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CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE
GET INSIGHTS, PREDICT BEHAVIOR
Capture non-conscious aspects of consumer decision-making with the most complete set of neuroscience tools at a global scale.
ABOUT NIELSEN CONSUMER NEUROSCIENCE
Our brains react to our world in milliseconds—faster than we’re consciously aware. And much of what drives our everyday decisions, including what we’ll watch, talk about and buy, are the emotional responses that traditional self-report methods alone can’t measure.
That’s where consumer neuroscience comes in, a field that Nielsen has been in for nearly 10 years. Through neuroscience, we help brands understand consumers’ non-conscious engagement and responses, which they can use to create stronger connections with their audiences.
We integrate best-in-class neuroscience technologies with traditional research methods, so that we, along with our clients, will learn faster, develop better testing protocols and deliver stronger results than anyone in the industry.
OUR FOUNDATION IS IN SCIENCE

Our Global Footprint

Leading Technology
Nielsen offers the most complete suite of consumer neuroscience tools at a global scale, tailored to each client’s particular needs. Our combination of tools paint an unprecedented picture of the consumer by understanding both conscious and nonconscious responses.

EEG
Multiple sensors to measure attention, emotion and memory

Biometrics
Skin conductance and heart rate to capture emotional journey

Facial Coding
Expressed emotions (positive, negative, neutral)

Eye Tracking
Visual focus on content

Self-Report
Voice of the consumer
Validated To Be Predictive of In-Market Behavior
A recent collaboration of unprecedented scale (nearly 60 CPG ads in 20 categories, 900 neuroscience participants, 28,000 survey respondents) was undertaken in partnership with CBS and Nielsen Catalina Solutions in order to understand the relationship between our tools in-market sales behavior.
Results showed that, while individual neuroscience tools each provides significant explanatory power, combining them together provides the strongest level of predictability, and is more predictive than survey measures alone.
Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience Benefits

MEASURES NONCONSCIOUS AND CONSCIOUS RESPONSE
Provides holistic view of consumer including thoughts that they are not able to articulate

BUILDS BRAND THROUGH EMOTION
Ensures alignment to brand strategy to strengthen long-term memory and brand building

PROVIDES GRANULAR DIAGNOSTICS
Provides detailed, second-by-second feedback on content for actionable results

ENSURES EFFICIENT AND TIMELY DECISION MAKING
Focuses efforts on the right optimization areas to stay on track
Applications
We specialize in helping you optimize the effectiveness of your advertising (video, print and digital), packaging, in-store elements and more. With our ability to test globally in neuroscience lab settings and in real-life environments, brands can deploy our breakthrough methodologies virtually anywhere at any time.

Advertising
Video
Print
Digital
Concepts

Shopper
Packaging
Shelf Layout
Promotions, POS & Display

Media
Programming
Promotions

Product
Product Experience
Product Development

Custom*
Car Clinics
Social Media
Website Development
Other Custom Studies
*Available in North America only.
Case Studies
Did you know 6-8 million dogs and cats enter animal shelters each year? And only 29% of dogs and 33% of cats in homes came from shelters or rescues?

The Ad Council and The Shelter Pet Project collaborated with Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience to capture consumers’ non-conscious engagement and response to their “Meet A Shelter Pet” ad. By leveraging insights found, the team was able to drive stronger emotional engagement, messaging and branding – with results that ultimately impacted the life of a shelter pet:

+133%
Increase in website visits

+28%
Rise in pet finder database searches

Winner
David Ogilvy’s Excellence in Advertising Research (2015)
To learn more about the study, read The Brains Behind Better Ads: Optimizing the Cute and Cuddly.
Giving Back

We work with a variety of institutions and individuals to use our capabilities for the broader good, reinvesting a portion of our revenues to support specific causes. Whether we’re helping with epilepsy research or optimizing a non-profit ad campaign, we are committed to supporting organizations to effect positive social change.
Interested in becoming a study participant? Sign up here >
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Nielsen Insights
Nielsen News
In the Press
Reports
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