Neuromarketing Research: Testing Marketing Incentives, October 2025

The stimulus is your "bait for the brain" in neuromarketing. Choosing it wrong makes research data useless. Key mistakes: Ghost Stimulus - Testing in sterile isolation instead of real-world context (e.g., showing an ad without competitors) Riddle Stimulus - Using complex tasks that make people "think" rather than react naturally Phantom Stimulus - Using prototypes that lack real product qualities (texture, weight, context) Self-Deception Stimulus - Testing elements separately while ignoring their ecosystem The rule: Your stimulus must replicate where and how customers will encounter your product in real life - with all the visual noise, competitors, and typical user behaviors. Ask yourself: Where will people actually see this? What will they be doing at that moment? Are all real product qualities present? The stimulus isn&just an image - it&the universe where purchase decisions happen. Create the right universe, or your perfect data will deceive you.