12 January 2023 Luca Martorano
Journal of Experiences
Imagine a company that is about to launch a new product, committed to choosing the advertising content that is worthy of a green light, evaluating the estimated results of each alternative in terms of performance.
The consultation of advertising tools, which are used to manage online advertising campaigns, certainly provides us with truthful data that must be taken into account. Through these tools we can estimate with near certainty whether our content will be seen by 1,000 or 10,000 people, according to our investment level.
But with the same investment, which content can best convey the desired product and brand values? How can a company invest in content – and therefore in the experience it will bring to customers – with the certainty that it is the best possible solution?
The answer is, once again, one and only one: by directly involving those who will live that experience, the end customers. It is with this approach that, together with UniCredit, we conducted research to identify the best advertising banners, analysing the variables capable of capturing customers’ attention.
Technology and listening to people: our test with UniCredit
The goal of this test was to understand, with the help of people, which of the three proposed banner alternatives was able to better capture customers’ attention. With the support of psychophysiological techniques and equipment – in particular Eye Tracking – we were able to monitor the eye movements of UniCredit customers who took part in the experience and understand which of alternative performed better.
To conduct this test, the people involved were divided into three groups and shown the three different banner versions, alternating different backgrounds. The banners were presented within real contexts, such as newspaper pages, randomized and alternated with “distracting” banners, used as a control condition.
After the viewing session, we carried out what we consider to be the most precious phase of any design project, listening to people and their perceptions, which, combined with psychophysiological surveys, allowed us to identify the most pleasant and efficient advertising variant.
Research applied to online advertising: the TSW approach
This type of activity therefore allows not only to understand what people’s preferences are by observing their behavioural cues (implicit reactions), but also to compare the latter with their personal opinions and preferences, by attentively listening to their needs.
This comparison offers the opportunity to understand whether or not there are differences between implicit behaviours and what is declared. This is a key step as it allows for consistent, reliable, and concrete results that are useful for setting up any service made for people, thanks to their direct involvement.
An approach to research and design that has always characterized us and that we apply transversally – from online advertising to communication strategies – because we believe that only in this way can we build truly quality (and therefore high-performance) experiences.