Biometric Measurements and Precision Eye-Tracking Offer First Brain-Based VR Technology Designed For Three-Dimensional Retail Marketing Research

World’s Leading Neuromarketing Firm Unveils First Brain-Based VR Technology Designed for Three-Dimensional Retail Marketing Research

CHICAGO - Visitors to the Shopper Marketing Expo at Chicago’s Navy Pier this week are going to get a glimpse into how manufacturers, marketers, and retailers will learn to appeal to consumers more effectively in the immediate future. NeuroFocus, the world’s largest neuromarketing company, is publicly unveiling its N-Matrix 3D virtual reality technology at the Expo.

N-Matrix 3D is the first and only virtual reality system designed for retail marketing research that is based upon how the brain is structured and how it functions. The advantages of the system for companies marketing consumer goods at retail are that they gain deeper and more accurate insights into how consumers respond at the subconscious level to products and marketing materials in the store environment.

The N-Matrix 3D system creates a highly lifelike, customized virtual reality store setting in a full three-dimensional mode. Users can navigate down store aisles with a shopping cart and reach out and ‘pick up’ products, all with a sense of realism that enables the brain to perceive the experience as essentially authentic.

“When it comes to shopper marketing research using virtual reality, the optimum from the brain’s perspective is for an environment that’s as close to real-seeming as possible,” said Dr. A.K. Pradeep, who is a speaker at the Expo. “What makes N-Matrix 3D unique is that it was created using what we know about the brain’s specific needs and wants. Combined with advanced 3D technology used in films like ‘Avatar’, we’re able to apply that neurological knowledge to generate store settings that the brain responds to in ways that replicate how consumers react in a real store. Companies are constantly challenged by the variations and locations they need to test to understand consumer behavior and choices. This requires a system that can help them make informed decisions based upon the best information, and N-Matrix is built from the ground up to achieve that goal.”

The applications of the N-Matrix 3D technology also expand to areas where products are stored and consumed including kiosks, vending machines, living rooms, refrigerators, and social venues such as bars and quick-service restaurants. The N-Matrix 3D system incorporates special 3D glasses with an interactive ‘glove’, which enables test subjects to manipulate virtual objects in real time with highly realistic motions.

N-Matrix 3D incorporates neurological ‘cues’ that the subconscious level of the brain regards as essential for the perception of a ‘real’ store environment. These include:

• Stereoscopic 3D to represent for true immersive environments
• CG effects to capture light, shadows and perspective as you would see in a store
• highly-realistic representations of products, aisle displays, signage, pricing and other in-store elements
• the incorporation of other shoppers in the setting
• inclusion of static (images) as well as dynamic (video) merchandising materials in the virtual store
• the ability to create customized system ‘skins’ representing specific stores
• NeuroFocus measures and analyzes consumer brainwave activity by applying high-density arrays of EEG (electroencephalographic) sensors which capture that activity across the full brain at 2,000 times a second. Combined with precision eye-tracking and biometric measurements, the results offer the most accurate, reliable, and actionable method of market research. Measurement at the subconscious level of the brain is critical for marketers because it is at that level where initial product interest, purchase intent, and brand loyalty are formed.

NeuroFocus will be displaying the N-Matrix 3D system in its location at the Expo, which is sponsored by the In-Store Marketing Institute. Dr. Pradeep will be addressing Expo attendees on “Neurological Best Practices for Optimizing In-Store Shopping Experiences”. Caroline Winnett, Chief Marketing Officer for NeuroFocus, will also be presenting at the main Expo conference. The topic will be “The $7 Trillion Woman: The Female Brain Shopping”.

Dr. Pradeep is the author of the new best-seller, “The Buying Brain: Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind”.
Shopper Marketing Expo information:
Location: Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Avenue
Dates: October 5-7, 2010 (Exposition: October 6-7, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM)
NeuroFocus Booth: # 903
“Neurological Best Practices for Optimizing In-Store Shopping Experiences” symposium: Tuesday, October 5 from 1:00 to 4:30 PM
“The $7 Trillion Woman: The Female Brain Shopping”: Thursday, October 7, 2-3 PM

About NeuroFocus
The world’s leading neuromarketing firm, NeuroFocus (http://neurofocus.com) brings advanced neuroscience knowledge and expertise to the worlds of branding, product development and packaging, in-store marketing, advertising, and entertainment. NeuroFocus clients include Fortune 100 companies across dozens of categories, including automotive, consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, financial services, Internet, pharmaceutical, retail, and many more sectors. Entertainment category clients include major companies in the broadcast and cable television and motion picture industries.

 Headquartered in the U.S. and operating globally through offices and NeuroLabs in the UK and Europe, the Asia/Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East, the company leverages Nobel Prize caliber and Doctorate-level credentials in neuroscience and marketing from the University of California at Berkeley, MIT, Harvard, Oxford, Columbia University, and other leading institutions, combined with executive business management and consulting experience. The Nielsen Company is a strategic investor in NeuroFocus.

Contacts

NeuroFocus
Tom Robbins, 510-526-9882
M: 510-367-1920
tom.robbins@neurofocus.com