Howard Shimmel Introduces Q2 2018 Eyes-on-Screen TV Attention Report

Over the course of my nearly 40 years in the media business, I’ve had the pleasure of being actively involved as our industry develops a series of increasingly precise audience measurement tools.

It wasn’t so long ago that the best brands bought television against broad age/sex demos, and while brands developed highly precise marketing targets, these targets were converted to age/sex for activation. Today, with the advent of audience buying and initiatives like OpenAP, advertisers can activate national TV against these precise marketing targets, matching a capability that has existed in digital for some time.

But while these advances empower brands to target with much greater precision, we shouldn’t see the move to audience buying as an endpoint. We have to continue to search for other measurement attributes that will help advertisers optimize the ROI of their TV spend, and help media companies to optimize the impact they have for advertisers. Indeed, during my time as Chief Research Officer at Turner Broadcasting, it became extremely clear to me that one potential solution to the measurement mix is attention. After all, you could be talking to your most loyal customer in the entire world, but if they’re not paying attention when your ad runs, it’s a missed opportunity to drive ROI.

TVision Insights uses computer vision technology to measure real, eyes-on-screen attention from their panelists. This empowers them to see with distinct clarity how attention drives sales, brand lift, tune-in, store visits and lower costs per conversion. With this information in-hand, advertisers can generate their desired outcomes by optimizing for and transacting on attention, in addition to audiences. This report for Q2 2018 shows why it’s not just important for advertisers to measure attention, but why every second of attention matters.

Here’s a little bit of what you’ll discover in this Q2 report:

  • Attention varies every second—Microsoft and Claritin-D delivered two high-attention ads this past quarter, but this attention wasn’t distributed evenly amongst viewers. TVision data showed how repeat viewing drove higher attention, how different triggers led to eyes-on-screen upticks, and how Claritin’s ad resonated with different age groups.
  • Six-second ads have been extremely effective, but mostly due to placement—In a report presented alongside the Advertising Research Foundation, six-second ads were more efficient at capturing attention than their 15-second and 30-second counterparts. However, this effectiveness is largely attributable to their placement in premium pod positions during popular live events.
  • Attention can uncover unique insights across content—TVision’s closed-loop panel enables analysis of how different audiences pay attention to different content. This quarter, viewers who had previously watched actress Meghan Markle in the USA drama Suits paid much closer attention to the Royal Wedding, where she became Duchess of Sussex, than viewers who had not seen the show.

As a media industry veteran, I'm extremely excited to share these insights with you. TVision Insights strives to help brands, agencies and networks make smarter decisions. I hope you will nd this information useful in your pursuit of a more effective media strategy.

Download the full report

Howard Shimmel

Howard Shimmel is President, Janus Strategy and Insights, LLC. Prior to his consultancy, Howard was Chief Research Officer at Turner Broadcasting. Howard has also held leadership roles at Nielsen, AOL, and MTV Networks.

TV and CTV Attention Report
The TV and CTV Attention Report