Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Detecting brain electric signal
Reexamination Certificate
1996-02-28
2001-09-18
Peffley, Michael (Department: 3739)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Detecting brain electric signal
C600S545000, C600S300000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292688
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for neurological testing, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for determining the emotional state of an individual over the period of time during which that individual is being exposed to time-varying stimuli. While in one respect the invention applies to determining the neurological, psychological, or emotional response of an individual to test stimuli, in many instances, the invention is applicable to using individuals to test a program containing certain stimuli, in order to determine whether such a program will subsequently create favorable responses in other individuals of similar sociocultural-economic makeup.
One of the most practical applications of the method and apparatus with which the invention is presently concerned is that of consumer response testing. Accordingly, this aspect of the method will be discussed immediately herein, while a discussion of other applications and purposes implicit in the invention will be set out elsewhere herein.
In the United States, and elsewhere throughout the world, advertising is heavily used to promote consumer, commercial and industrial products. It is almost universally accepted that, as between or among products which are generally similar to one another in content, price, or quality, successful advertising can help a particular product achieve much greater market penetration and financial success than an otherwise similar product. Advertising, and particularly consumer advertising, although a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States alone, is an area wherein workers find it extremely difficult to create and reproduce what prove to be consistently successful advertising campaigns, themes, or other materials. It is likewise accepted that while it is often easy to predict that response to a particular proposed advertisement or campaign will be unfavorable, it is not known how to create individual advertisements and/or campaigns which can virtually be assured of success on a consistent basis.
Moreover, while it is not always difficult to discover how to make advertising which may simply interest or amuse potential consumers, or to create advertising that consumers will remember, it is often quite another thing to create an advertisement or campaign which succeeds in actually motivating potential consumers to become actual consumers. There are numberless instances known to the advertising community wherein advertising for a particular product is well recognized, is associated with the product and creates a lasting and favorable impression on the consumer as regards the manner in which the advertisement is presented. Yet, as far as can be accurately measured, many such ads fail to impel viewers to use more of such product, or favor it over that of a competitor.
The advertising industry has also recognized that an advertisement must serve the functions referred to above and that this is normally done in individual stages. Thus, the agencies realize that the creative message must attract the user in some way, and preferably, convey a message or impression about the product as well as contain a command or “call to action.” However, the particular emotion required to secure attention may defeat the purpose of the message or compromise the call to action portion. Likewise, a part of the message, in an attempt to be clever, may offend some viewers or, in an attempt to gain attention, may appear more frivolous than intended.
Hence, it is very difficult on a prospective basis to predict whether a viewer will see a commercial as imaginative and clever on the one hand or frivolous and incredible on the other, when the differences in such presentation are very slight. Similarly, an overly detailed message may appear to be too clinical or perhaps worse, condescending, while another message may be non-offensive but also non-informing. The differences in comprehensional and emotional states of advertising material viewers may be slight but extremely important.
Hence, among all the possible advertisements that might be produced in the hopes of generating a successful consumer response, even where a large number of efforts are summarily dismissed or weeded out, the persons preparing the advertising and the companies using the advertising for promotional purposes simply cannot be sure within narrow limits as to whether particular advertising material will be a success in the marketplace. Accordingly, it is common to find that long after decisions are made and expenditures incurred in pursuit of presenting a particular advertisement (or theme or campaign of advertisements), that such efforts have simply not been successful, in that the campaign failed to produce sales in amounts proportionate to the expenditure of effort and money.
It is believed that an ideal advertisement is one which can be comprehended by the viewer or listener, which contains an inherently credible message, and which contains an imperative or call to action which will stimulate the viewer or listener to purchase the product in question. The advertising industry has for decades accepted the principle that a simple presentation of an advertising message in cold, hard, clear and logical terms is usually insufficient to induce a prospective purchaser to buy a particular product.
Even if viewers were highly analytical, (and it is accepted that most consumers are not), there is still the problem of differentiation between products whose characteristics are either highly subjective or whose quantitative differences are very minute vis-à-vis those of a competitor. Thus, the flavor of a beer or a hamburger, or the appearance of an article of clothing, is simply incapable of being quantified and presented in analytical terms. Even if such were the case, the question of motivation to buy a selected product would still remain.
Consequently, it has come to be accepted that in a great majority of cases, with a few possible exceptions not pertinent here, the decision to buy products is an emotional one in one sense or another. The presence of such emotion does not imply that the choice is irrational, but merely that it meets a need that the subject perceives himself to have, or will have, at the time of purchase. Whether the emotional response is one of self-satisfaction, one of belief that an intelligent choice has been made or that the choice will create a favorable appearance, image or other response in the buyer is not particularly important. According to the invention, it is believed that discovering and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing the actual emotional response of a subject is the key to correlation between an advertising presentation and a successful sale of the product.
Referring again to the subject of advertising response, it would be ideal if people preparing advertisements were able to put themselves in the shoes, so to speak, of the particular customer. However, while certain advertising agencies are able to use the talents of creative personnel who are successful more often than not, a high degree of correspondence between choosing and presenting a particular ad and achieving product sales is simply not available on a consistent basis.
Of course, for many years, efforts have been made to determine consumer reactions or consumer response to advertising by different methods of obtaining “feedback.” These include many forms of interviewing or testing consumers, either individually or in groups. Programs which are commonly used consist of “focus groups” made up of subjects who are shown different materials and asked about their response to the materials. Other programs comprise telephone interviews with members of a selected group or universe. These efforts continue, but the results they obtain are often questionable in terms of value to the advertiser.
The industry, having accepted that the word of a person creating an ad is insufficient to insure success, and knowing that a product proprietor does not consistently hold the key to identifying and pursuing
Advanced Neurotechnologies, Inc.
Peffley Michael
Vedder Price Kaufman & Kammholz
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