By Penny Langenfeld, Senior Group Director, Integrated Solutions, APAC
Social media and video platforms have never been more influential. Consumers spend hours each day scrolling and discovering new products, people and ideas. But there’s so much content available, and AI, influencers and algorithms are reshaping the social feed in real time.
How can marketers understand whether their ads are truly engaging consumers and inspiring action?
The stakes are high. In APAC, one of the world's most mobile-first and socially connected regions, 30% of consumers research products on social, and a third of consumers made a purchase from their feed in the previous 12 months, according to the 2026 DV Global Insights report Scroll, Stop and Shop: Walled Garden Trends.
For marketers seeking to understand which creative assets, formats and messages are resonating with audiences, impression-level attention measurement is critical.
The traditional metrics marketers use to evaluate campaign success — reach, impressions and viewability — are important, but they leave out part of the story. An ad can have high viewability, for example, but little impact on consumer behavior.
Meaningful attention occurs when a user pauses, engages and spends time with an ad rather than immediately scrolling past it. A “thumb-stopping” moment is a stronger indication that a consumer has genuinely connected with your message.
Attention measurement evaluates factors such as user exposure, engagement and in-view time for each impression. Armed with this information, brands can better determine where their marketing investments are generating value, and which platforms or placements drive stronger engagement.
When combined with first-party data and other performance indicators, attention provides a more complete view of how campaigns influence consumer actions and business results.
The popularity of influencer marketing has further elevated the importance of attention.
As brands invest larger portions of their budgets into creator partnerships, measuring success based solely on follower counts, likes or views is increasingly limiting. Two creators may generate similar reach, but the quality of audience engagement can differ significantly.
Attention can provide a more nuanced understanding of creator effectiveness by highlighting which content formats, creative approaches and audience segments are more likely to sustain consumer interest. Brands can make more-informed decisions about where to allocate future investment rather than relying solely on surface-level engagement metrics.
Attention should be used in combination with other metrics, especially as feeds increasingly include content that may not be suitable for your brand.
The “clip economy” has fueled an explosion of creators who recycle and repurpose other creators’ content to maximize views and engagement. Meanwhile, generative AI has made it easier than ever to create and distribute low-quality content at scale. It’s important for marketers to understand whether the content surrounding their ads aligns with their quality standards and brand values.
Attention metrics, which focus on ads, not content, don’t address that question. Marketers should consider a broad measurement framework, using attention metrics alongside metrics that evaluate media quality, brand suitability and campaign outcomes.
Together, these signals provide a more complete understanding of campaign performance.
Contact a DV representative.
Learn more about DV Authentic Attention® for social.
Download Scroll, Stop and Shop: Walled Garden Trends.