Retain viewer’s attention on banner ad by manipulating information type of the content

The influence of phenomenon like Banner blindness and Habituation has weakened researchers’ efforts to highlight the effect of adding salient visual features to ads. On the other hand, many studies discussed advertising attention on the basis of individual pages, neglecting the fact that most ads reside on one of a sequence of webpages that a viewer continuously reads. Therefore, our study discussed advertising attention from a different perspective, switching focus to the information type and their influence on attention in a sequence of webpages. This study, extended from our previous study, in which we found user attention to advertisement to drop sharply beyond the initial page, planned to investigate if it is possible to dishabituate users and enhance viewer‘s attention on banner ads by manipulating the information type of a sequence of content. We found that viewer’s attention on ads can be prolonged on subsequent pages with a rudimentary stimulus variation to content order and without changing any visual design feature of the ad itself, which is prone to the crippling effects of banner blindness and habituation, and that the image-based content inserted between pages of text-based content plays an important role in raising overall attention to advertisement.     

The Effect of Webpage Complexity and Banner Animation on Banner Effectiveness in a Free Browsing Task

The effectiveness of banner advertisements has gained considerable attention among academics and practitioners. Despite the research progress in investigating the effect of banner properties (e.g., animation and location) on user perception and behavior, there is still a very limited understanding of how the properties of a banner and the surroundings of a website on which a banner is displayed can jointly influence its effectiveness. This study used eye-tracking technology to investigate the impact of banner animation and webpage complexity on users’ attention and memory performance. The results show that, during a free browsing task, an animated banner can attract earlier, greater, and more frequent attention from users and lead to better memory performance than a static one. Similarly, a banner on a low-complexity webpage also attracts earlier and more frequent attention among users and results in better memory performance than that on a high-complexity webpage. One implication is that an animated banner or a banner on a low-complexity webpage can provide a promising means of attracting users’ attention and enhancing their memory of the banners. Moreover, this study finds an interaction effect between banner animation and webpage complexity on the time to ?rst ?xation on a banner, but not on the total numbers or duration of fixations on a banner, or users’ memory performance. The finding highlights that an animated banner on a low-complexity website can be the most effective means to shorten the time to first fixation and quickly attract users’ attention. However, it cannot be deemed the most effective in generating greater and more frequent fixations on a banner, or leading to superior user memory performance.     

AdROSA—Adaptive personalization of web advertising

One of the greatest and most recent challenges for online advertising is the use of adaptive personalization at the same time that the Internet continues to grow as a global market. Most existing solutions to online advertising placement are based on demographic targeting or on information gained directly from the user. The AdROSA system for automatic web banner personalization, which integrates web usage and content mining techniques to reduce user input and to respect users’ privacy, is presented in the paper. Furthermore, certain advertising policies, important factors for both publishers and advertisers, are taken into consideration. The integration of all the relevant information is accomplished in one vector space to enable online and fully personalized advertising.     

Tracking users' visual attention and responses to personalized advertising based on task cognitive demand

This study examined the effects of personalization in banner advertising on visual attention to the advertisement. A 2 (ad type: personalized vs. non-personalized) × 2 (task cognitive demand: high vs. low) eye-tracking experiment (N = 93) was conducted to examine how personally salient information attracts consumers' attention, and how it interacts with different levels of cognitive load for given tasks. Consistent with previous literature, participants paid relatively longer and more attention to the personalized compared to non-personalized advertisements. However, task cognitive demand was shown to moderate the effects of personalization on attention, such that the personalized advertisement was much more effective in attracting consumers' attention than the non-personalized advertisement when people were engaged in a highly cognitively demanding task. No significant interactions between personalization and cognitive demand of task were found on perceived goal impediment and attitude toward the advertisement. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

基于印象空间的互联网广告效果评价

互联网广告效果评价是网络营销的核心问题,评价方法存在信息源单一、无差别假、全局假设等问题,对互联网广告效果评价提出了巨大挑战。寻找一种全新的衡量互联网广告效果的评价指标成为亟待解决的任务。首先,创新地提出印象空间概念,作为更有效的网页广告效果评价指标,以解决信息源单一问题;其次,分析用户类型、行为方式、行为过程等特征对互联网广告效果评价标准的影响,消除用户无差异假设所造成的评价偏差;再次,引入网页的局部性特征,分析页面布局、广告与页面内容相关性等因素对互联网广告效果的影响,以消除全局性假设;最后,构建基于多模态特征的印象空间模型来预测互联网广告效果。实验结果表明,提出的印象空间对互联网广告质量评价的准确率显著提升,达到92.4％。而且印象空间模型的预测结果不仅更加准确科学,而且具有明显的可解释性。     

Can avatar and self-referencing really increase the effects of online 2-D and 3-D advertising?

Previous studies have sought insights into how websites can effectively draw sustained attention from internet users. Do different types of information presentations on webpages have different influences on users’ perceptions of the information? More precisely, can combinations of an ever greater number of advertising elements on individual websites increase consumers’ purchase intentions? The aim of this study is to explore changes in web advertising’s verbal and visual stimulation of surfers’ cognitive process, and to provide valuable information for the successful matching of advertising elements to one another. We examine optimal website design according to the personality-trait theory and resource-matching theory. Study 1 addresses the effects that combinations of various types of online advertising can have on web design factor, and to this end, we use a 2 (visual complexity: 3D advertising with an avatar, 2D advertising) × 2 (verbal complexity: with or without self-referencing that is an advertising practice to express product claims in words) factorial design. Study 2 treats personality traits (i.e., need-for-cognition and sensation seeking) as moderating variables to build the optimal portfolio regarding the “online-advertising effects” hypothesis. Our results suggest that subjects prefer medium-complex advertising comprising “3D advertising elements with an avatar” or “2D advertising elements with self-referencing”: high-sensation seekers and low-need-for-cognition viewers prefer the former, whereas low-sensation seekers and high-need-for-cognition viewers prefer the latter.     

多重因素下基于多模态特征的网页广告效果

虽然互联网广告效果的相关研究已取得较好成果,但仍缺乏对网页中各条目与广告间相互作用的深入研究,也缺乏不同因素作用下用户行为和广告效果的透彻分析,广告衡量标准也存在不足。因此,提出一种基于多模态特征融合的方法针对多重因素作用下的互联网广告效果与用户行为模式进行研究。通过对多模态特征进行定量分析,验证广告的吸引力效应,总结不同条件下的注意力效应;针对用户行为信息进行频繁模式挖掘,并结合数据特点提出DFBP算法定向挖掘用户最常见的浏览模式;提出将记忆力作为衡量广告质量的一项新指标,利用频繁模式改进Random Forest算法,融合多模态特征构建广告记忆力模型。实验结果表明,所构建的记忆力模型不仅准确率高达91.64%,且具有良好的鲁棒性。     

The effect of repetition in Internet banner ads and the moderating role of animation

Many advertising repetition studies have demonstrated wear-out effects, and found several moderating variables. In the context of Internet banner ads, this study examines the effects of repetition on attention, memory, and attitude, and identifies the moderating role of animation. By analyzing data on users’ actual visual attention, we found attention wear-out occurs with static but not with animated banner ads, which consequently influences the downstream effects: Compared to a static banner ad, an animated ad barely attracts consumers’ attention initially, resulting in worse memory performance and attitude in the beginning. However, with repeated brief exposures, animated banner ads eventually catch up with the static ads on memory and generate even better performance in terms of attitude. To summarize, animations signal the users the existence of ads and lead to ad avoidance behavior, but after repetitive exposures they induce positive user attitude through the mere exposure effect. Both the theoretical and practical implications are explored for using animation on the banner ads.     

网络广告设计的移位思维

网络广告以最先进的姿态出现在广告媒体当中,它的产生和快速发展有着历史必然性,要想让网络广告带来更多的广告效益还需策划者从多方面进行思考,移位思维就是网络广告设计成功的法宝之一。     

Quantifying the indirect effects of a marketing contact

The Internet banner advertising has become an important marketing channel in recent years. There is a strong demand in the industry to quantify the expected return from a marketing contact. Contacts have both direct effects, such as a banner ad prompting the viewer to click and buy, and indirect effects, such as building awareness so that future exposures are more likely to result in a sale. While it is usually straightforward to track and model direct effects, models that fail to account for indirect effects produce inaccurate estimates of the contact value and allocate marketing resources inefficiently. Our research is based on a relational database for banner ads from a major American internet service provider, which records the complete information about the exposures, the clicks and the transactions. The indirect effect of marketing contacts is modeled with a decaying function of the time since the prospect gets into the system. Discrete survival analysis is used to estimate the marginal effects of each additional exposure. The approach is illustrated with a pedagogical example based on the estimates from the internet banner ad model.     

利用Flash 8实现大容量动态Banner广告

在网页上发布Banner广告已经成为商家必不可少的广告手段。本文介绍了一个解决Banner广告容量小、使用周期短的方案,并从软件工程的角度详细论述了实现方法。     

基于用户行为分析的广告欺诈点击检测

在网络广告业中出现的欺诈点击行为,使得搜索引擎企业以及广告主的利益受到了严重损害,致使点击付费模式遭到质疑,欺诈点击已经成为阻碍网络广告业健康发展的一大顽疾。针对网络广告业发展所面临的此种困境,提出一种基于用户行为分析的广告欺诈点击检测技术。首先创建用户行为数据仓库,然后运用贝叶斯分类方法对用户行为数据进行点击合法等级预测,最后结合博弈控制机制对用户点击有效性进行最终判断。     

基于眼动技术的互联网广告效果研究*

目前,网络广告效果研究中评定广告质量的指标不够准确,广告配置科学性有待提高。因此,本文首次提出观测度的概念,将它作为衡量广告质量的新标准,并结合多种信息源对广告记忆度、兴趣度进行建模。实验结果表明,相比普遍使用显示反馈和广告自身特征,融合眼动特征来预测广告的观测程度准确性有所提高。此外,对搜索引擎结果页上位置不同,相关性不同的广告效果进行了定量分析。实验结果表明,用户的注意力受位置影响显著。广告的相关性在主体上方对注视次数影响显著,而下方和右侧表现不显著。所以可以考虑在主体下方、右侧进行与搜索内容无关商品的推广。     

Individual internet usage and the availability of online content of local interest: A multilevel approach

This paper illustrates whether the availability of online content of local interest affects the likelihood of individuals to connect to the internet and spend more time online. While the literature demonstrates a number of factors which push or enable individuals to spend more time online, we know little about the conditions that pull or attract individuals online. Although we know that individuals use the internet to access information, we do not know whether such attraction forces are relevant at the local scale too. Gaining a better understanding of how such mechanisms work at the local scale can assist our efforts to bridge digital divides, which tend to be geographically clustered. To explore this we utilise innovative data, which contain all the archived webpages under the UK top level domain name (.uk) and we calculate the volume of internet content of local interest at the neighbourhood level using the geolocation information included in the text of these webpages. Specifically, we calculate the radius of gyration for every archived website using the different postcodes included in the archived webpages and then we create an aggregated measure at the neighbourhood level discounting websites that have less of a local focus. We merge this measure of Local Internet Content (LIC) with a large population survey, which contains information about the frequency of internet usage in the UK and estimate the effect of LIC on the likelihood of an individual being a frequent internet user. Multilevel models are employed to utilise both individual and geographical level characteristics. Our results indicate that even after controlling for the individual and geographical characteristics, which according to previous studies affect internet usage, the availability of internet content of local interest still attracts individuals online.     

The impact of context on display ad effectiveness: Automatic attitude activation and applicability

Display and search ads are the most popular Internet ad formats. Instead of being placed on search engine result pages, display ads are placed on webpages that include more actual content. In order to improve online contextual advertising, the effects of webpage content on embedded display ads must be understood. This study investigates how viewers’ attitudes toward content and the applicability of that content to the adjacent display ads impact the effectiveness of those ads. The moderating effects of viewers’ attention and need for cognition are also examined. The experimental results show that webpage content automatically activates ad evaluations, and that this effect increases when viewers pay less attention to the ad or have a high need for cognition. If the webpage content is highly applicable to the ad, improvements are seen in the attitude toward the ad and the attitude toward the brand.     

Hybrid genetic algorithm and augmented neural network application for solving the online advertisement scheduling problem with contextual targeting

Worldwide growth of the online community continues to push the popularity of internet marketing. Fueled by this trend, the online advertising industry is experiencing unprecedented revenue growth. One of the most important drivers of this revenue is banner advertising, which has long been a staple of the online advertising industry. Previous research has introduced quantitative models and solution approaches for the challenging basic scheduling optimization problem. We extend this work by incorporating the most common and popular trend in the in the industry, online advertisement targeting. In addition, motivated by the NP-hard nature of the resulting problem, we propose and test several heuristic and metaheuristic based solution techniques for the proposed problem.     

WhiteScript: Using social network analysis parameters to balance between browser usability and malware exposure

Drive-by-download malware exposes internet users to infection of their personal computers, which can occur simply by visiting a website containing malicious content. This can lead to a major threat to the user’s most sensitive information. Popular browsers such as Firefox, Internet Explorer and Maxthon have extensions that block JavaScript, Flash and other executable content. Some extensions globally block all dynamic content, and in others the user needs to specifically enable the content for each site (s)he trusts. Since most of the web-pages today contain dynamic content, disabling them damages user experience and page usability, and that prevents many users from installing security extensions. We propose a novel approach, based on Social Network Analysis parameters, that predicts the user trust perspective for the HTML page currently being viewed. Our system examines the URL that appears in the address bar of the browser and each of the inner HTML URL reputations, and only if all of them have a reputation greater than our predetermined threshold, it marks the webpage as trusted. Each URL reputation is calculated based on the number and quality of the links on the whole web pointing back to the URL. The method was examined on a corpus of 44,429 malware domains and on the top 2000 most popular Alexa sites. Our system managed to enable dynamic content of 70% of the most popular websites and block 100% of malware web-pages, all without any user intervention. Our approach can augment most browser security applications and enhance their effectiveness, thus encouraging more users to install these important applications.     

The impacts of banner format and animation speed on banner effectiveness: Evidence from eye movements

Given that banner ad investment is huge and keeps increasing, the effectiveness of banners is important for advertising practitioners and is worth attention from academics. Banner properties (e.g. format and animation) may influence the overall effectiveness of banners. However, research on how banner formats (e.g. location and orientation) affect banner effectiveness is still in its early stage and studies on how animation influences banner effectiveness have also found controversial results. By conducting an experiment using eye-tracking technology, this study investigated the impacts of banner properties, especially animation speed and format, on users' attention, recall, and attitudes towards banners. In terms of attention, both the main effects and the interaction effect were significant and the patterns varied across time. However, no significant effects were found on recall and attitudes.     

A framework for intermediated online targeted advertising with banner ranking mechanism

Reinforced by the fast growth of electronic commerce, even during the current global economic downturn, intermediated online targeted advertising (IOTA) has emerged as a promising electronic business model empowered by the Web 2.0 principle. IOTA maximizes the profit of online targeted advertising services by displaying the proper banner contents to certain types of Web users in real time in order to increase the click-through rate (CTR). However, due to severe competition in the online advertising market, the principles and algorithms of IOTA remain highly confidential. This paper is intended to unveil the nature of IOTA. We propose an IOTA service system framework and present its implementation scheme. Specifically, we address the advertisement allocation problem, using an advertisement ranking mechanism and considering the ads impression quota and the time-of-day (TOD) effect. Simulation results show that advertisement ranking in a subset of clusters that actively estimates the quota situation is feasible and efficient.     

基于转化的互联网广告技术研究

基于转化的互联网广告方式根据用户在浏览广告后的购买等行为对广告效果进行衡量,极大利用了互联网广告的独特优势,成为了未来互联网广告发展的趋势。该文介绍了基于转化的互联网广告的运行方式,分析了其行业应用,进一步地总结了该领域的当前研究成果,包括基于转化的竞价机制设计、转化率预测、基于转化的广告排序等。最后在此基础上,分析了存在的问题并展望未来的研究方向。