Banner Blindness
Post By: Cassie Renner- President, AAF Kent
I was sent an interesting article regarding consumer blindness to banner ads. Using eye tracking studies, marketers have learned the patterns we make with our eyes show we have learned to avoid banner ads. Using different designs and layouts of banner ads, new research has shown how to get your banner ads noticed. Franck Largeault’s research for his dissertation is the basis for this article and it provides great insight. (This could also be a great topic of discussion for Dr. Coomb’s “Bad Science” examples because previous research had only used small sample sets, Largeault used a sample of over 300 subjects.)
Because surfing the web is an active, goal-oriented process, we are constantly searching for relevant information. Banner ads are seen as rarely useful, we tend to filter them out and ignore them. Banner blindness exists, so what do we as marketers do to improve our visibility?
“What Largeault discovered is that banners composed of artwork have a much stronger effect on memory and future recognition than banners that consist mainly of text or links. The difference is large and unmistakable: Visual banner ads have almost double the impact of textual ads.”
We must use banners to increase awareness and future recognition. He also says that the more simple the ad is, the more effective it is. The overall concept Largeault’s research shows is that banner ads are to act more as a logo (immediate recognition) rather than a tool for getting a direct response. Very interesting article with links to Largeault’s website so you can examine his research first hand.
