In the land of marketing, it isn’t uncommon anymore to perform an eye-tracking study to gather consumer insights and monitor habits. Still, this type of research has never really been conducted in a real-life situation—until now.
Tim Froggett, senior lecturer in marketing at Anglia Ruskin University, has developed eye-tracking “beer goggles” and tested them in a bar setting. At a local Cambridge pub, Froggett gathered 20 volunteers (all non-beer drinkers who were unfamiliar with the six beer brands available) to wear the beer goggles in the hopes to examine how they make decisions regarding which beer to order.
The data collected showed how the pub’s guest beer, Artigianale byEverards, received the most attention (with 1,485 glimpses), while the pub’s own best-selling brew, Tram Light, received only 817 glimpses. By eliminating brand memory and focusing completely on attention-based influences, Froggett discovered that when people don’t know a beer brand, the tap handles play a significant role.
While consumer choice and visual attention aligned almost perfectly in this study, more research is needed to determine what exactly on a tap handle grabs people’s attention. Eventually, Froggett will apply this science to the art on tap handles, ultimately helping brewers in their future endeavors.