Seeking Attention: How Interactive Marketing Experiences Capture Focus
Every marketer knows that if you want customers to convert, you need to get their attention. It sounds simple, but it’s easier said than done: as more and more distractions (from Netflix to Instagram) compete for consumers’ attention, it’s only getting harder to stop people in their tracks and get them to focus–especially on an ad.
To win, marketers need to break through the noise and differentiate their brands from competitors. Luckily, there are tactics to help you grab eyes and stop the scroll.
Interactive experiences, like augmented reality (AR), are an especially effective way to do that. That’s why we partnered with Snapchat and Lumen to analyze Wpromote client campaigns to see how effectively AR drives attention vs. non-interactive ad formats and put together a playbook for brands to tap into interactive formats to maximize business results.
Why you should be measuring attention
According to eMarketer, Americans spend a whopping eight hours a day on average viewing digital media–a number that’s predicted to rise even more in the next few years.
With consumers spending so much time viewing content online, they’re also seeing an endless stream of ads. It’s not surprising that audiences have mastered the art of tuning out advertising in their digital lives, ignoring, skipping, or swiping past them in their feeds.
“Attention is a zero-sum game. People have a limited supply of attention: if you lose it, the game is already over. This research confirms a central truth: brands need to take attention into account across both media and creative to maximize influence at every touch point in the customer journey and drive business outcomes.”
Competition for attention is steep, and advertisers need creative that stands out from the crowd. But how do you know if it’s working? That’s where attention metrics come in.
Viewability has long been the industry standard to account for attention, but it provides a limited understanding of user behavior. Viewability can let marketers know if an ad loaded on a screen in front of someone, but it can’t tell you whether the ad did what it was supposed to do.
Enter a new species of attention metrics, which use data points to model whether specific media and creative combinations will get an audience to actually pay attention.
As a metric, attention has gained a lot of traction within the advertising industry recently, particularly when it comes to determining whether an ad was seen and coded to memory.
That’s because, unlike less-specific metrics like viewability, attention:
- Is a real human response to an ad
- Drives business impact
- Provides transparency in advertising quality
- Gives ads the opportunity to perform
How AR captures audience attention
We leveraged Lumen’s proprietary approach to attention measurement, which is based on a biometric ground-truth dataset developed from years of eye-tracking models, to understand how AR experiences work for customers. We evaluated ads using Lumen’s APM score (attention per mille, a measure of how long attention was being paid over 1000 impressions) and added key performance metrics such as swipe-ups, purchase attributions, and brand lift.
We analyzed historical US Snap campaigns Wpromote has run for our clients, which included 219 million impressions across different ad formats on Snap, like video and AR.
We found three main takeaways when it comes to using AR alongside video in campaigns:
- AR drives attention and outcomes–campaigns using AR demonstrate the power of interactive brand experiences to drive attention and brand lift.
- Interactive brand experiences lead to more deliberate decision-making compared to fleeting impressions, showcased by differences in swipe up to conversion ratios.
- Following creative best practices works. Not just for AR, but across the various ad formats, which helps to increase attention levels.
“This study aligns with a growing body of research showing that optimizing media investment with attention metrics drives stronger outcomes, from clicks and brand awareness to direct profit.”
Interacting with AR also gives users time to think about an ad and make deliberate decisions regarding the product or service, rather than just scrolling past.
This means viewers spend more time with the ad before ultimately converting or moving on–giving brands a chance to make a truly lasting impression.
“With AR, we’re seeing slower, more deliberate consumer engagement that drives meaningful brand lift, while video can spark quick decisions. This dual approach delivers nuanced, transparent insights on how people interact with brands.”
How brands should leverage interactive experiences
So how can your brand capture more attention?
Interactivity is critical to attracting audience engagement. You can make the most of AR content by following these key takeaways:
1. Create lasting brand impact by adding interactivity to the mix
By using interactive brand experiences to complement standard video campaigns, marketers can achieve higher levels of attention and brand lift.
2. Find the right strategy to maximize the impact of interactive ads
Consumers make decisions in different ways when looking at video vs. AR performance, so marketers should tailor their strategies and measurement accordingly. Advertisers should consider longer attribution windows for AR lenses compared to video, strategically place media based on when consumers have time to engage with ads, and create content that aligns with how people interact with each format.
3. Tailor creative to drive your business goals
Shareability in creative helps increase attention levels while optimizing video creative helps capture and retain user attention. Start strategizing how findings around slow and fast decision-making impact your creative strategy. For example, video ads can drive urgency, while AR can be leveraged for deeper education and engagement.
Above all, remember that in today’s competitive attention economy, just showing up isn’t enough. You need to design experiences that keep consumers focused on your brand, rather than scrolling past.
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