Where are you looking at, in this image below?
It's most likely that you looked at the man's face and then followed his gaze. Now, may we ask you for the name of the company?
You'll eventually see the logo at the bottom left. The reason you missed it before is because we instinctively look at faces.
Therefore, the faces and facial expressions ad actors are very important. We read faces and check for emotions they express (see also learning 2). Even babies automatically look at faces to find out other people's intentions.
In the same way, your ad viewers will automatically follow the actors' gaze. The same holds for the actors' movements, including pointing gestures. You can use this principle to naturally direct the audience attention towards the elements that you want to highlight, such as a product shot, message or logo.
This applies to all marketing messages and CTAs on websites. You can even use animals to activate the same principle, as long as they look at or point to the information. This also ensures focused attention, enhancing the processing of the visual element.
Nuon (Dutch energy supplier) knows this principle and applies it. Take a look at this example of our Eye Tracking analysis.
As the man starts to move, the viewers' eyes follow the movement and focus on the Nuon logo. When approaching the thermostat, the viewers look at the thermostat and the logo. This way, there is an immediate connection between the brand and the product.
Check out the next learning.
