Published by Kogan Page, the book claims to provide a fresh insight into how our brains work in responding to advertising.
Drawing on information about the human brain to suggest why emotion is such an important factor, Du Plessis provides theories of memory and learning and how they relate to advertising research, as measured by survey research.
Robert Barocci, president and CEO of The Advertising Research Foundation,
"The future of effective marketing, no matter how it is measured, will be linked to understanding and practically leveraging the growing body of knowledge about how the brain receives and processes communication.
"The ARF applauds the work of Du Plessis on significantly advancing the application of learning in this critically important area," he said.
Du Plessis explains how he came up with the idea for the book.
"My inspiration came from my days as a media planner trying to actively demonstrate what advertising works, what doesn't and why.
"I discovered there is no way of escaping that the way consumers think and act is triggered and shaped by the initial emotional response to events, and that includes advertising," he said.
Separately last month, Millward Brown announced it was enhancing its advertising pre-testing research to include emotional responses to advertising and how it impacts consumer buying behaviour.
The improved Link pre-test now includes questions to diagnose the different emotions ads evoke in consumers.
It enables advertisers to consider how and where to use emotion in an ad, as well as detailed analysis of the emotions generated.
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