2014/2015  KAN-CBCMU1001U  Neuroscience of Branding

English Title

Neuroscience of Branding

Course information
Language	English
Course ECTS	7.5 ECTS
Type	Mandatory
Level	Full Degree Master
Duration	One Quarter
Course period	Autumn
Timetable	Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board	Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
Thomas Ramsøy - Department of Marketing (Marketing) Torsten Ringberg - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
Main academic disciplines
Communication Marketing
Last updated on 08-07-2014

Learning objectives

At the end of the course the student is expected to be able to: Provide fundamental insights into the basic neuro-cognitive mechanics of branding, and the theories underlying the neuroscientific bases of branding Demonstrate a solid knowledge about fundamental components of brand effects, including attention, emotion, motivation, memory, social behaviour and choice Understand the strength and weaknesses of different methodologies that are used to study the unconscious bases of consumer psychology and behaviour Analyse neuromarketing based studies of consumer behaviour and branding communication Determine and analyse the unconscious, non-verbal components of brand perception, and how this is distinguished from overt, verbal accounts of brand effects Translate findings from neuromarketing studies into strategic recommendations for brand managers and marketers to improve communication and increase brand equity Demonstrate an ability to set up a neuromarketing study to address a specific client-oriented problem area.

Examination

Neuroscience of Branding: Exam ECTS 7,5 Examination form Home assignment - written product Individual or group exam Individual Size of written product Max. 15 pages Assignment type Case based assignment Duration 2 weeks to prepare Grading scale 7-step scale Examiner(s) One internal examiner Exam period December/January Make-up exam/re-exam Same examination form as the ordinary exam

Course content and structure

Course Content Contemporary approaches to the study of branding and consumer responses to branding will be presented and discussed in light of recent advances in brain science. The combination of psychology and modern neuroscience – known as neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience – will be used comprehensively throughout the course. Specifically, the role of cognition and emotions in consumer choice is in focus, as well as the basic mental/neural mechanisms underlying motivation. The course provides an opportunity for students to (a) deepen their understanding of how brands work at the basic psychological and neuronal levels, (b) learn about the effects of brands on perceptual, cognitive, affective and behavioural levels, and (c) learn to think biological perspectives into advertising and marketing strategies.   A large portion of the course will cover insights into and methods from cognitive neuroscience that are important for understanding brands and their effects of consumer psychology and behaviour. Topics such as attention, memory, arousal, emotions, preference formation and decision making are covered in depth. In particular, the course will focus on exploring and expanding the knowledge about the brain mechanisms for how brands affect preference, cognition and action. In the class, focus will also be on international and cross cultural advertising.   Course progression The BMC course will start with a presentation of basic cognitive neuroscience of attention, emotion, memory and decision-making. From this foundation, students will reflect on the impacts of this knowledge on the knowledge about branding, and on traditional models of branding. Finally, students will be presented with the most recent experimental studies from consumer and marketing science, and the neuroscience of branding, and will be challenged to provide a comprehensive model of branding that incorporates traditional and novel neuroscience.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Expected literature

Mandatory Introduction to Consumer Neuroscience & Neuromarketing (forthcoming) Recommended reading Ramsøy (2013) Neuroscience of Branding compendium (CBS) Baars (2012) Fundamentals of Cognitive Neuroscience – A Beginner’s Guide. Elsevier. Genco, Pohlman & Steidl (2013) Neuromarketing for Dummies