{"id":153565,"date":"2023-04-20T12:53:58","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T10:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=153565"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:44","slug":"neuromarketing-students-slide-into-fmri-machine-to-examine-their-own-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/04\/20\/neuromarketing-students-slide-into-fmri-machine-to-examine-their-own-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"Neuromarketing students slide into fMRI machine to examine their own brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the Neuromarketing lecture, Master’s students in Marketing Management have their own brains examined under the fMRI scan, put on an EEG cap and learn that the CEO of the car brand Chrysler should not have hired Celine Dion as a model.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYes! I get to go!\u201d, exclaims student Tjeerd enthusiastically when he enters the scanning room. Together with his group, he is in the radiology department of Erasmus MC. The students have been divided into groups, and one person from each group is allowed to have their brain scanned in the fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machine, a large scanner that records brain activity. They then analyse the results in an essay. \u201cWe drew lots to see who would go into the scanner\u201d, says student Britt. She points at Tjeerd. \u201cHe\u2019s so happy, he\u2019s acting like he\u2019s the chosen one\u201d, she laughs.<\/p>\n\t

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Lecture:<\/strong> Neuromarketing (Tuesday 11 am in Theil building C1-5)<\/p>\n

Lecturer:<\/strong> Ale Smidts<\/p>\n

Subject:<\/strong> How the brain responds to dogs and well-known people.<\/p>\n

Audience:<\/strong> Over 50 enthusiastic Master\u2019s students who are happy to answer the lecturer’s questions.<\/p>\n

Reason to follow the lecture:<\/strong> In addition to the opportunity to slide into the fMRI machine in Erasmus MC, the lecture is full of interesting practical knowledge and examples. Student Anna shares a fact from this course: \u201cIf you drink alcohol, you’ll have a hangover the next day. This is partly because the fluid around your brain dries out. So that\u2019s why you need to drink a lot of water after a night out.\u201d That might not be useful for your studies, but it will certainly come in handy for the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Hospital trousers<\/h2>

Together with a colleague, researcher Leo van Brussel is supervising the students. He is preparing Tjeerd for the scanning session. Tjeerd needs to wear hospital trousers and headphones, so he can hear the instructions. Once Tjeerd is lying on the scanner bed, Van Brussel tapes Tjeerd\u2019s head to make sure that it moves as little as possible.<\/p>\n

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Tjeerd slides into the scanner. He is shown various photos of famous and unknown people and buildings. He is then shown short advertisements and has to assess them. \u201cHere, we can see the brain activity\u201d, explains Van Brussel. He points to the screen, which shows the scan of Tjeerd\u2019s brain. \u201cLater, this will allow you to analyse what happens in the brain when he sees certain images.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tjeerd emerges from the scanner 20 minutes later. \u201cThat was so cool!\u201d<\/p>\n

EEG cap <\/h2>
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In the lecture hall in the Theil building a few days later, a student is examining the EEG cap on the lecturer\u2019s desk during the break. It looks like a swimming cap and has 64 electrodes, small metal disks that are connected to an amplifier via a wire. \u201cWould you like to try it?\u201d, asks lecturer Ale Smidts. The student\u2019s eyes light up. \u201cCan I?\u201d<\/p>\n

While helping the student to put on the cap, Smidts explains how the EEG \u2013 short for electro encephalogram \u2013 works. \u201cThese electrodes record brain waves, so we can track in real time how subjects react to what they are seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cap is a bit loose on the student\u2019s head. \u201cIt looks funny though!\u201d, she says, then takes a selfie with her mobile phone.<\/p>\n

Not just analysis, but also optimisation<\/h2>

The two methods, fMRI and EEG, are used to measure brain activity. EEG is more commonly used in neuromarketing practice because its higher time resolution makes it suitable for analysing dynamic stimuli such as advertisements and is also more affordable than fMRI. \u201cIn neuromarketing, we investigate brain activity not only to analyse the brain but above all to optimise our advertising methods\u201d, says Smidts.<\/p>\n

He then gives an example of TV ads for an animal shelter in the United States. \u201cOnly 30 percent of pets in the U.S. come from an animal shelter because people are afraid to adopt. They often think shelter animals are maladjusted, have trauma or disease,\u201d Smidts explained. \u201cSo the goal of this campaign is to convince people that shelter animals are friendly and not depressed or scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The advertising agency behind the campaign researched the effect of the TV ad. They used EEG in combination with eye movement research. Subjects are shown a commercial featuring Jules the dog: Jules stands in an empty white space, running back and forth and tapping against the camera. The text \u2018There\u2019s a shelter pet who wants to meet you\u2019 appears at the end on the screen, together with the animal shelter logo and the call to action: Adopt!<\/p>\n

Then they showed the improved version of Jules\u2019 commercial<\/a>. The new ad looks almost the same, but it is considerably shorter. Also, Jules is no longer on screen when the text appears, and there is a voice-over that reads the text and instructions.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Faces, including animals\u2019, are the first thing people look at\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cThe new commercial works better because the voice-over makes it clearer what people should do if they want to adopt, which is to check out the animal shelter\u2019s website. Also because Jules is no longer on the screen, then the message comes across better,\u201d Smidts explains. They analysed viewers\u2019 eye movements to see where attention is drawn. \u201cFaces, including animals\u2019, are the first thing people look at, so a text at the same time as the face gets less attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

This kind of practical information is exactly why student Lo\u00efs finds the lecture useful. She works part-time as a marketer and creates advertisements for electric toothbrushes. \u201cIt\u2019s cool that I can apply this fact right away to my work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Neurological aspects<\/h2>

Student Talha finds the lecture very interesting. \u201cIn marketing, you need to find out what consumers feel and think. Most of the time, we learn the psychological process behind the consumer\u2019s decision, but in this course, we discuss the neurological aspects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student Floor particularly likes the fact that the lecturers explain everything so clearly. \u201cWe\u2019re not medical students, so it\u2019s great that the lecture is taught in a language that we can understand\u201d, she says. Student Lisa agrees. \u201cWe really didn\u2019t have any prior knowledge about the brain, but now we understand how we can influence it if we want to sell or promote something, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018If you see George Clooney, you immediately remember his roles in movies, or that during Clooney\u2019s movie you were making out in the theater with your new lover\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Fame<\/h2>

After the break, Hollywood stars are shown on the screen: J-Lo, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and former supermodel Cindy Crawford. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to hire a well-known person for your advertising, which characteristic is most important?\u201d, asks Smidts. Answers come flying in from all sides of the room: \u2018They have to be attractive\u2019, \u2018and reliable\u2019, \u2018have a good image\u2019, \u2018they must be a good fit for the brand\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose statements are all true\u201d, says Smidts. It turns out that four factors are important when choosing someone to advertise your product, namely visibility, credibility, attraction and power. \u201cBut the most important thing is that they must be well known.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Familiarity is paramount because a familiar face automatically attracts attention. \u201cThe more familiar a face is, the more semantic and episodic memory is stimulated,\u201d Smidts explains. Semantic memory contains meanings, facts and knowledge about the world, while episodic memory stores your own experience. \u201cFor example, if you see George Clooney, you immediately remember stories about him in the media or his roles in movies, or that during Clooney\u2019s movie you were making out in the theater with your new lover\u201d, Smidts explains. His fMRI research showed that positive associations with familiar person are linked to the product or brand, which makes you imperceptibly more positive about the product as well.<\/p>\n\n\t

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Also a heartfelt college<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t