MediaScience is the leading provider of lab-based media and advertising research, incorporating a range of neuro-measures including biometrics, facial expression analysis, eye tracking, EEG, and more. With state-of-the-art labs in New York, Chicago, and Austin, MediaScience is discovering actionable insights in advertising, technology, media, and consumer trends.
Dr. Duane Varan, the global authority of neuromarketing research, founded Audience Labs (formerly the Interactive Television Research Institute) during his tenure at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, in 2001. In 2005, he launched the Beyond : 30 Project, a consortium exploring the changing media and advertising landscape, and in 2008, he was approached by Disney Media Networks to set up a dedicated custom research lab on a broader scale – and so MediaScience was born. Though he officially left Murdoch in 2015, he continues to maintain some research links with the University of South Australia and has been widely recognised for his innovative contributions to teaching and the neuromarketing industry as evidenced by a long list of awards and over 90 published academic papers in his field.
Below is an abstract from one of his papers about The Residual Impact of Avoided Television Advertising from the Journal of Advertising.
Abstract:
This study reports the results of a laboratory experiment that compared the effects of partial exposure associated with six major avoidance modes, including DVR (digital video recorder) ad skipping, against each other and against full-attention exposures as controls. The most common form of avoidance, ignoring advertisements (cognitive avoidance), has effects equal to fast-forwarding. Prior exposure increases effectiveness of recall as partial exposures, including fast forwarding, can act as reminder ads, but prior exposure also increases avoidance. Doubling the message of an ad in its sound track increases effectiveness and is the only way to counteract the effects of cognitive avoidance.
Citation:
Steven Bellman, Anika Schweda & Duane Varan (2010) The Residual Impact of Avoided Television Advertising, Journal of Advertising, 39:1, 67-82, DOI: 10.2753/JOA0091-3367390105