A recent study conducted by Toronto-based Visiontrack, an eye-tracking tech research firm, has found that OOH signs with three rotating ads were looked at more often than the average poster. The study, commissioned by OMAC members Astral Media Outdoor, Pattison and Viacom, was conducted in the fall of last year and builds on European and U.S. studies conducted in the same vein. The difference? The Canuck study outfitted respondents with eye-tracking devices during an actual 1.5-hour commute (other studies had participants in a simulated environment), recording everything within their field of vision, and tracking objects that they fixated on. ‘We tracked people with different routes at different times during the day in the test markets of Ottawa and Montreal,’ said Rosanne Caron, president of OMAC. Caron adds that respondents were not informed about the ad-tracking component of the study and were simply told that they were tracking the drive to see what they were looking at. The study found the following:
* 55% of OOH ads were noticed on their first drive-by
* OOH ads were looked at 2.04 times on average
* TRIOs (with three rotating ads) were looked at more often than static ads (2.46 times versus 1.91 times for the standard poster)
* 57% of women versus 53% of the men saw the ads
* Passengers were more likely to see ads than drivers (73% versus 52%)
Caron says more studies are planned for the near future.
