[MadRiverTurtle]

I don't have access to the NY Times but here's some snippets from other resources...

Disney Unlocks Magic Kingdom of Online Advertising

Disney is conducting detailed research to monitor the effectiveness of online advertising in order to learn more about how consumers react when they see different adverts online.

The company is due to make a presentation today to 200 advertising executives in New York on the findings of its consumer research. Dr Duane Varan, the leader of the Disney study told The New York Times: “Everybody is still shooting in the dark,” when it comes to online marketing, “We’re trying to turn on the lights.”

Whilst there is certainly quite a lot of digital media intelligence around from companies such as Nielsen, comScore and Hitwise which monitor online advertising trends through how often people click on adverts online (otherwise referred to as clickthrough rate), there is very little research that has been done to monitor how consumers observe ads without necessarily clicking on them.

The Disney research uses eye-tracking techniques to see which adverts are drawing attention and which are not. Analysts are observing how small a banner advert can get before it is ignored, how well people respond to animated ads, and where the best ads are placed online.

As well as the eye-tracking scan, heart rate, skin temperature and facial expressions are all carefully recorded and analysed so that the research team can see what works and what doesn’t. “The goal is ultimately to have laws that apply,” commented Peter Seymour, the executive vice president of the strategy and research department responsible for the Disney study.

Disney wants to play a big part in the future of online advertising, a 37 billion dollar industry by 2013 if analyst predictions are on target. “We see this as a very powerful research and development tool for the entire Disney company,” said Artie Bulgrin, SVP of research at ESPN.

Research and Statistics news posted by Frank Hudson 6 hours ago
http://www.directtrafficmedia.co.uk/...845824307.html

Disney Advances Research in Online Advertising Effectiveness

July 27, 2009

* Analysis by: GLG Expert Contributor
* Analysis of: Lab Watches Web Surfers to See Which Ads Work
* Published at: www.nytimes.com

Summary

This report from the New York Times describes the launch of a new scientific research effort by the Disney Corporation to determine the characteristics of online advertisements that are most effective at influencing the behavior of Internet users. The stated objective of the research is to discover “laws” that govern user reaction to ads, in order to provide objective strategic guidance to future advertising clients of the media giant. Some preliminary findings are described.
Analysis

This thought-provoking piece is designed to showcase Disney’s advanced technology and futuristic strategic planning skills as well as to examine, if only implicitly, the state of the art in online advertising. The research ambitiously sets out to discover why Internet users do NOT click ads, as well as why they do.

In terms of futuristic marketing strategy, the Disney research is an instance of corporate early adoption of the nascent field of neuromarketing, which seeks to exploit techniques of cognitive science to identify the origins of consumer behavior. The Disney researchers are described as using physiological monitoring devices to objectively measure the body’s reaction to advertising stimuli, such as watermark ads and “flyout” ads. Importantly, the assumptions underlying the research are not stated in the article. Major among them is that advertising objectives such as brand awareness, brand loyalty, product knowledge and purchase intent can be controlled by the processes being researched.

Online advertisers reading this article may get the impression that currently available online advertising strategies are immature and that something can be done to significantly increase their effectiveness. Anyone anxious to know exactly what can be done will be frustrated by this report, however, as it provides only a glimpse of what Disney is up to, and only a hint of their research conclusions. To get the details, advertisers must be among the privileged 200 clients of Disney to be debriefed in New York on July 28.
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.

Contributed by a Member of the GLG Technology, Media & Telecom Councils
http://www.glgroup.com/News/Disney-A...ess-41909.html

[Eazy]

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...I need an extended warranty...uh oh...I'm about to be inundated by extended warranty banner ads!!!