At a time when much of the industry is moving toward AI and advanced forms of machine learning to leverage real-time data about consumer behavior, Nielsen is going the opposite route:
helping human beings learn how to influence other human beings.
After years of investing in a variety of behavioral sciences, especially so-called neuromarketing research, Nielsen
today will unveil a new service practice that will focus exclusively on educating marketers on how to apply them.
The new practice, dubbed the Behavioral Sciences Institute, is an
outgrowth of Nielsen’s burgeoning Consumer Neuroscience Division, but it’s not selling -- or upselling -- Nielsen’s brand of research, says the division’s president, Joe
Willke. Instead, the institute will focus on helping marketers understand a wide range of new and emerging scientific learning about what makes people tick in favor of brands.
The
curriculum falls into three categories of professional development for marketers who want to steep themselves in the behavioral sciences:
1 - A “Foundational” session
providing an introduction to consumer-related behavioral sciences, behavioral economics, neuroscience and other “decision-science” disciplines and principles.
2 - A
“Specialized” session that will dive deep into the “deep learning” about scientific research about how consumers’ brains work and how that can be influenced by the
elements of design, including branding.
3 - “Custom” sessions tailored for a brand or marketing organizations specific needs and questions.
Willke
assures the new practice is free-standing and not lead-generator for Nielsen’s research services. While Nielsen historically does a fair amount of education and professional development to help
its clients understand and get more value out of Nielsen’s products and services, he says the new institute is agnostic and focuses 100% on science and academic research.