Measuring emotions
GfK‘s EMO Sensor reveals consumer's emotional reactions to marketing campaigns Nuremberg, September 7, 2009 – Emotions are a fundamental driver of human behavior, and this is undeniably the case for consumer behavior. Marketers are becoming much more focused on managing and optimizing the emotional dimensions of their brand strategies and communication campaigns. GfK’s EMO Sensor was designed to help marketers understand and better manage consumer's emotional experience with brands.
GfK developed EMO Sensor in collaboration with the Institute for Consumer and Behavioral Research at Saarland University (IKV) in Saarbrücken, Germany. The tool measures the broad array of emotions that consumers may experience when coming into contact with a brand, for example when viewing a television commercial. GfK will use the EMO Sensor primarily in the field of brand and communication research to help marketers evaluate and optimize their marketing campaigns.
GfK’s EMO Sensor is the outcome of a research program that explored the consumer emotions that are relevant to marketing. In fundamental research,GfK identified 22 different emotions (e.g., surprise, interest, boredom)which have significant impact on the behavior of consumers. Theseemotions form the basis of an internationally standardized measurement system that uses visual images to assess emotional response to marketing stimuli. To gain insight about the emotions evoked by a particular brand or advertisement, consumers are shown a product, package or advertisement and then view and respond to a series of visual images, indicating which of them match their emotional response.
GfK EMO Sensor was employed in a global research project on advertising effectiveness that confirmed the central influence of emotions on consumer behavior. The study found that not everyone responds to an ad with the same single emotion, but rather that advertising usually triggers distinct patterns of emotional response or "emotional schema”. The consistency of these schema across the ads tested in this global study reveal a deeper understanding of the emotional landscape of brand advertising Profile analyses of these emotional schemata provide valuable information for creative advertising design and for communications consultancy.
GfK EMO Sensor is market-ready in Europe, and the Americas. Additional R&D on EMO Sensor is under way in the APAC region to develop a speciallytuned version of the visual image scale adapted to Asian cultures.
The new tool will be presented to the market research community at the 2009 ESOMAR congress in Montreux, Switzerland.
Further information: John Wittenbraker, Tel. +1 484 441-1701, john.wittenbraker@gfk.com, Dr. Oliver Hupp, Tel. +49 395-2702, oliver.hupp@gfk.com
The GfK Group
The GfK Group offers the fundamental knowledge that industry, retailers, services companies and the media need to make market decisions. It offers a comprehensive range of information and consultancy services in the three business sectors of Custom Research, Retail and Technology and Media. The no. 4 market research organization worldwide operates in more than 100 countries and employs over 10,000 staff. In 2008, the GfK Group’s sales amounted to EUR 1.2 billion. For further information, visit our website:
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