The Perception Of Time

What time is it when an ape wants to eat you?

When Universal Studios released King Kong on DVD in August, 2006, they provided me with the regular 2:30 trailer to use on the in-store network at Best Buy. At that time I was focused on building the Home Theater Program at Best Buy to better reflect both the desires of the customer (“Show me what this movie looks like at home.”) and the brand value proposition (“We’ll show you the latest and greatest.”). Using the same trailer for the DVD release that was used a year earlier for the theatrical release would have no impact. Instead, I wanted a real clip from the film that promoted the DVD and looked awesome in HD. I used the clip where the ape and the Tyrannosaurus are about to fight. When it aired, the feedback was terrific. One compliment from a store employee was, “I can smell the ape!” (It was this instance that started me down the path of understanding employee engagement.)

At corporate, I asked meeting attendees to watch both spots. I showed the trailer at the beginning of a meeting and the clip at the end of the meeting. Then I asked if the audience if they could tell me the running times of the spots.

In almost every case, the viewers felt the trailer was longer than it was, by about 30 seconds. The actual running time of the trailer was 2:30. In contrast, viewers felt the clip was shorter than it was. Many felt it was only about 30 seconds, when its actual running time was 1:05.

The trailer was not engaging. It felt longer than it was. However, the viewers were so engaged with the clip that they lost track of time.

Get Lost In Time

I wrote about a Stanford study on the effects of time versus money. Part of that study included perception of time. It highlighted what I proved in the meeting: The more engaged a viewer is with something that he or she enjoys, the greater the discrepancy in perception of time. (How many of you have seen a movie that was so good that it felt like it was half as long as it really was?)

Great content has the ability to alter one’s perception of time.

Perception of time has deep impact in areas of where the psychological effects of waiting could be detrimental to the overall experience, like amusement parks, checkouts, grocery markets, gas stations, and waiting rooms.

If you can create compelling content that alters the perception of time, you’ll succeed at greater engagement with the viewer.

How do you alter the perception of time? Tell me.