Eye Tracking in Visual Behavior Research Gives Marketers a Competitive Edge

Did you know that when you look at something, whether it’s a photograph, a webpage, or even the pyramid of tomato soup cans in a retail display, your eyes glance over the object in a series of patterns? Some aspects of the object or scene attract your attention quickly and some receive more concentrated fixation as you look at it. Eye tracking technology has been used to investigate the gaze patterns and fixation intensity as people look at images. This research on the underlying nature of human visual behavior is incredibly valuable to marketing and advertisement designers. A new Visual Attention Service (VAS) developed by 3M uses image processing algorithms based on 30 years of vision science research. Using eye-tracking data on more than 1000 images, the software helps marketers and creative material designers predict where consumers will look.

The online service lets clients upload images of creative materials, photos of retail displays, videos, etc. and provides them with a forecast of initial visual attention. In other words, the program estimates where consumers’ gaze will fall and in which order their eyes will move from one area to the next in the first 3 to 5 seconds of exposure. 3M reports that their program’s accuracy is similar to actual eye-tracking results over 80% of the time. This is valuable to marketers and creative design teams because it unveils which elements are likely to have the most visual power. Using this information, they can modify design layouts or images to optimize effectiveness and ensure that visual targets are achieved.

With the introduction of eye-tracking technology capabilities, marketers now have access to an aspect of consumer behavior that was often overlooked in the past. The challenge for companies is to make consumers see their product even when they’re not looking for it. Having insight into human visual behavior with a program like 3M’s VAS will assist marketers in optimizing their advertizing materials and placing products where they have the highest chance of catching the consumer’s eye. Next time you catch yourself tempted by a bright “On Sale Now!” sign or notice a picture of an attractive model wearing the latest fashion, keep in mind that it’s no accident; it is pure visual behavior research at work.

3M Visual Attention Service

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