Attention and how to measure it has become the key focus of the advertising industry, according to Stephan Beringer, chief executive of contextual advertising specialist Mirriad (MIRI). 

“Attention is increasingly becoming an important pillar in measurement. You need to measure attention because of bombardment with however many thousands of ads you see every day - you don’t pay attention to every one of them,” he says.

Mr Beringer – who we spoke to here about industry trends discussed at the recent Cannes Lion Festival of Creativity - points to the need for a paradigm shift in the delivery of advertising, as the industry faces the twin pressure of limitations in inventory and dwindling consumer attention. 

According to figures from industry research group TGI more than half of viewers feel that they’re bombarded with advertising, while Advertising Association think tank Credos recently found that favourability towards advertising had fallen to a record low. 

Estimates suggest that US consumers are exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 ads every day, but fewer than 100 make it past their so called “attention wall” as viewers unconsciously filter for messages and brands they’re already interested in.

Part of the problem is that much existing advertising is based around the premise of “interruption” – in other words, jarring people into paying attention, an approach that some in the industry think is unsustainable given the proliferation of modern media.

“We’ve accidentally created The Distraction Economy” says marketing specialist Oliver Feldwick. ”The rise of data, UX design and optimisation means that many experiences are being designed to squeeze out more attention. This isn’t working. The more attention we squeeze, the less it’s worth. We end up striving harder and harder for shorter and shorter stolen moments of attention.”

Mr Feldwick argues that in the face of overwhelming attempts to grab their attention, advertisers run the risk that consumers simply switch off, either entirely via “digital detox” or using tools such as ad blockers. 

The rise of streaming services, often free of advertising, presents yet another challenge to traditional broadcasters. In response, UK media regulator Ofcom has said that it’s considering a change to UK TV advertising rules to allow longer and more frequent ad breaks on ITV and Channel 5. 

“We need to strike the right balance between protecting viewers’ interests and sustaining our traditional broadcasters, which includes helping them compete with American streaming platforms,” said the regulator, which is now researching audience attitudes towards the trade-off between additional ‘linear’ advertising and more in-programme branding. 

Should the research discover that audiences prefer the latter to a distraction-heavy American-style model, Mirriad may find itself in the industry’s new sweet spot. It’s AI powered technology allows marketers to insert advertising and branded products seamlessly into content and could offer a win: win solution for both viewers struggling with information overload and advertisers trying to attract ‘quality’ attention. 

“We are playing a very significant role here because we are about attention because our ad format happens in the content itself,” says Mr Beringer, pointing to the meeting of creativity and technology as another major advertising trend discussed in Cannes. “Normally because you’re watching the content you don’t go and do something else, and because we place things in a contextually relevant manner the ad insertion benefits from that power.”

Broadcasters and streamers struggling with the new economics of the content industry might do well to pay attention.