On June 7, 2023, attention economy experts came together in NYC to share case studies and participate in engaging discussions on the attention measurement landscape. Plus, attendees heard a recap of the issues debated at AUDIENCExSCIENCE and an update on Phase I of the ARF Attention Validation Initiative, an empirically based evaluation of the rapidly developing market for attention measurement and prediction.
Dennis Buchheim has a unique perspective from “two sides” of the ad industry. He leads Facebook’s Ads Ecosystem team after serving as CEO of IAB Tech Lab. Dennis shared a view on how the industry is grappling with the shifting regulatory, platform, and technology landscape. Only together can the industry understand these changes and create paths forward. As opportunities are evaluated to evolve how data is used, research will be critical in refining the industry’s foundational knowledge and providing tactical guidance.
The speaker, Marc Guldimann, founder of Parsec Media and co-founder Adelaide, is also a co-founder of The Attention Council. In his presentation he explained why he and the Council are promoting the use of attention metrics to help advertisers place ads into media environments that drive superior performance.
Traditional linear TV places the same ads in the same shows (“program targeting”). Addressable TV can place different ads in the same show, allowing “audience-based” targeting at the household (HH) level. To determine the incremental lift achieved by audience-based targeting, we need to measure outcomes at the individual (HH) level. This allows us to run what/if scenarios with the models to determine optimal targeting. The researchers analyzed second-by-second viewing data from a panel with 750,000 HHs, tracking exposure to focal and competitor ads. The fact that advertisers tend to mainly target consumers already likely to buy creates potential endogeneity. The analyses controlled for this and three other factors: heterogeneity in ad avoidance; activity bias; and seasonality and other trends. During the observed 15-month period, there was a 4.1% conversion for those HHs in the market for the focal offer.
The presenter reviewed the current challenges of optimizing and reporting brand campaigns mid-flight. Specifically, stat sig was never intended for midflight optimization and reporting, and is misapplied, causing errors. The question marketers ask mid-flight is “how much confidence can I have that a tactic is helping the campaign, given the other campaign tactics”? Stat sig cannot accurately answer this question.
Pete Doe (Xandr) and Caroline Horner (605) provided a case study of their partnership that derived results from alternative currency measurement with buy and sell side perspectives. Xandr’s nimble workflow method enabled 605’s shift from advanced targeting to a very specific, custom-built, “persuadable” target audience with a range between 2 to 10x increase in outcomes.
These presenters were all true believers in the value of attention. Their key takeaways from the presentations in this track were:
There was some disagreement among the panelists about the prospects for an attention currency. Marc saw it as an “obvious next step.” Mike regarded attention as more of a buy-side “trading tool.” Jon said that it will become a key planning metric for Havas.
Since the onset of COVID-19, viewing patterns have changed dramatically. The biggest shift, however, has been an accelerated trend towards streaming. Shelter at home policies and health concerns about gathering in large public places, such as movie theaters, are the driving forces. The ARF’s OTT virtual event was dedicated to exploring recent trends as well as identifying the drivers of viewing behavior and the business of OTT in the “new normal”: How have viewing patterns and preferences evolved? What strategies have streaming companies employed to maintain and increase market share? How have studios evaluated and overcome production challenges? 2020 OTT landscape are vastly different from 2019 – how have advertisers taken advantage of the shifts? Spanning two days, for two hours each day, leading OTT providers, advertisers and research experts shared their perspectives and predictions about changing viewing behavior and where the market is heading.
Marc Guldimann of Adelaide interviewed Laurel Van Tassel on Anheuser-Busch InBev’s use of attention metrics. Laurel said she sympathized with those who spoke during panel discussion about viewability. When she was with GoupM she said they were buying on viewability and the CPMs were very expensive. When she arrived at ABI they split their strategy into finding new users and retention. Their focus on attention began with the need for retention. “We knew if we wanted to start attention testing, we wanted to leave our creative and data strategies the same and only have media be the variable that we’re optimizing against.”
ARF President & CEO, Scott McDonald hosted a lively and provocative discussion on attention metrics, how valid they are and if they do in fact measure “attention” and predict outcomes. Marc Guldimann of Adelaide called these metrics fit for purpose. Dr. Duane Varan of MediaScience, however, noted that attention metrics do not measure what vendors are saying they do.