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A picture isn’t always worth a thousand words according to research carried out at Aston Business School in Birmingham. Stephanie Feiereisen and Veronica Wong in the school’s Marketing Group compared learning strategies and presentation formats. They discovered that the format of marketing communications influences people's understanding of a product and that for some products, words work better than pictures. The team conducted experiments using a combination of surveys and eye-tracking techniques, examining exactly what people were looking at in a series of specially-created advertisements. Veronica Wong said: “We found that the use of words in marketing communications for utilitarian products, will have the most favourable impact on the learning outcome, whereas for products that are concerned with pleasure, pictures are better.” Stephanie Feiereisen concluded: “This research shows that you shouldn’t assume that pictures are always best, with a utility product, words do work better, so marketeers may need to check that the communication tools they are using are appropriate for the message they are trying to convey.” How this research was carried out: The team conducted experiments using a combination of surveys and eye-tracking experiments, measuring consumer responses to product descriptions conveyed using words vs. pictures. They also collected respondents’ eye movements using an eye-tracking technique. The combination of surveys and eye movement data enabled them to draw inferences on how consumer process information and reach comprehension for a really new product. Two examples of utilitarian products: Intelligent Oven: an oven which also works as a fridge and can be programmed remotely to start cooking. Digital Pen: a pen which transforms handwritten notes into electronic documents. One example of experiential product: Video Glasses: a head set which enables the viewer to watch videos downloaded on a mobile phone on a large screen. Definition of Really New Products (RNPs): Really New Products (RNPs) are radically innovative products that create a brand new category, such as the Sony Walkman or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) when they were first introduced on the market. |
