Attention Capture and Transfer in Advertising: Brand, Pictorial, and Text-Size Effects

Rik Pieters, Michel Wedel

Journal of Marketing · 2004 · 1K citations · 41 references

Concepts

TL;DR

Brand, pictorial, and text elements each uniquely influence ad attention, aligning with common marketing assumptions. The conclusion is based on an analysis of 1,363 print advertisements examined with infrared eye‑tracking on more than 3,600 consumers. The study found that pictorials attract more attention regardless of size, text captures attention proportionally to its surface area, brand elements best transfer attention to other components, and only increasing text size yields a net gain in overall ad attention, insights the authors suggest can guide more effective advertising decisions.

Abstract

The three key ad elements (brand, pictorial, and text) each have unique superiority effects on attention to advertisements, which are on par with many commonly held ideas in marketing practice. This is the main conclusion of an analysis of 1363 print advertisements tested with infrared eye-tracking methodology on more than 3600 consumers. The pictorial is superior in capturing attention, independent of its size. The text element best captures attention in direct proportion to its surface size. The brand element most effectively transfers attention to the other elements. Only increments in the text element's surface size produce a net gain in attention to the advertisement as a whole. The authors discuss how their findings can be used to render more effective decisions in advertising.

References

41