What Makes a Television Commercial Sell? Using Biometrics to Identify Successful Ads

ABSTRACT This study demonstrates the potential of certain neurological measures—in particular, biometrics—to identify television advertisements that successfully lead to sales. The researchers, who represent academia and industry, used direct measures of what they believe matters most to marketers: in-market sales response (from single-source data). To the authors' knowledge, the dataset is the largest ever studied: more than 100 consumer-packaged-goods advertisements for 20 Mars, Inc., brands, combined with laboratory testing from more than 1,000 respondents. The goal of the research, funded by Mars, was to identify evidence-based measures to inspire improved advertising practice and to explore the factors behind advertising effectiveness.

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