Millward Brown says facial coding improves understanding of emotional engagement through its emotional and cognitive metrics, which could lead to better decision-making in ad content, messaging, creative development and cut-downs.

“Facial expression analysis is very compelling for emerging markets where cultural norms can make it even harder for people to give negative or potentially embarrassing feedback,” said Graham Page, executive VP of Millward Brown’s neuroscience practice. “We are already seeing powerful insights from emerging-market Link studies that include facial coding analysis.”

In one example an advertisement in India included shot showing a man’s hand touching his wife’s bare midriff. When interviewed about the ad, most of the female viewers gave a generic response about that action. However, the moment-by-moment analysis of expressions captured by facial coding indicated that this particular shot was the most emotionally engaging moment of the ad. As a result of this insight, the advertiser kept this important scene in.