The 3rd International Neuroscience, Media and Economics Conference was held in Madrid on 17th October. PortAventura Business & Events, a sponsor for the event, interviewed one of the speakers, Mónica Deza.

Mónica Deza is Vice President of Innovation at McCann Worldgroup Iberia, the leading media group and most awarded in our country, and she runs the Communication Neuroscience Unit there. She is an expert in marketing communications and forerunner of the incorporation of these communication technologies: two-dimensional codes and augmented reality.

She specialises in achieving results with innovation and creativity in the new digital paradigm. She is also President of the Ibero-American Association of Neuroscience Applied to Communication and Economics (AINACE) and Chairwoman in Spain of the Neuromarketing Science & Business Association (NMBSA).

What does cognitive neuroscience bring to the world of communications?

Bringing the world of science together with the business world in general, and within the framework of communications in particular, already implies a major change in our profession.

In the case of cognitive neuroscience, it allows us to better understand the decision-making processes of an individual, it allows us to fill in the information « gap », which still exists with traditional research methods, between the declarations of intent to purchase and the measurement of actual purchases.

To what do we owe the current interest in neuroscience applied to communications?

First of all I must say that we are still at an experimental level in some projects, whereas others have been proven. Technology, as in many other fields, allows us to identify and measure variables that were unthinkable just five years ago. The work to disseminate knowledge on the possible applications of these scientific disciplines has also been very important. At AINCE we try to bring together those professional organisations and institutions that are ready to make serious and dedicated progress in this area.

Why is it such a great discovery to have detected the human brain’s capacity for subconscious perception?

The great find is not so much subconscious detection, which we have known about since last century, but the important role it has in the decision-making process of the human being and the decisive influence of our « emotional backpack » on who we are, what we do and how we think as a society and as individuals.

What was the overriding impression of the 3rd International Neuroscience, Media and Economics Conference  held in Madrid?

The effort involved in holding a conference of this nature and level in Spain is absolutely incredible. It is made possible by companies like PortAventura. I’m especially happy with the successful attendance (in person and by streaming for the first time this year to Latin America) as well as the number of compliments we have received and the huge degree of interest aroused.

Can feelings and emotions come into event organisation?

Not just ‘can’, they should! The level of success of an event is closely related to its fun, positive and emotional intensity.

What is the future of neuromarketing in Spain?

I hope that the development of neuroscience advances greatly over the coming years not only in the area of communications, but in many other areas and that Spain achieves status as a country  of reference for research in this area.