who’s got their eyes on your adverts? Eye tracking Schiphol

Every day, hundreds of thousands of travellers make their way through Schiphol, and pass dozens of media objects from a variety of brands. But how many of those passers-by actually have their eyes on your advert? In order to measure the effective reach of media objects, we worked with Ipsos marketing agency on an extensive eye-tracking experiment. By looking at the adverts from a traveller’s perspective, we learned what’s needed to make sure your expressions are as expressive as they can be.

I spy with my little eye…

As part of the qualitative investigation, dozens of travellers wore special, high-tech glasses as they walked through Lounge 2 and the G-Pier. The travellers didn’t know what we were studying – that might influence the results. Researchers followed the travellers’ eye movements. What did they look at? How long did they look? And how often did they notice the same message? Every participant was categorised as either a business or leisure traveller. We also noted whether they started their journey at Schiphol (OD) or were just transferring through it on their way to their destination (Transfer). Afterwards, we asked them a number of questions, including what they could still remember about certain adverts.

What did we see?

In total, we tracked 74 travellers. We analysed their eye movements and answers. Here are some of the most important insights at a glance:

  • Passengers who come to Schiphol more often, and therefore know their way around, generally see more media objects.
  • This means that business travellers see more media objects – especially in Lounge 2.
  • Travellers – and leisure travellers in particular – remember media objects on the Pier better.
  • Objects with a relevant message (like product messages in the shopping area) work best.
  • When choosing the location of media objects, it is crucial to consider the type of passengers you want to reach (OD or Transfer).
  • High contrast with the background has a strong influence on the percentage of people who make eye contact with your advert.

Curious how we arrived at our conclusions? Or want to see more detailed results? Download the complete report here.