Hi there! I’m Anhelina. I’m currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at The University of Tartu. In my field, there are some fascinating opportunities for students to take part in during their studies! One of them is the Neuromarketing Lab at the University of Tartu. Quite a few students from the second year BBA are interns at the Neuromarketing Lab. So, I thought it would be interesting to interview the person who started the lab and dive deeper into their activities to see why the lab is so attractive to students.
Kristian Pentus, a doctoral student and marketing assistant at the University of Tartu School of Economics and Business Administration, is the mastermind behind the lab. He obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tartu. His work was the first neuroscience marketing thesis defended at the university, focusing on preference combination analysis and emotion measurement. He also teaches about eight marketing courses for both master’s and bachelor’s students. Personally, I’ve taken two of his marketing courses, and they’ve provided me with invaluable insights that have helped me advance my skills and secure a job in the field.
Kristian’s journey with the lab began with his bachelor’s thesis. With funding from the European Union, the lab acquired its initial equipment, which included two durable laptops and eye trackers, one of which is still in use after over a decade.
The lab’s main objective is to investigate the psychological processes that affect consumer behaviour, primarily through eye tracking, to understand attention and emotion measurement, especially through facial expressions. Essentially, they test various marketing stimuli such as advertisements, banners, TV ads, and website layouts. Neuromarketing (particularly eye-tracking) is a popular thesis topic, and the University of Tartu offers one of the few master’s programmes in neuromarketing (Estonian language only). While eye-tracking remains the main focus of research in the lab, they also utilise other tools like “EEG” (Electroencephalogram) to measure brain activity and “GSR” (Galvanic Skin Response), which functions somewhat like a lie detector.
I was curious about how the lab prioritises ethical considerations and manages consumer data, given the current concerns around these issues. The neuromarketing lab is affiliated with the Neuro Marketing Science and Business Association. The lab has been adhering to the association’s guidelines since the association became active. Additionally, the lab always ensures that participants sign a consent form before taking part in any studies, and they have the option to opt-out at any time.
“When it comes to data sensitivity, random online surveys where participants provide personal information like email addresses, gender, age, and dietary preferences, such as being vegan or not, are actually more delicate than simply tracking eye movements. Contrary to what some might think, eye tracking doesn’t involve capturing images of people’s eyes; it simply records X and Y coordinates of where individuals are looking. However, if we’re measuring emotions, we do collect video footage of participants, which is used during the raw data analysis.” – Kristian Pentus
Regarding student engagement and learning opportunities, the Neuromarketing Lab has been running an active internship programme for almost a year and a half now. Every semester, they welcome new students to the lab to conduct experiments, practice data analysis, work on social media strategies, do some coding, etc.
“Students can always come and partake in the experiments that we’re running. There is also an opportunity for a student who has a cool idea and wants to use our lab equipment to test something. As long as we find enough resources to supervise them, then we’ll be an open playground for students. We’ve had students work on projects ranging from optimising webpages to conducting their own research.” – Kristian Pentus
Kristian shared a couple of examples of how insights from neuromarketing research have been applied in real-world marketing campaigns. In one case, with the help of eye tracking, it was found that altering the sequence of slogans in a TV advertisement significantly improved its effectiveness. People were able to recall a combination of slogans better when those were presented in a specific order, as revealed by eye-tracking data. Kristian Pentus says: “We optimised “Olevalmis” (in English: “Be prepared”) info materials. They’re like thick booklets of 20 pages. We did a lot of work for them to make it more readable, more understandable. So this is definitely a success story for us.”
Students who are engaged with Neuromarketing Lab activities often pursue careers in freelance social media management, and many have been quite successful in that field. Besides gaining valuable skills, students can also receive internship credit for their time and work. The internship call is typically announced at the beginning of each semester. Prior marketing knowledge isn’t a prerequisite. The Lab values diversity in academic backgrounds and looks for qualities like teamwork, responsibility, and punctuality.
Kristian’s advice for students interested in joining the Neuromarketing lab would be “to familiarise yourself with the field by reading books connected with neuromarketing and watching educational videos, which are available on platforms like YouTube. This foundational knowledge will serve you well as you embark on your journey in this fascinating field”.
The Neuromarketing Lab is waiting for you to join. From my end, I strongly suggest you be open to new challenges and embrace creativity and curiosity in everything you do. Best of luck in your academic journey!
All photos belong to the author unless stated otherwise. The cover photo is from https://neuroturundus.ut.ee.
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