Toronto’s Acrobat Research has partnered with the newly opened New York office of ad metrics firm MediaAnalyzer to bring the company’s eye-tracking analysis services to Canada. The Hamburg, Germany-based company is ‘expanding to the North American market’ to serve Acrobat’s US and Canadian clients, says MediaAnalyzer VP Charles Boyar.
With a customer base that includes publishers and media market research firms, Acrobat previously tapped into MediaAnalyzer’s web-based AttentionTracking tech for clients, but working with the Hamburg, Germany-based headquarters wasn’t always ideal. ‘The process was successful, but sometimes the time zone difference could cause hiccups in the delivery of service,’ says Acrobat Research VP Jeff Kish.
AttentionTracking measures consumer engagement with areas of an image or ad, marking parts that are likely to have high recall and cause action. The analysis is paired with a survey questionnaire (Acrobat completes over 450,000 interviews annually). MediaAnalyzer reports the eye-tracking service can test ad effectiveness across a multiple touchpoint campaign, including print, outdoor, online, TV, direct mail, retail and point-of-sale executions.
Some companies, such as Unilever, BIC, Cadbury, Verizon, Rogers Communications and Eastlink, have already tested the tech through Acrobat Research. MediaAnalyzer tech is also used by Condé Nast, and Colgate, Proctor and Gamble, Barclays and JCDecaux test and optimize their advertising campaigns.
