Attention metrics: The ever murkier waters of engagement measurement

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• December 9, 2022

Insight summary

Consumer attention is no longer a luxury—it's a must-have. While the cost of attention has been steadily and rapidly increasing, the quality of paid attention has declined even more dramatically. The ever-changing digital environment, where global events and divisive issues are discussed constantly and quickly, presents a significant opportunity for businesses to retain viewers' interest online. However, this attempt is no longer as straightforward as it seems.

Attention metrics context

Based on information from Facebook, users spend an average of only 2.5 seconds viewing each post from a desktop device and even less time on mobile phones and tablets. Furthermore, studies conducted by consumer insight firm EyeSee have shown that only 7 percent of people who view a 30-second video post actually watch the entire thing; 27 percent of viewers leave the post after less than one second. 

Depending only on the social media data that platforms offer is no longer enough because authentic viewer engagement happens when they watch the video for a more extended period. If ad campaigns don't capture and hold attention, all the money is wasted because quantity can't replace quality. The increasing complexity of user engagement is why companies like EyeSee that offer alternative attention metrics are becoming more popular.

One of the more common ways advertisers track user behavior is through cookies, small files placed in a device like a smartphone. The file identifies a particular machine and follows that device's usage across the Internet. For example, which sites were opened the most and how long the user stayed on these web pages. Over the years, cookies have earned the distrust and wrath of both consumers and regulators, owing to their perceived underhanded nature. This development has resulted in web browsers implementing restrictions against cookies and regulators requiring companies to ask permission to place cookies in devices.

Disruptive impact

In 2023, Google announced that it would delay phasing out third-party cookies to the second half of 2024. While other browsers like Safari and Firefox have already blocked some third-party tracking cookies, Chrome is the most popular desktop browser globally. Thus, Chrome’s decision will significantly impact the global advertising industry, which is why this move is called the "cookiepocalypse." According to Google, cookies will be phased out "subject to our engagement with the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)." The firm decided to delay this measure because it needs to work more closely with regulators to develop new technologies for advertising replacement. 

Google has found itself in a difficult situation as the sole corporation that dominates several sectors: search, advertising, and browsers. The more Google restricts third-party tracking, the more it harms competing ad businesses and perhaps contributes to its supremacy in the advertising market. Meanwhile, the more Google allows tracking, the greater its chance of being attacked for not protecting user privacy. And no matter what actions the firm takes, it will be consistently criticized by users, regulators, privacy advocates, advertisers, and publishers.

The conflict between the two goals has been challenging to resolve. One reason is that, as the guardian of the open web, Google is attempting to develop its new privacy technologies in the public eye through conventional standards-making procedures. For example, it has centralized some projects under the heading "Privacy Sandbox," a catchall phrase for a range of new Chrome and internet privacy proposals. In January 2024, the implementation of Tracking Protection started, limiting cross-site tracking for 1 percent of Chrome users worldwide by restricting access to third-party cookies by default.

Implications of attention metrics

Wider implications of attention metrics being reassessed may include: 

• Browsers and personal device manufacturers altogether banning cookies, leading to more collaboration with advertisers on how to transition to other attention metrics.
• More incidents of media companies, like the defunct Ozy Media, claiming to have millions of subscribers and views to attract investors.
• Startups focusing on alternative attention metrics, including simulated social media feeds. 
• More media companies losing ad revenues, leading to layoffs and downsizing.
• Some marketing departments and agencies falling back to older methods of advertising before the invention of online ad tracking. Costs of advertising may rise as a result, while advertising efficacy rates may fall. 
• Consumers will be exposed to less tailored advertising on online mediums, unless the specifically opt into ad networks.
• Search companies and social media platforms struggling to redefine engagement and viewership as users have less attention span and increased demand for data privacy.

Questions to consider

• What are some of the attention metrics you've experienced while browsing online?
• How can companies measure engagement without violating data privacy?