Advertising: Word and Picture Influence on Attention
The key to attention in print-based marketing communication are the words chosen and the illustration; with broadcast communication it is the initial audio (words and music); and with television or the Internet, the visuals. Unfortunately, the reality of advertising is that people simply are not inclined to pay attention because it is the job of advertising to draw attention to itself and resonate with the target audience. Resonance means recognition by the target audience that a particular advert is talking to them about something with which they are concerned. If a person is not in the target audience the advertising is unlikely to resonate, but it should leave a positive feeling for the brand. In order to maximize the gaining of attention, marketing communication must pay careful attention to the ways in which the words in a headline or sub-head and in the initial audio of broadcast advertising are used and how the visuals and video are presented.
In an analysis of words in advertising, Greg Myers has pointed out that “when there are many ads competing for the audience's attention, there is an enormous pressure on finding patterns of language that are unusual or memorable”. (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001, p. 181)
He goes on to suggest that one of the simplest way to call attention to words in marketing communication, at least with the printed word, is to use unexpected letters. This can be accomplished, for example, by using infrequently encountered letters, such as q, x or z, or by deliberately altering the spelling of words.
Another way to draw attention to advertising is to vary the emphasis or stress of certain words in a headline or in the audio content of commercials, or to use them in unexpected ways. Our ear is accustomed to hearing things in a particular way and when it confronts something unexpected, we pay attention. For example, in normal conversation we are not likely to emphasize conjunctions such as or and and . But if the emphasis is placed on a conjunction, it is likely to attract our attention because we are not used to hearing this. A very good example that illustrates what has been stated before is the following line from a cosmetic advert: ‘Diminish undereye circles and discourage their reappearance'. Suppose we heard or saw this line printed with an emphasis on and as follows: ‘Diminish undereye circles AND discourage their reappearance'. This unexpected emphasis on and draws attention not only on the line, but also to the relationship between ‘Diminish undereye circles' and ‘discourage their reappearance'. (Larry Percy, John R. Rossiter and Richard Elliott, 2001, p. 183)
Another aspect of how words can influence attention to printed advertising is the length of the headline. Psychologists have found that when the number of words in a sentence or phrase is less than seven or eight, all that is required to understand what is there is mere exposure. We do not really need to read the words to know what they say, only to see them. This means that when we turn the page of a newspaper or magazine, the reflexive attention we automatically pay briefly to the new page to decide whether or not there is anything there worth paying particular attention to is sufficient to comprehend a headline if it is short enough. This is especially important for poster and outdoor adverts. To work, they must be able to communicate at a glance.
Pictures play a more important role in gaining attention than words and this is especially true in the case of print advertising. Without an effective picture to attract the reader's attention and to draw him to the text it is unlikely the advertising will work. The size of the picture and the use of colour can significantly affect the ability of a print advert to attract attention. In terms of picture size, the larger the image, the more effective it will be. There is an old rule of thumb in advertising that recognition of print adverts increases roughly with the square root of the size of the picture. In other words, if the size of the picture in an advert is increased four times, attention will double.
Regarding the use of colour, in both magazines and newspapers full colour draws more attention than two-colour, and two-colour draws more attention than black and white. While it is sometimes argued that using black and white adverts in a magazine where all the other advertising is in colour will attract more attention because it will stand out, there is no real proof that this is the case.
Pictures, of course, dominate almost all television commercials. In terms of attention, an important consideration is the pacing of the scenes in the commercial. However, it is important to understand that it is not enough to look for pictures that will attract attention because pictures must hold attention. A number of psychological experiments have shown that pictures are recognized and remembered best if they can hold the reader's attention for at least two seconds. This helps explain why attention to television commercials drops when cuts in the visual come too rapidly.
In fact, attention is only the first step in the processing of communication, because it means very little in and of itself if it does not lead to fuller processing of the message for the target audience. Attention to the picture leads to attention to the copy in the headline and this resonates with the target audience it arouses interest in paying additional attention to the complete message. The ability to hold attention facilitates the brand attitude response.
Unfortunately, in creating advertising, too often people are more concerned with just getting attention rather than getting and holding attention. In fact, looking at a picture in a print advert for two seconds is actually quite a long time, especially when we know that the average reader does not spend that much time in total looking at an advert. Frequently an advertisement will use some kind of novelty picture or situation in order to attract attention. |
