Marketecture Podcast Episode 98: Marc Guldimann Explains Everything About Attention

Hosted by: Ari Pipero and Eric Franci
Guest: Marc Guldimann, CEO of Adelaide Metrics
Release Date: November 15, 2024
Podcast Link: marketecture.tv

Introduction

In Episode 98 of the Marketecture Podcast, hosts Ari Pipero and Eric Franci engage in an enlightening conversation with Marc Guldimann, the CEO of Adelaide Metrics. The primary focus of this episode centers on "attention" within the advertising and marketing industries—a topic gaining significant traction in 2024. Despite Adelaide Metrics being a vendor in the space, the hosts sought a comprehensive 101 tutorial from Marc to demystify attention and its metrics.

1. The Rising Importance of Attention Metrics

A Shift from Traditional Metrics: Attention metrics have surged in prominence as industry professionals seek more reliable indicators of media quality. Marc emphasizes that not all media is created equal, and existing metrics like viewability have been gamed, leading to compromised quality.

Marc Guldimann [04:00]: "A lot of the metrics that are used by the market today have been fully gamed, like viewability. If you optimize just like whole hog towards the most viewability and the lowest CPM, you're going to get some pretty low-quality media."

Attention vs. Viewability: While viewability measures whether an ad is seen, it doesn't account for the quality of that view. Attention metrics aim to fill this gap by providing a deeper understanding of how audiences engage with media.

Marc Guldimann [04:06]: "If the metric is transparent or if the weights on the different sort of measures are more opaque, that's definitely something that we have a strong opinion on."

2. The Four Waves of Attention Metrics

Marc outlines four distinct waves in the evolution of attention metrics, each representing advancements in how attention is measured and utilized.

Wave 1: Viewability and Video Completion Rate

• Description: The initial phase where viewability and video completion rates served as proxies for attention.
• Insight: While these metrics provided a basic understanding, they lacked depth in assessing true engagement.

Wave 2: Viewability Plus

• Description: Extending viewability by tracking the duration an ad remains on the screen.
• Insight: Longer display times can indicate higher engagement but don't account for contextual quality.

Wave 3: Eye Tracking and Gaze Duration

• Description: Incorporating eye-tracking technology to predict gaze duration.
• Insight: Offers a more accurate measure of attention but solely focuses on gaze without linking to business outcomes.

Marc Guldimann [07:23]: "The dependent variable in the third wave of attention metrics is gaze duration and not business outcomes."

Wave 4: Probability of Attention

• Description: Shifting focus from maximizing attention to the probability of attention, ensuring higher-quality engagements.
• Insight: Aligns attention metrics with actual business outcomes, making them more actionable and reliable.

Marc Guldimann [09:42]: "The biggest risk an advertiser has is no attention, and that's what they need to mitigate."

3. Methodologies for Measuring Attention

Importance of Eye Tracking Data: Marc underscores the necessity of eye-tracking data to genuinely comprehend human attention in media consumption. Unlike methods that infer attention through indirect signals like mouse movements, eye tracking provides direct insights.

Marc Guldimann [13:11]: "Everybody should use eye tracking data. You need to understand human attention."

Outcome-Based Metrics: The ultimate goal is to tie attention metrics to business outcomes. This involves a rigorous process of research, data collection, modeling, and validation against real-world performance indicators.

Marc Guldimann [15:32]: "The job of advertising is not to drive attention, it's to drive actual business results."

Challenges with Alternative Methods: Methods relying solely on JavaScript or other inferential techniques lack the precision and reliability of eye-tracking data, potentially leading to inaccurate attention assessments.

4. The Competitive Landscape and Market Challenges

Proliferation of Attention Startups: As of the episode, there are over a dozen startups vying in the attention metrics space. Marc highlights the competitive nature as both a catalyst for innovation and a barrier due to the prevalence of subpar metrics.

Marc Guldimann [06:38]: "There's a few launching. It seems like every week. It's a crowded space."

Quality Control and Accreditation: The market's growth is threatened by "bad attention metrics." To combat this, Adelaide Metrics and peers strive for accreditation and transparency in their methodologies to build trust.

Marc Guldimann [17:10]: "We've had our product under review for accreditation... for everything from web to digital, out of home to CTV and cinema."

Market-Driven Standards: Adelaide Metrics is working with the IAB to establish industry standards, ensuring that attention metrics align with both research and tangible business outcomes.

5. The Future: Attention Metrics as a Currency

Market Adoption and Guarantees: Marc envisions attention metrics evolving into a currency-like standard within the advertising ecosystem. This would involve media placements being rated and guaranteed based on their attention metrics, facilitating trust and predictability.

Marc Guldimann [19:15]: "There are like A and E, for a while was making guarantees on TV data. So it's definitely starting to happen."

Case Study: Wall Street Journal: The Wall Street Journal's adoption of Adelaide Metrics' data to guarantee attention levels exemplifies this shift towards attention as a market-driven currency.

Marc Guldimann [20:45]: "The Wall Street Journal announced recently that they're making guarantees based on our data."

Long-Term Vision: As attention metrics become standardized and widely accepted, they will reshape how media buys are conducted, moving beyond traditional metrics to more nuanced and outcome-oriented measurements.

6. Proving the Link Between Attention and Outcomes

Evidence of Efficacy: Despite some claims to the contrary, Adelaide Metrics and competitors like Lumen possess substantial proof that attention-driven strategies lead to better business outcomes compared to traditional metrics.

Marc Guldimann [16:29]: "There's a large body of work that proves that attention drives outcomes."

Addressing Skepticism: Marc acknowledges counterclaims, such as Kroger's unsuccessful test using DoubleVerify's metrics, attributing failures to the quality and data sources of the metrics employed rather than the concept itself.

Marc Guldimann [16:34]: "It depends on the vendor you use... I don't know how much eye tracking data they use."

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• [04:00] Marc Guldimann: "If you optimize just like whole hog towards the most viewability and the lowest CPM, you're going to get some pretty low-quality media."

• [07:23] Marc Guldimann: "The dependent variable in the third wave of attention metrics is gaze duration and not business outcomes."

• [09:42] Marc Guldimann: "The biggest risk an advertiser has is no attention, and that's what they need to mitigate."

• [15:32] Marc Guldimann: "The job of advertising is not to drive attention, it's to drive actual business results."

• [19:15] Marc Guldimann: "There are like A and E, for a while was making guarantees on TV data. So it's definitely starting to happen."

• [20:45] Marc Guldimann: "The Wall Street Journal announced recently that they're making guarantees based on our data."

Conclusion

Episode 98 of the Marketecture Podcast offers a comprehensive exploration of attention metrics, their evolution, and their pivotal role in modern advertising. Through Marc Guldimann's expert insights, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of why attention metrics surpass traditional measures like viewability, the methodologies underpinning accurate attention assessment, and the future trajectory of these metrics as foundational standards within the industry. This episode serves as an invaluable resource for marketing and advertising professionals seeking to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Disclaimer:
This summary is crafted based on the provided transcript excerpts and may not encompass all discussions from the full episode. For an in-depth understanding, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full podcast episode.