Cognition-based Evaluation of Commercial Advertisement Videos using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Objective. This study is to investigate a cognition-based evaluation method of commercial advertisement videos (CAV) using neuroscientific technologies. The videos include three types of duration (15, 30, and 60 sec) and two narrative structures (linear and nonlinear). In the neuro-marketing area, the brain imaging tools have become more prevalent in recent years, and it can improve product-marketing competition as a kind of novel approach. Approach. In this study, the hemodynamic responses (HRs) in the prefrontal cortex using functional near-infrared spectroscopy were measured from 8 participants while exposing them to six different types of videos. In examining the HRs, the paired sample t-test and t-value were utilized. The oxyhemoglobin (HbO) responses of three durations and two structures showed that the HRs between different structures and durations were distinguishable. Main results. For the same duration CAVs, the averaged HbO concentration level of linear structure was higher than that of nonlinear structure. The HRs of 30 s and 15 s CAVs were the higher than that of 60 s CAVS of linear and nonlinear structures. Significance. This finding suggests that the brain cortex HRs involve during the evaluation of CAVs that can be related to the structure and duration of the video. A cognition-based CAV assessment can be utilized in the digital advertisement industry. Conclusively, to persuade the consumers, a 30 s video is recommended if the structure is linear, and a 15 s video is suggested if the structure is nonlinear. Therefore, considering the production budget in advance, a wise decision can be made in developing consumer market strategies.