Packaging. Design elements. EEG. Alpha-Theta Diagram. Neuromarketing.
This study has been conducted to investigate if variations in the positioning of certain packaging design elements affect consumer behavior. Data were collected from an experiment that used the Electroencephalogram (EEG) to capture electrical brain activity while participants were exposed to visual stimuli in the form of frozen pizza boxes. The experiment was carried out with 50 participants. The packages had four design elements (product image, logo, flavor, and additional information) varying between the four quadrants of the box (top-right, top-left, bottom-right and bottom-left). From the Alpha and Theta brain waves power values, it was possible to analyze the engagement levels and cognitive effort of the participants throughout the experiment, and thus, Alpha-Theta Diagrams were constructed to identify four types of behavior: diligence, involvement, relaxing and indefinition. The results showed that variations in the positioning of the design elements generated changes in the participants' levels of engagement and cognitive effort, and it was possible to suggest a more adequate position for each element. In a second stage of the experiment, questionnaires were also applied to collect personal and preferential information from the participants. Analyzes performed with this information showed a correlation between observed behaviors with information such as sex, favorite flavor, and frequency of pizza consumption. Therefore, this research can provide useful insights for the improvement of marketing strategies and product development, impacting socially, economically and environmentally in the growth and advancement of organizations, since companies will be able to offer more interesting products to their customers, allocating resources more efficiently and reducing waste.