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Ideas shaped by science.

Explore practical thinking on consumer neuroscience, behavioural science, research, and the decisions that shape brands.

Featured blog

The power of images to trigger behaviour

You have almost certainly changed your behaviour because of a picture. Perhaps you slowed down for a sign, put a coin in a tin, or left a product on the shelf because the pack put you off. None of those decisions took more than a second or two.

Packaging & Retail
6 min read

Thom Noble and Darren Bridger · 2026-09-17

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Packaging & Retail
6 min read

The power of images to trigger behaviour

You have almost certainly changed your behaviour because of a picture. Perhaps you slowed down for a sign, put a coin in a tin, or left a product on the shelf because the pack put you off. None of those decisions took more than a second or two.

Thom Noble and Darren Bridger · 2026-09-17

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Audio & Sonic Branding
5 min read

How Sonic Logos Build Brand Recognition

Sonic logos give brands a distinctive route into recognition and emotion. The strongest are simple, meaningful and reinforced through consistent use.

Sas Thompson · 2026-09-08

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Consumer Neuroscience
7 min read

How Your Brain Decides Within 3 Seconds

The choices that drive purchases are made quickly and mostly outside awareness. The smartest research measures those first few seconds.

Darren Bridger · 2026-05-03

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

New Evidence On What Makes Packaging Work

Designing effective packaging is a challenging business. Not only must you win over shoppers within seconds, but you must do so against the ever-evolving range of competitors on the shelves. Real…

Darren Bridger · 2026-05-03

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Research Methods
4 min read

The Met Gala: A Lesson in Visual Attention

Every first Monday in May, millions of us tune in to the Met Gala for one reason: to look. As each celebrity arrives at the exclusive fashion fundraiser, our eyes immediately see something that makes…

Kiara-Lee Govender · 2026-04-24

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Consumer Neuroscience
4 min read

What Makes Movie Lines Memorable?

Watching the 98th Academy Awards this past weekend, I realised something interesting about the winners: success at the box office or a sweep at the Oscars doesn’t guarantee a movie will be…

Kiara-Lee Govender · 2026-03-18

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Audio & Sonic Branding
4 min read

The Power Of Music In TV Ads

Creating an effective TV ad means grabbing people emotionally within moments and creating an experience that is memorable. Often it’s the soundtrack that makes this difference between an ad that…

Darren Bridger · 2025-11-18

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Behaviour Change
4 min read

From Theory to Practice: What We’ve Learned About Nudging in 2025

Behavioural science has long sought to understand what makes people tick. When Thaler and Sunstein first popularised nudge theory back in 2008, the idea that subtle tweaks in choice architecture…

Micaela Dunn · 2025-09-11

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

AYCE (All-You-Can-Eat)

The most successful companies use customer feedback to drive smarter decisions across their entire business, but traditional ad-hoc market research is slow, costly, and restrictive.

Dr Ben Schubert · 2025-07-10

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

Brand Magnetism

What makes a truly memorable and powerful brand? In this Q&A, we speak with Leo Hadden from BrandOpus about Brand Magnetism, a new science-led approach to testing brand identity developed in…

Leo Hadden · 2025-06-25

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AI & Technology
4 min read

Will A.I. Give Marketers Powers of Super-Persuasion?

Marketing has always been about reshaping how people think and behave, but we're now on the verge of a transformation that could amplify persuasive power beyond anything we've seen before. A recent…

Darren Bridger · 2025-06-12

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AI & Technology
4 min read

What the Rise of A.I. Assistants Could Mean for Brands

One of the ways that A.I. is set to become a deeper part of our lives in the years ahead is through smart digital assistants. We’ve already had voice-controlled assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and…

Darren Bridger · 2025-03-20

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

The Hidden Power of Negative Product Attributes in Market Research

Marketers pay great attention to communicating the positives of a product but often less to reassuring consumers of the absence of the negatives. Yet the latter might be more important in how…

Darren Bridger · 2024-11-25

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Consumer Neuroscience
4 min read

How the iPhone Design Appeals to our Brains

Darren Bridger · 2024-09-06

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

Why we crave ice-cream

At this time of year ice cream is popular in the northern hemisphere. For example,UK supermarket Tesco recently revealed that two thirds of people in the U.K. consume it at least once a week during…

Darren Bridger · 2024-08-02

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Branding
4 min read

Building Disruptive Brands

I’ve spent the past couple of decades challenging marketers to fundamentally reappraise their traditional models of consumer decision-making - and instead to adopt more science-led methods for…

Thom Noble · 2024-06-14

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Branding
4 min read

Embracing Messiness and Creativity in Behavioral Science

As a behavioral scientist at Ogilvy, I've had the privilege of working on challenges for over 80 of the world's major brands and organizations since the practice started in 2012. One of the key…

Dan Bennett · 2024-04-29

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

Using Neuroscience to make engaging visuals

In my 25 years working in consumer neuroscience, studying what makes certain designs more engaging than others, one principle stands out above the rest: the power of simplicity. At CloudArmy, as…

Darren Bridger · 2024-04-26

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

The psychology of chocolate egg packaging

Chocolate Easter eggs bring joy to two key demographics: children (of all ages) and package designers!  For a number of reasons, these products take more risks with their packaging than with most…

Darren Bridger · 2024-03-21

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Packaging & Retail
4 min read

Neuromarketing Insights on the Familiarity vs. Novelty Debate

Marketers often debate whether communications should feel familiar or novel. This dilemma spans branding, packaging design, and advertising. Should marketers make things easy to recognise and…

Darren Bridger · 2024-02-23

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Audio & Sonic Branding
4 min read

The Untapped Potential of Sonic Branding

Brands face an increasingly difficult challenge connecting with consumers in a crowded and noisy marketplace. Thousands of major companies have established visual brand identities, instantly…

Daniel Jackson · 2024-01-02

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Consumer Neuroscience
4 min read

The Neuroscience Of Holiday Gifts

The winter holiday season has longstanding traditions of gift-giving across different cultures. At the risk of overanalysing such an emotional activity, it does offer a fascinating lens through which…

Darren Bridger · 2023-11-29

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Research Methods
4 min read

Is the quality of data you get from your online panelists good enough?

At CloudArmy, we are pioneers in online response-time testing for market research. Our clients value the ability to get deeper emotional and intuitive consumer reactions, quickly, and anywhere in the…

Darren Bridger · 2023-11-03

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AI & Technology
4 min read

Is Your AI Content Implicitly Creepy?

As marketers and brand managers rush to incorporate AI-generated content like chatbots, virtual assistants and AI-created graphics, it's crucial to consider the psychological impact on customers.…

Darren Bridger · 2023-10-26

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Sustainability
4 min read

Removing the hidden barriers to sustainability: The first climate-neutral continent?

Aoife McGuinness · 2023-09-26

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AI & Technology
4 min read

Can Chat GPT Write Great Taglines?

(This article summarises research published in the June 2023 issue of the Neuromarketing Science and Business Association (NMSBA) Insights Magazine)

Dr Ben Schubert · 2023-07-26

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AI & Technology
4 min read

Perception of AI Voices

Darren Bridger · 2023-07-05

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Audio & Sonic Branding
4 min read

Testing the Power of Sonic Logos

Darren Bridger · 2023-06-29

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Research Methods
4 min read

The 6 Rules of Subconscious Reactions to Pricing

Aoife McGuinness · 2023-06-13

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Branding
4 min read

First Impressions: How to Get Consumers to Swipe Right on your Brand

Natalia Wagner · 2023-05-17

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Sustainability
4 min read

Your Brain on Ecolabels

Michael E. Smith · 2023-04-26

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Audio & Sonic Branding
4 min read

Unlocking the Marketing Potential of Audio

The upsurge in interest in Audio continues to accelerate and excite progressive and innovative marketers. More and more are recognizing its undeniably powerful capabilities to draw attention, shift…

Thom Noble · 2023-02-17

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Audio & Sonic Branding
6 min read

OUR FLUID FOUR-DIMENSIONAL ATTENTION

As we move through day to day life, we are continuously shifting our attention to concentrate on our surroundings and process incoming information. The phrase ‘paying attention’ on the surface sounds simple, yet this dynamic shifting is driven by change in the allocation of our brains energy and does not exist in a sin

SARA THOMPSON · 2023-01-25

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Consumer Neuroscience
6 min read

WHY OUR BRAINS LOVE SHINY VISUALS

Recently, I began watching the first season of "Dahmer Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" on Netflix, which features the story of one of the most notorious serial killers in the US. In Episode 4 "The Good Boy Box", Dahmer is speaking to the police appointed psychiatrist, exploring his attraction to shiny objects.

NATALIA WAGNER · 2022-12-13

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Customer Experience
6 min read

THE BENEFITS OF IMPLICIT TESTING

Implicit testing is a powerful tool for understanding how your customers think and, more importantly, feel. It can uncover hidden motivations that they are unwilling to admit to, and does so without the biases and noise inherent in more traditional questionnaires.

DARREN BRIDGER · 2022-12-07

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Sustainability
6 min read

SUSTAINABLE BRANDS AMA WITH DR. MICHAEL E. SMITH

In our last newsletter we invited readers to submit questions to our CloudArmy advisor, Dr Michael E Smith, author of ‘Inspiring Green Consumer Choices: Leverage neuroscience to reshape marketplace behavior (2021, Kogan Page, London). Below are a selection of answers to questions relevant to making brands more sustaina

MICHAEL E. SMITH, ADVISOR · 2022-11-03

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Advertising & Creative
4 min read

The Art of the Oddly Satisfying Ad

There is a genre of videos online, typically on video-sharing or social media websites that are known as "oddly satisfying". They are often described as being stress relieving, pleasurable or even…

Darren Bridger · 2022-10-27

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Sustainability
4 min read

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY

The world is on fire. Outside my apartment in Berlin it is 37 degrees, London was 40 degrees yesterday and there are countless forest fires around the world.

AOIFE MCGUINNESS, CUSTOMER NEUROSCIENCE MANAGER · 2022-09-29

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Sustainability
4 min read

Green Skepticism: Mitigating the Risks to Brands

Michael E. Smith · 2022-09-22

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Sustainability
4 min read

What is ‘Change for Better’ all about?

Maddie Croucher · 2022-09-09

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Behaviour Change
7 min read

HOW DESIGN INTUITIVE ARE YOU?

Following their Nudgestock sessions, Dean Field of Coley Porter Bell, Ogilvy’s branding and design agency, together with Thom Noble from neuro testing specialists, CloudArmy, will be sharing more insights into intuitive neuro design best practises in a forthcoming podcast, loaded with hot tips on how to induce more eff

THOM NOBLE, DEAN FIELD · 2022-07-20

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Consumer Neuroscience
9 min read

CASE STUDY: HOW OGILVY USED NEUROSCIENCE TO MARKET NANOSALAD

Sometimes our most clever ideas are no brainers. This idea holds true for the partnership between Ogilvy Behavioral Science Practice and consumer neuroscience researchers at CloudArmy, who conducted a joint market research study.

NEIL ADLER · 2022-07-12

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Research Methods
5 min read

HOW NEURO BEST PRACTICES CAN MAKE YOUR DESIGNS MORE ENGAGING

In his bestselling book Sapiens, author Yuval Noah Harari describes the impact of the discovery of fire. Not only did fire give humans a weapon and a dependable source of heat and light, but, perhaps more importantly, it enabled us to digest food far more efficiently.

DARREN BRIDGER, CHIEF RESEARCH ARCHITECT · 2022-07-12

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Packaging & Retail
7 min read

HOW WE USE SYSTEM 1 RESEARCH TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE PACKAGING

Most product purchase decisions are made directly at shelf and are made non consciously. Packaging therefore has a critical role to play in influencing product perceptions and in store purchase decisions, especially for food products, where purchase decisions are characterised by low involvement processes.

AOIFE MCGUINNESS, CUSTOMER NEUROSCIENCE MANAGER · 2022-06-08

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Packaging & Retail
7 min read

INTRODUCING OUR INSIGHTS SOLUTIONS

We are excited to announce the release of three new standard solutions: for testing packaging, messaging and branding using our suite of system 1 testing methods. We have named these after our online testing platform: Reactor, calling them Brand Reactor, Message Reactor and Pack Reactor.

DARREN BRIDGER, CHIEF RESEARCH ARCHITECT · 2022-06-01

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Sustainability
16 min read

SUSTAINABILITY Q&A

While there is now widespread acknowledgement among consumers that we all need to make greener purchasing decisions, there is still a gap between these intentions and how we spend our money. Dr Michael Smith, advisor to CloudArmy has recently published a book on this gap and how it might be bridged Inspiring Green Cons

DR. MICHAEL SMITH, ADVISOR · 2022-05-16

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Packaging & Retail
10 min read

THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND OUR RESEARCH APPS

At CloudArmy we have a different philosophy from the traditional legacy market research suppliers. We understand that consumer behavior is driven largely by automatic, nonconscious processes.

DARREN BRIDGER, CHIEF RESEARCH ARCHITECT · 2021-08-03

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Packaging & Retail
3 min read

LIVE AT NUDGESTOCK: WHERE NUDGE MET NEURO

We recently looked at the theoretical approach of how Behavioural Science and Consumer Neuroscience can work together to improve creative effectiveness. The former uses heuristics and mental shortcuts to ‘nudge’ consumers into decisions, blending science with creativity to identify deep insights into what shapes percep

THOM NOBLE, PRESIDENT · 2021-07-05

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Behaviour Change
4 min read

NUDGE MEETS NEURO

Over the last few decades two revolutions have occurred in the science of marketing: One in understanding how our non conscious minds perceive and react, and the other in how we behave. These two new influential fields are having a profound effect on our ability to better understand what makes customers tick and tock:

THOM NOBLE, CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER · 2021-06-08

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Branding
1 min read

A SCIENCE-BASED APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING IMAGERY

Engagement Insights® is pioneered for creatives, by creatives, to enhance, derisk and optimise your creative ideas. It’s a consultancy service that unveils what visual language impacts your brand perception.

DARREN BRIDGER, CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER · 2021-01-28

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Advertising & Creative
3 min read

WHY NEUROSCIENCE IS THE CREATIVE SECTOR’S NEW BEST FRIEND

Historically, the creative industries have not always had the easiest relationship with the rational, survey based approach taken by traditional market research – especially those agencies dealing with the most intangible and emotional content such as advertising, design and innovation. Market research has evolved so t

THOM NOBLE, CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER · 2021-01-28

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Research Methods
5 min read

WHY DO PRODUCTS FAIL?

One of the biggest challenges facing Companies is the rapid turnaround and churn of new products in the marketplace. In 2014, Nielsen reported that 85% of new fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products fail in the marketplace.

KEITH EWART, VP OF INSIGHTS · 2019-04-17

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Customer Experience
3 min read

PASSING KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Knowledge is not Power Working in corporate cultures can lead to bad behaviours. I can speak from experience, having worked in P&G R&D for 24 years.

KEITH EWART, VP OF INSIGHTS · 2019-01-30

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Advertising & Creative
4 min read

FIRST IMPRESSIONS REALLY MATTER

Image credit https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/25860473810 We know First Impressions matter – does your Market Research testing really measure them? I am very excited now to be working with CloudArmy – a Market Research online platform revolutionising the way companies are able to understand their consumers, custom

KEITH EWART, VP OF INSIGHTS · 2018-07-18

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Audio & Sonic Branding
3 min read

THE POWER OF VOICE

Using Reactor to map out the associations evoked by different voices This week at the Cannes ‘Festival of Creativity’ CloudArmy President Thom Noble jointly presented Wavemaker’s pioneering research into the power of voice using CloudArmy’s Reactor platform. Wavemaker Global, a leading digital media agency, are using I

CLOUDARMY · 2018-06-18

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Audio & Sonic Branding
2 min read

CLOUDARMY TEAMS UP WITH WAVEMAKER GLOBAL TO TALK ABOUT THE POWER OF AUDIO

CloudArmy teams up with Wavemaker Global to talk about the power of audio At this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Cloud Army President Thom Noble will unveil a new approach to scientifically testing audio. In conjunction with leading digital media agency Wavemaker Global, Thom will co present

CLOUDARMY · 2018-06-15

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Customer Experience
4 min read

PREDICTING PREDICTIONS WITH IMPLICIT RESPONSE TESTING

Our minds exist to predict. Every thought, emotion, opinion, decision, or sensory experience is a prediction about the nature of our world and our place within it.

ANDY BARON, VP OF PRODUCT · 2018-05-07

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AI & Technology
3 min read

CLOUDARMY AND NEUROSTRATA

NeuroStrata today announced a joining of forces with CloudArmy a move that seeks to transform the ease with which system 1 insights can be accessed by clients, agencies and academics. Science and technology are swiftly transforming the way we go about understanding our consumers.

THOM NOBLE, PRESIDENT · 2018-02-19

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