante,
director of marketing at Microsoft's Xbox Live
advertising business.
Working with Mediabrands and EmSense,
the company fitted test subjects with an
unobtrusive headband that tracked brain
activity, breathing rate, head motion, heart
rate, blink rate and skin temperature while
watching the three types of advertisement (30
second TV, 60 second TV and in-game ads).
While viewing TV ads for [automotive brand]
Kia Soul, the most brain activity happened in
the first half of the ad. However, when
watching on Xbox Live [via in-game
advertising], brain activity peaked at the repeat
image of the car, reinforcing the
advertisement's memorability, claims Microsoft.
This was supported by traditional metrics:
respondents spent an average of 298 seconds
interacting with Xbox live ads and the ad
delivered a 90% unaided brand recall rate,
compared with 78% for the traditional TV spot.
Musante says: "It used to be that when you
put an ad on TV you could interrupt people's
entertainment and you would get their
attention. All you had to do was buy an ad slot
in a prime-time programme. Now to get true
engagement, advertisers have to do more.
"Invite the consumer into a conversation
and don't interrupt their experience, make the
interaction natural, reward customers for their
undivided attention and be relevant with
content or offers.
"We have a lot of advertisers that sponsor
games tournaments or offer gamers tricks and
tips to go to the next level - that opens up a
brand conversation and gives consumers a
chance to truly interact."
Road testing ads:
An Xbox study into
effectiveness used
neuromarketing
have the additional challenge of appealing to
both those who can truly multi-task and those
who can't.
Lindstrom adds: "Some brands are already
doing it well - Lego for instance - but some aren't.
The poor ads are very linear and focused on talking
to one particular audience in a specific way.
"With advances in technology, a concept could
be executed a million different ways depending
on the data you have amassed about the
customer. The challenge for the future will be
not only coming up with a concept that will work
for many different audiences, but also finding a
mechanism to be able to do that. "
Provide sensory experiences
Marketing to the consumer brains of the future is
not just about optimising on-screen
communication. When people play games and
become excited, their brains release dopamine, a
chemical linked to addiction and the feeling of
needing reward. So Greenfield suggests there is
a link between more time spent playing video
games and preference for highly sensory, fastpaced
interactions.
This means that engaging field or experiential
marketing will become increasingly important
and people will expect them to happen much
more often.
"In the future, consumers will value instant
gratification much more than they did in the
past," she says.
Dopamine also encourages people to behave
more recklessly and take more risks because it
dampens down the front part of the brain that is
responsible for this.
"If you are spending a large amount of your
time in a [gaming] world where your actions
don't have consequences and people can come
back from the dead, then you're going to take
more risks [in daily life] because there's nothing
to lose. You're both excited and safe at the same
time, which is quite unusual."
However, Kevin Bachus, co-founder of Xbox
and now chief product officer at Bebo, says
children do know the difference between real life
and the screen (see Q&A, page 20).
Earlier this year Sony Ericsson sought to
engage gamers for the launch of its Xperia Play
phone by creating a highly sensory environment
in London's Holborn, which replicated some of
the phone's most popular games. Burnt-out
helicopters vied with a replica Kung-fu noodle
restaurant and rapper Tinchy Stryder for
people's attention. The aim was to make them
feel like they were in the game.
Sony Ericsson UK head of PR and sponsorship
Matt Beavis says: "Immersing consumers in a
brand environment designed to bring to life the
concept of 'going in game' we felt was a great
way to give guests an exciting introduction to
the new handset.
"It created deep engagement with consumers
and social currency for bloggers to talk about
beyond the event itself. "
Lego launched the game Ninjago in a similar
way with a travelling roadshow at shopping
centres and family festivals that brought to life
high-action Ninjago battle sequences shown in
the TV and digital campaigns.
Similarly The Old Spice Man campaign is
touring universities this month, giving consumers
the thrill of going 'in-ad' by emulating the
aftershave's 'Smell like a man, man' TV spot atop
a white horse.
18 ! Marketing Week I 20 October 2011 I marketingweek.co.uk
Copyright of Marketing Week (01419285) is the property of Centaur Communications and its content may not
be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
"If you are spending a
large amount of your
time in a [gaming]
world where your
actions don't have
consequences in life,
then you're going to
take more risks
because there's
nothing to lose."
Baroness Greenfieid, professor of
pharmacoiogy at Oxford University
casestudy
How Microsoft has tracked brain activity
With an overload of information from multiscreen
use and diminishing attention spans,
how can marketers assess just how engaged
consumers are with advertising on different
platforms?
To gauge the effectiveness of some of its
campaigns on the Xbox platform, Microsoft
looked to neuromarketing. It wanted to get a
clearer picture of how stimulated the brain
was during 30 and 60-second TV ads
compared with in-game ads run on the Xbox.
"We knew intuitively from our own behaviour
that when we are on a gaming console we are
highly engaged, but effectiveness research also
showed us an incredible lift in the traditional
brand metrics - favouribility, awareness,
memorability - on Xbox," says Ginny Musante,
director of marketing at Microsoft's Xbox Live
advertising business.
Working with Mediabrands and EmSense,
the company fitted test subjects with an
unobtrusive headband that tracked brain
activity, breathing rate, head motion, heart
rate, blink rate and skin temperature while
watching the three types of advertisement (30
second TV, 60 second TV and in-game ads).
While viewing TV ads for [automotive brand]
Kia Soul, the most brain activity happened in
the first half of the ad. However, when
watching on Xbox Live [via in-game
advertising], brain activity peaked at the repeat
image of the car, reinforcing the
advertisement's memorability, claims Microsoft.
This was supported by traditional metrics:
respondents spent an average of 298 seconds
interacting with Xbox live ads and the ad
delivered a 90% unaided brand recall rate,
compared with 78% for the traditional TV spot.
Musante says: "It used to be that when you
put an ad on TV you could interrupt people's
entertainment and you would get their
attention. All you had to do was buy an ad slot
in a prime-time programme. Now to get true
engagement, advertisers have to do more.
"Invite the consumer into a conversation
and don't interrupt their experience, make the
interaction natural, reward customers for their
undivided attention and be relevant with
content or offers.
"We have a lot of advertisers that sponsor
games tournaments or offer gamers tricks and
tips to go to the next level - that opens up a
brand conversation and gives consumers a
chance to truly interact."
Road testing ads:
An Xbox study into
effectiveness used
neuromarketing
have the additional challenge of appealing to
both those who can truly multi-task and those
who can't.
Lindstrom adds: "Some brands are already
doing it well - Lego for instance - but some aren't.
The poor ads are very linear and focused on talking
to one particular audience in a specific way.
"With advances in technology, a concept could
be executed a million different ways depending
on the data you have amassed about the
customer. The challenge for the future will be
not only coming up with a concept that will work
for many different audiences, but also finding a
mechanism to be able to do that. "
Provide sensory experiences
Marketing to the consumer brains of the future is
not just about optimising on-screen
communication. When people play games and
become excited, their brains release dopamine, a
chemical linked to addiction and the feeling of
needing reward. So Greenfield suggests there is
a link between more time spent playing video
games and preference for highly sensory, fastpaced
interactions.
This means that engaging field or experiential
marketing will become increasingly important
and people will expect them to happen much
more often.
"In the future, consumers will value instant
gratification much more than they did in the
past," she says.
Dopamine also encourages people to behave
more recklessly and take more risks because it
dampens down the front part of the brain that is
responsible for this.
"If you are spending a large amount of your
time in a [gaming] world where your actions
don't have consequences and people can come
back from the dead, then you're going to take
more risks [in daily life] because there's nothing
to lose. You're both excited and safe at the same
time, which is quite unusual."
However, Kevin Bachus, co-founder of Xbox
and now chief product officer at Bebo, says
children do know the difference between real life
and the screen (see Q&A, page 20).
Earlier this year Sony Ericsson sought to
engage gamers for the launch of its Xperia Play
phone by creating a highly sensory environment
in London's Holborn, which replicated some of
the phone's most popular games. Burnt-out
helicopters vied with a replica Kung-fu noodle
restaurant and rapper Tinchy Stryder for
people's attention. The aim was to make them
feel like they were in the game.
Sony Ericsson UK head of PR and sponsorship
Matt Beavis says: "Immersing consumers in a
brand environment designed to bring to life the
concept of 'going in game' we felt was a great
way to give guests an exciting introduction to
the new handset.
"It created deep engagement with consumers
and social currency for bloggers to talk about
beyond the event itself. "
Lego launched the game Ninjago in a similar
way with a travelling roadshow at shopping
centres and family festivals that brought to life
high-action Ninjago battle sequences shown in
the TV and digital campaigns.
Similarly The Old Spice Man campaign is
touring universities this month, giving consumers
the thrill of going 'in-ad' by emulating the
aftershave's 'Smell like a man, man' TV spot atop
a white horse.
18 ! Marketing Week I 20 October 2011 I marketingweek.co.uk
Copyright of Marketing Week (01419285) is the property of Centaur Communications and its content may not
be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written
permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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