NeuroTips for Each Candidate in the Final 48 Hours of UK Prime Minister Campaign: Be Aware of Voters' Subconscious Scores for Strengths/Weaknesses, Be Wary of Gender Splits

LONDON, May 4 /PRNewswire/ --

Core Recommendations:

Optimum strategies for campaigns to appeal to female voters:

• Brown: rally women around "I care more than either Cameron or Clegg"
• Cameron: rally women around "I am more trustworthy than Brown or Clegg"
• Clegg: rally women around "I am stronger than either Brown or Cameron"

Optimum strategies for campaigns to appeal to male voters:

• Attack Brown on perceived lack of strength
• Attack Cameron on perceived lack of trustworthiness
• Attack Clegg on perceived lack of caring

As the national campaign in the UK nears completion, NeuroFocus Europe conducted a unique brainwave-based study to dive into the true source of voters' perceptions of the three candidates for Prime Minister: the subconscious mind. The world leader in neuromarketing applied the company's Deep Subconscious Response methodology to measure voters' pre-conscious responses to Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and Nick Clegg.

NeuroFocus used its proprietary Deep Subconscious Response methodology to measure prospective voters' neurological reactions to each Prime Minister candidate's image and three specific character traits identified with the candidates. Brainwave measurements made at this level, captured by EEG sensors across the full brain, are the most accurate and reliable means of gauging voters' true reactions. Conventional methodologies such as surveys, focus groups, and "dial-o-meters" rely on less precise 'articulated or implied responses' that do not capture these more unfiltered reactions.

Topline Results:

• Gordon Brown scores highest on "Caring" for both men and women compared to both other candidates.
• David Cameron has highest resonance for "trustworthy" amongst women,
• Nick Clegg scores lowest for "strong" amongst men

"As the final 48 hours of the campaign nears, the clear implications of this groundbreaking research for the three contenders are: emphasize your subconscious strengths, especially with the gender where they resonate best, and emphasize your opponents' weaknesses, again along gender lines," says Thom Noble, Managing Director for NeuroFocus Europe. "These are the anchor points of greatest resonance with voters, and the anchor points of greatest concern for the candidates. NeuroFocus does not take sides in this campaign; instead, we lay forth the best attack and the best appeal strategies, broken out by gender. These Deep Subconscious Response findings aren't intended to serve as a forecast of victory or defeat for any candidate. What they do represent is how voters regard these politicians on the eve of the election, at the level of the brain where their images and perceived attributes are absorbed and processed. Other factors can affect whether and how people finally choose to vote—but this is a precise view into how they really feel about each national candidate going into the election."

This study illustrates neuromarketing's superior capability to discern with high specificity the subconscious drivers of electoral choice. Other aspects of election campaigns can be similarly analyzed:

• the strengths and weaknesses of party policies
• the impact of politicians' personality and 'image-management' techniques
• the impact of political campaign messaging and election broadcasts
• how campaign slogans and logos resonate with voters

NeuroFocus' patented methodology applies high-density arrays of EEG (electroencephalographic) sensors to measure across the full brain. Each sensor captures brainwave activity at 2,000 times a second. The outputs reveal vital information on how Attention, Emotional Engagement, and Memory Retention vary on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis. In addition to an Overall Effectiveness score representing the combined results of these three primary measurements, NeuroFocus also derives three more metrics: Persuasion/Purchase Intent, Novelty (Stand-out), and Comprehension.

"Neuroscience has demonstrated that the accuracy of conventional marketing research and surveys is often compromised by an exclusive focus on articulated responses," says Noble. "In contrast, NeuroFocus measures at the deep subconscious level, where perceptions are formed, unaffected by the multitude of factors that influence and distort articulated responses."

About NeuroFocus (www.neurofocus.co.uk)

The world's leading neuromarketing firm, NeuroFocus Inc. (www.NeuroFocus.com) is the undisputed world leader in bringing advanced neuroscience expertise to the worlds of advertising, marketing, product design, packaging and entertainment. The company leverages Nobel Prize calibre and Doctorate-level academic credentials in Neuroscience, Psychology and Marketing from Berkeley, MIT, Harvard, Columbia and Oxford and other leading institutions, combined with Board-level business management and consulting experience. NeuroFocus clients include leading multinationals across dozens of categories, including automotive, fmcg, food and beverage, financial services, telecom, internet, retail, and many more sectors. Entertainment category clients include major companies in the television and movie industries.

NeuroFocus is headquartered in the U.S. and is operating globally through offices and NeuroLabs in the UK and Europe, the Asia/Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Brown, Cameron, Clegg Deep Subconscious Response Test

The Study

The study consisted of 24 participants between the ages of 21 and 54, comprised of 50% male and 50% female adults registered to vote. Because NeuroFocus measures actual brainwave activity, sample sizes on this scale are not only scientifically valid, but in fact are more statistically reliable than the far larger samples required by traditional research methods (which can be distorted by many kinds of factors).

The Study was conducted between April 19 and April 23 following the first televised debate.

Results Overview

Deep Subconscious resonance to Messaging

All Subjects

(Compiled results overview for both men and women)

Deep Subconscious resonance to Messaging

Men vs. Women

(Men and Women comparison chart)

Results by Candidate

Gordon Brown

David Cameron

Nick Clegg

Additional Insights

• The single most impactful element is the exceptionally high level at which Gordon Brown resonated for "Caring," especially amongst female voters
• "Trustworthy" resonated at a similar level for the candidates overall, with David Cameron having slightly higher results for women and slightly lower for men.
• Nick Clegg was seen as "strongest" amongst the candidates by women, but less strong by men (tied with Gordon Brown). David Cameron was perceived as equally strong by both men and women, and at a slightly higher level than his two competitors.
• Overall, resonance for the attributes was higher amongst women than men. Men's subconscious resonance was lowest across a number of attributes for all three candidates ("Strong" for Gordon Brown, "Caring" and "Strong" for Nick Clegg, "Trustworthy" for David Cameron)

SOURCE NeuroFocus Inc.