Publishers split on the future of attention measurement

Media owners and digital platforms are beginning to explore how to incorporate attention data in their advertising sales operations.

The story so far

Interest in attention measurement has thus far been driven by ad buyers, with agency networks including Dentsu and Omnicom Media Group commissioning research on the impact of audience attention. Sell-side organisations have been slower to respond, but publishers are attracted by the potential use of attention data to prove the effectiveness of their ad formats.

Different perspectives

The Attention Council, created in 2019 to promote the adoption of cross-platform attention metrics in the planning, buying and selling of media, invited a trio of media owners to speak at its latest webinar. The session revealed divergent interpretations about how attention measurement can be used to underpin the advertising economy.

• Broadcaster The Weather Channel is making tentative steps to compare the attention gained by its TV programming with that of its direct rivals.
• In contrast, Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch is focused on going beyond “eyes on screen” to understanding the “emotional engagement” created by its content and advertising. It has partnered with Dentsu to launch attention planning tools later this year.
• Social media company Snap Inc, again in partnership with Dentsu, found a 95% improvement in brand recall from ads shown on its app versus the platform average. It is now shifting its lens towards the impact of “immersion”, particularly as it relates to augmented reality experiences.

Why it matters

As the number of tech vendors purporting to offer attention measurement solutions multiplies, and publishers interpret attention in a manner that best suits the strengths of their own platforms, it may fall on brands and agencies to nudge the industry towards a common taxonomy of attention.

Key quote

“[Discussions around attention measurement] can get really fragmented. The more we can move to a place where we have a common understanding of how attention is measured across vendors, and where their metrics are actually quite similar, that's going to help us to actually navigate our way” – Paul Nesbitt, director, international measurement and insight, Twitch.

Sourced from The Attention Council, Twitch, The Weather Channel, Snap Inc. [Image: Pexels]