CAPITA UTILIZES EEG WAVE MEASUREMENTS TO ANALYZE BEHAVIOR

Capita is in the business of measuring psycho-physiological engagement, receptiveness, and communication effectiveness. Its systems, which measure human attention, utilize electroencephalogram (EEG) and technology licensed under an exclusive agreement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to measure electrical activity in the human brain, or the level of stimulation in response to stimuli.

With the fragmentation of traditional demographics, the proliferation of special interests groups joined globally through the Internet, and the growth of affinity marketing, advertisers are under tremendous pressure to make the message count. The need to optimize media dollars through appropriate content, context, and placement has never been more acute. Amidst such market realities, research to determine the efficacy of advertising, commercial placements and media formats has grown into a multibillion dollar industry.

In September 1995, NextGen Systems, Inc., then Media Solutions, Inc., Capita's predecessor and now the company's wholly owned subsidiary, initiated discussions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Langley, Va. about licensing NASA's software technology. Based upon over 12 years of research, NASA had developed its biocybernetic software system as a method to evaluate automated flight deck concepts for compatibility with human capabilities and capacities.

NASA based its method upon a criterion derived from the study of brain electrical activity, the electroencephalogram (EEG), whose signals reflect mental engagement or attention. NASA scientists selected critical features of the EEG to provide an index of engagement upon which to base standardized decisions, such as adjusting task characteristics within the cockpit, so as to sustain the pilots' full attention to the task while using flight systems in both civilian and military aircraft.

NASA found that a test sample of pilots who exhibited a higher indication of engagement was likely to respond more effectively and was more likely to complete a task more successfully than a sample with a lower engagement indication.

It soon became apparent that the methodology could be used to record and measure a respondent's EEG's in other test environments. As the respondent is subjected to an aural or visual message, brain wave data are captured and simultaneously converted into what Capita now terms the Engagement Index. This index can be used to indicate the respondent's level of cognitive processing- his or her engagement in the tested message.

The human brain works by simultaneously collecting, processing and dispatching electrical impulses in response to stimuli transmitted to it via sensory neurons, which in turn receive transmissions from the brain as it reacts to the neuron's message. The total sum of the electrical activity of millions of neurons, located principally in the cortex, can be observed with the electroencephalograph (EEG).

Most learning, including the communication we receive through advertising, is "incidental," rather than "on-purpose." According to Erik Du Plessis, president of Impact Research (city) and a pioneer in the application of neural network theory to advertising, physiologically, there is no difference between the way that humans learn from advertising and the way they learn most everything else they know... Memories (learnings) are formed by the repeated stimulation of the relevant neural networks... the more attention that is given... the stronger the memory that is 'laid down.' Du Plessis postulates that this process is largely out of the individual's conscious control: to give attention is to form some memory or learning. In Du Plessis' words, "Attention is learning."

Since licensing technology from NASA in 1997, Capita has engaged in research and development to further refine the suitability of the original NASA software and position it for use in real-time and unbiased media and copy testing. For test respondents exposed to various audio/visual stimuli, Capita's system measures the size and speed of brain wave movements (effectively the level of cognitive processing of messages by the brain) during exposure. Capita's methodology tracks the Engagement Index, producing real-time and historical data at the second-by-second level, that yields objective engagement measurement to evaluate both program content and commercial messages.

In anticipation of high demand for its multi-respondent copy testing services, Capita recently secured financing for the construction of its first full-scale multi-respondent copy testing center. Construction has begun, and the testing center is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of this year. The facility will allow the simultaneous testing of up to ten respondents as they view television and Internet advertisements. The center is expected to begin generating revenue before the end of the year. The system is designed to eclipse traditional methods of copy testing, by obviating the need for hundreds of respondents who fill out questionnaires before and after viewing a commercial pod.

For more information, visit http://www.capitaresearch.com.