This means that all ad impressions – regardless of attention or engagement – are considered equal and could potentially lead to a race toward producing ads with lower-quality content.

A paradigm shift is needed to pivot from viewability to attention for measuring ads to achieve better results. Marketers who measure attention and invest in attention advertising are more likely to gain real value from their campaigns. It is important to cut through the clutter of lower-quality content, especially since many potential customers are exposed to between 6,000 and 10,000 advertisements a day. 

What is attention advertising? 

Attention-based advertising is a shift away from traditional ad performance markers, such as frequency and reach of impressions. Rather than relying solely on viewability – or the opportunity to see an ad – businesses are now using attention-based targeting solutions to give them a more comprehensive picture of their target audience. This type of advertising shows not only who sees an ad, but how much of the advertisement was consumed. There is a focus on engagement levels to assess the true effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

This new approach of attention ads is powered by data and analytics which measure audience engagement in real-time. Businesses can use this data to personalize ads to different segments or make adjustments as needed during live campaigns. In some cases, advertisers may also offer discounts or loyalty programs based on how ads are received by viewers. Ultimately, attention-based advertising gives brands a better understanding of their consumers’ interests and preferences to craft custom-tailored campaigns that are more likely to resonate with the intended audience.

Types of attention advertising 

Attention advertising depends on the type of attention the advertisement draws. Attention in advertising can be categorized into these three types: 

Top-down attention: This type of attention is when one typically has two mediums in front of them; the user chooses what they want to look at. For example: if you are scrolling through your phone while watching TV, you most likely will focus on the phone. Any advertisement with potential engagement playing on TV does not receive your attention. When attention is split between two mediums, it is top-down attention. This is also sometimes known as divided attention. 

Bottom-up attention: When a user automatically looks at an ad while browsing content,  this is bottom-up attention. For example: if a user scrolls through a website and sees relevant ads in the background, the ad type is bottom-up. 

Emotional attention: When a user pays attention to an advertisement since they are emotionally attached to any aspect of it, it is called emotional attention. This could be an ad for Mother’s Day, a nostalgic situation, or an unexpected event. 

Commonly used metrics to measure consumer attention 

Attention measurement goes beyond simple data analysis to provide more insights into your advertising efforts. It helps to determine which ads produce the greatest engagement by tracking how interested viewers are in each ad and if they’re taking action in response (such as making a purchase or leaving feedback). 

Marketers can use this data to improve their campaigns over time by analyzing trends across different platforms, adjusting creative strategies, and uncovering areas where they may be able to generate even more awareness and return on investment (ROI). With attention measurement, digital advertisers can gain a better understanding of who they’re reaching out to, what activities drive success, and how best to communicate with their target audiences.

Attention-based metrics allow marketers to pinpoint exactly what their customers see, feel, and think about their ads in real-time. By understanding how attention is distributed across different ad formats, platforms, and messages, marketers can better target the right audience for each ad campaign. 

Here are some ways to measure attention in advertising. They offer different results based on the platform or device on which the content is viewed, the length of the creative, the format of the content, the platform UI, and more.

Traditional metrics for attention measurement are: 

• viewability 
• clicks 
• CTR 
• Impressions 

However, these are more viewability metrics than attention metrics. 

Viewability vs attention 

Viewability used to be king. Smart advertisers are now focusing on meaningful, targeted interactions through attention metrics. Attention is more closely related to conversion rates and brand objectives. The main attention metrics are:

• in-view time: This is an attention metric that calculates how long a consumer views an ad with at least 50% of its pixels on the screen.  
• exposure time: This metric combines the onsite user behavior with site engagement to see how well the ads are performing. Advertisers can set goals and track them against actuals to see reach. 
• screen real estate: This metric measures the share of space the ad has as against the entire screen. The size of the ad has to be relative to the screen so that users will pay more attention to the ad. 

How to attract and maximize consumer attention in ads

Advertising is increasingly competitive and leads to new avenues and mediums such as cross-channel advertising, native advertising, and more. Increasing the impact of ads and ad attention by understanding the target audience is essential. This deep level of understanding of audience personas is made easier with journey advertising. 

Use interactive formats to increase user engagement 

Advertising with interactive elements results in a 91% increase in brand awareness compared to non-interactive ads as per an Innovid study. Interactive ads with clickable animation and elements can engage the audience. Surveys, gamified advertising, quizzes, interactive videos, infographics, data visualizations, and tech-enabled advertising offer more immersion to increase user engagement. 

Effective distribution techniques 

For advertisers, it is important to choose the right platform to share their message. Distribution is key to sharing marketing messages with chosen customers. Audience segmentation is an effective way to capture consumer attention through personalized campaigns and advertisements. Market segmentation as per race, gender, age, education, and marital status will help position your service or product correctly.

Related reading: Guide to multicultural marketing 

Placement, color, and visual path 

If a brand chooses to set parameters for color, placement, and visual path, it can attract the audience’s attention. Choosing wisely promotes trust and creates a sense of urgency based on product promotion needs. Marketers also need to make efforts to see where they can visually garner the maximum attention for an ad. Visual path planning is how viewers look at a specific landing page. The common visual paths are Z shape and F shape which can help understand where to place an ad. 

Clear and meaningful messaging 

Keep in mind that audiences have limited attention due to the enormous volume of content and noise they encounter daily. The key is for the message to be clear, meaningful, and intended for the right target audience. Craft your message for the target audience to elicit the ideal response. 

Steve Jelley’s Model of the “Attention Economy”

Attention marketing is a strategy developed by Steve Jelly, an Internet entrepreneur, and further popularized by author Seth Godin. It aims to generate consumer interest through non-invasive methods and immediate satisfaction. An example could be a pop-up ad on a website that uses either invasive or non-invasive methods. This marketing approach enables users and businesses to capture consumer attention.

Attention economy or attention marketing takes forms such as: 

• Native advertising 
• User-generated content 
• Influence-based content
• Emotional content

Attention elasticity

The challenge for marketers lies in the attention elasticity — how do we spin a product or service with a compelling story amidst all of the noise, that captures an audience’s attention and holds it long enough to make a sale? 

Consumers search for unique, engaging stories that connect with their own personal goals, needs, and values. Nielsen mentions that advertising effectiveness can be attributed to creative (49%) over other characteristics such as reach and targeting (36%). To succeed in this landscape, marketers need to come up with innovative ways to capture their target customer’s attention consistently. 

Here are some ways marketers and advertisers can resolve this challenge: 

• increase creativity and expression 
• introduce unique, disruptive experiences which increase the propensity to process information 
• fewer ads with strong brand-focused content 
• build buyer personas and create more campaigns based on that
• explore cross-channel advertising and measurement 

Attention advertising: Cut the clutter 

To create compelling advertising experiences, it is important to capture the attention of the right audience and understand their needs. Platforms like illumin can help you understand what content works and keeps the audience engaged in their consumer journey. 

To learn more about how illumin helps you target the right audiences, book a free demo. 

AcuityAds Holdings Inc. (TSX:AT, Nasdaq: ATY) (“AcuityAds” or “Company”), a technology leader that provides targeted digital media solutions enabling advertisers to connect intelligently with audiences across advertising channels, announces that the trade of securities of the Company were halted at the request of the Company on March 10, 2023 as a result of the unfolding situation with Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”), at which bank the Company maintains certain of its bank accounts.

This morning, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) announced that it has taken possession of Silicon Valley Bank, citing inadequate liquidity and insolvency. The DFPI appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) as receiver of SVB. The Company maintains U.S. bank accounts with SVB which amount to [US$55 million] on deposit.

According to the FDIC:

“All insured depositors will have full access to their insured deposits [which is limited to US$250,000] no later than Monday morning, March 13, 2023. The FDIC will pay uninsured depositors an advance dividend within the next week. Uninsured depositors will receive a receivership certificate for the remaining amount of their uninsured funds. As the FDIC sells the assets of Silicon Valley Bank, future dividend payments may be made to uninsured depositors.”

“As of December 31, 2022, Silicon Valley Bank had approximately $209.0 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in total deposits. At the time of closing [of Silicon Valley Bank by the FDIC], the amount of deposits in excess of the insurance limits was undetermined. The amount of uninsured deposits will be determined once the FDIC obtains additional information from the bank and customers.”

The Company maintains bank accounts outside of SVB which amount to [C$6,7 million]. Such available cash will be used to support continuing operations.

AcuityAds will update investors once the amount of the advance dividend is determined by the FDIC. Based on the FDIC news release, the Company expects to receive this news next week.

About AcuityAds:

AcuityAds is a leading Journey Advertising technology company that empowers marketers to make smarter decisions about targeting and communicating with online consumers. Its journey advertising platform, illumin, offers media planning, buying and real-time intelligence from a single platform. With proprietary Artificial Intelligence, illumin brings unique programmatic capabilities to connect the consumer journey and help marketers understand a consumer’s true value to their brand. The Company brings an integrated ecosystem of privacy-protected data, inventory, brand safety and fraud prevention partners, offering trusted solutions with proven, above benchmark outcomes for the most demanding marketers.

AcuityAds is headquartered in Toronto with offices throughout Canada, the U.S., Europe and Latin America. For more information, visit https://illumin.com.

For further information, please contact:

Disclaimer in regard to Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements included herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, AcuityAds does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

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