Insight Research has drawn on social science theories to develop a technique called psycho-ethnography, which pinpoints the emotional triggers that lead consumers to buy certain products.
The technique uses data culled from observing consumers in their natural setting to provide advertisers with information about the subconscious factors that influence shopping.
Mark Ingwer, Insight Research founder and president, said: "It allows you to see things that are there that are not accessible to the untrained eye.
"Because 90% of what we communicate is non-verbal, simply asking a person how they feel about a brand might not reveal their true intentions. We understand consumers as people first and then as having wants and needs in the marketplace."
Insight Research has applied the psycho-ethnography technique to identify the different emotional needs satisfied by theme parks Universal Studios and Disneyland. It has also been used to identify key words to avoid when marketing pharmaceuticals to HIV/AIDS patients.
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