Re: Measurement & tracking method: eyetracking shows contributing factors to an ad's visibility

From: James Santagata <james_at_audiencetrax.com>
Date: Fri 08 Oct 2004 07:46:04 -0500

Greg Edwards wrote:

>I like how Jim Sterne puts it:
>> >We are all so inclined to believe that everybody
>> >surfs the way we do - but this assumption has two
>> >major flaws.
>> >1. Nobody surfs the way you do.
>> >2. Nobody surfs the way you *think* you do.
>>
>
>I like how this is put because it's true in relationship to the designers of
>a site or advertisement and the people who view them.
>
>We've collected anecdotal data comparing how people involved with a websites
>business and design look at the page compared to their target audience.
>
>The finding: your audience does not look at the webpage the way that you
>(the creative director, designer, business development person, etc) look at
>your page or advertisement.

It seems to me that if "your" (in the general sense) creative director is not
looking at the webpages they create in the same way their audience does, it
may be high time to find someone new who understands what their role is.

This is often the case, but companies are not aware of it or if they are they
just don't make the hard decisions required to find someone who designs
with the audience in mind from the get go.

For most people (normally the better ones) page/site design is an
iterative process of continual measurement, analysis, management
and improvement but there are always those that are naturally
intuitive/empathic as well who get it right the first time (e.g, PT
Barnums of the world). Very rare but it happens - we call these folks
geniuses :)

In any case, the people involved sure should be looking at what
they design with their audience in mind from the start although
in my experience I've met plenty of creatives/marketing folk who
engage in what I term to be "creative imperialism" where they
 just know what's best for their audience and their audience
better like it.

A lot of chefs engage in "culinary imperialism" as well by looking
down their collective nose at a person who decides to season a
dish to taste after it's left their kitchen. They just know what's
best for you and if you don't like it you are somehow uncouth.

>Now, James Santagata brings up a good question:
>> Which in turn means we all surf differently which would then mean
>> that there
>> is no value in studying how any one person surfs because there is
>> no similarity
>> between any two web surfers on the planet.
>
>Luckily, the answer is there ARE trends across how an audience looks at a
>site/advertisement/anything visual, which is directly effected by design and
>creative choices. (Thank goodness or we'd have no business model!)

Greg, just wanted to go on the record to say that I really like your tool
and think it is very valuable. For companies that understand they need
to design from day one for their audience, your tool can provide the
empirics necessary to determine what the design specifics should be
and/or validate what they've done so far.

The only thing I was questioning was Jim's previous comments that
"no two people surf" alike and "no one surfs like we think they do".
My point was and is simply that there are categories/segments of the
audience that do surf alike and that if we are customer-centric in our
thinking then we are designing for our audience from day one and
subordinating our preferences to the audience. By doing that, the
audience does surf like we think they do, because we have become
empathic and we think and design like they surf because we have
stepped into their world rather than imposing our world on them as
is so often the case.

I don't think we disagree on those points. In this process, your tool
can then validate how close or far we are from that goal.


- James





Received on Fri Oct 08 2004 - 07:46:04 CDT