Measurement of Visual Attention to Advertising Using Eye-Tracking Techniques

Abstract

Eye-tracking techniques can determine where within an image a respondent is looking by measuring fixation time within an area of interest (AOI). This chapter details the results of four recent eye-tracking experiments conducted by the authors. The first presented participants with an image of a composite advertisement containing eight different day trip package and found a significant relationship between visual attention to a particular package (as measured by fixation time) and subsequent intention to purchase. The second study demonstrates that visual attention to an image can be manipulated through the use of textual information. The third experiment analyses the effectiveness of two versions of a tourism print advertising which confirms that advertisements with less text attracts more attention. The fourth experiment investigates the effectiveness of a promotion on a hotel website which did not attract the attention of participants. Together these studies confirm the efficacy of eye-tracking for tourism marketing effectiveness studies.