Study: Driving brand awareness requires only 1.4 seconds of attention

On average, it takes 1.4 seconds of consumer attention to drive a 10% lift in brand awareness at the top of the engagement funnel. However, for mid-funnel results, a longer attention threshold of 1.6 seconds is required for consideration and 3.9 seconds for prompted recall. 

This is according to a study by Playground xyz that aims to substantiate the notion that optimal attention, rather than maximal attention, is key to unlocking the full potential of brand outcomes. 

Optimal attention is the threshold of attention required to see a lift in a brand outcome. 

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The study found that attention time exerts a strong influencer over upper funnel outcomes and that lift is possible early in the viewing of an advertisement, with most outcomes seeing a lift prior to 10% of the ad having been watched. 

On average, when more than 50% of an ad is watched, the positive response rate for upper funnel metrics including awareness, recall, and consideration saw an increase of 30% above that achieved at baseline.

However, the impact of an ad depends on cognitive processing. While attention plays an integral role in moving consumers towards a purchase, not all attentive seconds are created equally.

Brands must acknowledge that the attention required to drive upper funnel metrics will generally differ from that which is required to drive lower funnel metrics. Brands should also not expect to achieve the same level of lift across each outcome.

In addition, the study found that the success of these strategies relies on careful consideration being given to the environment in which the ad is placed, and the content of the ad itself.

This is especially since optimal attention thresholds are largely driven by the creative. Thus, media placements should be chosen based on the cost to meet or exceed the optimal attention requirements. 

For example, on YouTube where skippable ads are possible, it was revealed that in 94% of cases, the optimal attention thresholds were significantly different, highlighting the integral role that creative plays in driving outcomes. 

On top of that, the study revealed that neuroscience reinforces the power of the creative. Brain activity data supports the notion that creative content significantly influences memory encoding which is linked to key marketing goals such as brand loyalty and sales. 

Lastly, brand sizes matter. Larger brands with established presence require less attention to achieve positive outcomes due to pre-existing brand recognition and distinctive assets. 

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