Shorter ads are more “attentionally efficient” than longer ads

Jo Bowman

Advertisers often plan and buy media based on projected reach, but may benefit from shifting their strategies to focus on attention, according to agency holding group Dentsu.

A viewer who pays attention to a few seconds of a short-form digital or TV ad could be more impacted than someone who views the same duration of a longer commercial.

This was among the findings that emerged from research undertaken by Dentsu, the agency holding company, that looked at how attention influences prompted recall and choice among consumers.

“What we're seeing is that shorter ads actually tend to be more what we're calling ‘attentionally efficient’. So for the same amount of seconds … it drives a higher uplift in either recall or choice,” Joanne Leong, vp/director, global media partnerships...

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