Attention Economy And The Dynamics of Brand Marketing
BY MANSI JHA / July 15, 2023
Attention scarcity in today’s time is one of the fundamental aspects to consider before the firms floor their brand in the market. This calls for an entirely new era of marketing that saves on conventional advertising costs, focuses on quality enhancement, and improves consumer-brand connections.
ave you ever felt the scarcity of time to pay attention to a particular content available online? The answer for most of us would be a yes, as the scrolling option on our screen is more inviting than eyeing something which we don't think of as worth our time. We are moving on to a scenario where there is an overwhelming amount of information available to us, thus we tend to ignore more than we notice. According to a research led by Microsoft and Canadian researchers, in which 2000 participants were surveyed, it was found that our attention span has now dropped from twelve seconds to eight seconds – shrinking almost 25% in just a few years.
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According to a research led by Microsoft and Canadian researchers, in which 2000 participants were surveyed, it was found that our attention span has now dropped from twelve seconds to eight seconds – shrinking almost 25% in just a few years.
Herbert Alexander Simon, an American economist, political scientist, and cognitive psychologist, is credited with originating the notion of the attention economy. Simon stated that attention is a finite resource and it follows the laws of demand and supply, wherein the demand of attention is excessive in comparison to its deficient supply. On an average, people are exposed to 6,000 to 10,000 advertisements every day. The standard human brain is not capable of processing such a large amount of content. This creates a distracted group of consumers which calls for the firms to strategise their marketing techniques and seize opportunities in this new attention economy. Human attention has become a commodity, as it is limitedly available which makes it sought after by various industries and capturing that attention is now an essential part of the revenue-generating strategies implemented in many business models.
Pictured: Illustration by unknown via Pinterest
The attention economy talks about the scarcity of mental focus that we face in times of a humongous supply of content. The American Psychological Association defines attention as “a state in which cognitive resources are focused on certain aspects of the environment rather than on others.” Our attention has always been limited, valuable, and scarce. But the difference we see today is that the advent of the internet and social media has made an abundant amount of information available as compared to the previous times when the minimal amount of information led to an equilibrium in supply and demand for attention. And as we progressed, attention and not information became the limiting factor.
To deal with the rising rate of the economics of attention, brands have adopted numerous strategies to increase sales and keep up with the competition in the market. Advertising is an integral part of a brand’s success. Effective advertising properly executed with other marketing operations increases a firm’s revenue and brand recognition. Making the right advertisements is extremely beneficial for both small and large-scale firms. When the concept of the attention economy emerged it became difficult for the firms to manage the wants of the customers as the intrusive and irrelevant advertisements didn’t appeal to the audience much. When people are exposed to more content and information it becomes easy for them to choose something which is best suited for them and ignore the rest. So, this trend necessitated a shift to digital marketing techniques, where the promotion of a product could be done in several ways like search engine marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, etc.
Effective advertising properly executed with other marketing operations increases a firm’s revenue and brand recognition. Making the right advertisements is extremely beneficial for both small and large-scale firms.
Pictured: Illustration by unknown via pinterest
In a research conducted by Harvard Business School professor and a brand consultant, Thales Teixeira, the following three principles of the attention economy and its adoption by advertisers helped make impactful ads with better consumer attention.
Source: Teixeira, Thales. (2017). Three Principles of making effective advertisements [Infographic]. Think With Google.
The first principle highlights the importance of appropriate amounts of effort and money that needs to be allocated in the marketing techniques, so that it accurately targets, measures, and pays for the attention it receives. The second principle talks about the one factor that the researchers find pertinent is the emotions of the consumers. Not just using emotions, but designing them specifically in a ‘roller coaster’ technique in which they are driven throughout the ad - up, back to neutral, then up and go back to neutral - as opposed to staying emotionally up, down, or sideways. And the last principle showcases how a brand can strategise and initially broadcast smaller ads and then with time increase the length of the ads by putting in more cinematography and enjoy productive attention devoted by the customers.
As more consumers choose to control how they interact with brands they tend to distance themselves from those ads which they consider intrusive or bothersome. Today, ‘web searches’ are tapped by brands and the very next minute, we see hundreds of products or services related to that particular search flooding our social media handles. According to a report by customer engagement and data management software company Redpoint Global via Dynata Research, 70% of people who experience a lack of relevancy with ads are often spammed and receive inaccurate information in brand communications. The best way people deal with it is by instantly eliminating those by using ad blockers and unsubscribe buttons.
As more consumers choose to control how they interact with brands they tend to distance themselves from those ads which they consider intrusive or bothersome.
The consumer market today is more prudent towards any information floating on their screens. We can find this in the recent case where two controversial advertisements by a fragrance brand named Layer’R Shot were suspended by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) as the viewers of the advertisement found it offensive. This showcases that ads are no longer limited to just the promotion of the product but the promotion of the product in the right and ethical manner. However, many brands are seeing this as an opportunity to get back on track and improve their marketing strategies to deliver better ad content, by adopting different means.
Pictured: Illustration by unknown via Pinterest
One such method is contextual marketing. Without the use of any cookies small pieces of data systemise the behaviour of all users on a particular website, which helps it remember about the user’s visit activities. This enables advertisers to reach their target audience without violating their privacy or betraying their trust. Influencer marketing is also growing at a very fast rate. Influencers with massive followers can use their ability to collect more attention or to ‘influence’ for selling a product or service for a particular brand. Another marketing strategy used is Audience segmentation which identifies subgroups within a target audience to produce more customised messaging and strengthen connections. Consumers tend to engage their attention more towards those ads which are customised according to their tastes and preferences.
Influencer marketing is also growing at a very fast rate. Influencers with massive followers can use their ability to collect more attention or to ‘influence’ for selling a product or service for a particular brand.
In the attention economy, every second counts. Serving ad content that can hold a viewer's attention for longer periods not only leads to greater engagement, enhanced brand recall, and improved consumer trust, but it also benefits brands' revenue. Today, the attention paid to ads isn't equal across screens and mediums, as the presence of various avenues like digital marketing, print marketing, TV commercials, etc. makes these mediums garner different shares of viewership, and advertisers should account for that properly.
The content and context of advertisements play a crucial role in capturing the attention of customers. It is predicted that consumer’s attention spans will continue to decrease in the future, so brands must consistently circulate creative content to retain customers. The scarcity of attention and the need for innovative marketing strategies are closely connected. Since consumers are saturated by choices and alternatives, brands need to keep in mind this can prove to be advantageous in garnering more sales. But if consumers don’t connect with a given brand, in no time the brands can lose their market share. Placing the advertisement in front of the right consumers, constantly exploring the field of marketing and adopting dynamic marketing strategies can help the brands sail through this era of attention economy.
Keywords
Scarcity, attention span, Herbert Simon, revenue, effective advertising, social media, content marketing,Thales Teixeira, spray and pray media, contextual marketing, influencer marketing, audience segmentation
References
Kirk, E. (2022, March 23). The Attention Economy: Standing Out Among The Noise. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2022/03/23/the- attention-economy-standing-out-among-the-noise/?sh=50cd7f667fda
Anonymous. (2020, September 23). Irrelevant Advertising: What To Avoid When Marketing To Modern Consumers. BIZcommunity.
https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/12/208609.html#
Verma, V. (2022, July 23). How Indian Brands Are Rooting For Influencer Marketing in 2022. The Times of India.
Teixeira, T. (2017, August). Looking to win the battle for consumer attention? Take the blindfold off. Think with Google.
Joy, A. (2021, February 18). The Attention Economy: Where The Consumer Becomes The Product. Businesstoday.
https://journal.businesstoday.org/bt-online/2021/the-attention-economy-asher-joy’
Stusman, L. (2021, November 15). You have eight seconds. Differentiate your business through the art of storytelling. Microsoft.
Lakshmanan, D. & Basariya, S. R. (2017). Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Advertising in the Current Scenario “Advertising Factors are Immune to Business which Aspire to Inspire before You Expire”. International Journal of Science and Research.
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