Attention: It’s in Short Supply

Originally posted on MediaPost

Quantifying attention has always been media’s implicit goal. Putting an explicit number on individual attention picked up steam in 2018, when dentsu and Lumen Research rolled out research using the phrase “attention economy.” Both terms, which speak to the scarcity of people’s ability to concentrate on one area for an extended period of time, play a key role in today’s digital economy where we can’t wait to skip commercials after five seconds, fine-tune six-second TikToks, and pay top dollar for  the all-mighty “complete.”

And while our attention spans aren’t really as short as Ted Lasso’s 10-second goldfish (btw, that figure has been refuted by scientists studying goldfish), UC Irvine’s Dr. Gloria Marks found through tracking research that we switch screens after 47 seconds on average, down from an average 2.5 minutes back in 2004.

The Short Of It

Some of the most frenetic short-form video platforms hold consumers’ attention the most. Users are on TikTok for more than 51 minutes per day per eMarketer, albeit in small chunks.

A recent study, published by Involved Media, an AMS company, looked at the strength of short-form video across multiple platforms and markets including The United States, Canada, and Australia. The U.S. study found you can reach most 18– to 34-year-olds on short-form. Eighty-three percent regularly watch short-form video on a second screen, and 51% of 18– to 24-year-olds watch TikTok daily.

TikTok may dominate time spent for younger cohorts, but an Involved Media study found the greatest monthly reach from YouTube Shorts (44%) and Instagram Reels (41%).  But older cohorts can learn to love a faster pace.  The Involved study found that parents followed their children to short-form platforms.  Got kids? Chances are you watch Reels, Shorts and TikTok more than other 40-year-olds.

Deals for a Short Time

How do marketers quantify our goldfish-like attention? It’s not standardized, which can hold back a proper economy. Right now, the Interactive Advertising Bureau is the most likely central bank. The IAB quantifies attention through eye-tracking research along with lots of viewability metrics, mixed in with other indicators such as interaction and audibility.

A nascent media type or currency is usually good news for advertisers.  With attention, marketers are finding that inventory with high attention metrics are not expensive right now. And many publishers are giving away attention guarantees.

In 2024, short-form advertising is expected to reach $38.8 billion, with a projected “annual growth rate of 12.54%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$62.2bn by 2028,” according to Statista. It’s a space we all must play in from a content and media standpoint, if we aren’t already.