Catch up with Jessica Azoulay, VP of Isobar Marketing Intelligence Practice

In our latest interview, we spoke to Jessica Azoulay, Vice President of Isobar Marketing Intelligence Practice, to discuss why it’s key for brands to create products that appeal to consumer emotions, why technology and creativity is so powerful, and more.

Hey Jessica, first thing’s first, what is Isobar Marketing Intelligence?

Marketing Intelligence is the research, insights, and brand strategy consultingpractice of Isobar. We bring together emotional, behavioraland cognitivesciences to help transform brands. Our world-class segmentation and emotional testing approaches generate profound consumer insights which drive unique and compelling strategies and solutions. We work directly with leading clients across Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Goods, Financial Services, and Retail/E-commerce industries to help identify opportunities for digital to transform and enhance omnichannel customer experiences and improve the performance of digital marketing.

You have launched a tool called MindSight which measures people’s emotional reactions. Why is this key for businesses and brands?

We care about emotions because emotions cause action. If your business or brand is not appealing to emotions, you really aren’t affecting decisions.

There are several variants of the MindSight tool depending on clients’ needs, including a self-serve tool. Can you tell us more about each of them?

MindSight is an applied neuroscience approach that allows us to assess emotions by circumventing intellectual processing.

But, the reality is that there are different types of emotions. Some emotions reflect goal-oriented drives or motivations, like “Belonging” and other emotions reflect in-the-moment sensations or experiences, like “Joy.”

MindSight Motivational Profiling is focused on emotional motivations — which tells us the WHY behind the choices we make. This is what drives consumers to try a new product, to choose one brand over another, to watch an ad etc.

MindSight Direct is the DIY version of Motivational Profiling — where users can quickly and easily set-up a MindSight study (either stand alone or re-directed from another survey), run the study and access a results dashboard (typically in the matter of hours).

MindSight Experiential Profiling is another technique that’s also focused on emotions, but this time on sensory emotions — how consumers want to feelat a particular moment.

Other MindSight products include: MindSight Brand Personality (to uncover the personality of a brand/product) and MindSight Distinctive Brand Assets (to reveal what a brand is known for).

Why is it important for brands to create products that appeal to consumer emotions?

It’s widely accepted that emotions are highly involved in decision making. In fact, research done by world renowned neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio showed that people with damage in the part of the brain where emotions are generated couldn’t make decisions, even simple decisions like what to eat — they could describe what they should be doing in logical terms but couldn’t actually make decisions. Appealing to consumers only on a rational basis doesn’t work — emotions drive decisions and create enduring connections with brands.

In your view, why is combining data, technology and creativity so powerful for advertisers?

Technology is necessary to help us analyzeand make sense of the mounds of data we now have access to. This data can be a powerful tool — but many have found that it’s not enough. Instead we need creativity to help tell the data “story.” The combination of technology, data and creativity has the potential to create truly amazing customer journeys and experiences.

How can a country/market use Marketing Intelligence for their clients?

Marketing Intelligence is currently a US- based capability, however, we frequently conduct Global qualitative and quantitative research. We are well versed in the intricacies of conducting research across different markets, and have a vast network of research partners to ensure the research is conducted seamlessly. Additionally, MindSight Direct is currently available in the following markets: Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and will soon be launched in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China and Russia. If you are interested in working with Marketing Intelligence, please contact sales@isobarmi.comor for MindSight Direct mindsight@isobar.com

Finally, why is it key for brands to understand how consumers are emotionally reacting to their digital activity more than ever before?

Brands have multiple digital touchpoints with consumers. Each of these touchpoints represents a way to connect with customers. Successful digital experiences are driven by positive emotional experiences. Ultimately these emotions will dictate behaviorwhether that be to buy, to view or to engage.