Age as differentiator in online advertising gaze patterns
Tanya Beelders, Luna Bergh · 2014
Eye gaze can be used to gauge attention and potentially respond accordingly within the context of interactive advertising. In order to utilise gaze patterns effectively, a model may have to be developed which can interpret intentions based on prior knowledge of gaze behaviour. Gaze behaviour while viewing advertisements needs to be investigated fully before such a model can be built. This study contributes by examining eye behaviour of three groups of viewers while viewing themed advertisements or print media. Findings corroborate those of previous studies in that faces and eyes attract attention. There were marked differences in the way participants paid attention to text with senior participants spending more time on text than their junior counterparts. Additionally, the younger participants followed a typical F-pattern when reading some of the content. In general, the younger participants tended to emulate behaviour found during web browsing, which suggests that advertisements would migrate well to an interactive medium. Image-rich print media resulted in higher concentration on images only, with very little attention being paid to text elements. This observation was common to all participant groups. More in-depth studies are required in order to generate more concrete patterns for a variety of advertisements if a model were to be developed.