RUDirector of the master's program "Digital transformation in business", associate professor of the department of marketing and advertising, faculty of market technologies, Yulia Vladimirovna Syaglova teaches undergraduate and graduate students at the Institute of Industry Management several disciplines related to trade and digital technologies. Recently, Yulia Vladimirovna completed practice-oriented training at the Neurotrend company and spoke in detail about it in an interview. According to the teacher, “even when the curriculum seems perfect, there is always something to deepen.”
— Yulia Vladimirovna, how did you decide to contact the neuromarketing company Neurotrend?
— I teach the discipline “Marketing Research” to undergraduate students, and I wanted to supplement it with a detailed analysis of neuromarketing. In addition, this area is of scientific interest to me. My scientific career began with neuromarketing; specifically, I researched the possibilities of visual merchandising and its impact on purchasing decisions.
That’s why I turned to the Neurotrend company, where I could get not only theoretical knowledge, but also try everything myself. Previously, the company has already provided educational support to our bachelor’s programs “International Marketing” and “Digital Technologies in Trade”. Our cooperation began with joint participation in the research exhibition and conference Research Expo.
— What did training at Neurotrend include?
— Neurotrend has a laboratory for neuromarketing research with workspaces for 5 respondents. The laboratory conducts a variety of studies: assessing the effectiveness of product display, recording attention when watching films, TV series and commercials, testing website interfaces, and others.
My training consisted of two blocks: the first block was related to behavioral economics in general, with factors influencing the behavior and attention of respondents. The second block was completely practical and took place in the laboratory. I was introduced to different types of equipment for neuromarketing. This is a helmet for recording an electroencephalogram, a photoplethysmograph for recording the amplitude of blood volume fluctuations, a magnetic resonance imaging scanner, a polygraph in the form of a biobracelet, as well as a stationary eye tracker and eye tracking glasses. I tried all these devices, saw in detail how they work and what data can be obtained with their help. And when the respondents were in the laboratory, I saw exactly how the experiments were carried out.
— Which of the technologies you tested seemed the most promising to you?
— It’s difficult to say which is better and which is worse - it all depends on the tasks for which they are used. For example, when assessing the ease of use of websites, a stationary eye tracker can be used - the respondent usually receives certain tasks from the experiment moderator. Portable eye-tracking glasses can be used on the sales floor to record exactly how the respondent viewed the display of goods, and then draw appropriate conclusions.
The value of any study of brain activity lies in its objectivity. Of course, we can simply talk to the respondent and ask why he bought something, how he made this or that decision. But this will be a subjective judgment - it is difficult to assess how true it is. Neuromarketing methods, on the contrary, give an objective picture. The data obtained allows us to see exactly whether the respondent responded to the stimulus or not.
— So the stage of initial distrust of neuromarketing research in the scientific community has now passed?
— Indeed, when neuromarketing research began to gain popularity, it was often criticized. Why? Firstly, such studies are still qualitative, not quantitative. They do not have many respondents, as in the survey. Nevertheless, colleagues believe that when studying a homogeneous target audience, even twenty people are enough to test a particular hypothesis. Secondly, although we do see an objective reaction to a particular impulse, we cannot say exactly why it turned out to be so strong. In order to obtain more complete conclusions, after the experiment, a questionnaire or in-depth interview with the respondent is usually conducted.
— Now do you plan to pass on the knowledge acquired during training to your students?
— When I previously taught a course on marketing research, then, of course, I also talked about neuromarketing. But now I have gained practical experience and plan to pass it on to students. Neurotrend is also ready to support students: if one of the students becomes interested in the topic and, for example, wants to write a term paper on neuromarketing, then they will have the opportunity to visit the Neurotrend laboratory. And since the company regularly takes part in the Research Expo exhibition and conference, students will also be able to test modern neuromarketing technologies there.
— For students in which areas of training will this knowledge and skills be most useful?
— First of all, these are students of the multidisciplinary bachelor’s program “Marketing and Sales Management.” They will be able to use basic knowledge about neuromarketing as part of the educational program, and if students want to engage in behavioral economics more professionally, then they will be able to apply all the accumulated experience in practice. If we talk about master's programs, then neuromarketing technologies, of course, will be useful to students of the Marketing Management program and students of the new Business Management program. Finally, for students of the bachelor’s programs “Digital Media” and “Advertising and PR” this knowledge will also be useful, because you can study anything using neuromarketing methods, including websites, films, TV series, commercial and social advertising.
In general, neuromarketing makes it possible to realize that all activities of trade and media companies have a certain response from consumers. But what kind of response is exactly what our students, including as future managers, will be able to best describe and help companies make rational, informed decisions.