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“INTERNATIONAL NEUROMARKETING SYMPOSIUM”
On December 13, 2023, many academicians from Turkey and around the world took the stage at the symposium hosted by Üsküdar University.
In the International Neuromarketing Symposium, which set out with the aim of becoming a global meeting point where scientists and industry professionals transfer knowledge, developments in the field of consumer neuroscience, sustainable technologies, artificial intelligence and consumer behavior were discussed from a broad perspective.
New Perspective of Neuromarketing
This year's subtitle was “The New Perspective of Neuromarketing: Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality”, the symposium featured esteemed academics and business people from Turkey and around the world.
The opening speeches of the symposium were made by Dr. Faculty Member Selami Varol Ülker, Head of Üsküdar University Neuromarketing Department, and Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Üsküdar University.
Drawing attention to neurotechnological applications that provide deep insights in understanding consumer behavior and consumer psychology, Ülker noted that today, the boundary between virtual and real is becoming increasingly blurred and new strategies are being developed thanks to artificial intelligence.
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that the neuromarketing master's program started at Üsküdar University for the first time in 2014 and emphasized the importance of this holistic and multidisciplinary field where neuroscience and marketing disciplines are combined.
“In neuromarketing, the importance of the decision-making region of the brain is revealed”
Explaining that neuromarketing is also a part of this vision, Tarhan referred to the research of 2 cola brands that referenced neuromarketing and explained that different results were obtained when the subjects drank cola in branded bottles and unbranded bottles. Noting that when the brain sees the brand, the decision-making region is activated by thinking, Tarhan said, “An important evidence about neuromarketing has emerged. The frontal region of the brain, the decision-making region comes into play. People think, they do not act with pleasure. They control their pleasure. The importance of the frontal lobe, the decision-making region emerges. It will always be very effective, especially for decision makers, advertisers, to get ideas on such projects before big advertisements. The cultural dimension is very high. Before physically buying a good, one needs to mentally buy it. Neuromarketing is trying to measure neuroscientifically how to ensure mental purchase. Therefore, measuring mental buying is done with the help of neuroscience.”
“Email marketing generates an average profit of 42 dollars per 1 dollar”
Benny Briesemeister, Neuromarketing expert and professor of Psychology of Applied Sciences at IU International University in Germany, who attended the symposium online and gave a speech, drew attention to how e-mail communication can be evaluated in the field of neuromarketing. He said that e-mail marketing is a serious method in the world and that 306 billion e-mails are sent daily.
Prof. Dr. Benny Briesemeister stated that it was determined that an average profit of 42 dollars per 1 dollar was obtained with e-mail marketing. Prof. Dr. Benny Briesemeister explained that it is necessary to focus on a single message per e-mail, that people no longer read all the newsletters for shopping, and that it is seen that click-through rates increase in e-mails sent 3 times. Prof. Dr. Benny Briesemeister also said that with the targeted email approach, 42 dollars was increased to 400 dollars.
“Neuromarketing and Emotional Engagement”
In his speech titled “Neuromarketing and Emotional Engagement”, Prof. Dr. Uğur Cevdet Panayırcı from Yeditepe University Faculty of Communication pointed to the development of neuromarketing and emphasized that research techniques based on statements may not always provide accurate and healthy results, and that much deeper insights can be provided when neuromarketing research is combined with research techniques such as anthropological in-depth interviews.
Pointing out that the loyalty between brands and consumers that existed in the past no longer lasts, and that there is no tendency to buy more because it is felt more, Panayırcı emphasized the importance of examining the concept of engagement through neuroscientific research techniques.
“The effects of advertisements on the brain are being researched”
Postdoc Aline Simonetti from Bonn University shared the details of the consumer research they developed by integrating EEG and virtual reality devices in her presentation on “The impact of virtual reality technology on understanding perception and behavior”.
“95% of decision making is unconscious”
In his speech titled “Marketing in Neuroscience”, Prof. Prac. Dr. Nikolaos Dimitriadis from York University emphasized that the majority of decision-making processes take place unconsciously, so people are not fully aware of why they choose something and why they like it, and one of the best ways to analyze this is through research in the field of consumer neuroscience. He touched upon the different types of applications used in consumer neuroscience research. Dimitriadis stated that research can be carried out in the laboratory as well as online neuroscientific research supported by artificial intelligence, and underlined that each form of application has advantages and limitations and that a road map can be drawn from these research forms according to the business goal.
Prof. Yetkin Bulut from Ondokuz Mayıs University, in his speech on the state of neuromarketing education in Turkey, expectations for the education program, and the problems encountered, pointed out the difficulties for universities to establish a neuromarketing research laboratory with sufficient technical equipment and devices, and suggested solutions to overcome these difficulties.
Altınbaş University Inova Neuro Lab. director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dicle Yurdakul gave a speech titled “The Future of Consumer Neuroscience: VR and Big Data”, she explained the advantages of collecting the physiological reactions of the consumer simultaneously in consumer neuroscience research conducted with virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.
Prof. Dr. Mevlüde Nur Erdem from Ondokuz Mayıs University underlined the rise of digital investments in her speech on advertising research and the discovery of consumer trends in the digital age from a neuromarketing perspective.
Nomupay Turkey General Manager Ergi Şener, in his speech titled “The Relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Human”, stated that artificial intelligence and human intelligence should be evaluated with a holistic approach, and that the perspectives that will be integrated with each other will differentiate instead of colliding the two. Şener explained how brands can reach their consumers with artificial intelligence technology and how they can differentiate themselves with examples from the sector and emphasized the concept of “life learning”.