Dentsu Invites Industry Collaboration Around Attention Measurement

In recognition of the fifth anniversary of dentsu’s Attention Economy, the network designed for what’s next is calling for the industry to come together around a common framework for attention measurement. Dentsu will unleash core components of The Attention Economy research to the US industry in partnership with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) to drive standardisation. 

Established in 2018, dentsu’s Attention Economy, was the industry’s first attention focused study, and is the world’s largest in scale and scope of its kind. Through extensive research over the past five years, the Attention Economy has codified what it believes to be the truest, most advanced definition of attention, built accurate benchmarks for attention standards across channels, and created a new attention model that allows dentsu’s clients to plan, measure, and optimise on attention to drive better outcomes.  

Doug Rozen, CEO, dentsu Media, Americas said, “As we drive towards outcomes, we all know that attention is a better measure of effectiveness. Yet, there is no standardised  industry metric for it. To truly unlock the next paths to growth for marketers, we are excited to support the industry coming together. That’s why we’re prepared to bring our five years of Attention Economy eye-tracking study findings and existing definitions to the table, in collaboration with key industry trade groups, to drive what’s next.” 

Dentsu will share its Attention Economy findings and definitions with industry trade groups including the IAB and VAB to enable more open collaboration with industry peers and partners. 

"As attention metrics gain traction, the advertising industry needs to collaborate and establish standards and optimal methods to measure attention effectively," according to Angelina Eng, vice president, measurement, addressability, and data centre, IAB. "We look forward to collaborating with dentsu and other key players across the industry to determine a path forward for attention and develop a unified approach to measurement." 

To date, dentsu’s Attention Economy practice has yielded two white papers based on extensive attention measurement studies done with some of the most innovative research companies, Lumen Research, TVision, and Amplified Intelligence, to build panels and conduct eye-tracking research. Dozens of studies have been conducted across multiple platforms and formats, with over 20 media partners from scaled platforms to TV networks, to programmatic partners including A+E Networks, Frameplay, Meta, Snap, Spotify, Teads, Yahoo and others, with more to come. 

Stemming from this research, dentsu has worked with Lumen to create its own, proprietary Attention prediction models by which it can plan, measure, and activate attention across platforms. Some of the network’s clients are already testing the metrics and models, with plans for expanded activation in the year ahead. 

Mike Follett, CEO, Lumen Research added, “We’ve been proudly partnering with dentsu longer than any other agency network in the industry. Over the past five years, we’ve worked together to understand attention better than anyone else, in order to drive real outcomes for marketers through innovative, attention-based media planning tools for measurement and optimisation. We’re excited for what’s ahead as we help lead the way in the rapidly growing space of attention technology.”  

Visit The Attention Economy website to learn more and download the reports.