For years, the success of digital advertising has been judged through attribution models, from last-click conversions to data-driven attribution. Impressions, CPMs, views, and reach have been the standard metrics to evaluate a branding campaign’s performance. But the reality is: attribution is not the same as impact.
As platforms evolve and privacy rules limit tracking, it’s becoming clear that these “surface metrics” tell us little about the real effectiveness of brand-building campaigns. They might indicate cost or potential reach, but they don’t show whether people actually paid attention or remembered your message.
Why Attention Matters
Attention is the bridge between reaching a user and making sure they recall your brand. With so many ads competing for attention, capturing and holding it has become one of the biggest challenges in advertising.
Without genuine attention, even the most creative and well-established campaigns might fail to shift brand perception or drive long-term growth.
Three main drivers determine whether a campaign captures attention:
- Creative, which is the most important factor, is responsible for 48% of sales outcomes (Nielsen NCS). Think of Pfizer’s Super Bowl ad with the little boy ringing the bell after beating cancer, walking through a cheering crowd while “Mama Said Knock You Out” plays. It’s not just attention-grabbing, it spreads emotion that sticks.
- Audience matters too. Not every message fits every segment. Matching the creative to the right audience boosts both relevance and attention. Show a yoga retreat ad to a football fan mid-match, and it won’t land. Same with a trail running shoe ad served to someone deep into dancing.
- Context is just as important. The platform and environment influence how much attention your message actually gets. Think of a Facebook Story (swiped through in seconds, often on mute) versus a TV ad watched in a chill moment on the couch. One gives you a second. The other gives you space.
Not All Platforms Are Created Equal
As media strategists, we can maximize attention by choosing the right platform, adapting the creative to the audience, and aligning with the best context.
Not all platforms are equal when it comes to attention time, and that should be taken into account when doing your media plans.
Studies show big differences in attention time across channels :
- BVOD (30s) → 19.8 seconds per impression
- YouTube → 7.4 seconds per impression
- TikTok → 2 seconds per impression
- Instagram → 1.9 seconds per impression
Source: eye square, “Strong Variation of Advertising Load on the Media Channels,” for Screenforce, 2025.
So, the same ad on two different platforms won’t deliver the same result. A low CPM might look good in your reporting, but if users scroll past your ad without noticing it, it’s just a wasted impression.
In short: we need to stop buying and measuring impressions and start buying attention. And knowing where attention can be captured is key to smarter media planning.
The Limits of Surface Metrics
Metrics like CPM, impressions, views, and reach serve as useful baselines, but they don’t tell you whether someone watched attentively or if your brand message stuck. They tell you the cost, whether the video played, or whether a user was reached, but not what impact it had.
Moving Towards Attention-Based Measurement
So, how can you assess the real impact of your branding campaigns ?
1) Brand lift & attention studies
The most reliable way to measure effectiveness is through studies.
- Brand lift studies can be run directly with platforms like Google, Meta, or Spotify. They help measure real shifts in awareness, consideration, or even purchase intent after someone sees your ad.
- You can also go deeper with attention studies through partners like Lumen, Teads, or GumGum. These tools use eye-tracking or panel data to measure how long people actually look at your ads, and what they remember.
No need to extrapolate here. You get real, hard data. Perfect for when you want clarity or need to prove that brand-building efforts are paying off.
But what if we don’t have the budget to run full attention studies or brand lift reports? How can we still estimate which platform delivers the most attention for our investment?
2) Attention CPM (aCPM)
When studies aren’t available, you can still make smarter decisions by moving beyond basic CPM and calculating aCPM (Attention CPM), a metric that adjusts cost based on the actual attention time your ad receives.
Here’s how:
- Start with attention benchmarks (e.g. 19.8s for BVOD, 7.4s for YouTube, etc.)
- Multiply the benchmark by your number of impressions to get Total Attention Time (TAT) for your impressions
- Then apply the formula: aCPM = (Cost / TAT) × 1,000
This approach lets you compare platforms based on attention, not just cost.
While Meta might offer a cheaper CPM than BVOD, once you factor in real attention time, BVOD could actually deliver a lower aCPM, meaning more attentive seconds for your budget.
It’s a smarter way to evaluate value, especially when attention (not just reach) is the goal.
3) Brand recall benchmarks
This gives you a rough estimate of how many people will actually remember your brand and again, this varies a lot depending on where your ad runs.
According to research by eyesquare screenforce (2025), here is what it shows :
- BVOD → 20%
- TV → 13%
- YouTube → 9%
- TikTok → 3%
- Instagram → 1%
So yes, not all impressions are equal. By multiplying your impressions with these benchmarks, you can estimate how many brand recalls your campaign might drive.
It’s a simple shift : from just being seen to actually being remembered.
Conclusion
In the age where attribution is losing its dominance, attention is emerging as the true metrics of brand effectiveness. By moving beyond surface metrics and integrating attention time, brand recall, and brand lift into measurement frameworks, advertisers can ensure they’re investing not just in impressions, but in impact.
Ultimately, success lies in striking the right balance between reaching a large audience and capturing meaningful attention. Metrics like aCPM provide the bridge between scale and quality, helping advertisers maximize both reach and effectiveness in a single, holistic approach.
Emilie Andries
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