Omnicom Media Group’s deal with Australia’s Amplified Intelligence measures ads by attention, not views

Ad views have never been a very effective measure for marketers, given that they are really only about whether the ad has been viewable, not whether anyone was paying attention. Omnicom Media Group is attempting to rectify that by striking a deal with Amplified Intelligence.

The Australian company’s attentionTRACE data comes from a rotating panel of between 3,000 and 5,000 people, who have a device installed on their phones and TVs that records how long they pay attention to ads. It claims to be able to tell if they are paying active attention or not.

Panellists also get sent to a virtual store from time to time, to measure the impact the ads have had on them, so the system relies on them putting in a bit of work. So far, tests seem to show a high correlation between active attention and people remembering ads and buying brands.

Whether that’s about relevance, frequency, or creativity, though, doesn’t seem to be measured – or even measurable. But Amplified Intelligence founder and CEO, Karen Nelson-Field (above), suggests that it’s media’s job to get the attention, and creative’s role to hold on to it.

SC Johnson, whose brands include Mr Muscle, Pledge, Windex and Ecover, is the first marketer to go public with its use of the new tools.

Chrissie Hanson, global chief strategy officer at Omnicom’s OMD, said: “It’s a reinjection of the rigour into what we do. The battleground being fought by brands is around consumer attention, and I know we have the playbook to win that battle.”