In South Africa, marketer John Laurence and radiologist Dr Gary Sudwarts have set up a new agency called HeadSpace Neuromarketing, using EEG technology to provide biometric markers of consumer response to advertising.

Laurence (pictured) previously served as a Senior Strategic Planner at ad agency Net#work BBDO, prior to which he was a Business Strategist for DDB South Africa. Earlier in his career he held marketing roles at Honda and Toyota, and worked at Proactive Marketing Research.

After completing his medical degree, Sudwarts spent several years in the field of emergency medicine and trauma before obtaining a specialisation in radiology.

The new Johannesburg-based firm combines the pair’s expertise in marketing and radiology to examine behaviour driven by neural processes that occur below the level of consciousness. Using five different ‘neurometrics’, the firm analyses the performance of an ad and provides guidance on how to improve its effectiveness.

Laurence and Sudwarts claim that by combining these metrics with responses from a traditional questionnaire they can gain a much richer and deeper comprehension of the efficacy of a client’s marketing communication.

Laurence explains: ‘EEG's greatest advantage is that it allows us to measure response during the actual exposure to the commercial rather than having to rely on consumer recall after exposure. It helps clients build superior strategies, utilising innovative marketing principles drawn from disciplines such as behavioural economics and neuroscience.’

Web site: www.head-space.biz .

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