The influence of banner advertisements on attention and memory: human faces with averted gaze can enhance advertising effectiveness

Research suggests that banner advertisements used in online marketing are often overlooked, especially when positioned horizontally on webpages. Such inattention invariably gives rise to an inability to remember advertising brands and messages, undermining the effectiveness of this marketing method. Recent interest has focused on whether human faces within banner advertisements can increase attention to the information they contain, since the gaze cues conveyed by faces can influence where observers look. We report an experiment that investigated the efficacy of faces located in banner advertisements to enhance the attentional processing and memorability of banner contents. We tracked participants’ eye movements when they examined webpages containing either bottom-right vertical banners or bottom-centre horizontal banners. We also manipulated facial information such that banners either contained no face, a face with mutual gaze or a face with averted gaze. We additionally assessed people’s memories for brands and advertising messages. Results indicated that relative to other conditions, the condition involving faces with averted gaze increased attention to the banner overall, as well as to the advertising text and product. Memorability of the brand and advertising message was also enhanced. Conversely, in the condition involving faces with mutual gaze, the focus of attention was localised more on the face region rather than on the text or product, weakening any memory benefits for the brand and advertising message. This detrimental impact of mutual gaze on attention to advertised products was especially marked for vertical banners. These results demonstrate that the inclusion of human faces with averted gaze in banner advertisements provides a promising means for marketers to increase the attention paid to such adverts, thereby enhancing memory for advertising information

Testing QCD Sum Rules on the Light-Cone in D->(pi,K) l nu Decays

We compare the predictions for the form factors f_+^{D->pi,K}(0) from QCD sum rules on the light-cone with recent experimental results. We find f_+^{D->pi}(0) = 0.63\pm 0.11, f_+^{D->K}(0) = 0.75\pm 0.12 and f_+^{D->pi}(0)/f_+^{D->K}(0)= 0.84\pm 0.04 in very good agreement with experiment. Although the uncertainties of the form factors themselves are larger than the current experimental errors and difficult to reduce, their ratio is determined much more accurately and with an accuracy that matches that of experiment.Comment: 12 page

Using QuickMark comments

Using QuickMark comment

How to edit a Turnitin Assignment

How to edit a Turnitin Assignmen

Turnitin/GradeMark accessibility issues - PDF

Turnitin/GradeMark accessibility issue

General comments

General comment

Lepidoptera – A Baseline Study

To provide a benchmark view of the species of butterflies and moths present at Sheepdrove Organic Farm, using repeatable, well-known methods to produce a set of results which can be referred to, and compared in future

Implication of the D^0 Width Difference On CP-Violation in D^0-\bar D^0 Mixing

Both BaBar and Belle have found evidence for a non-zero width difference in the $D^0$-$\bar D^0$ system. Although there is no direct experimental evidence for CP-violation in $D$ mixing (yet), we show that the measured values of the width difference $y\sim \Delta\Gamma$ already imply constraints on the CP-violating phase in $D$ mixing, which, if significantly different from zero, would be an unambiguous signal of new physics.Comment: 9 pages; typos remove

Current Topics in B Physics

I discuss topics of particular interest in connection with the ongoing experiments at the B factories BaBar and Belle: B-mixing, QCD effects in nonleptonic decays and rare decays.Comment: Plenary Talk given at IVth Rencontres de Vietnam, Hanoi, July 2000; 10 page