Rich Media

Communication advantages

There have been thousands of studies on various types of media and the effectiveness of the communication achieved. We will not exhaust you here, though we will excite you.

 

Typography

The type face (font) used can impart significant advantages. Briefly, results have shown the advantages of serif faces (Times) over sans-serif (Helvetica):

  • Serif = 30% better comprehension

  • Serif = 40% better retention

The rounded forms and serifs of Times (and most serif faces) are easier on the eye and allow the brain to concentrate on the content. The hard lines of Helvetica (and most sans-serif faces) require the brain to ‘read’ (interpret) the hard-edged letter forms. So although sans-serif looks crisp, and is fine for headlines or emphasis, use a serif face if you wish to achieve comprehension and retention of your information.

Mixed Media

Many studies have been undertaken, particularly for children and learning, and folklore suggests a picture is worth a thousand words. In summary, visual leaning approaches improve:

  • Critical Thinking –linking verbal and visual information helps students make connections, understand relationships, and recall related details
  • Retention - students better remember information when it's represented and learned both visually and verbally
  • Comprehension – students better understand new ideas when they are connected to prior knowledge
  • Organization - diagrams can display large amounts of information in ways that are easy to understand and help reveal relationships and patterns

The results are varied, depending on the approach used, yet all studies reveal measurable improvements in some or all areas.

 

Learning Styles

Research has also revealed the different ways people take in information, and some individual preferences.

  • Visual - learn by seeing
  • Auditory - learn by hearing
  • Reading & Writing - learn by processing text
  • Kinesthetic - learn by doing

When the communication matches the preference, understanding and retention are improved.

 

Rich Media

The internet has added to both the richness of delivery, and to the types of delivery. Recent studies have confirmed preferences for rich media delivery. One surprise is the poor showing of the use of avatars, once thought to be a significant opportunity for internet information delivery. For example, when seeking advice people preferred:

  • Video               50%
  • Photo+Text      30%
  • Audio               29%
  • Avatar             18%

When taking up advice, the preferences leveled out,a lthough still showing a preference over text-only:

  • Photo+Text      55%
  • Video               54%
  • Audio               51%
  • Avatar             48%
  • Text-Only         41%

The findings conclude the various methods have significant appeal:

Video – more trust and stronger belief in the quality of the communication

Audio – stronger belief in the quality of the communication

Rich Media overall – more enjoyable, friendly, higher awareness than text-only

 

Let 2.0 Ltd guide you to the best result for your communications, and capture the imagination of your customers.

 

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