Right-handed packaging visuals is better than left-handed ones

Philips wanted to change their existing packaging for an ultra light iron. The question was whether this change would made the packaging more attractive and increase customers' purchase intention. 

The study

The left image shows the new design for Philips' product. After testing, Neurensics advised the modification of the packaging so that the iron was held with a right hand, while retaining the rest of the design (see right image). 

Testing packaging with fMRI

In order to test which of the two packaging would be more attractive and effective for activating purchase intent, we had test participants look at the two packaging versions in a MRI scanner.

MRI is the only technique that captures activity from the entire brain: both conscious and unconscious, rational and emotional thoughts. This gives us the  best results to predict consumer behaviour, better than other research methods.

Asking people what they think of packaging causes them to think of the packaging much longer than regular consumers would, causing them to focus on irrelevant details on the packaging. When regular consumers make a purchase decision, they view the packaging quickly and automatically judge it based on how they feel.

We measure these unconscious emotions with fMRI. Specifically, we observe if the packaging activates a good balance between positive and negative emotions, where the positive emotions eventually dominate.