Why Ads Work Better at 35,000 Feet

Have you noticed that emotions are heightened when flying? I'm not talking about the numerous fist fights on the now-defunct Spirit Airlines.  I mean that we're more apt to cry watching movies, have warm thoughts about our loved ones, and feel increased empathy for the mom with frenetic toddler.

During flight, most of us view entertainment on seat back screens or on our phones using the plane's Wi-Fi.  In exchange for this "free" service, ads are shown.  The US communication company Viasat, which provides satellite broadband service to airliners, wanted to know if ads in-flight were as effective engaging the brain as ads viewed on the ground.

That's a great question. But, what should be measured and how to do this on a moving airplane seemed nearly impossible.

This is where Viasat's research partner Ogilvy stepped in.  Ogilvy determined that Viasat really wanted to know if ads in-flight were more or less persuasive than ads viewed at the airport.  And, if there was a difference, why.

Ogilvy is a long-term Immersion partner and they knew that Immersion is the most accurate neural predictor of purchases after viewing an ad so measuring Immersion was a no-brainer (sorry!).  Importantly, Immersion is the only neurotechnology that can precisely and accurately measure brain responses anywhere, including on an airplane in flight using the ImmersionLive kit.   

ImmersionLive does require an app download, or Wi-Fi, or any other type of connectivity.  Rather, data is collected on non-intrusive arm-worn devices.  When the plane lands—or any other experience ends—one need only wave participants' wearables over an iPad and in two minutes or less, detailed results appear showing the second-by-second neurologic value of the experience (Immersion) as well as participants' psychological safety.  Copious client use as well as peer-reviewed research has shown that neurologic Immersion is strongly positively associated with purchases, information recall weeks later, and experience enjoyment.  

In the Viasat study, Ogilvy found that neurologic Immersion was 12% higher during the first 10 seconds of in-fight ads, compared to ads watched in the airport.  Overall, ads on planes sustained 8% greater Immersion compared to on-the-ground viewing.  This translates into a 4% sales lift for ads watched while in-flight.  Interestingly, average Immersion for ads at 35,000 feet decreased with age.  Immersion during an in-flight ad was 25% higher for 25 year olds compared to 55 year olds.  The boost in Immersion in-flight suggests ads on planes may be a more effective way to message older people who may already be less influenced by ads wherever they see them.

Science interregnum: Here's why people are more emotional at 35,000 feet.  First, traveling is stressful and tiring.  Stress and sleep loss diminish the brain's regulatory system for emotional responses located in the prefrontal cortex. As a result, traveling causes "disinhibition." This is accentuated by the stress of turbulence and the stress of delays.  Second, airplanes are pressurized to between 6,000 and 8,0000 feet of elevation.  This produces mild hypoxia in which oxygen getting to the brain—its fuel—is reduced by 25-30%.  This causes even greater disinhibition.  The third reason is social isolation.  Do you really want to talk to the person next to you?  OK, I do, but I'm not normal.  Our brains are designed for social engagement and not knowing who is around us is stressful.  This further reduces the brain's ability to regulate emotional states.  

While disinhibition helps explain bad behavior on planes, it also puts the extraordinarily good behavior we often see in context. This varies from lifting someone's heavy luggage out of an overhead bin, to letting those who are late for another flight off the plane first, to our sense of gratitude to the flight crew for getting us safely back on the ground.  The Viasat  study using the Immersion platform confirmed this: passengers experienced 14% lower psychological safety while flying compared to the average on the ground.

We thank our friends at Ogilvy and Viasat Ads for doing this super interesting study.  The cool thing for us Immersion folks is that we don't have to think of every interesting experience to measure: By building a platform anyone can use to measure Immersion, optimizing experiences is easy and can be done any place people are doing interesting things.  Even at 35,000 feet.

The new ImmersionLive kit makes is simpler than ever to measure neurologic Immersion.  Perhaps the next measurement will be deep under the ocean!  Wherever people have a desire to quantify the Return on Experience, Immersion is there.  Schedule a demo of ImmersionLive on this link.