Knowledge Base

Online Facial Expression Analysis

FaceReader Online is a platform for facial expression analysis via the web. You can send your participants a link that will open a video in their browser. While they watch it on their own computer, anywhere and anytime, the webcam records their facial expressions. The service can easily be incorporated in a web-based survey. While the data is being collected, you can log into the platform and watch the results come in. The analysis is based on FaceReader software, which is used worldwide at more than 600 institutes. The results that FaceReader Online currently gives are six basic emotions and neutral, plus valence and arousal. This can be a valuable addition to your marketing research.

FaceReader Online

In a Nutshell

• Based on widely used validated FaceReader technology.
• Get quick results from a diverse population from all over the world.
• Get insights into implicit emotional processes.
• Run a study in a natural environment.
• Do cost-effective pretesting of your video materials.
• Integrate it with your survey tool software.

Implicit Measures Give Valuable Insights

The world is full of messages that we cannot process consciously. However, often in survey research we ask people to comment on something afterwards, while this is not the usual way people process the information. In some cases, implicit processes can predict behavior better. For example, especially when people are uncertain about their decision or when they do impulse shopping, they are more influenced by implicit memory processes. It is therefore useful to also measure automatic responses of people while they experience something, in addition to asking them retrospectively.

Emotional Impact Is Important

So many processes occur not entirely within conscious awareness. Especially information with emotional value has an impact on memory and decision-making. A structural modelling study argues that it is best to do this by measuring the affective non-verbal response instead of the cognitive response. Furthermore, there is a relation between happy facial expressions and purchase intent and in-market performance. Thus, measuring if people are responding with laughter or frowns is a valuable addition to just asking whether they liked the commercial.

Facial Expressions and Online Measures

Benefits of Online Testing

FaceReader Online allows testing to occur at home or another setting outside the laboratory (restaurant, school, office, etc.). These more natural environments can elicit a more 'real' emotional response. It also makes it possible to reach and compare a very broad audience, for example in different cities or countries.

When you do not have to invite participants to your lab or office, it becomes easier to get large numbers of participants. It saves costs, since you can let people do a short study and do not have to pay for travel expenses.

Limitations of Online Research

There are also some limitations when doing online research. The quality of the recordings could be lower, due to bad lighting or low quality cameras. You do not control the setting, so camera position could also be suboptimal. It is likely that you will have to exclude more participants than in a lab study, but with the lower costs, you can easily compensate by inviting more participants. In addition, if you are interested in small and specific facial movements, you are better off inviting participants to your lab. Still, FaceReader Online can be ideal for testing your material before you run a lab study.

Relevant Use Cases and Comparisons

Questions You Can Study

Whether you are a market research company, a marketing agency, or a university researcher, you can find relevant questions to study with FaceReader Online. It is especially suitable for testing a commercial or other type of video. Some relevant questions include:

• What are reasons for high performing or low performing ads?
• What message works best for your brand?
• Are you reaching the right target audience?
• Which part of the video has the strongest emotional impact?

With FaceReader Online you can visualize the entire emotional journey that people experience while they watch the video. When you look at the valence (which combines happiness and negative emotions), you see the impact of the video with only one line. This is useful when applying the famous peak-end rule from psychologist Daniel Kahneman, which states that people usually remember the peak and end of an experience the best.

Finding the Right Comparisons

Since there is a wide range of videos and commercials, make sure you create a good comparison. FaceReader Online has an easy to use comparison insight feature that highlights relevant differences between, for example, a video or audience. You can compare new and old videos to see the improvement over time, and compare the effects of your message within the most suitable population.

Remember that, like many other implicit measures, facial expressions can be subtle. People respond differently to certain parts of a video, and results should be interpreted within the appropriate context.

Source: EthoVision XT 18 - THC - Trial and Hardware Control, Noldus Information Technology