But people react to movie trailers in different ways, some may laugh, cry, scream while others don't. So how to know which parts of the trailer is engaging enough attention through emotions and which don't? This is when Neuromarketing comes in handy. Measuring the brain response when watching a movie trailer is the next big step for achieving efficiency in advertising. It is practically making Hollywood entertainers' biggest dream come true: reading people's mind to find that neural nirvana and attract them to buy a certain film.
A company called MindSign Neuromarketing has established a unique business with an interesting demand. Independently, they own the only neuromarketing facility outside of a university R&D labs. Their business is oriented to analyze brain stimuli and collect data through the use of funcional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), outside of conventional medicine purposes, when watching a particular ad such as a poster, a Bluray Disc packaging and especially a movie trailer.
The first studies on this field where coined as Neurocinematics by Uri Hasson, a Princeton University academic, who began using fMRI to observe brain activity while watching a variety of films. At MindSign, this study is known as Neurocinema and is redefining the orientation of film advertising; letting trailer production companies and marketing representatives know what kind of emotions are generating their trailers, with how much intensity and when. By using fMRI, a person's brain is observed using a state-of-the-art scanner, within a specific time frame, when rushes of blood and oxygen are stimulated through the sense of personal meaning and interest. Then, they compare results with a database of brain responses to collect groups of data and analyze what people are thinking. In addition, they have a program named TV Ad Re-Editing, where they can sort out the parts that are emotionally attracting from the ones that are not in order to release a even effective trailer. So it's not just about throwing a bunch of data into a client's hands, actually a change is directly applied, improving the emotional capabilities of the trailer right away.
Here's an sample of a MindSign engine named BrainMovie, which records brain reactions in real time, when a subject was studied while watching a trailer from the 2009 blockbuster hit Avatar.
However at $2000 dollars per subject per hour (and even more expensive if performed outside of San Diego, CA where MindSign is based), it is a business not affordable to everyone and more oriented to commercial than independent projects. But results can be obtained within hours and if several thousand dollars are enough to help make millions of dollars more, MindSign is an option that as a film producer executive is definitely worth consider. Besides, how is it that lame movies find their way into breaking box office records and home media sales? By building an irresistible offer that audiences can't be able to refuse.
References:
Matt Ford, How they make those adverts go straight to your head?. CNN report.
MindSign Neuromarketing official website.
Video of MindSign Neuromarketing on Discovery Science channel.
While the technology is very expensive, it seems that neuromarketing will not only spread throughout the movie industry, but also into the television industry. TV networks try to gage the appeal of new tv shows by showing them to small audiences before they are broadcasted. Networks poll individuals for aspects such as the setting and the actors playing the characters. Companies like Mindsign can help networks determine, with more accuracy, what parts of potential tv shows need improvement, or whether to ditch shows completely. The costs of the technology will need to decrease, but this service can save tv networks money and time.
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