Out-Of-Home ads on track for success

Advertisers are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their demands for ROI, instantaneity, recall and accuracy. These drivers are making media research critical for the evaluation of audience behaviors to facilitate the development of targeted advertising campaigns.

No one knows this better than the innovative British Out-Of-Home media owner, Limited Space. They partnered with Tobii Insight to use the power of eye tracking insights for ascertaining the efficacy of various media formats for capturing audience attention and enhancing content memorability.

The question

Firstly, Limited Space was keen to measure the impact of different ad formats and especially, their ability to capture the attention of audiences in their environment. The research centered on a campaign developed for a cinema movie release. The second goal was to garner in-depth understanding of the naturalistic behavior of retail destination visitors: what they reacted to, and how they consumed, OOH content. Limited Space would use the data derived from the study to formulate strategic insights they could showcase to clients and their creative teams.

The method

The study was conducted on a normal day in an authentic situation. This was essential for achieving high value insights. Pre-recruited participants, all of whom were not informed of the nature of the study, were fitted with Tobii eye tracking glasses and asked to take individual walks along a pre-determined route in a shopping mall, looking and behaving naturally. This provided the participants with the opportunity to be exposed to multiple forms of advertising, including Limited Space formats – which include Adlift (Lift Door Advertising) and Orbit (large format digital screens). A 10-minute interview was conducted after each walk, with questions relating to what they saw and could recall spontaneously or when prompted. 

The outcome   

It’s fundamental to Limited Space’s business to provide clients with transparency on the performance of their formats and intelligence for creating ads that grab attention and maximise attention spans. Here in this study, the use of eye tracking glasses uncovered that audio helped to disrupt usual behaviors and grab attention when used in digital media - something that is unique to Limited Space’s digital portfolio. Moreover, eye tracking facilitated insights on the efficacy of ad formats, and the most effective placement of messages within the ad designs. As an example, the study proved that 100% of the participants that took the lift engaged with the Adlift, for an average of 5.32 secs, which is a rather long time for visual attention. The survey data showed that the campaign reached a strong 68% recall. 

The eye tracking videos held valuable qualitative behavioral observations that can inform advertisers’ strategies for placement and creation as well as demonstrate real-time interaction examples from retail audiences. 

Three types of visual behaviors were detected, namely window huggers, scanners and navigators – all of which helped to identify unique patterns of behaviour that ultimately informed the media consumption habits of each individual. 

In a recent webinar Limited Space shared further insight from the study and how it influenced business decisions.