Popular questions

Whereas neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI and EEG map general patterns of brain activity, Amsterbrand's research methods quantify specific thought-associations through computer-mediated tasks. Neuroimaging is unique in its capability of measuring which emotions and modes of processing are evoked by a stimulus such as a brand or commercial. On the other hand, implicit methods are the method of choice when determining the associative strength between two thoughts (e.g., a brand and a specific quality).

We deem Implicit Marketing and brain imaging not as alternatives, but as complementary approaches, both adding to valuable brand insights in their own unique ways.

Rarely. While Implicit Marketing Research unearths valuable insights for brands in fast moving consumer goods, it has little added value to most B2B brands.

Here’s a rule of thumb: products that are bought rather mindlessly ask for implicit research, whereas conscious purchases are better predicted by explicit research.

Most B2B products and services often consist of too little branding and too much rationalism, which is not the ideal soil for implicit associations to thrive on. For these B2B brands, traditional explicit marketing research is sufficient.

Implicit Associations are particularly helpful for fast moving consumer products and companies that hold dear to their brand identity.

Associations are thoughts, connected in the brain by neural networks.

Just take a second to think about the house you grew up in… Which thoughts and feelings emerge from your childhood? Chances are you start feeling cozy, warm, carefree and lighthearted.

Brands are equally capable of leaving traces in the brain. Often more subtle, but equally powerful in influencing purchasing behavior. Brands, too, can elicit feelings of pleasure, adventure, togetherness, innovation, wit, supreme quality – or anything else. Amsterbrand’s research is concerned with uncovering and quantifying these brand associations through reaction time measures.

We wish it was that easy. There’s a time and a place for surveys and focus groups, but they are rather misleading in deciphering the true reasons why people buy.

Of about 95% of their purchases, consumers either aren’t able or willing to put their true buying motives in words. A certain product simply feels like the best choice, which is only rationalized after the fact.

Brand identity is the force driving most purchases of fast moving consumer products. That identity is shaped by a network of mental associations that rarely reach consciousness, yet have a profound impact on a brand’s sales. Amsterbrand’s implicit research methods are able to discern the strength of any brand association.

Not all brands. For some, the old-school method of surveys and focus groups work just fine.

Here’s a rule of thumb: products that are bought rather mindlessly ask for implicit research, whereas rational purchases are better predicted by explicit research.

Before we embark on any research journey, we always determine whether implicit measures make sense for a particular brand to dive into. If it doesn’t, we’re honest as a child.

We offer seven tools, each answering a different branding question.

Tools meant to quantify brand-level associations:

• Brand Analysis (measures current association of a brand and its competitors)
• Brand Tracking (measures brand associations over time)
• Campaign Analysis (measuring effect of a campaign on brand identity)

Tools meant to identify the most effective commercial, product design or packaging:

• Message Identifier (predicts which message alternatives adds most value)
• Product/Packaging Identifier (predicts which product or packaging design adds most value)

Tools meant to give directions when positioning new brands and products:

• Brand Extension Analysis
• Positioning Analysis

To reframe this question: what happens when two beer brands compete for being the most relaxing Friday-night sip. In virtually any case, one brand wins and the other one loses. Consumers buy categories first. Brands second.

Implicit Marketing Research bears tremendous value in this regard. The method quantifies how Brand X is perceived in contrast with Brand Y and Z. It thus illuminates what makes your brand stand out, providing guidance for future branding activities.

Let’s be fair, of course not. Often they do, sometimes they don’t. Fortunately, science has already uncovered when.

Here’s the rule of thumb: products that are bought rather mindlessly are greatly influenced by implicit associations, whereas rational purchases are guided more by deliberate thinking.

Before we start, we always determine whether implicit measures make sense for a particular brand to dive into. If it doesn’t, we’re honest as a child.

By definition, they do so unconsciously. A profound predictor of spontaneous purchase behavior is a positive brand attitude. To measure this global brand evaluation, we measure the strength with which a brand triggers positive thoughts and feelings. Other predictors are me-associations and goal-associations.

While global brand evaluations are great in predicting purchase, it says little about why the brand is liked in the first place. That’s where brand identity comes in. When a brand association is in alignment with the consumer’s purchase motivation, it makes the choice feel better. As a result, the likelihood of the customer buying the product is increased.

For example: when someone buys a case of beer for a great night with friends, the brand owning the association of togetherness has the upper hand.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands. That’s where we come from. A country grounded deep in the earth’s surface, with almost unlimited potential. And dare we say, we see some similarities with Implicit Marketing Research itself ;)

You can contact him directly through .

Yes, sometimes we do. Especially when it’s unclear which associations might be relevant for a particular brand to study implicitly, we conduct an exploratory study with methods such as free association tests, interviews and surveys.

Psychological science puts a wide range of reaction-time based measures at our fingertips. The most suitable approach depends mostly upon the research question, the type of product and type of association.

Our methods include the Traditional Implicit Association Test, the Single-Target Association Test, the Go-No-Go Association Task, the Brief Implicit Association Test, the Evaluative Priming Task, the Affective Misattribution Procedure and in some rare cases the Sorting Paired Features Task.

When testing major brand decisions – such as a packaging or logo redesign – we recommend a multi-method approach consisting of an association task, a priming task and some explicit measures to further validate the outcomes.

The core methodology is elegantly simple, but never simplistic.

Implicit Marketing Research builds on over 45 years of associative network theory in cognitive psychology. We determine associative strength by measuring reaction times on a bipolar categorization task. A great body of research shows that when two thought-concepts are associated (i.e., there are many neurons wiring the two concepts together), human brains are able to respond faster to incoming stimuli. On the other hand, when two concepts are unrelated or opposed (i.e., few neurons wiring the concepts together, or many neurons wiring to an opposite concept), our brains require more time to process the stimulus. Our profound methodology is designed to measure this processing time in milliseconds.

By providing randomized trials of different pairs of stimuli, we are able to reliably define associative strength through reaction-time differences.

Just send us an email: .

Possibly. Amsterbrand is founded by Studio ST&T, a marketing agency. Rooted in psychological science, ST&T grew frustrated by the lack of methods that measure what people really think about brands. As a result, we decided to develop on what psychologists had been doing for a few years already: determining associative strength with reaction time measures. We molded the core methodology in a set of seven powerful marketing research tools.

A great reason to get acquainted! Just send us an email: .