Attention, the precious commodity

In an age marked by constant information overload and digital distractions, attention has emerged as a valuable currency in the media industry. While attention is a prominent metric for measuring the success of advertising campaigns, pursuing developments and patterns of how audiences allocate attention is crucial.

With this in mind, FranceTV Publicité launched the first edition of “Attention Day” on 29 June – an event dedicated to the industry discussion on Attention. FranceTV Publicité, Ipsos and Tobii seized this event as an opportunity to introduce the study “Cultivons l’Attention” (Let’s Cultivate Attention) and showcase the initial trends emerging from their research. While relying on innovative eye-tracking technology as methodology, the study demonstrates compelling findings about the effectiveness of advertising and attention value of linear television/catch-up TV.

Let’s Cultivate Attention and learn from it

To conduct this extensive research, FranceTV Publicité and Ipsos collaborated with the eye-tracking technology expert Tobii. For this initiative, they use eye-tracking glasses that assess the viewers’ behaviours and attention to advertising in real-life circumstances, while watching ads in the comfort of their homes.

The project is aimed at learning about the mechanisms of attention. The objective is to pinpoint the primary factors that influence attention in terms of duration, measured in seconds, and their origin from a single source (for all TV/digital videos), considering five factors: offer, device, experience, format and context.

• THE OFFER (TV, AVOD, catch-up, video platforms, social media)
• THE DEVICE (TV screen, Smartphone/Tablet, computer)
• THE EXPERIENCE (Sound on/off, size of the ad on the screen, crowdedness, position on the screen, etc.)
• THE FORMAT (pre-roll, mid-roll, story, in-feed, etc.)
• THE CONTEXT (Informational content, fiction, etc.)

This ambitious FranceTV Publicité program was executed through cooperation with key players in the market: the media agencies (Havas Media Network, I-prospect/Dentsu, Group M, Publicis Media France, Omnicom Media Group France), the CESP (Center for the study of advertising media), Ipsos and Eranos, the consulting firm, focusing on society and transformation. The study focuses on the identification of the most significant factors contributing to advertising attention in the French market, as in France “cross TV/Video” audience metrics will become a new reality soon. The total duration of this engaging research is two years, consisting of three stages and the first stage, providing insights into advertising attention measurement, has been partially completed.

Linear TV and catch-up TV represent 85% of video advertisements recorded

The preliminary tendencies identified prove the profound impact and effectiveness of advertising and attention value of linear television/catch-up TV, compared with streaming services and social media.

• Linear TV and catch-up TV represent 85% of video advertisements recorded. Streaming platforms represented just 8%, and social media just 7% (1).
• 97% of linear TV/catch-up TV spots meet the MRC threshold (The Media Rating Council) vs 87% for streaming platforms and just 11% for social media (2).
• For the 20 second format, the attention score for linear TV and catch-up TV ads is 86% vs 59% for streaming platforms (3).

(1) % video advertisement recordings gathered based on individuals having watched their preferred screens while wearing eye-tracking glasses

2) 2s MRC standard and minimum 50% display on screen

(3) In attentive seconds. Social media comparison is not currently possible due to insufficient data.

No matter the platform or media, capturing and retaining a viewer’s attention is a significant challenge. Nevertheless, the choice of tools plays a vital role in determining the success of advertising campaigns in terms of attention. The FranceTV Publicité study findings imply that advertising on television remains impactful and prominent while in co-existence with digital advertising on social media and streaming platforms.

“Today, we want to go even further and create Attention, the new key indicator of communications performance, between now and 2024. Our goal is to strengthen the value of a quality television and offer a unique advertising experience. Our objective is to build a French TV/Video standard for advertising attention for the use of our partner media agencies and advertisers,”

says Marianne Siproudhis, CEO of FranceTV Publicité.