Discrete classification technique applied to TV advertisements liking recognition system based on low‑cost EEG headsets

Background: In this paper a new approach is applied to the area of marketing research. The aim of this paper is to recognize how brain activity responds during the visualization of short video advertisements using discrete classification techniques. By means of low cost electroencephalography devices (EEG), the activation level of some brain regions have been studied while the ads are shown to users. We may wonder about how useful is the use of neuroscience knowledge in marketing, or what could provide neuroscience to marketing sector, or why this approach can improve the accuracy and the final user acceptance compared to other works. Methods: By using discrete techniques over EEG frequency bands of a generated dataset, C4.5, ANN and the new recognition system based on Ameva, a discretization algorithm, is applied to obtain the score given by subjects to each TV ad. Results: The proposed technique allows to reach more than 75 % of accuracy, which is an excellent result taking into account the typology of EEG sensors used in this work. Furthermore, the time consumption of the algorithm proposed is reduced up to 30 % compared to other techniques presented in this paper. Conclusions: This bring about a battery lifetime improvement on the devices where the algorithm is running, extending the experience in the ubiquitous context where the new approach has been tested.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad HERMES TIN2013-46801-C4-1-rJunta de Andalucia Simon TIC-805

On the Use of EEG or MEG Brain Imaging Tools in Neuromarketing Research

Here we present an overview of some published papers of interest for the marketing research employing electroencephalogram (EEG) and magnetoencephalogram (MEG) methods. The interest for these methodologies relies in their high-temporal resolution as opposed to the investigation of such problem with the functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) methodology, also largely used in the marketing research. In addition, EEG and MEG technologies have greatly improved their spatial resolution in the last decades with the introduction of advanced signal processing methodologies. By presenting data gathered through MEG and high resolution EEG we will show which kind of information it is possible to gather with these methodologies while the persons are watching marketing relevant stimuli. Such information will be related to the memorization and pleasantness related to such stimuli. We noted that temporal and frequency patterns of brain signals are able to provide possible descriptors conveying information about the cognitive and emotional processes in subjects observing commercial advertisements. These information could be unobtainable through common tools used in standard marketing research. We also show an example of how an EEG methodology could be used to analyze cultural differences between fruition of video commercials of carbonated beverages in Western and Eastern countries

EEG in the classroom: Synchronised neural recordings during video presentation

We performed simultaneous recordings of electroencephalography (EEG) from multiple students in a classroom, and measured the inter-subject correlation (ISC) of activity evoked by a common video stimulus. The neural reliability, as quantified by ISC, has been linked to engagement and attentional modulation in earlier studies that used high-grade equipment in laboratory settings. Here we reproduce many of the results from these studies using portable low-cost equipment, focusing on the robustness of using ISC for subjects experiencing naturalistic stimuli. The present data shows that stimulus-evoked neural responses, known to be modulated by attention, can be tracked in for groups of students with synchronized EEG acquisition. This is a step towards real-time inference of engagement in the classroom.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Preprint version. Revision of original preprint. Supplementary materials added as ancillary fil

Public policy, social marketing and neuromarketing: from addressing the consumer behaviour to addressing the social behaviour - a study on the assessment of Public Service Announcements’ efficacy by neuro-metric indexes and techniques

The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate to what extent marketing can be a useful science for the public policy in developing effective Public Service Announcements (PSAs). In particular, hereby a specific discipline will be taken in consideration: the one that merges marketing with neuroscience, that is the so-called ‘neuromarketing’, which - in order to assess the advertising efficacy - adopts biometric and neurometric indexes. The objective of this work is to gain insights into the above-mentioned fields (marketing, neuroscience and public policy) by: - reviewing previous studies, as well as topical literature; - exploring the latest case studies and best practises; - examining the traditional methods’ results for the assessment of the PSAs (i.e. polls, surveys, focus groups) in their evolutionary path (till arriving to birth of the the neurometric methods) Such kind of research has the purpose to identify the factors that are considered relevant to answer the ultimate research question: is it possible today, by using state-of-the-art neurometric indexes and techniques, to provide policymakers with precise guidelines for developing effective PSAs, so that marketing will be able to address no more just the consumer behaviour, but also the social behaviour? In fact, the goal of any advertising campaign is to convey a specific message and reach a specific audience: the consumers. But, when talking about PSAs, many things changes: the KPIs for the assessment of their efficacy are no longer the commercial ones (GRP, reach etc.), but rather the gain obtained in public health after the airing of the campaign. Consequently, the specific message will be a different ‘call-to-action’: no more an invite to purchase, but rather to change a (wrong) social behaviour or adopt a (right) civil conscience. Given these premises, it is possible that marketing could be invested with a precise responsibility in terms of lives saved and public health. The practical and managerial implications of the research are the following: EU policymakers and local governments will have the opportunity to dispose of scientific data and information about the society that might be transformed in guidelines for producing effective PSAs based on the inner audience’s insights. The originality of this research resides in having framed the new neuromarketing protocols in the traditional Consumer Behaviour theory, combining thus future and past of the marketing research

La neurociencia como instrumento para medir la eficacia de la publicidad en medios audiovisuales

Tesis por compendio[ES] El proceso de evaluar la eficacia en publicidad es una tarea complicada. Para poder cumplir con los requisitos de los clientes, el publicista está acostumbrado a apoyarse en los criterios objetivos que garantizan las soluciones de la propuesta de comunicación. Así como los aspectos subjetivos del creativo, como la estética, la música, el argumento, y el formato, suelen ser abordados según un criterio creativo. El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer y evaluar experimentalmente una metodología que, mediante la combinación de las respuestas psicofisiológicas, los modelos de aprendizaje automático y las técnicas tradicionales permita cuantificar y predecir, de una forma científica y metódica, el impacto emocional y cognitivo de la publicidad audiovisual. Para ello han planteado 3 estudios experimentales que investigan diferentes características de la metodología propuesta: investigar la capacidad de medidas que provienen de la neurociencia para predecir la eficacia de la publicidad. El segundo plantea comparar el efecto de un nuevo tipo de publicidad más inmersiva de video 360º en frente de la publicidad audiovisual clásica en formato video estándar. Y el tercero la evaluación de la música en el contexto de la congruencia e incongruencia musical aplicado en los anuncios de TV. En cuanto al estudio del impacto de la música en los anuncios se investigó los resultados de las reacciones emocionales y cognitivas de los sujetos durante la exposición a anuncios de televisión con música congruente e incongruente. Se analizaron las señales de electroencefalografía (EEG) y eye tracking (ET) de un grupo de 90 personas que vieron 6 anuncios de televisión. Los resultados mostraron que la música congruente genera niveles más altos asimetría prefrontal cerebral asociada al procesamiento positivo emocional. Por otro lado, los anuncios incongruentes con música alegre mostraron mayor nivel de atención y carga cognitiva, generando mayor recuerdo que los anuncios con música congruente. El estudio demostró, por tanto, la validez del empleo de técnicas basadas neurofisiología para evaluar el impacto de la música en los anuncios. En el segundo estudio se comparó la eficacia de un nuevo tipo de publicidad audiovisual mediante video 360º en la que el usuario tiene una mayor capacidad de interacción frente anuncios audiovisuales clásicos (2D) en los que el visionado carece de interacción. Se comparo el impacto en términos de atención visual, reconocimiento de marca, compromiso y emociones. Las herramientas que se utilizaron fueron señales neurofisiológicas como la electroencefalografía, variabilidad cardiaca, seguimiento ocular y codificación facial. Se compararon cuatro anuncios existentes para bienes duraderos y bienes de consumo de alta rotación. En los resultados se determinó que la mirada depende del contenido del anuncio, que la atención visual es menor en los anuncios de 360º así como el reconocimiento del logo de la marca. Los productos duraderos son los que generan más emociones positivas y el nivel de engagement. Este tipo de metodología ayudara por tanto a cuantificar el mejor formato según la estrategia de contenidos. En el último estudio se investigó la efectividad de los nuevos canales digitales de comunicación (YouTube) para predecir el número de visitas mediante el uso de las redes neuronales artificiales y nuevas métricas basadas en neurociencia extraídas de la electroencefalografía, eye tracking y variabilidad cardíaca. Se descubrieron correlaciones significativas entre la respuesta psicofisiológica del sujeto y la efectividad de los anuncios ponderada como el número de visitas en el canal de YouTube que tubo a posteriori ese anuncio. Esta tesis proporciona por tanto contribuciones novedosas en cuanto al uso de la neurociencia y la inteligencia artificial en la investigación del impacto de la publicidad.[CA] El procés d'avaluar l'eficàcia en publicitat és una tasca complicada. Per poder complir amb els requisits dels clients, el publicista està acostumat a recolzar-se en els criteris objectius que garanteixen les solucions de la proposta de comunicació. Així com els aspectes subjectius de l'creatiu, com l'estètica, la música, l'argument, el format, solen ser abordats segons un criteri creatiu. L'objectiu d'aquest treball és proposar i avaluar experimentalment una metodologia que, mitjançant la combinació de les eines, tecnologia de respostes psicofisiològiques, models d'aprenentatge automàtic i les tècniques tradicionals permeti obtenir, d'una manera científica i metòdica, la resposta dels usuaris davant els anuncis de TV per obtenir la informació necessària per aportar valor a la publicitat. Per a això es plantegen 3 estudis experimentals que investiguen diferents característiques de la metodologia proposada: investigar la capacitat de les eines de neurociència per predir l'eficàcia de la publicitat. El segon planteja mesurar l'eficàcia de Els anuncis segons el format de la publicitat, 2D vs 360º. I el tercer l'avaluació de la música en el context de la congruència i incongruència musical aplicat en els anuncis de TV. L'estudi on comparem l'eficàcia de la publicitat de 360º vs els anuncis estàtics (2D) en termes d'atenció visual, reconeixement de marca, compromís i emocions. Les eines que es van utilitzar van ser eines neurofisiològiques com l'electroencefalografia, variabilitat cardíaca seguiment ocular i codificació facial. Es van comparar quatre anuncis existents per a béns duradors i béns de consum d'alta rotació. En els resultats es mostra que la mirada depèn de l'contingut de l'anunci, l'atenció visual és menor en els anuncis de 360º així com el reconeixement de l'logotip de la marca. Els productes duradors són els que generen més emocions positives i el nivell d'engagement. El que comporta tenir-ho en compte per generar una estratègia de continguts que és el que es desenvolupa en el capítol 2. Pel que fa a l'estudi de l'impacte de la música en els anuncis es va investigar els resultats de les reaccions emocionals i cognitives dels subjectes durant l'exposició a anuncis de televisió amb música congruent i incongruent. Es van analitzar els senyals de electroencefalografia i eye tracking d'un grup de 90 persones que van veure 6 anuncis de televisió. Els resultats mostres que la música congruent genera nivells més alts asimetria prefrontal que representa el gust cerebral. Així com els anuncis incongruents amb música alegre tenen major nivell d'atenció i càrrega cognitiva, generant major recordo que els anuncis amb música congruent. Demostrant la validesa de les tècniques de neurofisiologia per avaluar l'impacte de la música en els anuncis. En l'últim estudi es va investigar l'efectivitat dels nous canals digitals de comunicació (YouTube) per predir mitjançant l'ús de les xarxes neuronals artificials i mètriques basades en neurociències com l'electroencefalografia, eye tracking, variabilitat cardíaca. Es va descobrir les correlacions significatives entre les mètriques de la neurociència i l'efectivitat dels anuncis i el nombre de visites al canal de Youtube. Creant una predicció d'un 82,9% la precisió mitjana i les visualitzacions en línia. Aquesta tesi proporciona contribucions noves a l'ús de la neurociència en la investigació de l'comportament humà, particularment en el consumidor i com li afecta la presa de decisions. La neurociència de el consumidor pot ajudar a l'aplicació de metodologies per a la valoració dels estímuls audiovisuals des d'una perspectiva més exacta i precisa. A més, creant models d'aprenentatge automàtic podem predir les respostes dels usuaris davant els diferents estímuls publicitaris creant campanyes més eficaces i econòmiques. Creiem fermament que el neuromarketing revolucionarà els mètodes d'avaluació de continguts audiovisuals i de presa de decisions. La present tesi té com a objectiu contribuir a aquest progrés. Els resultats d'aquesta tesi poden ser d'utilitat per als investigadors i publicistes interessats a conèixer millor el comportament de consumidor.[EN] The process of evaluating advertising effectiveness is a complicated task. In order to meet customer requirements, the advertiser is used to relying on objective criteria that guarantee the solutions of the communication proposal. As well as the subjective aspects of the creative, such as aesthetics, music, plot, format, they are usually approached according to a creative criterion. The objective of this work is to propose and experimentally evaluate a methodology that, through the combination of tools, psychophysiological response technology, machine learning models and traditional techniques allows to obtain, in a scientific and methodical way, the response of users to TV commercials to obtain the information necessary to add value to the advertisement. For this, 3 experimental studies are proposed that investigate different characteristics of the proposed methodology: investigate the capacity of neuroscience tools to predict the effectiveness of advertising. The second proposes to measure the effectiveness of the ads according to the advertising format, 2D vs 360º. And the third is the evaluation of music in the context of musical congruence and incongruity applied in TV commercials. The study where we compared the effectiveness of 360º advertising vs static (2D) ads in terms of visual attention, brand recognition, engagement and emotions. The tools used were neurophysiological tools such as electroencephalography, cardiac variability, eye tracking, and facial coding. Four existing ads for durable goods and high-turnover consumer goods were compared. The results show that the look depends on the content of the ad, the visual attention is less in the 360º ads as well as the recognition of the brand logo. Durable products are the ones that generate the most positive emotions and the level of engagement. What it takes to take it into account to generate a content strategy. 2. Regarding the study of the impact of music on advertisements, the results of the emotional and cognitive reactions of the subjects during exposure to television advertisements with congruent and incongruous music were investigated. The electroencephalography and eye tracking signals of a group of 90 people who watched 6 television commercials were analysed. The results show that congruent music generates higher levels of prefrontal asymmetry than represents cerebral taste. Just as incongruous ads with happy music have a higher level of attention and cognitive load, generating greater memory than ads with congruent music. Demonstrating the validity of neurophysiology techniques to evaluate the impact of music on advertisements. The latest study investigated the effectiveness of new digital communication channels (YouTube) to predict through the use of artificial neural networks and metrics based on neurosciences such as electroencephalography, eye tracking, and cardiac variability. Significant correlations between neuroscience metrics and the effectiveness of ads and the number of views on the YouTube channel were discovered. Creating a prediction of 82.9% the average precision and online visualizations. This thesis provides novel contributions to the use of neuroscience in human behaviour research, particularly in the consumer and how it affects decision-making. Consumer neuroscience can help the application of methodologies for the assessment of audiovisual stimuli from a more accurate and precise perspective. In addition, by creating machine learning models, we can predict user responses to different advertising stimuli, creating more effective and economical campaigns. We firmly believe that neuromarketing will revolutionize audiovisual content evaluation and decision-making methods. The present thesis aims to contribute to this progress.Ausin Azofra, JM. (2021). La neurociencia como instrumento para medir la eficacia de la publicidad en medios audiovisuales [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/180237TESISCompendi

A Comparison of Physiological Signal Analysis Techniques and Classifiers for Automatic Emotional Evaluation of Audiovisual Contents

This Document is Protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. it is reproduced with permissionThis work focuses on finding the most discriminatory or representative features that allow to classify commercials according to negative, neutral and positive effectiveness based on the Ace Score index. For this purpose, an experiment involving forty-seven participants was carried out. In this experiment electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (ECG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and respiration data were acquired while subjects were watching a 30-min audiovisual content. This content was composed by a submarine documentary and nine commercials (one of themthe ad under evaluation). After the signal pre-processing, four sets of features were extracted from the physiological signals using different state-of-the-art metrics. These features computed in time and frequency domains are the inputs to several basic and advanced classifiers. An average of 89.76% of the instances was correctly classified according to the Ace Score index. The best results were obtained by a classifier consisting of a combination between AdaBoost and RandomForest with automatic selection of features. The selected features were those extracted from GSR and HRV signals. These results are promising in the audiovisual content evaluation field by means of physiological signal processing.This work has been supported by the Heineken Endowed Chair in Neuromarketing at the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia in order to research and apply new technologies and neuroscience in communication, distribution and consumption fields.Colomer Granero, A.; Fuentes-Hurtado, FJ.; Naranjo Ornedo, V.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Ausin-Azofra, JM.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2016). A Comparison of Physiological Signal Analysis Techniques and Classifiers for Automatic Emotional Evaluation of Audiovisual Contents. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. 10(74):1-16. doi:10.3389/fncom.2016.00074S116107

Using EEG to Examine the Role of Attention, Working Memory, Emotion, and Imagination in Narrative Transportation

This paper presents a study using encephalography (EEG) to investigate consumer responses to narrative videos in energy efficiency social marketing. The purpose is to assess the role of attention, working memory, emotion, and imagination in narrative transportation, and how these stages of narrative transportation are ordered temporally. Design/methodology/approach Consumers took part in an EEG experiment during which they were shown four different narrative videos to identify brain response during specific video segments. Findings The study found that during the opening segment of the videos, attention, working memory, and emotion were high before attenuating with some introspection at the end of this segment. During the story segment of the videos attention, working memory, and emotion were also high, with attention decreasing later on but working memory, emotion, and imagination being evident. Consumer responses to each of the four videos differed. Practical implications The study suggests that narratives can be a useful approach in energy efficiency social marketing. Specifically, marketers should attempt to gain focused attention and invoke emotional responses, working memory, and imagination to help consumers become narratively transported. The fit between story object and story-receiver should also be considered when creating consumer narratives. Social implications Policy makers, and organisations who wish to promote pro-social behaviours such as using energy efficiently, or eating healthily should consider using narratives. Originality/value This research contributes to theory by identifying brain response relating to attention, working memory, emotion, and imagination during specific stages of narrative transportation. The study considers the role of attention, emotion, working memory, and imagination during reception of stories with different objects, and how these may relate to consumers' narrative transportation

Neuromarketing empirical approaches and food choice: A systematic review

Consumers' food choices are often driven by reasons of which consumers are not fully aware. Decision-making about food is influenced by a complex set of emotions, feelings, attitudes, and values that are impossible to assess simply by asking consumers their opinions. Indeed, traditional techniques, such as self-reports or interviews, mainly allow the measurement of conscious and rational reactions to a product or advertising. Recently, there has been a rapidly growing interest in the multidisciplinary field of “neuromarketing,” which takes advantage of neuroscientific techniques to study consumer behavior. This discipline applies neuroscientific methods and tools that allow the measurement of consumers' emotional and spontaneous reactions in a more objective and observable way. The aim of this paper is (a) to describe neuromarketing's underlying assumptions, techniques, and the advantages of this perspective, examining the scientific literature on the use of neuromarketing in food studies; and (b) to suggest best practices to apply this novel approach in the food marketing domain, with a specific focus on non-invasive methods. Finally, although the perception of nutritional elements has already been explored, the health content of labels, the presence of additives, and the evaluation of the information conveyed by food packaging remain other possible elements of interest in future food neuromarketing research

The background music-content congruence of TV advertisements: A neurophysiological study

[EN] Music affects viewers¿ responses to advertisements. In this study we present the findings of an experiment that investigates the emotional and cognitive reactions of subjects¿ brains during exposure to television advertisements with music congruent, and incongruent, with the advertisement content. We analyze the electroencephalography signals and eye-tracking behaviors of a group of 90 women watching six TV advertisements. The study's findings suggested that incongruent music generates higher levels of attention and advertisement recall. On the other hand, frontal asymmetry measured through electroencephalography was shown to be higher with congruent music. Similarly, cognitive workload was higher when the music was incongruent with the advertisement content. No significant differences were found in terms of advertisement likeability based on incongruent versus congruent music. The results demonstrated the validity of neurophysiological techniques for assessing the effects of levels of music congruence in advertisements.Ausin, JM.; Bigné, E.; Marín-Morales, J.; Guixeres Provinciale, J.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2021). The background music-content congruence of TV advertisements: A neurophysiological study. European Research on Management and Business Economics. 27(2):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iedeen.2021.100154S11427