Most of the theories around the effectiveness of an ad suggest a single flow of effects but before any of this could happen, an ad must catch and hold the attention of the viewer. More importantly, how well an ad is able to retain attention will have a direct impact on how the ad and the brand are remembered. For example, because of the pop of yellow in M of the McDonald\u2019s logo, it is able to capture a higher amount of attention and McDonald\u2019s advertising team is very well aware of this brand trigger as they use it quite frequently in highly creative ways in their campaigns.<\/p>\n
So, how should you go about recognizing such attention-capturing creative variables for your brand?<\/p>\n
Variables that Generate Long-lasting Attention in Ads \u2013 Backed by Science<\/h1>\n
Australia’s Fairfax Media, a digitally progressive media company, recently conducted an eye-tracking study to understand audiences\u2019 behavior as they interact with different digital ads across platforms.<\/p>\n
Based on the study, participants\u2019 answers to an ad-recall exercise, and a small qualitative discussion, the following are the creative variables that were present in the ads ranked highest for attention:<\/p>\n
Colors: Contrasting colors\/brand colors<\/h3>\n
Our brains have evolved to notice high contrasting images. For example, white on black or yellow on royal blue. This particular technique can be used to create\u00a0\u00a0 a high-contrasting theme for your future ads that is in line with your branding.<\/p>\n
Messaging: Simple, concise messaging<\/h3>\n
Loreal\u2019s \u2018This is an Ad for Men,\u2019 KFC\u2019s \u2018We\u2019re sorry,\u2019 and Nike\u2019s \u2018Believe in something.\u2019 All are examples of iconic ad copies that generated a lot of earned media for the brands, all on the accounts of being simple, concise, and emotional.<\/p>\n
Design\/Visual: Clear, uncluttered design<\/h3>\n
In an information overload world, the best way to set your ads apart is by wisely using the digital landscape for context-building and delivering the message instead of bombarding your viewers with everything at once.<\/p>\n
Branding: Prominent brand logos\/symbols<\/h3>\n
To associate your brand with the message you are delivering in your ads, it is important that your brand also gets a fair share of attention and visibility. It can be done by prominently placing your brand logos or symbols and playing with brand colors in the ads. It is all a matter of how creatively you can tell a story using the branding tools you possess.<\/p>\n
Human Presence: Focus on a single character<\/h3>\n
Instead of filling up your frame with too many people, focus on a single character or a single character\u2019s point of view which actually garners higher attention. In a study conducted by Incivus to measure the impact of different creative variables on the success of Super Bowl Ads of 2020, we found that the top Super Bowl ads had focused on a single character for 70% of their screentime whereas the bottom ads had 2 or more characters for 45% of the screentime.<\/p>\n
Read the entire study here:<\/i><\/strong> Does Human Presence Actually Impact the Success of Ads?<\/a><\/p>\n Apart from optimizing creative variables for attention, a few ad formats when delivered on the right screen and in the right context can garner more attention than the others.<\/p>\n Source: Fairfax Media<\/a><\/p>\n For example, mobile break-up ads or also known as native ads are both noticed more and looked at longer than smaller mobile banner ads, mostly because they flow with the consumers\u2019 scroll and feel like a part of the page.<\/p>\n On the other hand, banner (medium rectangle) ads usually seen at the top of webpages on desktops tend to receive twice as much attention from viewers when compared to banner ads on the second half of pages.<\/p>\n Again, the context of the ad and messaging will play a vital role in retaining attention once captured. So, if your makeup ad is running on a serious publication covering world affairs, it will do more harm than good to your brand.\u00a0So, ad format aligned with the right device, platform, and context can garner higher attention for your ads.<\/p>\n The ubiquity of social media and their short-video formats has caused an unreversible change in viewers\u2019 behavior and their attention spans to an extent. Since people expect shorter content on social media platforms, shorter ads ranging between 10 to 30 secs tend to do a better job at attracting the attention of the viewers.<\/p>\n Advertisers advertising on social media platforms do have an additional problem to tackle with: passive attention. Ads delivered on scrollable platforms like Instagram, Facebook, etc. tend to receive higher passive attention which means longer ads will, by default, garner less attention and get scrolled past.<\/p>\n This is not to say that ads longer than 30secs cannot perform or gain any attention from your audience. The key to making longer ads work on social media is to start the ad with a hook and deliver a good story. Nike just launched a campaign revolving around the idea that Sport is never done, and it starts with a woman shouting the name of her child at the top of her lungs which successfully hooks the audience as they anticipate what will happen next. The ad then shows how parents view their kids spending time playing sport and it ends with an emotional moment wherein a child says what if it makes their life.<\/p>\n The secret to getting longer ads noticed is to be bold without being controversial. Various brands are also experimenting with interactive ads and social media posts to keep their audience hooked with the help of creative tools and visuals.<\/p>\n Your advertising strategy should depend on the context of the platform and the attention level of the people when they interact with that platform. We have explored the nitty-gritty of this concept in one of our recent articles that revolves around the importance of paying attention to attention in advertising<\/a>.<\/p>\n Metrics like reach, impressions, etc., will only be able to give a one-dimensional understanding of the effectiveness of your ads and campaigns. Impressions essentially counts the number of times an ad was loaded on the webpage, but with the increasing amount of passive scrolling people do, they might scroll past your ad without even paying attention while you still consider it as a win and pay for it to the advertising platforms.<\/p>\n Moreover, your viewers are getting smarter., According to a recent study most viewers find ads annoying and interruptive. This is the reason UGC (User Generated Content) ads are becoming popular day-by-day especially among the ecommerce and B2C brands. B2B brands are also being pushed to innovate and experiment with their advertising strategies as the dominance of millennials and Gen Z increases in the workforce globally.<\/p>\n As consumers\u2019 behaviors are evolving along with the advertising platforms, it is time to switch to the metrics that actually matter — attention metrics. In quite simple words, attention metrics can be defined as the ways in which attention can be measured.<\/p>\n While the metrics may vary based on platforms, individual cases, and the analytics & evaluation tools, the following are some general examples of possible ways to measure attention.<\/p>\n The most common way to measure attention is by calculating the active time in view which is the average amount of time your viewers spent viewing your ad or a piece of content.<\/p>\n Many advertisers go beyond viewability and measure cursor position, touch rate, scroll rate, and scroll depth using heatmap tools to get a better understanding of the active attention and viewers’ interactions.<\/p>\n Eye tracking<\/b><\/p>\n The most accurate way to measure attention is eye tracking wherein the movements of a user’s eyes are tracked and recorded using specialized tools and technology.<\/p>\n Eye tracking analytics give in-depth insights into user attention, how they interact and consume a piece of content, and how their attention falls on on-page ads.<\/p>\n Facial coding<\/b><\/p>\n In facial coding, the viewers’ expressions are tracked and recorded as they interact with your content and ads.<\/p>\n Various software and tools are available in the market that can be used along with webcams to record, track, and recognize facial expressions.<\/p>\n![\"?\"](\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/14.0.0\/svg\/1f36a.svg\")
: One of the most interesting findings from the study suggested that the ads that matched brands’ other online\/offline campaign elements garnered higher engagement and attention. So, having defined guidelines for ads and running a brand compliance check before launching any ad campaign can have a direct impact on how well your ads are received.<\/p>\nCan Ad Formats & Position Contribute to Attention? The Answer is Yes!<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/incivus.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIs Your Ad the Right Length to Hold the Attention of Your Viewers?<\/h2>\n
It is Time to Switch to Attention Metrics<\/h2>\n
How to Measure Attention<\/h2>\n
1. Active viewing time or viewability<\/h3>\n
2. Lab research methods<\/h3>\n
3. Ad evaluation tools<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/incivus.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/4.png\")
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