Global marketing firm Epsilon International, is marrying digital design with neuroscience, using new heat mapping technology to analyse how emails and newsletters are viewed.
The new service is among the first of its kind globally and offers insight into how to best structure the visual components of an individual communication, which the company claims delivers 90% of an eye tracking study’s accuracy at less than 1% of the cost.
Different graphic elements are evaluated in real time, and illustrated using bespoke heat maps to show where users are most likely to search for specific information.
In the similar way to an energy audit, red and yellow areas identify which elements generate a particularly high level of attention, while bluish and transparent areas are those that tend to be viewed less.
Each map features ‘hotspots’ which reveal reader fixation points.
Other features include perception maps; which identify areas a user is most likely to view in the first few seconds, and regions of interest – the role of logos, call-to-action, and bullet points in the visual display.
Until now, analyses like these have only been feasible with considerable time and cost investments. However, Epsilon said the company is able to draw from a decade of neuroscientific research and over 400 eye-tracking studies.
Results can be applied in a number of ways: to test and optimise different campaigns; develop new design templates; analyse prototypes; and carry out quality control during the design phase. Another useful feature is the ability to test campaign-related landing pages or micro sites before they go live.
Jane Finch, Epsilon International’s Solution Consulting Director said: “Marketers have only a few seconds to capture a customer’s attention – White Matter’s technology allows us to optimize digital creative quickly and cost-effectively, providing us with another way to maximize offer take up”
The new service was developed in association with White Matter Labs – a spin-off venture from University of Osnabruck’s neurobiopsychology department in Germany who have been developing the technology for a number of years.
http://www.epsilon.com/uk