Lab Watches Web Surfers to See Which Ads Work
Lab Watches Web Surfers to See Which Ads Work
Like other television companies, Disney Media Networks — which includes ABC, ESPN, ABC Family and Disney XD — has long conducted intense consumer research about its programming. But now, as the Web and DVRs uproot the way people consume television, and thus rip apart the industry’s business model, the unit is adding advertiser research as a fresh focus of intense inquiry.
It is relatively easy for Internet companies and their advertisers to measure precisely how often Web site visitors click on advertisements, and which kinds of ads draw the most clicks. But what about those who do not click, the many millions of others whose eyes merely flit across the screen? Disney and other companies say they believe that not nearly enough is known about them — what kinds of ads in which configurations are likeliest to draw them, and hold them?
A good deal is at stake. Although the recession has slowed its growth, nearly $25 billion will be spent on Web advertising this year, eMarketer, an Internet research company, estimates — a mother lode that will grow to more than $37 billion by 2013.
The goal, quite simply, is to increase ad revenue by offering skittish clients serious research about what works and what does not in new media, said Peter Seymour, the unit’s executive vice president for strategy and research. There is also a focus on new forms of advertising in programming shown on actual televisions.
Are ads that play before video clips, known as prerolls, more effective when paired with banner ads? Do animated ads keep viewers’ attention on mobile devices better than live-action ones? How well do so-called watermark ads — an image that sits on part of a Web page like etched glass — affect buyer intent?
The tools are advanced: in addition to tracking eye movement, Dr. Varan and his 14-member team use heart-rate monitors, skin temperature readings and facial expressions (probes are attached to facial muscles) to reach conclusions.
“Completely invaluable” is how Tracey Scheppach, video innovations director for Starcom MediaVest Group, describes Disney’s work. “Everybody is trying to figure out the ad models of the future, but nobody is doing it on this scale,” she said.
Other companies are also pursuing this type of research. The rise of new media platforms paired with the ubiquity of DVRs has made it a business imperative for television companies, especially since advertisers now pay rates based on how many people watch the commercials. (For decades, largely because the technology could not measure audiences so finely, advertisers paid rates based on how many people watched programs.)
The (Disney) facility, which operates seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., has eight research rooms decorated as living rooms or home offices, with hardwood floors, soft lighting and comfortable furniture. There is also a theater that allows a dozen people to participate in a simultaneous experiment. Disney’s investment is estimated to be in the low seven figures.
The rooms are built around a central command post, where researchers scrutinize participants via video monitor — one room has 20 cameras — and through one-way mirrors.
Dr. Varan cautioned that more research was needed before the media industry caught up with the evolving way people consume its product. He equates Web advertising to the early days of television advertising, noting that networks just relied on the radio model they knew.
“Everybody is still shooting in the dark,” he said. “We’re trying to turn on the lights.”
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Published in New York Times online edition on July 26, 2009