Do Attention Levels Drive Ad Effectiveness? Byron Sharp Says No

Today’s media environment for advertising is not only fragmented, but also characterized by considerable opportunity to avoid ads. As such, it is not surprising that some observers and consultants have promoted the idea that advertisers should focus on the level of attention delivered by an ad. Moreover, it has been argued that media rates should be based on the number of seconds a viewer is exposed to an ad and that advertising creative should be developed in order to optimize attention level. In short, the idea is that attention metrics matter a great deal and that advertisers should invest in increasing their scores on these metrics.

Professor Byron Sharp, Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at the University of South Australia, has called the enthusiasm around attention into question and bluntly states that attention scores are overrated. Sharp’s view has generated considerable debate in the field and has produced rebuttals from some prominent professionals , including Karen Nelson Field, CEO and Founder of Amplfied Intelligence and Mike Follet, Managing Director of Lumen Research. Those favoring attention metrics tend to argue that attention is a driving force in advertising effectiveness due to its ability to increase viewer engagement and lead to deeper information processing. In addition, consultant and marketing professor Mark Ritson has argued that dwell time in an ad varies across media and that more attention heightens salience and preference, which in turn increases bottom of the funnel impact.

While the view of those arguing for the importance of attention should be considered, in examining both sides of the attention argument, there can be little doubt that whether fully generalizable across all contexts or not, Sharp makes some incisive points that need to be considered by advertising professionals. As has been the case with some other issues, including micro-targeting, Sharp and Ehrenberg-Bass continue to effectively question conventional wisdom toward emerging trends and prompt thoughtful debate while pointing up areas needing additional research.

In a recent proprietary report, Sharp, along with colleagues Steven Bellman and Erica Riebe outline the case against excessive focus on attention, arguing that advertisers are spending too much time and money on it. The authors assert, “Attention scores for advertisements do not appear to predict advertising effectiveness. Paying more or optimizing creative for longer attention is unlikely to be worthwhile.” Sharp urges advertisers to be wary of the idea that more attention is always better and that it is worth paying a premium for.

Read the full article in Forbes.