Dentsu Malaysia strategy head Mohamed Salim
PETALING JAYA: An explosion of channels and content has only resulted in a dearth of attention.
While people are binge-watching more long-form content on Netflix and other over-the-tops (OTTs) than ever before, it is in the lower rungs of the content spectrum where attention is wreaking havoc.
Media used to be a rare commodity, but where viewing and listening choices were once limited, now they are almost infinite, and this has created a new advertising scarcity – audience attention.
According to ad agency Dentsu Malaysia, consumer attention is a form of generosity from individuals and needs to be valued by marketers.
“Attention and awareness are not the same thing. Our brains are built to suppress non-critical information so that we pay attention and react to what is really important to us.
“New forms of advertising and technology at our fingertips have created both the motive and the means for people to screen advertising out of their lives.”
A Dentsu chief marketing officer (CMO) survey from 2018 revealed that cost reduction, efficiency and reach are prioritised over strategic planning, when evaluating return on investment (ROI) on media investment.
The challenge is in understanding the relative value of those metrics across channels and platforms, the agency noted.
“We need a new way for brands to understand the value of their media investment that is more consistent, in the context of a fragmented and confusing digital landscape.
“Our aim was to define a new value system and ultimately challenge the way the industry trades, by valuing what is likely to be ‘delivered’, over what is ‘bought’. Welcome to the Attention Economy.”
“Our start point was an industry-leading research programme, conducted in early 2019, built and run by our Global Media Partnerships teams, supported by some of the world’s biggest media owners and delivered by academic experts in this field – the Centre for Amplified Intelligence, led by Karen Nelson-Field, professor of media innovation at the University of Adelaide,” the agency noted.
Using the latest eye-tracking technology and research panels in the UK, United States and Australia, the programme analysed 17,000 individual video ad exposures across three platforms: linear TV, in-feed video on social media and pre-roll on video platforms.
Two key findings from the study became the first step in updating how the industry plans, trades and measures media:
> An ad that is not seen is worthless, but the way we see advertising and how that impacts effectiveness is nuanced. Also, partially seen ads are able to boost sales. Hence reducing ad-avoidance may be more important to advertisers than maximising full-on attention.
> Effectiveness is closely related to how much of an ad is viewable and for how long, but other factors may be equally important. Clear branding moments, such as showing a brand’s logo, increase audience’s attention.
Working in partnership with Lumen Technologies and Amplified Intelligence, Dentsu has codified this research into a solution it calls “Attention Economy Planning” to help its clients better optimise their media spends.
“In the Malaysian market, we brought this solution to help Cetaphil launch its new hydrating foaming cream cleanser. To break through the high category clutter and establish the superiority of the product’s functional benefits amid fleeting consumer attention spans, we deployed our ‘Attention Economy Planning’ solution.
“Recognising that viewability in itself does not garner audience attention, our campaign leveraged Lumen’s proprietary tech-enabled solution that was layered on digital campaign platforms.
“Attention measurement was conducted through ‘eye-tracking technology’, which enabled the campaign to track if consumers have viewed the communications as well as their time spent on it.
“This has enabled the measurement of impact beyond on-screen availability (viewability) and factored in mental availability of the consumers’ attention.”
The campaign not only successfully grew market share for Cetaphil in foaming cleanser format, but also delivered a cost saving of 20% on marketing spend.
Meanwhile, Dermatology company Galderma Malaysia country manager Cindy Tiu said: “Not only have we successfully achieved a very effective product campaign for Cetaphil’s new product amidst competing consumer attention, we are also proud to be the first in Asia-Pacific to have unlocked future-facing measurements to optimise attention in digital advertising together with Dentsu Malaysia.”
DentsuX Malaysia partner and head Moiz Bilwani said: “By taking a leap into the ‘Attention Measurement’ space, we managed to prioritise mental availability of consumers over on-screen availability.”
Dentsu Malaysia strategy head Mohamed Salim noted: “While the breadth of media channels has expanded, their depth in delivering effectiveness has become a major talking point.
“Attention economy is a real tangible first step to addressing this in a platform neutral way that puts advertiser’s needs at the forefront.” — By Daljit Dhesi
