27. February 2008 by John Schinnerer.

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.

Director of Client Relations

Emotion Mining Company, Inc.  A scientific revolution is taking place. This revolution has to do with the exponentially increasing understanding of the human mind – the subtle yet profound influence of the subconscious mind on behavior.

Conscious awareness is merely the beginning of the journey into the mind. Neuroscientists agree the vast majority of cognitive processing takes place outside of conscious awareness. Most neuroscientists estimate between 90-95% of mental and emotional activity occur outside our conscious notice. Much of this “underground” activity is automatic and emotional. Much of this commotion is bubbling just below the level of our awareness.

So what’s the fuss? Why care about mental activity that goes on behind the scenes? The main reason is that subconscious activity has a massive impact on our perception of the world, behaviors, buying decisions, and satisfaction with life.

For example, the price of wine influences how people perceive the same bottle of wine. When people are told the price of wine is higher, they subconsciously create the perception of a better tasting wine. The higher priced wine is perceived to have new characteristics such as improved body, taste, and aroma once the price is revealed. Another study showed that brand recognition plays a large role at the subconscious level in influencing how we perceive objects, such as soda. Blind taste tests may show that individuals like drink A over drink B by a large percentage.  However, when those same individuals can see the product packaging and brand, they prefer B. No change in the two drinks, just an awareness of the brand which subtly yet powerfully kicks the subconscious mind into motion and changes the way the taste buds perceive the drink A and drink B.

In addition, conscious self report measures such as polls, surveys and focus groups are poor predictors of consumer behavior. Self report measures are notoriously flawed in their ability to predict future behavior.  The relationship between the stated intention of consumers and their actual buying behavior is low and can even be negative at times. For instance, over 60% of individuals who tested a new kitchen appliance in their home stated they were “likely” or “very likely” to purchase the appliance within three months. Nearly a year later, only 12% of those consumers had actually made the purchase. A follow up survey among those who said they were going to buy but did not discovered that those consumers could not explain the disconnect between their stated intention and their behavior.

What’s more, the subconscious mind works at lightning fast speed. It works so quickly that it can pick up information from the environment that does not even register in the conscious mind. For example, a message which appears for 30 milliseconds (below the threshold of conscious awareness) dramatically affects individuals’ behavior in the near future. An automobile manufacturer tested a new sensor system which could automatically measure the speed of the car as well as the distance of an object directly in the path of the car. When the program discovered a high probability of a crash, it flashed a message on the windshield which stated, “Brake!”

During testing of the program, it was found that the ideal length of time to flash the message on the windshield was 30 milliseconds – so fast that the conscious mind was not even aware of it, but the subconscious mind was. When the message was shown for 30 milliseconds, drivers demonstrated optimum braking ability. When the message was displayed for longer periods of time (so the conscious mind could “see” it), braking performance declined in speed.

These examples are just the beginning of a revolution in marketing, advertising, branding, and improved consumer experiences.

With the birth of new imaging tools and innovative methodologies such as Emotion Mining’s patented approach to get at subconscious thoughts and feelings, the mind is rapidly beginning to reveal its secrets. Similar to exploring the deepest depths of the ocean, we are on the verge of stunning new discoveries.  And, among others, marketing and branding professionals stand poised to reap the benefits. 

Posted in innovative brand research, unique marketing research, new approaches to organizational change initiatives, emotion mining company, emotional intelligence, dr. john schinnerer, creativity, business | Print | 1 Comment »

6. February 2008 by John Schinnerer.

My clients teach me many new things; so that each contributes to the success of the others.  One of my oldest clients, Emotion Mining, is a research and software firm in Wellesley, Massachusetts.   They have been doing breakthrough research for select companies for over a decade; but are now reaching out to a broader market.  We’re delighted to announce that Emotion Mining’s long-awaited new web site is now live and ready for your visits at   www.emotionmining.com

I am writing this because I believe you may know people who are interested in gaining deeper insights into what drives human behavior, either in the field of brand marketing, public policy, or organizational development.   Emotion Mining is an Internet-based research technology that combines the qualitative and unique insight of an in-depth personal interview, the concept testing and idea-building of a focus group, and the efficiency and quantitative output of a survey…..and does all of this in a fraction of the time of traditional research. Emotion Mining offers this unique methodology to gain unprecedented insight into markets, and has already contributed directly to increased sales and brand recognition for many companies.   In the last year, Emotion Mining has also helped executive management identify and address human resource issues that arise from company culture changes, mergers, and reorganizations.

Our experience has taught us that people feel before they think or act; thus it is feelings that drive behavior.   Yet most of us are not conscious of the emotional reactions our brand or management creates.   Emotion Mining distinguishes between conscious (stated, surface reactions) and unexpressed (more powerful, deeply felt, unstated) behavior drivers to give market strategists and/or organizational leaders insight into the messages and actions that are most likely to change behavior.  Before Emotion Mining, decision makers had to guess at feelings and motivations - now we can reliably capture this important information about key behavior drivers.

We invite you to visit our new site at www.emotionmining.com to learn more.   We encourage you to register so that we can easily keep you updated on ways your organization can benefit from a relationship with Emotion Mining.   Most importantly, I urge you to please pass this email invitation on to your professional associates who may be interested.

Thanks for reading this far !!

Questions?   Call or email me at any time.

Barry Neagle

774-238-6073

barryneagle@emotionmining.com

Posted in unique marketing research, new approaches to organizational change initiatives, innovative brand research, emotion mining company, business, emotional intelligence, positive psychology | Print | No Comments »

4. February 2008 by John Schinnerer.

Emotion Mining - Capturing, Understanding, and Leveraging the Emotions Underpinning Brand Behavior
by Greg Thomas

Deep Diving into Emotions

Wouldn’t it be great if you could really understand your customers? Reach deep down into their psyche and latch onto the right emotional buttons to trigger their buying decisions? Better yet, reach down there and test their reactions to the brand you are putting on the table, your latest promotion, your customer service, or even the new layout of your store. It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.

In fact, Liam Fahey and Dr. Tom Snyder of Emotion Mining Company are already doing it.

They described their methodology at a ZIBS Forum, sponsored by Zyman Institution of Brand Sciences at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.

Fahey, an adjunct professor of Strategic Management at Babson College, is Executive Director of Emotion Mining Company. He previously taught at Northwestern and Boston universities. Dr. Snyder, the founder of the company, is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with MD and PhD degrees from Stanford University. He invented “Emotion Mining” to measure emotions and prioritize the “(subconscious) heart of the matter” in work with his therapeutic clients.

Brands Stimulate Emotions and Emotions Stimulate Brand Behavior

In 1989, when it became evident to Snyder that his methodology could reliably identify how to motivate and inspire new interest and new behavior based on uncovering unappreciated but recognizable feelings and thoughts, he began to consult with major corporations. The results, especially those derived from understanding both customers and employees, provide critical input in determining marketing strategies, advertising programs, and sales approaches.

Fahey joined Snyder to develop a web-based implementation of the methodology to capture emotional responses. The Result? “Emotion Mining” - a versatile research, communication and decision-making system that can be employed to capture and analyze emotional responses to any facet of a brand, including name, icon, attribute, functionality, experience, service, quality, ideal, etc.

Going Beyond the Focus Group

Focus groups have traditionally been used in marketing to explore consumer attitudes. However, focus groups have limitations. Typically people cannot tell you the nuances of the emotions they are feeling, either due to inhibitions in an open setting or simply their inability to adequately describe things or even know what they truly feel.

Emotion Mining uses a different approach; it uncovers hidden - unappreciated but recognizable - subconscious emotions and motivations. Remember Freud’s iceberg from Psychology 101? Our most intense feelings are buried deep beneath the surface. With simple training, subjects can identify and explain these feelings through a set of self-expression steps on their computer screen. The data gathering method only requires the subject to relax and play, and draw and type in a freeform manner.

“All of us know that brands go to the heart of building value for the customer,” says Fahey. “Think of all the major issues concerning brands. The question of emotions always comes into play. What has been needed is a sensitive, rigorous and reliable discipline to plumb emotions.”

“What happens if we don’t understand the emotional context of a brand? What investments might be in peril?” asks Fahey. “We find that companies are largely unaware of the depth and strength of the emotions customers feel about brands - both positive and negative. Do you think this gets the attention of the management team?”

“Surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus groups only take us so far,” says Snyder. “These methods are suitable until we run into something like ‘I think it, but I won’t say it’ or ‘I sense it, but I can’t articulate it’. Emotion Mining overcomes these limitations by providing a way around interpersonal and personality biases, and thus is able to obtain the “heart of the matter”.

Illustration Not Available
Emotion Mining: Amassing Customer Perceptions Above and Below the SurfaceEmotion Mining uses a specially designed “sonargram” to plot the breadth and depth of conscious and subconscious feelings towards a brand or concept. On the right side of the diagram, positive emotions are plotted; the left side plots negative emotions. Externally focused emotions are on the top half, and internally focused are on the bottom. Once all emotional results are plotted on the diagram, the result is a profile of the customer’s emotional feelings about a brand or concept - in fact, why and how to motivate and inspire new interest and new behavior. This information can be used to build emotional “bridges” between customer needs and experiences, and the products developed by a company with its own definable image.

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Emotion Mining Sonargram: High Level View

Whole Emotional Understanding: The Golden Fleece

Through Emotion Mining, a marketer not only gains the ability to better understand brands, but also the ability to (1) discern unmet customer needs through deconstructing the customer experience; (2) explain product/service failures, deficiencies, and vulnerabilities - as well as successes, strengths, and advantages - in customer language; and (3) prioritize the emotional, rational, and social aspects of a brand to guide external and internal marketing investments. Sensitive emotion benchmarks can be established to continually improve and inspire brand positioning, product enhancement, and service delivery.

For example, Emotion Mining can aid the sales process by showing what specific emotions are “in play” on both sides of the table. Customers and employees experience different emotions. When employees exhibit a stronger emotional competency in dealing with clients, they greatly improve their productivity. Snyder and Fahey believe that organizations have much to gain in developing an integrated understanding of customer and employee emotions. Interrelated outcomes can be expected on many fronts, including: dramatically improved customer experience, increased sales, enhanced employee job satisfaction, reduced employee turnover, and lowered employee training and development costs.

It is no small feat to uncover and unravel the complexity of emotions that a single customer experiences during a brand experience. Through use of such clarified emotional reference points, brand managers can focus on the gaps in the delivery of brand experience, and use these insights to create new customer value and enhanced financial returns.

For more information…

John Schinnerer, Emotion Mining Company, Inc., johnschinnerer@emotionmining.com, 925-944-3440

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