Abstract
Companies and marketers are facing the increasingly difficult to study the changing consumer
behavior. Ingwer (2012, p.20) affirms that “customer satisfaction is used by 90 percent of companies
as a benchmark for success”, exposing the importance to understand customers needs and desires to
design more efficient marketing strategies. Currently researches have highlighted the power of
unconscious insights in the decision making process (Linehan, 2008, p. 4). Allying neuroscience
techniques and marketing, Neuromarketing is a new field promising to uncover the “black box” of
consumer brain, however posing several ethical issues, concerns and fears due to the infancy stage of
the field. Ireland is a growing economy country and Neuromarketing may be helpful to gain
competitive advantages, whereas there is limited literature about it. Nevertheless, regarding to the
ethical issues, as part of the European Union, Ireland is under the recent and strict GDPR regulation,
what may impact in the possibilities of increasing the usage of Neuromarketing research in the
country.
This dissertation examines the advantages, issues and applications of Neuromarketing
techniques in Ireland, considering the actual data protection awareness and GDPR regulations.
Pursuing insights about Neuromarkerting consumer research in Ireland and GDPR effects, the
researcher analyses relevant elements of consumer behavior, Neuromarketing , data protection and
Ireland market, comparing and contrasting different academic views, disclosing aspects that have
been addressed in the literature, due to limited research in these contemporaries fields.
The research methodology undertaken is based on a subjectivist and interpretative
exploratory approach, resulting in cross-section and qualitative mono method. Two focus groups with
different populations- practitioners and ethnic subgroups- are proposed to contrast and define
millennials attitudes towards Neuromarketing and GDPR.
The researcher expects to evaluate the feasibility and generate relevant insights and
considerations about Neuromarkerting applications in Ireland aliened with beliefs about GDPR,
appealing as a motivation for future research.
