ARF Attention 2023 Recap
As part of their major initiative to better undertand attention metrics, the ARF recently hosted Attention 2023 at Fordham University in New York. During the full-day event, a highly engaged audience of well over 100 in-person and virtual attendees agreed that it’s definitely time to pay attention to attention.
At the start of the day, Yerddy Lanfranco, VP of Audience Strategy and Reach at IPG, noted that “the whole technology is new” and an area of key interest for her team. ”We are creating a lot of task forces right now to understand what data is needed to measure attention, how we can utilize the data and what partnerships we need,” she added, all with the goal to optimize media planning with attention metrics.
Lerzan Aksoy, dean of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business, launched the event by observing that attention is a wide-ranging discipline that is critical in education as well. The day’s sessions illustrated the diverse range of viewpoints and methodologies in this dynamic space. Companies including Mars Wrigley, Meta and TikTok discussed how they were using tools like Adelaide’s AU metric to assess how their campaigns and platforms were resonating with consumers. Meanwhile, Professor Matthew McGranaghan from the University of Delaware shared an in-depth analysis of TV viewing behavior based on data from TVision.
A full complement of industry leaders also showcased their solutions and provided key insights about where attention is today, including Adelaide’s Marc Guldimann, eye square’s Jeff Bander, iSpot’s George Castrissiades, and MediaProbe’s Pedro Almeida. During a panel session moderated by ARF Chief Research Officer Paul Donato, many of these experts continued a lively discussion that began several weeks ago at AudiencexScience, with MediaScience’s Duane Varan again playing the role of provocateur.
In the afternoon, ARF President Scott McDonald provided an update on the organization’s Attention Validation initiative, which includes three major components: An Attention Atlas with a detailed evaluation of close to two dozen players which will be launched soon, and validation testing of both creative testing and media valuation applications. The day concluded with a history of attention, spanning from all the way back in the 1800s to the current day, based on a literature review by Paul Donato and Tracy Adams from the ARF..
It’s clear that attention measurement has come a long way – and that it also has further to go. Methodologies discussed at the event were as varied as time spent, eye tracking, heart rate and galvanic skin response, and this breadth undoubtedly contributed to the MRC’s recent comments that it was not currently establishing standards for the space.
The expert panel also concluded that it’s too soon to set an attention currency. However, the media platforms, buyers and brands in attendance are clearly already finding value from attention measurement. As noted by Horst Stipp, Global Research EVP at the ARF, a growing number of players across the media spectrum are now saying, “Use these metrics—they work for us.”