Should we give so much attention to attention?
I see a lot of posts about the role of attention in advertising on LinkedIn. Attention is important to advertising effectiveness because attention is the gateway to all further advertising effects. No attention, no advertising effect. None.
So, yes, attention correlates with positive brand outcomes. However, the attention given to attention often glosses over an essential point. While attention is necessary for advertising to be effective, it is not sufficient. Why? Because what really matters for advertising to be effective is that it creates motivating memories associated with the advertised brand.
Most ads need to be memorable and motivating
In most cases, advertising must leave a memorable and motivating impression of the brand for it to be effective. No branded memory formation, no future effect.
A few ads may be able to trigger a purchase at the time of exposure, but this sort of purchase is often the result of pastime browsing, e.g., the person did not set out to buy sunglasses, they did not need them, but once they saw them, they wanted them and bought them then and there.
Only meaningful ideas enter long-term memory
While attention is a precursor to memory, whether something is memorable depends on many factors in addition to simply being noticed.
When we pay attention to something we are using short-term memory to process what is going on. Short-term memory does not last and can get overwhelmed by too much stimulation, causing an attentional blink whereby details can be missed or ignored. Only ideas we find meaningful enter long-term memory where they are integrated into our existing body of knowledge, as either semantic memories (facts) or episodic memories (events).
Incidental or meaningless information and events are dumped from short-term memory and forgotten. So, a striking image may get attention, but unless it is found meaningful in some way, it will likely be forgotten quickly.
When it comes to ads, long-term memories form when the experience,
An effective ad will encompass all three of these to a greater or lesser degree, and the more it does so, the more memorable the content is likely to be. (Point 3 explains why it is so hard to overcome pre-existing knowledge and beliefs, we instinctively look for information that supports what we already know or prefer to believe. That's why Public Service Ads are often fighting an uphill battle.)
Make it meaningful
An idea will be personally meaningful when the subject of attention is immediately relevant and appealing to the audience. However, let's not read too much into the word "meaningful". An amusing or funny ad can be meaningful, if only because it gives people a moment of pleasure or releases tension. An ad that makes people laugh out loud may well be so meaningful enough to make people want to share it with others.
However, while well-known brands might be so familiar that they benefit from simply being highlighted in a funny ad, most brands will need to leave a motivating impression to be effective. This impression might be aspirational, e.g., I want to look like that, or, it could be functional, e.g., that would fix my problem, but whatever the impression its relevance needs to be understood then and there.
Make it easy to understand
The need for an ad to be immediately perceived as meaningful points to why ads must be readily understood. If the meaning of an ad is not immediately apparent, few people are going to bother to work it out. It's just an ad. Besides, once the ad has ended, people's attention will likely have moved on, either to the content they really want to see, like posts from friends or the YouTube video they were waiting for, or onto the next ad in the pod for radio or linear TV. It is a rare ad that is so compelling that anyone will spend time wondering what it really was trying to say, they just forget it.
Evoke emotion
Let's face it, most marketers have no idea what they mean when they extol the power of emotion. Even academics have a tough time defining it. Triggering an instinctive emotional response will get someone's attention. If the emotion felt is strong enough, it may make the content memorable. But is that enough? The objective of an ad should be to make the recipient feel good about the brand, either because the response to the ad haloes over onto the brand or by directly highlighting aspects of the brand that people might feel good about.
Either way, if you want that emotional response to do something positive for the brand, think long and hard about whether evoking a negative emotion to get attention is a good idea. Remember people's memories are based on the most intense moments and the end of the experience. So, unless you can successfully resolve a negative emotion in the time allowed and leave the audience feeling good, it might be best to stick to evoking a positive response from the start.
This is why story telling is influential
The right story can convey meaning, trigger emotion, and connect ideas to existing knowledge. However, a story is a narrative account of connected events, it does not need to appeal to the imagination as much as it needs to convey meaning. Even a product demonstration tells a story. Remember the Blendtec "Will it Blend?" videos? However, for a story to be effective, the audience needs to be able to follow the narrative flow otherwise attention is lost.
Direct attention to the brand
Finally, for an ad to be truly effective the brand must have a role in the story, otherwise there is a high risk that it will be forgotten.
A well-branded ad directs people's attention to the brand; it does not add it on as an afterthought. The brand should be the protagonist of the story, not part of the scenery. However, focusing attention is a complex challenge, particularly for video ads. It does not matter what the director intended; it is how the audience attends to what is shown and said that matters. Never mind people's general antipathy to advertising, given the limits of working memory it is all too easy for people to lose the plot or attend to completely the wrong things in an ad.
Memories fade and condense
The three points highlighted earlier summarize how the nature of the content affects memorability; media also has a role to play. Memories are transient, they fade naturally over time, even for things given a lot of attention. Repeated exposure over time which triggers active recall strengthens memory traces and helps ensure the right ideas come to mind when the time comes for someone to buy.
Even with repetition, people's memories tend to focus on the most interesting or meaningful elements of an ad and forget the rest. They come to anticipate the good bits of the ad. So, if the ad impression is to benefit the brand, the brand must be linked to what is found interesting or significant at the time the ad is given attention. Further, this condensing of memories often means that recall is limited to the gist or overall impression, not specific claims or details, so don't load your ad with facts and figures, stick to one idea at a time.
Brand impressions must be memorable and motivating
One further thought before I close. It is very tempting to think that the ad itself must be memorable, but that is not a necessary precondition for advertising to be effective. What really matters is whether a motivating impression is connected to the idea of the brand held in people's memories. To use the language of Ehrenberg-Bass, provided a brand is salient in relation to a category entry point, does it matter where the idea came from? All memory of what happens in the originating ad might be lost, but if the impression conveyed facilitates a purchase, then the ad has done its job.
Earn attention and then direct that attention to the advertised brand
So, yes, attention correlates with positive brand outcomes. However, the attention given to attention often glosses over an essential point. While attention is necessary for advertising to be effective, it is not sufficient. Why? Because what really matters for advertising to be effective is that it creates motivating memories associated with the advertised brand.
Most ads need to be memorable and motivating
In most cases, advertising must leave a memorable and motivating impression of the brand for it to be effective. No branded memory formation, no future effect.
A few ads may be able to trigger a purchase at the time of exposure, but this sort of purchase is often the result of pastime browsing, e.g., the person did not set out to buy sunglasses, they did not need them, but once they saw them, they wanted them and bought them then and there.
However, most people are not ready to buy at the time of exposure. While the '95/5 rule' may be overstated, most people exposed to advertising will not be ready to buy a product category at the time of exposure, no matter how compelling the ad. These people may still buy the advertised brand in future, potentially more than doubling the advertising's overall sales effects, but that will only happen if the ad helps build brand salience and positive brand associations, and that is a lot more complex than just getting attention.
Only meaningful ideas enter long-term memory
While attention is a precursor to memory, whether something is memorable depends on many factors in addition to simply being noticed.
When we pay attention to something we are using short-term memory to process what is going on. Short-term memory does not last and can get overwhelmed by too much stimulation, causing an attentional blink whereby details can be missed or ignored. Only ideas we find meaningful enter long-term memory where they are integrated into our existing body of knowledge, as either semantic memories (facts) or episodic memories (events).
Incidental or meaningless information and events are dumped from short-term memory and forgotten. So, a striking image may get attention, but unless it is found meaningful in some way, it will likely be forgotten quickly.
When it comes to ads, long-term memories form when the experience,
- Is personally meaningful.
- Evokes an emotional response.
- Elaborates on existing knowledge.
An effective ad will encompass all three of these to a greater or lesser degree, and the more it does so, the more memorable the content is likely to be. (Point 3 explains why it is so hard to overcome pre-existing knowledge and beliefs, we instinctively look for information that supports what we already know or prefer to believe. That's why Public Service Ads are often fighting an uphill battle.)
Make it meaningful
An idea will be personally meaningful when the subject of attention is immediately relevant and appealing to the audience. However, let's not read too much into the word "meaningful". An amusing or funny ad can be meaningful, if only because it gives people a moment of pleasure or releases tension. An ad that makes people laugh out loud may well be so meaningful enough to make people want to share it with others.
However, while well-known brands might be so familiar that they benefit from simply being highlighted in a funny ad, most brands will need to leave a motivating impression to be effective. This impression might be aspirational, e.g., I want to look like that, or, it could be functional, e.g., that would fix my problem, but whatever the impression its relevance needs to be understood then and there.
Make it easy to understand
The need for an ad to be immediately perceived as meaningful points to why ads must be readily understood. If the meaning of an ad is not immediately apparent, few people are going to bother to work it out. It's just an ad. Besides, once the ad has ended, people's attention will likely have moved on, either to the content they really want to see, like posts from friends or the YouTube video they were waiting for, or onto the next ad in the pod for radio or linear TV. It is a rare ad that is so compelling that anyone will spend time wondering what it really was trying to say, they just forget it.
Evoke emotion
Let's face it, most marketers have no idea what they mean when they extol the power of emotion. Even academics have a tough time defining it. Triggering an instinctive emotional response will get someone's attention. If the emotion felt is strong enough, it may make the content memorable. But is that enough? The objective of an ad should be to make the recipient feel good about the brand, either because the response to the ad haloes over onto the brand or by directly highlighting aspects of the brand that people might feel good about.
Either way, if you want that emotional response to do something positive for the brand, think long and hard about whether evoking a negative emotion to get attention is a good idea. Remember people's memories are based on the most intense moments and the end of the experience. So, unless you can successfully resolve a negative emotion in the time allowed and leave the audience feeling good, it might be best to stick to evoking a positive response from the start.
This is why story telling is influential
The right story can convey meaning, trigger emotion, and connect ideas to existing knowledge. However, a story is a narrative account of connected events, it does not need to appeal to the imagination as much as it needs to convey meaning. Even a product demonstration tells a story. Remember the Blendtec "Will it Blend?" videos? However, for a story to be effective, the audience needs to be able to follow the narrative flow otherwise attention is lost.
Direct attention to the brand
Finally, for an ad to be truly effective the brand must have a role in the story, otherwise there is a high risk that it will be forgotten.
A well-branded ad directs people's attention to the brand; it does not add it on as an afterthought. The brand should be the protagonist of the story, not part of the scenery. However, focusing attention is a complex challenge, particularly for video ads. It does not matter what the director intended; it is how the audience attends to what is shown and said that matters. Never mind people's general antipathy to advertising, given the limits of working memory it is all too easy for people to lose the plot or attend to completely the wrong things in an ad.
Memories fade and condense
The three points highlighted earlier summarize how the nature of the content affects memorability; media also has a role to play. Memories are transient, they fade naturally over time, even for things given a lot of attention. Repeated exposure over time which triggers active recall strengthens memory traces and helps ensure the right ideas come to mind when the time comes for someone to buy.
Even with repetition, people's memories tend to focus on the most interesting or meaningful elements of an ad and forget the rest. They come to anticipate the good bits of the ad. So, if the ad impression is to benefit the brand, the brand must be linked to what is found interesting or significant at the time the ad is given attention. Further, this condensing of memories often means that recall is limited to the gist or overall impression, not specific claims or details, so don't load your ad with facts and figures, stick to one idea at a time.
Brand impressions must be memorable and motivating
One further thought before I close. It is very tempting to think that the ad itself must be memorable, but that is not a necessary precondition for advertising to be effective. What really matters is whether a motivating impression is connected to the idea of the brand held in people's memories. To use the language of Ehrenberg-Bass, provided a brand is salient in relation to a category entry point, does it matter where the idea came from? All memory of what happens in the originating ad might be lost, but if the impression conveyed facilitates a purchase, then the ad has done its job.
Earn attention and then direct that attention to the advertised brand
While attention is essential for memory, whether something is memorable depends on multiple factors beyond simply being noticed. What worries me about the current attention to measuring attention is that it essentially takes one step back from what really matters.
What matters is do people remember anything about the brand after being exposed to its advertising? Does a motivating brand impression stick in people's minds? Just earning attention is not that hard. Something out of context, intriguing, or intrusive will get some attention. What matters most is how well that attention is used to convey a memorable impression about the brand, and that is a lot harder to do.
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