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Attention metrics are everywhere. Some experts swear by them. Others say they're a waste of money. This week, we're cutting through the noise with Marc Guldimann, CEO of Adelaide, to understand what attention metrics do and don't.
—Elena
People already aware of your brand pay more attention to your ads.
That's the exact opposite of the audience you want to reach. When algorithms optimize for attention, they naturally skew toward the already-aware and over-frequencied. Sure, they'll notice your ads, but they won't convert.
Attention isn't the goal. It's a quality signal.
Byron Sharp sparked debate by calling attention metrics a waste of money. Marc Guldimann says it's about how you use attention.
- Don't optimize for attention itself. Chasing maximum attention will lead to bizarre outcomes. An algorithm optimizing for attention will serve ads to drunk people, over-targeted familiar audiences, and anyone already aware of your brand. It will also push you toward sensational creative that captures eyeballs but forgets branding.
- Attention reveals media quality, not creative quality. The most attentive creative isn't always effective. Attention metrics work best when they measure the probability that a placement will capture attention, not when they chase attention seconds.
- Think probability, not duration. Adelaide's approach rates placements based on the probability of attention by any person to any creative. This shifts the focus from post-campaign measurement to pre-buy understanding. Marketers can finally know what they're getting before they spend millions.
- Media quality beats cost transparency. The industry's obsession with transparent margins misses the point. When brands understand media quality, they stop fixating on attribution and start trading on value.
- The market is irrational. YouTube podcasts and pockets of premium CTV are underpriced bargains today. Some platforms manipulate attribution by predicting outcomes rather than creating them. Media quality data helps you find the difference.
“Byron Sharp is Right: Chasing Fleeting Attention is a Waste of Money”
Marc Guldimann responds to Professor Sharp's critique of attention metrics. The article breaks down why optimizing to attention fails to use attention data correctly.
Substance over spectacle
“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself. "
— David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather
