Attention, Recall and Purchase: Experimental Evidence on Online News and Advertising

We conduct an experiment where subjects read online news articles and are shown ads for brands next to those articles. Using eye-tracking technology, we measure the attention that each individual devotes to each article and ad. Then, respondents choose between cash or vouchers for the brands advertised. Attention to ads is a predictor both of willingness-to-pay for brands, and brand recall. The main predictors of attention include the type of news and the match between individual political preferences and the media outlet.