How Attention Metrics Drive Brand Performance in 2025
TL;DR
Attention is now the quality layer of media. Advertisers using attention metrics report ~41% higher brand lift and ~55% stronger lower-funnel results on average, with stand-out case studies that multiply add-to-cart and conversion rates.
Why attention eclipsed viewability
For a decade, digital measurement favored “opportunity to see.” In 2025, leaders are optimizing toward probability to be seen and remembered. IAB’s work shows attention is 7× more effective at predicting awareness and 6× more effective at predicting recall than viewability — useful for both brand and performance planning.
Alongside privacy shifts and signal loss, attention supplies a channel-agnostic quality signal that translates across CTV, DOOH, web, and in-app. Large-scale analyses from Lumen/Brand Metrics/Havas further link attention to awareness, consideration, and action across ~9,000 brand-lift studies.
The freshest evidence: Adelaide’s 2025 Outcomes Guide
Adelaide’s new guide aggregates 52 case studies across 18 industries and finds campaigns optimized to AU (Attention Unit) achieved, on average, +41% brand lift and +55% lower-funnel impact in 2024.
Highlights include:
A commercial airline achieving +95% unaided awareness above an AU “floor”.
A retailer delivering +152% add-to-cart and higher basket value on high-AU placements.
A CPG brand generating 19.3× more conversions from high-AU audio and +89% from high-AU display.
What AU is: a 0–100 machine-learning score estimating a placement’s likelihood to earn attention and drive outcomes, built from outcome data, eye-tracking, and exposure signals (audited externally for data-science rigor).
Why the old playbook breaks
Two screens, one brain: A CTV ad can be “in view,” while the thumb scrolls on mobile. Co-attention matters more than raw delivery.
The “300 ms” economy: Swipe culture compresses cognition. If your first frame doesn’t earn a fixation, metrics say ‘viewed,’ the mind says ‘next.’
Fragmented contexts: CTV, DOOH, audio, AR, in-app—attention patterns vary by surface. One-size viewability thresholds don’t translate.
Vanity traps: Counting impressions, likes, and surface engagement misses whether anyone attended or acted.
The attention metrics that actually count in 2025
Below is a practical measurement stack you can implement now (anchored in the latest guidance and case-study evidence).
1) Attention Quality Score (e.g., AU 0–100)
A probabilistic, ML-based score estimating how likely a placement is to capture attention and drive outcomes. Use it for planning, SPO, and bid biasing.
2) Attentive Seconds / Active Time in View
Filter viewability to active exposure (onscreen + not backgrounded). Track distribution, not just averages, to find attention-dense inventory. (IAB recommends correlating such signals with lift.) IAB
3) Dwell & Engagement Depth
Capture how long people linger and how deeply they interact. Report together; they don’t always co-move.
4) Optimal Attention Thresholds
Define attention floors per objective (awareness vs. action) to prevent over-paying for diminishing returns.
5) Attention Efficiency Index
Return on attention: (attentive seconds × quality weight) ÷ cost. Rank lines, creatives, and deals by ROI per attention unit.
6) Saturation & Fatigue Controls
Set cumulative attention caps per user (not just frequency) to avoid waste and creative wear-out.
Programmatic, upgraded: from reach to reach × attention
Programmatic’s next curve is buying quality, not just quantity. 2025 brought a step-change: Nielsen × Adelaideconnected reach + attention so buyers can optimize to efficiency scores, not just CPM or on-target reach. Blasto’s roadmap mirrors this shift:
Pre-bid attention bidding: Prefer inventory with predicted high attention (AU bands) over cheap, low-quality reach. PPC Land
Attention-aware auctions: Work with publishers to surface attention metadata (tiers, floors) for differentiated pricing.
Creative attention modeling: Pre-test frames (eye-tracking proxies) to pick attention-maximizing variants—then verify with live AU. Google Cloud Documentation
Attention-aware frequency: Cap by cumulative attentive time rather than raw impressions.
Attribution with attention weighting: In MTA/MMM, weight exposures by attention to align credit with human experience.
Real-time attention alerts: When attention dips, automatically re-route budgets to higher-quality lines.
What attention changes in the funnel
Upper funnel (brand outcomes). Attention is a stronger predictor of awareness/recall than viewability; optimizing to attention raises survey-based lift and mental availability.
Mid-/Lower funnel (behavioral outcomes). Case studies show material gains in conversions, purchase rate, and basket value when budgets flow to high-attention placements.
Efficiency & sustainability. Better attention means less impression waste and more outcome per CPM, also aligning with lower carbon per effective outcome.
Channel cheat-sheet: where attention pays off
CTV. Co-viewing and lean-back contexts elevate attention; attention-priced PMPs and outcomes-tuned frequency caps are emerging best practices. (See our CTV advertising guide.)
DOOH. Dwell time, sightlines, and creative readability at distance drive attention; use AU/attention thresholds in venue/loop selection.
In-app. High-viewability placements still vary widely in attention; optimize to attention score + motion/format testing for real uplift. (See our in-app advertising guide.)
Activation playbook
Step 1. Define the KPI stack
Pick 2–3 attention KPIs to sit alongside outcomes: Attention score threshold (e.g., AU ≥ X), Avg. attentive seconds, Attentive reach (unique people × attention threshold).
Step 2. Plan inventory to attention
Use deals/PMPs that guarantee minimum attention score or attention-qualified supply paths (SPO).
Calibrate thresholds by objective: lower floor for reach builds; higher floor for conversion drives.
Step 3. Optimize creative to attention
Rotate variations with motion in the first 1–2 seconds; test focal hierarchy and CTA prominence; read heatmaps/eye-tracking patterns via partners such as Lumen/Playground xyz.
Step 4. Bid and budget to attention
Layer attention score into bidding logic (bid up on high-AU supply; down-weight low-AU even if cheap).
Reallocate 10–20% of budget weekly to top-attention lines until attention and outcomes converge.
Step 5. Measure what matters
Pair attention KPIs with brand lift (surveys) + sales/conversion (MTA/MMM).
Report attention deltas with outcome deltas—mirroring Adelaide’s approach for executive clarity.
The takeaway
Attention is the currency of effective media in 2025. With robust evidence (IAB, Lumen/Brand Metrics/Havas) and a growing set of attention tools (Adelaide AU, Playground xyz), brands that plan, buy, and optimize to attention are compounding gains across the funnel. Now is the time to set attention floors, attention-priced deals, and attention-outcome reporting as defaults.
