Do Celebrities Influence Bank Poster Engagement?

In today’s cluttered advertising landscape, standing out is essential - especially in industries like banking where building trust is key. But can celebrity faces really grab attention and drive action in financial advertising? A study by Dr. Ahmet Uyar dives into this question using eye tracking and facial coding, with RealEye playing a pivotal role in capturing consumer reactions.

The Study Setup

This research investigated how consumers respond to bank posters featuring well-known Turkish celebrities Cem Yılmaz and Murat Boz. Two posters - one from İş Bank with Cem Yılmaz and another from Halkbank with Murat Boz - were shown to 33 participants.

To get a complete picture of user engagement and emotional response, the study combined three methods:

• Eye Tracking using RealEye’s webcam-based platform.
• Facial Coding powered by RealEye to measure expressions like surprise and similing.
• Surveys, including Likert-scale questions and memory recall tests.

This multimodal approach allowed researchers to capture both the conscious and unconscious reactions to celebrity-based advertising.

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Key Metrics

The RealEye platform delivered several core metrics:

• Fixation Duration: How long participants looked at specific poster elements.
• Revisit Rate: How often they returned to the same visual area.
• First Fixation Time: How quickly their eyes landed on a particular element.

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What Did We Learn?

1. ‍Celebrities Boost Attention - But Not Always Trust
   Participants agreed that celebrities made the ads more eye-catching. However, this didn’t necessarily lead to increased willingness to buy financial products. This echoes the finding that emotional appeal doesn’t always translate into consumer action.
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2. ‍Text Beats Face
   Despite the star power, most participants focused on the text - particularly the offer details - rather than the celebrity’s face or the bank’s logo. Heatmaps confirmed this trend, highlighting the importance of clear and strategic message placement.
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3. ‍Mixed Recall Rates
   Interestingly, while Cem Yılmaz’s face was more memorable, the message in Murat Boz’s poster was better recalled. This suggests a disconnect between who grabs attention and what actually sticks in the consumer’s mind.
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4. ‍Emotional Response Matters
   Facial coding revealed slightly more smiles and surprise reactions to Cem Yılmaz’s poster - likely due to his background in comedy. Emotional expressions, even subtle ones, can signal deeper engagement.
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5. ‍Demographics Didn’t Change Much
   Gender and education levels had no significant effect on attention or recall. This implies that celebrity impact might cut across demographic lines - but effectiveness still hinges on ad design and clarity.

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What This Means for Marketers

This study reinforces that just having a celebrity isn’t enough. Here are a few takeaways for marketers:

• Design strategically: The message and layout matter more than the face alone.
• Test early: Tools like RealEye let you refine creative before big spends.
• Emotions count: Facial expressions can uncover hidden reactions that surveys miss.
• Measure recall: Memorable doesn’t always mean persuasive - use multiple metrics.

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You can run a similar study!

Follow the steps below to start your own experiment with RealEye:

1. Go to RealEye Dashboard and create or log in to your account.
2. Purchase the License of your choice (https://www.realeye.io/pricing). If you need any custom adjustments, contact us at contact@realeye.io. We are happy to help!
3. Activate your license by following the instructions in the RealEye License Activation Guide

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‍Ready to set up your own study? Visit RealEye Support page to learn more and keep us posted on your results! 🚀