Attention please: 83% of UK marketers believe attention is an important factor in reducing digital ads’ environmental impact

Nine in 10 UK marketers consider attention as an important metric, while 83% believe it to be an important factor for reducing the environmental impact of digital ads.

A survey of 100 senior marketers from global media platform Teads and research unit CensusWide looked into attention marketing. Respondents represented a variety of sectors, with almost all (98%) admitting to already being at advanced stages of attention measurement adoption.

Attention: impossible to ignore

Teads’ findings indicate that attention has become a metric that is almost impossible for marketers to ignore.

UK MD at Teads Justin Taylor, said the excitement surrounding attention’s potential really ramped up over the past 12 months “as the full scope of improvements it can bring to advertisers became clear”.

He added: “It is also obvious from the level of integration amongst respondents that gearing media plans toward attention is no longer a project on the horizon, but something that UK marketers are taking action on right now.”

In terms of its relationship with consumers, respondents were less in agreement over the attention metric’s merit. Just 58% thought the adoption of attention metrics provides a better online customer experience and 52% believe it improves accountability and transparency in the media ecosystem.

Despite largely seeing the potential benefit attention can have on the environmental impact of digital ads, just 49% of those surveyed think attention metrics are beneficial for reducing campaign emissions.

After growing as a point of discussion over the past year, what’s most apparent from the results is that attention measurement is going to continue to be in regular discourse among performance marketers into the future.

Bobi Carley, Head of Media and Diversity & Inclusion at ISBA said: “Brands who are moving to live attention measurement, partnering with attention experts and then optimising towards that metric to deliver both better business results and potentially reduce their carbon footprint will certainly be on the front foot in 2023.”

Nendra van Wielink-Mohamed, Associate Director, Global Media, The Kraft Heinz Company added: “It is encouraging to see from the survey that a high percentage of marketers are realising the importance of attention measurement. It’s even more inspiring that a large base believes they are already in the advanced stages towards adoption.”