SPARK Media to release its eye-tracking study results in March

"Just because you can see something doesn't mean that you will see it," says Mike Follett, managing director at Lumen. "Lumen's eye-tracking technology helps us understand what people look at."

According to Lumen, the methodology also measures what is remembered or able to be recalled as the crucial metric. This is because what you can't remember cannot be acted on.

"With attention at a premium in our multi-device dominated world, it's more important than ever to understand the reality of visual attention on memory and the ability to recall messages," adds SPARK Media's marketing services and research director Debbie McIntyre.

"We've created an efficient media shopping mall for consumers with all the relevant ads and inserts in our newspapers every week, and we know they're well-read," McIntyre says. "But our recent research findings from Lumen have also confirmed that times are incredibly tough for our readers — and getting tougher — so it's crucial that we understand exactly where their attention is when it comes to our platforms."

Eye-tracking, according to Lumen, allows the company to "see exactly what people do, not what they say they're going to do". By measuring automatic responses and questioning respondents afterwards, Lumen can utilise this information to gain consumer insights.

The results will be shared at industry presentations in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Interested parties are invited to email [email protected].

For more information, visit www.sparkmedia.co.za. You can also follow SPARK Media on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.