Cognitive biases in private branding (an fMRI experiment of over-the-counter drugs)

The present study aims to analyze the neural mechanisms involved in private label choice by means of fMRI. The purpose is to answer the following main question: is the mental process that leads to the choice of the private label similar to that developed for the industrial brand? The experiment in the otc drugs category showed that the private label determines emotional brain activation equivalent to that of the industrial brand; that the price information increases the level of consumer concentration; that the higher the price gap between the private label and the leading brand, the greater the emotional involvement of private label purchasers; that the lower the price gap between the private label and the leading brand, the greater the emotional involvement of leading brand purchasers. The outcome can improve marketing decision process of both retailers and industrial companies.