The Walt Disney Co. is launching an emerging media and advertising research lab designed to "understand the emotional drivers and physiological reactions to advertising."
The facility, launched in conjunction with Prof. Duane Varan, an authority on the future of television and advertising, will conduct year-round tests. Varan is the executive director of the Interactive Television Research Institute and holds the inaugural Chair in New Media at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia.
The lab will be networked: it will be based on a hub-node design, where the central hub will program and execute tests at the regional node facility. The first node will be a 3,000-plus sq. ft. lab to be built in Austin, Texas.
It will test a variety of advertising methodologies including interactivity, split screens, brand integration, sponsorships, addressable advertising, broadband video and mobile devices.
The facility will also feature a small theater, multiple viewing suites and an adjacent observation lounge.
