Introduction

Marketing and advertising professions must constantly embrace change (Cummings et al., 2016).
However, the marketing industry is facing imminent experiential intersection where industry
choices will have deep implications for our society. The consequence of this intersection is the
nascent body of hot research emerging from one of the most impactful scientific discipline:
Neuromarketing (Murphy et al., 2008) . Neuromarketing has been well-defined as “the technique
that investigates the reasons behind individuals' decisions to buy various products or services,
depending on which brain areas are activated” (Pop et al., 2014). It is the new brain science of
assessing the influence of marketing and advertising on buyer behavior (Bakir et al., 2017). By
studying the brain's reactions to brand and advertising, neuromarketers develop advertising
campaigns intended to produce longer-lasting affirmative reactions. Specific brain responses to
advertising messages can be measured by technologies such as functional magnetic resonance
imaging-fMRI and electroencephalography-EEG (Renvoisé &Morin, 2007; Morin, 2011).
Neuromarketing value proposition is premised on the notion that consumers are incapable of
articulating their decision-making practices, thus, conventional consumer research are inadequate
to marketers (Suomala et al., 2012) . However, as the use of neuroscience techniques expand,
consumer advocates are increasingly concerned about risk of consumer deception and erosion of
privacy rights.

Historical Background

Marketing campaigns have long been inclined to neurological discoveries (Fugate, 2007; Hubert
&Kenning, 2008). Neuromarketing emerged from an amalgamation of two disciplines i.e.
neuroscience and marketing (Block et al., 2015). Professor Read Montague is accredited for
written the first academic piece of neuromarketing research published in Neuron in 2004. Later
that year, McClure and his colleagues gained attention with a publication exploring the well-
known “Pepsi Challenge” that dared Coke drinkers to a blind taste test while their brains were
being scanned with an fMRI device (Mcclure et al., 2004). Their findings established that in the
consumers' subconscious, Coke held an overriding preference position over Pepsi. This provided
a scientific foundation that buyers’ preferences can be molded in the absence of a physical
product.

Application
In a world where buyers are precarious and cynical about marketing campaigns, the
study of behavior to sustain marketing efforts is necessitated. Neuromarketing practitioners argue
that there is a discrepancy between the attitude and actual buyer behavior (Garcia &Saad, 2008;
Cortés &García, 2017). Traditional market research approaches fail to convert attitude
into the actual behavior at point of purchase. An exploration conducted by Falk et al. (2012)
established that Neuromarketing revealed greater understanding of consumers' intent better than
traditional procedures. Neuroscience can add value to marketers by providing procedures for the
improvement of branding and marketing strategies preceding the implementing in the target
market. Additionally, Neuromarketing techniques has facilitated new consumer intuitions such as
brand perception (Litt &Shiv, 2012; Plassmann et al., 2012),  product assessment (Esch et al.,
2012; Agarwal &Dutta, 2015), customer relationships (Fjell et al., 2012) packaging & store
displays (Berčík et al., 2015), and advertising (Treleaven-Hassard et al., 2010; Astolfi et al.,
2011).

Current Issues and the Future of Neuromarketing

Neuromarketing as used to enrich the efficiency of marketing strategies poses ethical and legal
concerns;

 Consumer Freewill- There are increased trepidations that as the industry deploys
sophisticated procedures to read the brain. Research on brain activity significantly
increases the prospects of controlling consumers unaware (Weisberg et al., 2008; Wilson
et al., 2008). Leveraging on data acquired from the cataleptic brain activity poses ethical
problems such as cognizance, consent, and consideration for individual consumers.
Greene and Cohen as cited in (Monroe &Malle, 2010) coined the expression “uncaused
causer” suggesting that behavior must not be manipulated by anybody or whatever
outside the decision maker. The approaches and discoveries of Neuromarketing threaten
buyers’ capabilities to make self-choices according to free will thereby depriving
consumers explicit consciousness and express agreement. Prospective consumers will be
incapable of making cognizant choices
  Privacy Issues- Several researchers have suggested that Neuromarketing specialists
disrupt confidentiality of thoughts (Kenning et al., 2007; Renvoisé &Morin, 2007;
Murphy et al., 2008; Wilson et al., 2008). Directly examining the reasoning and
emotional processes of the consumer’s mind embodies decrypting the “buy buttons” of
the sacred human brain. For example, research by Eaton & Illes (2007) concluded that a
brain scan may reveal reticent data such as personality traits, feelings, recollections, and
erotic inclinations

 Participant and Public Harm- Neuromarketing findings can injure participants and
perhaps the public through incidental and manipulative discoveries. Incidental
discoveries refers to brain abnormalities that are identified during brain scan such as the
presence of a tumor. Nelson’s estimations submit that approximately 5% of brain scans
produce incidental findings. Manipulative insights escalate sharing of misleading
messages to the public (Ariely &Berns, 2010). For instance, digital platforms may
provide advertisers with prospects of deploying deceptive messages particularly those
that are extremely

Policy Recommendations

To address the above concerns, advertising practitioners face a number of policy directives to
safeguard industry interests;
 Scope of Use- The magnitude of Neuromarketing usage must be consistent with a
standard practice of choice/consent- participants are allowed to opt-in or opt-out of
information gathering. Access/input- necessitates enhancing the consumer’s ability to
access, authenticate, and dispute the correctness of information. Veracity/ safety-
obligates marketers to safe guide data are against illegal access or manipulation.

 Self-Regulation. The extension of advertising self-regulatory to encompass

The future of Neuromarketing

Presently, we are deficient in comprehending how the brain functions. This deficiency of
knowledge confines the study of consumer behavior at tiniest level demanding cutting-edge
technology of investigation (Cortés &García, 2017). It is anticipated that neuro-technology
revolution will facilitate instantaneous measurement and stimulation of neurons thus closing the
knowledge gap in revealing brain activity (Sussillo et al., 2015). The Human Brain Project
pioneered by the European Union promises discovery in fundamental neuroscience, which would
aid neuromarketers plug procedural gaps in consumer neuroscience exploration (Evers, 2017;
Konopka, 2017). Neuromarketing will progressively shape the marketing and consumer behavior
discipline by generating new theories that question already established ones. In conclusion, there
is a need for an incorporated model to support understanding of the buyer decision-making
process. It is expected that future scholars will shine new insight on an assimilated model of data
processing in the buyer's mind.

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