Digital Advertising: Journey From Click Addiction To Attention Metrics

The Ad Industry’s Move Beyond the Click

The digital ad industry is at a turning point, some might argue it’s one that’s long overdue. The legacy platforms and measurement tools of the past have run their course. We’re still in the middle of the so-called “cookie-pocalypse”, which we learned was not a single monumentous event but rather a long, drawn out process. We’ve seen Apple move on their privacy promises by implementing changes that make advertising to iOS users all the more challenging. Facebook has removed their details targeting tools and Android too has implemented changes. The way you can target consumers is changing and the number of data points that can be used to make ad campaigns more effective continues to evolve. Meanwhile, agencies and marketing teams are still expected to get more reach and more clicks all while navigating these ever-changing privacy waters.

Change, A Long Time Coming

You could argue the privacy driven changes occurring in the ad industry are a long-time coming. Consumers are tired of being “stalked” on the internet and having their every move tracked. They’ve said “enough is enough”. And while this may be frustrating to the status quo, some of us say “Hallelujah! It’s about time.” Why? Because it’s clear that the current system doesn’t work and it hasn’t for quite some time. Since the advent of digital advertising with the iconic AT&T banner ad in 1994, advertisers have been forced to work with limited metrics. For better or worse, the click became the main barometer for success, albeit an unreliable one at times, and the CPM (cost per thousand impressions) became the predominant pricing model by which digital ad placements were purchased.

At the time it was introduced, digital advertising offered a promise that TV, magazines, newspapers and radio ads had been unable to do, namely there was tangible data that could be measured and tracked from the ad. If someone “clicked” on an ad, you’d have some kind of “concrete” measurable. And so began the addiction to the click through as a primary indicator for success. Sure, it may have been flawed, but it was a huge step forward from what advertisers had long been accustomed.

Ask anyone who remembers the days before internet advertising. Determining if a print or tv ad was successful was not so cut and dry and frankly quite ambiguous. It’s no wonder that advertisers fell hard into the CPM and Click trap once internet advertising became scalable. It was an allure that was hard to resist. And it’s a pattern that has persisted for nearly three decades. If you’re responsible for a media plan and have digital advertising in the mix, odds are pretty good that you’re still using the click as your primary KPI. And while it can be a valid metric, the winds of change are ushering in new tools that can finally provide advertisers with deeper insights into all those impressions and deliver a much improved return on ad spend (ROAS). One that goes beyond clicks and actually measures if and how consumers pay attention to digital ads.

A Shift to Attention Metrics – The Silver Lining

And that’s the silver lining in all this. Forced change is sometimes the only thing that can shift an industry out of the static state of inertia. It appears that after years of addiction to the click, the industry is finally giving focus to find a more accurate measurement of ad effectiveness, they’re finally putting their focus on attention.

According to a report published by The Attention Council in 2021, after studying more than 50 cases linking attention metrics to various types of outcomes, they found “overwhelming evidence proving the benefits of attention metrics.”

“Overwhelming evidence proving the benefits of attention metrics.”

-The Link Between Attention Metrics & Outcomes, The Attention Council 2021

The study looked at KPIs across all stages of the funnel for a myriad of industries and levied comparisons against pre-existing media metrics. In a study with a QSR (quick service restaurant) client, they found that when a viewer paid attention to more than three seconds of the ad, they were 68% more likely to convert. In another for a CPG (consumer products & goods) brand, they learned that attention metrics were up to 90% predictive of sales lift. They were able to consistently prove that high attention ads drive greater ROI and that attention metrics are a predictable indicator of campaign impact.

“Attention metrics are up to 90% predictive of sales lift.”

Across the span of their 50 studies in a myriad of industries, The Attention Council was able to conclusively reveal that harnessing attention can drive many of an advertiser’s key objectives, such as:

• Brand Awareness
• Brand Affinity
• Brand Perception
• Brand Recall
• Brand Lift
• Conversions

The benefits of being able to measure and optimize attention are clear. Perhaps what’s not so clear is the path to get there. Much of the attention measurement tools being used for studies such as those done by The Attention Council are relying on eye-tracking technology, “synthetic media metrics” and “browser based proxies.” Their findings are being used to educate the market and measure publishers and establish things like media quality scores that rank media based on the quality of the attention of their audience. Unsurprisingly, not all publishers are made equal and 3 seconds of attention on one website is not the same as 3 seconds on another. The information they’re learning is helping to forge the path towards a better way to understand the financial impact of attention, grade publishers and improve overall ad effectiveness.  But how can brands, agencies and publishers tap into attention metrics on a more scalable level today?

The good news is there are attention measurement techniques on the horizon that support the conclusions of The Attention Council and enable brands and agencies to measure and optimize attention on digital ads at scale. An example are sensor-based Dimensional Ads by Advrtas which are privacy-friendly and GDPR compliant. These kinds of digital ads tap into mobile sensors and can anonymously track valuable behavioral data which verifies real human attention (bots beware!) and helps inform the advertiser about consumer preferences and behaviors. With Dimensional Ads the consumer has more control and advertisers have the opportunity to get more creative because they can tap into the power of the sensors. The result is a more engaging ad unit that delivers a wealth of attention and behavioral data that can be used along all stages of the funnel to drive results and dramatically improve return on ad spend (ROAS).

The Path to Attention Metrics

So how do we migrate to more attention focused metrics when the industry is still hooked on legacy measurables like clicks, viewability and CPM? I’d argue it’s going to take time, education, and a hybrid approach. When you’re used to budgeting based on CPMs and CTRs, segueing to a framework that’s based more on attention can be a challenge.

The industry at large will need to learn by doing. Brands and agencies may need to experience for themselves the correlation between attention and results. Analytics dashboards and budgeting models will need to be adjusted to reflect the shift. Financial models will evolve to reflect the impact that attention has on the bottom line. Odds are, it’s going to take the courage of a few innovative industry first-movers to pave the way and once the path is forged, an avalanche will follow. It’s a journey that’s well worth taking and while some may resist the industry’s evolution to attention-based metrics kicking and screaming, we must have faith that change is good. What awaits us on the other side is a digital advertising industry where transparency and privacy help guide the rules and ad effectiveness can reach new found heights based on real human attention and behavior. As a lifelong marketer, fan of a free and open ad-supported web, and one who’s so tired of the adage that half of every ad dollar is wasted, I embrace the change!