Biometric tests predict Super Bowl ad buzz

US-- Media research agency Innerscope claims that its biometric measures of emotional response to the 2008 Super Bowl ads provided strong predictions of the number of people who viewed and discussed the ads online.

Innerscope invited thirty volunteers (15 supporters from each side) to get together in a room to eat and drink and watch the Super Bowl while wearing biometric vests. These measure their heart rate, breathing, skin conductivity and body movement. The lightweight vests, which are modified versions of products made for the healthcare industry, were combined with video observation and eye-tracking, allowing the researchers to track responses to the 52 national ads moment by moment.

The firm said its method was more effective in predicting audience figures and buzz generated by the ads on the Super Bowl MySpace page than either the ratings given to ads by users of the site, or USA Today's Ad Meter, which involves a panel of viewers turning a handheld dial while they watch the ads to indicate what they like and dislike.

The biometric test was also more effective in predicting the long-term buzz generated by the ads, Innerscope said, with the accuracy of its predictions increasing as the weeks went by.

Innerscope CEO Carl Marci said: “From a study of just 30 people, we predicted the behaviour of millions, and did it more accurately than other measurement methods.”

The firm's president and co-founder Brian Levine told Research: “We're looking for synchrony. We have thirty people in the room – if one of them leans forward it might not mean a lot, but what if they all lean forward? We're looking for the ‘gunshot moment' – the moment when everybody reacts.”

Levine said: “If you give someone a survey, they watch an ad and you can ask maybe ten questions. We get thousands of data points. We can provide an incredible level of detail within a commercial, a TV show, a website, shopping experience… We can work out what's engaging people, what's driving their behaviour, what are the key moments. If there's a specific image in the ad that's getting a really big reaction we can advise on making that the centre point – or to remove it if it's turning people off.”

Innerscope is now planning a larger scale test for this year's Super Bowl, and is talking to online buzz tracking firms to try to gather as many behavioural indicators as possible.

Author: Robert Bain