DV Attention Lab™ Presents: Fact, Fiction & Flights, Episode 1

Americans are expected to spend an average of 8 hours and 28 minutes per day viewing digital media by 2024. That’s why advertisers are asking: during that 508 minutes of endless content filled with videos, photos and notifications, how often is the viewer actually paying attention? 

Implementing attention metrics into a campaign strategy is the latest industry disruptor. But in an ever-changing digital landscape, keeping up with the latest insights is a challenge. That’s why DV just launched our latest educational video series: Fact, Fiction & Flights. 

In this exciting new series, Sanj Palepu, Sr. Product Marketing Manager at DV, sits down with industry experts to discuss common misconceptions surrounding attention measurement. The goal? To help advertisers better understand the concept and value of attention measurement. Each discussion is navigated through a fact or fiction lens and, to keep it fun, questions are paired with a beverage taste test.   

Below, we highlight the first episode of Fact, Fiction & Flights, where Sanj meets with OMG’s Sean Pinkney, Group Director of TV Analytics. 

Sanj and Sean kicked things off with a mock paloma. 

Sanj: Pretty good!

Sean: Yeah, a lot of grapefruit. 

Sanj: Alright, ready to dive into our first question?

Sean: I’m ready. Let’s go!

Fact or Fiction? Traditional metrics alone — like viewability — are no longer enough to capture the full story of campaign performance.

Answer: Fact

Sean: Traditional metrics — like viewability — are only a very small part of how a campaign is performing. What we’re seeing with attention is that we can get a more holistic picture of what’s happening and how the consumer is engaging with the content. 

Sanj: Viewability is essential, and we want to make sure our ads are in view, but viewability alone really isn’t enough. With viewability, you’re just guaranteeing your ads are on-screen for one to two seconds. And that short amount of time isn’t always enough to make an impact on an audience.

Sean: Even 100 percent viewability isn’t guaranteed to have any attention. You can have a video playing in the corner of the screen completely in view, but people’s attention may be elsewhere. In those cases, you want attention [metrics] to figure out what is really happening.

Sanj: Let’s dive into our next drink. This is a mock watermelon mojito. 

Sean: Alright, lots of watermelon. Better than the first.

Sanj: I think so, too. I love watermelon. So next question! 

Fact or Fiction? Privacy-based targeting restrictions online have been delayed and no longer affect the way brands measure and optimize campaign performance.

Answer: Fiction

Sean: We are definitely being impacted — the whole industry is being impacted — by the loss of cookies and [data] privacy regulations. However, we think that this is a great thing for consumers and for the industry. What we’re doing as an agency is we’re using attention metrics to further innovate on basically everything in the campaign life cycle — from the creative and how the creative is impactful, to the measurement side, to activation and activating with the best attention without cookies and being completely compliant [with data privacy laws and regulations]. 

Sanj: [Data] privacy is still really top of mind for consumers. Actually, a recent study showed that 83 percent of consumers still are concerned about [the] privacy [of their data]. So it’s something that consumers are still learning about, and it’s important that brands are also able to incorporate privacy-friendly solutions into the way they measure.

Sanj: So, we move on to our last and final drink and question. 

Sean: Let’s do it. 

Sanj: This is a mock ginger mule. This one’s a little sweeter. 

Sean: Yeah, and almost like a forest.

[Laughter] 

Sanj: That’s good! Like pine notes. Alright, the last question. 

Fact or Fiction? It is the right time for advertisers to incorporate attention metrics into their performance measurement strategy.

Answer: Fact

Sean: We’re at this pivotal time. We’ve talked already about [data] privacy compliance, and we have these [attention] measurements available. Attention is complex. It’s not just one measurement that we can use. It’s actually a lot of different measurements that we use in order to triangulate toward what our KPI is or what our objectives are for the campaign. 

One example that we have at OMG recently is it’s not just about maximizing attention, it’s about getting the right amount of attention for your campaign. We have this attention requirement calculator, and you put in a bunch of information and then figure out how much attention you need. 

Sanj: At DV, we think of attention as actually being made up of over 50 different signals. Because it is so complex, and there are so many different things that can really divert your attention. So it’s important that you have those different metrics and bring them all together to help you understand different requirements for attention. 

Attention is an adaptable metric. One thing we’ve actually seen at DV is that exposure metrics for attention correlate more towards upper funnel KPIs and engagement metrics correlate more towards lower funnel KPIs. So I think one of the draws of attention is it’s really a useful metric no matter what campaign you’re working on.

Sean: I would totally agree with that, and we’re seeing very similar things with our attention tests. The only thing I would add is on the creative side and how to change your creative to make it more engaging to elicit that attention. People want to be engaged with it, and that’s another place where we’re seeing attention can really help.  

Sanj: It’s so important to be able to get that feedback on your creative and even inform future creative development with that attention insight.  

Sean: For sure.

Sanj: Thanks so much for being here today, Sean. It was so great to have you and hear your perspective. And we’re excited that you were able to join us. 

Sean: My pleasure. And at Omnicom Media Group, we’re so excited to work with vendors like DoubleVerify on attention and to really open this up as an industry-wide measurement. 

Sanj: It’s an exciting space to be in, and we’re excited to see how it progresses.

Watch the full episode here, and keep an eye out for the next episode of Fact, Fiction & Flights to stay on top of the latest trends in attention measurement.