1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,690 - We know that attention is absolutely critical. 2 00:00:02,690 --> 00:00:04,220 If you're not paying attention to me right now, 3 00:00:04,220 --> 00:00:06,870 then you won't remember anything I say later. 4 00:00:06,870 --> 00:00:09,540 (delicate music) 5 00:00:09,540 --> 00:00:10,650 - [Announcer] Spark Neuro is a 6 00:00:10,650 --> 00:00:13,940 neuro analytics company that was founded in 2017 7 00:00:13,940 --> 00:00:16,390 by cognitive psychologist Spencer Gerrol. 8 00:00:16,390 --> 00:00:18,360 Instead of using traditional research methods 9 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:19,770 like surveys and focus groups, 10 00:00:19,770 --> 00:00:21,400 Spark Neuro go directly to the source 11 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,100 by measuring the brain to see exactly 12 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:25,156 when people are engaged and when they're not. 13 00:00:25,156 --> 00:00:27,300 (delicate music) 14 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:29,490 - I founded Spark Neuro because I realized 15 00:00:29,490 --> 00:00:31,900 that there was a really major gap 16 00:00:31,900 --> 00:00:33,990 in the industry and across all forms 17 00:00:33,990 --> 00:00:35,900 of research and communications. 18 00:00:35,900 --> 00:00:38,980 The methods that have applied to research 19 00:00:38,980 --> 00:00:43,240 for the last number of decades have not changed very much, 20 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,780 and they're really rooted in these self-report methods, 21 00:00:45,780 --> 00:00:48,220 one of which, for example, is focus groups. 22 00:00:48,220 --> 00:00:51,210 Now, think about what happens in a focus group 23 00:00:51,210 --> 00:00:53,970 and some of the biases that apply. 24 00:00:53,970 --> 00:00:55,880 One element is called group think, 25 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:56,740 and if you've ever been a part 26 00:00:56,740 --> 00:00:59,120 of a focus group or let's say a jury, 27 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,600 you know that there's one person in the room 28 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:03,550 who tends to be really charismatic, 29 00:01:03,550 --> 00:01:06,460 who really drives the conversation forward, 30 00:01:06,460 --> 00:01:08,750 and everyone kind of follows their lead. 31 00:01:08,750 --> 00:01:11,390 There's another bias called social desirability bias, 32 00:01:11,390 --> 00:01:12,570 which is really just a fancy way 33 00:01:12,570 --> 00:01:14,780 of saying people don't wanna be judged 34 00:01:14,780 --> 00:01:16,010 and they wanna look cool, 35 00:01:16,010 --> 00:01:17,940 and what that does is it gives us 36 00:01:17,940 --> 00:01:20,373 data points that we really can't rely on. 37 00:01:22,834 --> 00:01:25,250 - The way in which we use our technology is 38 00:01:25,250 --> 00:01:30,250 by combining a number of biometric and neurometric sensors, 39 00:01:30,290 --> 00:01:34,930 so the most important of which is a wireless EEG headset. 40 00:01:34,930 --> 00:01:38,760 The device passively listens to electrical signals 41 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:40,040 that your brain generates 42 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,195 and how these signals change when you become 43 00:01:42,195 --> 00:01:46,420 more engaged or tuned in to what you're watching. 44 00:01:46,420 --> 00:01:49,450 The next sensor that we use is something called GSR. 45 00:01:49,450 --> 00:01:51,590 This stands for galvanic skin response. 46 00:01:51,590 --> 00:01:55,160 As someone becomes more engaged, excited, 47 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,270 or even from a nervous system perspective, 48 00:01:58,270 --> 00:02:00,340 more aroused as opposed to more calm, 49 00:02:00,340 --> 00:02:03,320 the amount of sweat on their palms changes. 50 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,370 The next is facial expression coding, 51 00:02:05,370 --> 00:02:07,270 and for this, we just use a simple web cam. 52 00:02:07,270 --> 00:02:09,080 But a secret sauce, so to speak, 53 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,540 is in the algorithms that process micro facial expressions. 54 00:02:12,540 --> 00:02:14,300 When someone's facial expression changes 55 00:02:14,300 --> 00:02:16,230 even for a fraction of a second, 56 00:02:16,230 --> 00:02:17,870 our software records this 57 00:02:17,870 --> 00:02:19,347 and automatically processes it 58 00:02:19,347 --> 00:02:21,660 so that we can understand how much 59 00:02:21,660 --> 00:02:23,390 they're smiling or frowning. 60 00:02:23,390 --> 00:02:26,030 We also use an eye tracker to record 61 00:02:26,030 --> 00:02:27,660 where people's eyes are focused 62 00:02:27,660 --> 00:02:29,552 as they're watching video content. 63 00:02:29,552 --> 00:02:31,190 (gentle music) 64 00:02:31,190 --> 00:02:34,840 - Our primary clients continue to be major brands 65 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,380 who spend tens or hundreds of millions 66 00:02:37,380 --> 00:02:39,100 of dollars on advertising, 67 00:02:39,100 --> 00:02:42,800 and when you're spending that much money outlaying ads, 68 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,960 you need to make sure that every second counts. 69 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,530 We're not just saying overall how did the ad perform, 70 00:02:48,530 --> 00:02:52,127 but we're saying, "Hey, in those first few critical seconds, 71 00:02:52,127 --> 00:02:54,807 "did you engage people right away? 72 00:02:54,807 --> 00:02:57,657 "And if you did, did you continually engage them, 73 00:02:57,657 --> 00:03:00,440 "and is there a point at which they drop off?" 74 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,870 - You're 32 years of age, and you don't know 75 00:03:02,870 --> 00:03:04,350 how to make a grilled cheese sandwich! 76 00:03:04,350 --> 00:03:06,890 Its name is the recipe, you (beep)! 77 00:03:06,890 --> 00:03:09,210 - One thing that many people have seen 78 00:03:09,210 --> 00:03:11,810 are the cases where brands have gotten it wrong, 79 00:03:11,810 --> 00:03:14,250 where they were culturally insensitive 80 00:03:14,250 --> 00:03:16,550 and in some ways offended small 81 00:03:16,550 --> 00:03:18,420 or even large groups of people. 82 00:03:18,420 --> 00:03:20,640 We had one client who had an ad 83 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:22,670 that everyone at the client really thought 84 00:03:22,670 --> 00:03:25,230 that this was a really entertaining and funny ad, 85 00:03:25,230 --> 00:03:26,840 and when we researched it, we realized 86 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,440 that among a large number of people, 87 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,160 it was actually seen as racist. 88 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:32,240 And in this day and age, 89 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,740 you don't wanna be tone deaf to any of those issues. 90 00:03:34,740 --> 00:03:37,650 And so in addition to making sure that we're just 91 00:03:37,650 --> 00:03:39,920 making the most engaging content in the world, 92 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:41,700 we're also saving companies from making 93 00:03:41,700 --> 00:03:44,853 huge cultural faux pas that they don't intend to make. 94 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,030 There isn't a single industry that's immune 95 00:03:49,030 --> 00:03:51,100 to understanding humanity, 96 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:54,110 and so as the tools of neuroscience 97 00:03:54,110 --> 00:03:55,170 have become more accessible, 98 00:03:55,170 --> 00:03:57,810 as we've built the technology that allows us 99 00:03:57,810 --> 00:04:02,090 to measure directly from your brain and nervous system, 100 00:04:02,090 --> 00:04:04,090 that cuts across all industries, 101 00:04:04,090 --> 00:04:07,330 starting with ads and moving into entertainment, 102 00:04:07,330 --> 00:04:08,890 but what about healthcare? 103 00:04:08,890 --> 00:04:10,080 What about politics? 104 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,013 What about counter terrorism and national security? 105 00:04:14,013 --> 00:04:15,810 (gentle music) 106 00:04:15,810 --> 00:04:17,940 Oftentimes when you look at an industry 107 00:04:17,940 --> 00:04:19,710 that's being disrupted, 108 00:04:19,710 --> 00:04:22,790 the initial instinct is to recoil from that 109 00:04:22,790 --> 00:04:24,420 and be afraid of the change. 110 00:04:24,420 --> 00:04:28,170 However, in this case, the methods that we are disrupting, 111 00:04:28,170 --> 00:04:30,400 the industry's ready for them to change. 112 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,030 We're using technology now that you can 113 00:04:33,030 --> 00:04:34,330 just wear on your head, 114 00:04:34,330 --> 00:04:37,310 and that provides a whole new level of advancement 115 00:04:37,310 --> 00:04:39,973 the likes of which the industry hasn't seen before.