According to new research from McKinsey & Co, attention is influenced by how actively consumers are engaged with the content (focus) and the job to be done, or why they are consuming the content (intent)*.
Marketers, the authors argue, need to consider how ads match the focus and intent of consumption; in other words, they must have resonance with the content to have a better chance of driving sales.
Defining focus and intent
A person’s focus is determined by the type of media being consumed, the research says. It's highest when it’s live and in person, but books (both digital and physical) can rival live experiences to a similar degree. Gaming is the only digital medium that gets close to live levels of focus, with streaming the next highest.
“Overall, the more focused consumers are, the more likely they are to spend. Across consumers, a 10% increase in average focus paid across mediums is associated with a 17% increase in spend,” says the report.
Intent is defined by five ‘jobs’ performed by consuming content: to enjoy something that’s loved; for education and entertainment; for social connection; for light entertainment and relaxing; and for background ambience. Advertisers, the report notes, should ask themselves how they can make ads based on the job to be done of each medium.
High-value consumer segments
The analysis identified seven consumer segments; of that sample, 40% (three subtypes) have high attention and commercial value:
- Content lovers: entertainment omnivores or superfans (13%of all consumers) who spend 2.4 times more money on content and consume 1.7 times more content than the average consumer.
- Interactivity enthusiasts: immersion seekers (16%) who are competitive and lively; they love video games, sports, online betting, and comedy. They prefer endorsements to advertisements, overindex on preference for user-generated content, and spend a good amount of their time in online message boards.
- Community trendsetters: culture creators (10%) who are extroverted tastemakers, seeking out large communal events such as concerts, movies, and theme parks. They’re active on social media and drive online culture and fandom, often with outsize spending on their hobbies and interests. They enjoy ads more than any other segment, and when they’re not setting the cultural conversation, they’re shopping.
Takeaways
- An overwhelming majority of media consumers, across generations (including almost two-thirds of baby boomers), now routinely browse the internet or apps while watching TV.
- Sporting events, amusement parks, video games, and traditional linear video are the most effective monetizers of attention, generating the greatest revenue per hour relative to their levels of consumption, the report finds.
- The mediums across which an organization operates go a long way in determining how effectively that organization converts attention into revenue (and, ultimately, profit).
- The top 10% of spenders (by dollars spent) make up almost 50% of consumer spend in media; but the top 10% of heavy consumers of media only make up about 20% of spend.
Why attention matters
Americans now spend, on average, roughly 13 hours a day engaging with media, McKinsey finds, and it’s split across different types of content, platforms and devices. With such a fragmented landscape, the value of attention can’t be calculated simply by time spent.
Instead, it must take into account the type of media being consumed, the job to be done, and the level of focus. These three factors need to be considered before the true value of attention can be accurately measured. (A calculator is included in the report to find the value of attention based on these factors.)
*Findings are based on a survey of 3,000 US consumers.
Source: warc.com, McKinsey & Co.