• by Tameka Kee , February 8, 2008

Nielsen has made a strategic investment in NeuroFocus, a research firm that uses neuroscience to provide insights on everything from message testing and product design, to packaging, content development and ad effectiveness.

Founded in 2005 with talent from University of California at Berkeley, Harvard and MIT, the bulk of Berkeley, Calif.-based NeuroFocus' analysis is based on brainwave activity. Using electroencephalography (EEG) sensors placed on test subjects' scalps, NeuroFocus is able to measure electrical activity produced by the brain in response to stimuli like TV spots, product packaging and even mobile ads.

According to Caroline Winnett, CMO of NeuroFocus, it's capturing this raw, neurological reaction to ads and products that makes this kind of research so attractive. "Our clients get to see how a consumer's brain reacts to an ad message or a TV pilot that's unfiltered by biases, or nervousness, or even the thoughts of trying to remember what the researcher asked them about," Winnett said.

The firm supplements the brain wave analysis with eye tracking and galvanic skin response data to come up with comprehensive stats on what parts of the messages consumers pay attention to and remember, and whether they are emotionally engaging. "We use eye tracking to find out what they were looking at when they had their reaction to the content, and the skin conductant tests to gauge if there was a physical response," Winnett said.

NeuroFocus has mobile labs so that they're able to conduct tests in various geographic regions, and had partnered with Nielsen in the past for use of some of their facilities. Clients include CPG, automotive, food and beverage and financial service brands, as well as media outlets like broadcast and cable TV providers and movie studios. The firm conducts research on multiple ad formats, including gaming, mobile and search. "People are of course interested in new media," Winnett said. "Because they've spent $3 million on a TV show or ad and they want to know what happens when they put it on a mobile phone, or which tagline to pick for a digital billboard."

Though financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Winnett said that the resources would be used to help double NeuroFocus' staff--which currently consists of about 20 marketing analysts, engineers and neuroscientists--within the next six months, as well as beef up the Web site to offer greater access to the firm's white papers and case studies.

Nielsen CEO David Calhoun will become a member of NeuroFocus' board of directors, and some of the firms techniques will be integrated into Nielsen's Digital Labs research centers in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.