Industry News
| by Austin Gamble
Rate those Creatives
I’ve always fancied myself as an advertising guru. Not in the hands-on sense, but more in the kibitzer sense.
I love to rate ads, and I normally have an instant gut feel whether it is good or bad. Of course, unless it is an
extremely poor ad, a lot of the evaluation is subjective.
➲ This solar car, on display on the grounds outside 3M’s head office, has a message, which in the case of VAS, is spot on
E
ven industry professionals have
intense arguments about the merits
of an ad, and at the end of the day
the debate rages, because subjectivity is
a slippery thing. However, help is at hand,
and it comes in the form of the recently
launched Visual Attention Service (VAS)
in South Africa, courtesy of 3M. VAS is a
powerful web-based visual analysis tool,
providing detailed guidance for maximising
visual impact using key elements such
as colour intensity, contrasts, edges and
faces. It digitally evaluates and predicts
which elements of a visual scene viewers
are most likely to process during the first
few seconds of seeing it. Something similar
to my instant gut feel, except now it can be
quantified.
3M tells us that VAS can be used for
practically any type of visual creation
execution, including print and online
adverts, websites, banner ads, signage,
packaging, direct mail, e-mail, billboards,
planograms (what the hell is planograms?)
and even virtual reality, among others. 3M
further tells us that VAS uses algorithms
derived from thousands of eye-tracking
studies. And it works for everyone, as
behaviour research shows that age, gender,
and experience have little effect on where
people initially look.
Essentially VAS is a tool best
used during the design process
to achieve pre-determined visual
goals. It is important to note that
VAS is designed to aid marketing
gain additional attention – it does
not predict whether a marketing
strategy, tactica l execution or media
➲ Peter J Leonard, International Market
development manager, 3M Commercial
Solutions Division, explains the ins and
outs of VAS at a media briefing at 3M’s
head office in Woodmead, Johannesburg,
on 6 March 2014
The software uses a computational model
of visual attention to make initial fixation
predictions.
“Using signal detection ResponseOperator- Characteristics (ROC), 3M
found that the model was able to predict
human fixations at approximately 85%
of the theoretical limit of eye-tracking”,
says Kelly Canavan, market development
manager, Visual Attention Technologies &
Applications at 3M.
| words in action
72
april 2014
strategy will be effective.
Getting back to planograms. I looked it up
on Google and it is just a fancy word for
merchandising displays, and this is where I
believe VAS can be very effective in the retail
environment, and with specific reference to
the automotive industry, VAS can be a killer
when it comes to making the retail area of
a spares shop more exciting and attractive,
and of course, for promotions in that area.
And the cost is not prohibitive.
A no-brainer for anyone who wants
to stand out from the rest.