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Face To Face: Integrating facial expressions and survey tools
SARAH WALKERMILLWARD BROWN
MILLWARD BROWN NEUROSCIENCE PRACTICE
8-strong team across the globe, with network of local experts
Over 500 projects to date, using a wide variety of methods, in a range of countries
Continual program of development and assessment of methods
GOAL:
TO INTEGRATE NEUROSCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY-BASED METHODS INTO THE RESEARCH WE DO FOR CLIENTS
‘NEUROMARKETING’ IS A BROAD FIELD
ALL INDIRECT MEASURES OF RESPONSES TO MARKETING AND BRANDS
Brain Scanning
Brainwave measureme
ntFacial coding
Implicit association
measurementAutonomic
arousal
Neuroscience
Cognitive Psycholog
y
Physiology
Eye Tracking
WHAT IS FACIAL CODING?
Ekman (1972) confirmed universality of 6 core expressions
Ekman & Friesen (1978) developed Facial Action Coding System to consistently code facial expressions & movements
Darwin: Expressions are universal and shared with animals
Based on the idea of many facial expressions are instinctively shown in people’s faces
FACIAL CODING HELPS US UNDERSTAND EMOTIONAL RESPONSES TO ADVERTISING IN GREATER DETAIL
Survey metrics are extremely good at capturing overall response to a piece of advertising
Adding facial coding allows us to investigate what is driving these emotional responses on a moment-by-moment basis
AUTOMATED FACIAL CODING
Technology from Affectiva enables us to:
• Record respondents’ facial reactions to marketing stimulus
• Automatically code them for emotional and cognitive states
• Diagnose emotional reaction, moment by moment, without relying on verbal report
MAKES NON-VERBAL EMOTIONAL DIAGNOSIS AFFORDABLE AND SCALABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME
HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS
Emotions experienced
Expression aggregation and
analysis
Facial expression recognition
Panelist turns on webcam
Facial features identified
THE SYSTEM WORKS SIMPLY AND QUICKLY AS PART OF A STANDARD COMPUTER INTERVIEW
THE SYSTEM CODES FOR AN ARRAY OF EXPRESSIONS
Valence(Net Positivity)
Attention(Concentration on task)
Expressiveness(Engagement)
D I M E N S I O N S O F R E S P O N S E
Enjoyment
Confusion / Dislike
Surprise
E M O T I O N S
Disgust
Results from facial coding are interpreted alongside Link™ findings into an interactive dashboard
THE REAL POWER COMES FROM THE INTEGRATION WITH SURVEY RESPONSES
FACIAL CODING HAS ADDED INSIGHT IN MANY DIFFERENT SITUATIONS
Highlighting the power of key moments Optimising Ad length
First viewSecond view
Understanding wear-in and comprehension
CREATING A SCALABLE TOOL LETS US BUILD UNDERSTANDING ACROSS A LARGE NUMBER OF ADS
ACTIVELY ENGAGING ads generate stronger expressions
POSITIVE EXPRESSIONS relate to increased enjoyment and likelihood of short term sales
SURPRISE & DISGUST can indicate disbelief & distrust of ideas
TESTING MORE ADS HELPS US EVOLVE OUR UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETATION
Variation can be more informative than magnitude
Context is key to interpreting what is driving expressions
HOWEVER...
Integrating ‘funky data’ and survey responses has not been without its challenges!
For the approach to succeed it needed to be:
RESPONSIBLE: Making sure what we are measuring is meaningful
RELIABLE: Making sure it works in the real world, with real respondents
REPEATABLE: Making sure our teams are equipped to sell and interpret projects on their own
“This is the future…
right?”