Will society remember three-second video ads on their mobile phones? Do high-definition commercials on big screens get people’s hearts racing more than other pitches? Is the sports ticker crawl distracting or does it add value to the 30-second TV spot?

A laboratory in Austin, Texas, to be founded by The Walt Disney Co. by the end of the year aims to reply these questions and more by analyzing the biometric reactions of a pool of up to 4,000 humans to advertising that takes advantage of the latest technology.

In a controlled living room setting, scientists will measure heart rate and skin conductivity and track the gaze of participants who are exposed to new ad models by the Net, mobile devices and TV screens.

The first results are expected by early 2009.

The media giant, which owns ABC and ESPN, is seeking to learn whether consumers are more engaged by new and interactive ads and ultimately whether the company can charge more

Disney planned to announce the formation of the lab to advertisers attending its upfront sales pitch for the coming TV season in New York on Tuesday.

“One of the reasons for engaging in an initiative like that is to determine, once and for all, whether there is additional value,” Artie Bulgrin, senior vice president of research and sales development for ESPN, told The Associated Press.

The sports media juggernaut says subscribers to its premium high-definition channels were economically better off and considers them more appealing to advertisers. Now, it will clinically pop quiz whether HD ads have more impact, Bulgrin said.

The lab will be headed by Duane Varan, executive director of the Interactive Television Research Institute at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.

Varan said biometric evaluating helps cut to the heart of audience reactions to visual ads, which can sometimes be missed by focus group surveys.

“TV…

Orginal post by Top Tech News