Many brands focus on two ends of the spectrum for advertising success: viewability as a proxy for attention and attribution as a proxy for behavior change.
But we’re missing an important step between attention and behavior change, especially since measuring those metrics come with many caveats. What’s lacking here is comprehension. Did the audience truly understand the message necessary for creating a shift in behavior? In this post, we cover how advertisers can drive behavioral change through exposure, attention and comprehension of their digital ad campaigns.
Driving Behavior Change With Advertising
The ultimate goal of advertising is to convince people to change a specific behavior, such as purchasing a product. The path to that behavior change starts with exposure to an ad at top-of-funnel behaviors, such as brand awareness. But often lost in the sea of performance measurement KPIs are two key factors in the path to behavior change: is the consumer paying attention to TV, CTV and pre-roll ads, and did they even comprehend the message.
The 4 Stages of Behavior Change
The path to behavior change happens in 4 stages:
- Exposure
- Attention
- Comprehension
- Behavior change
The framework for that path looks something like this:
Each step along this path has specific implications and measurement options for advertisers, so let’s dissect each one.
1. Exposure
Ad exposure is a fairly straightforward delivery of any advertisement be it a banner, pre-roll video, sponsored social post, CTV video ad, etc. It is typically measured by impressions delivered, or cost per impression (CPM) Some brands prioritize reach and/or frequency as a key goal of their ad campaigns, measured through impressions. However, solely focusing on those metrics means not knowing if consumers were paying attention, and/or if they led to a behavior change.
The Research on Made-For-Advertising Sites & Their Impact on Attention
In fact, a recent study by the ANA revealed that 21% of impressions come from Made for Advertising sites. When advertising on MFA sites, advertisers can struggle to differentiate between organic and paid impressions, making it hard to discern genuine interest from clickbait-driven visits, resulting in impressions that may not even reach their intended audience. So to advertisers this looks like their performance is improving when in reality they’re inflating their vanity metrics without meaningful gains, along with emitting larger amounts of carbon waste.
The Sharethrough Difference
Sharethrough was the first SSP to automatically remove all Jounce-identified MFA sites from our over-the-shelf and custom packages. Helping advertisers from wasting 15% of their ad spend that would’ve gone to MFA sites, can instead fund high-quality publishers. Additionally, removing MFA sites also helps reduce carbon emissions.
2. Attention
After serving an ad impression, the first question is: are real humans paying any attention to the ad? Viewability is typically used as a proxy metric for attention. The problem? Many ads can technically be viewable but most humans will rarely pay attention to them. Banner blindness is a prime example.
With human attention becoming more and more divided, it is harder than ever to ensure that consumers are paying attention to TV, CTV, or pre-roll ads. Especially considering that 79% of people look at their phone or other device while an ad plays on TV and 90% of people skip pre-roll ads.
So how can you know if your audience is paying attention? There are several ways of finding out, through eye-tracking studies, surveys and more. Adelaide, a leading metrics measurement company, scores ad placements and their likelihood of capturing viewer’s attention using AI which analyzes various attention signals. Adelaide’s AU scoring is available on Sharethrough’s curated marketplace, providing advertisers with a turnkey method of maximizing viewer’s attention.
Read More: How Advertisers can Maximize Attention Thanks to Sharethrough’s New Partnership with Adelaide
Moving beyond viewability as a pseudo-metric for attention, how can advertisers help consumers comprehend the brand’s messaging?
3. Comprehension
If TV, CTV, or pre-roll ads have managed to capture the attention of the audience, the next step towards behavior change is that they comprehend the message. But grabbing consumer attention doesn’t mean comprehension is guaranteed. Through some of our research, we discovered that 75% of people keep their devices on mute. Because of this, most people expect videos to have captions so they can read and comprehend the advertiser’s message. Social media platforms recognized this need and built tools that allow anyone to easily add captions to their videos. The same can be true for the open web.
Referencing our previous eye-tracking studies that revealed people look at the headline space of an ad, we tested adding captions in that space to see if there would be an improvement in comprehension. We found that ads with captions improve comprehension by 56%, on par with editorial content. This led to the development of Dynamic Video Captions, which automatically add human-verified captions in the headline space of your video ads.
Knowing that improving the attention towards TV, CTV and pre-roll ads also improves bottom-funnel metrics, how does improving comprehension help maximize performance gains and drive behavior change?
4. Behavior Change
There is a clear correlation between comprehension and behavior change, as Ford discovered when they improved the viewer’s comprehension towards their ads by 142%. Using Dynamic Video Captions, Ford saw a 19% increase in purchase intent of their product offering. Not only that, but their cost per completed view was 59% lower than the industry average and their video completion rate was 57% higher. By improving comprehension, Ford was able to drive behavior change, improve their bottom-funnel metrics and save on ad spend.
Read More: How Ford Increased Brand Metrics of Their Video Campaigns With Dynamic Video Captions Technology
Greater Comprehension Leads to Greater Advertising Outcomes
Although attribution is often used as a proxy for behavior change, comprehension is more revealing whether an ad will convince consumers to change their behaviors. But comprehension begins with attention and viewability doesn’t accurately measure if someone saw the ad or even paid attention. Contact us to learn more about how Sharethrough and Dynamic Video Captions can help maximize the reach of ad campaigns and increase the attention and comprehension leading to improved bottom-funnel outcomes, save on ad spend and maximizing ROI.
Many brands focus on two ends of the spectrum for advertising success: viewability as a proxy for attention and attribution as a proxy for behavior change.
But we’re missing an important step between attention and behavior change, especially since measuring those metrics come with many caveats. What’s lacking here is comprehension. Did the audience truly understand the message necessary for creating a shift in behavior? In this post, we cover how advertisers can drive behavioral change through exposure, attention and comprehension of their digital ad campaigns.
Driving Behavior Change With Advertising
The ultimate goal of advertising is to convince people to change a specific behavior, such as purchasing a product. The path to that behavior change starts with exposure to an ad at top-of-funnel behaviors, such as brand awareness. But often lost in the sea of performance measurement KPIs are two key factors in the path to behavior change: is the consumer paying attention to TV, CTV and pre-roll ads, and did they even comprehend the message.
The 4 Stages of Behavior Change
The path to behavior change happens in 4 stages:
- Exposure
- Attention
- Comprehension
- Behavior change
The framework for that path looks something like this:
Each step along this path has specific implications and measurement options for advertisers, so let’s dissect each one.
1. Exposure
Ad exposure is a fairly straightforward delivery of any advertisement be it a banner, pre-roll video, sponsored social post, CTV video ad, etc. It is typically measured by impressions delivered, or cost per impression (CPM) Some brands prioritize reach and/or frequency as a key goal of their ad campaigns, measured through impressions. However, solely focusing on those metrics means not knowing if consumers were paying attention, and/or if they led to a behavior change.
The Research on Made-For-Advertising Sites & Their Impact on Attention
In fact, a recent study by the ANA revealed that 21% of impressions come from Made for Advertising sites. When advertising on MFA sites, advertisers can struggle to differentiate between organic and paid impressions, making it hard to discern genuine interest from clickbait-driven visits, resulting in impressions that may not even reach their intended audience. So to advertisers this looks like their performance is improving when in reality they’re inflating their vanity metrics without meaningful gains, along with emitting larger amounts of carbon waste.
The Sharethrough Difference
Sharethrough was the first SSP to automatically remove all Jounce-identified MFA sites from our over-the-shelf and custom packages. Helping advertisers from wasting 15% of their ad spend that would’ve gone to MFA sites, can instead fund high-quality publishers. Additionally, removing MFA sites also helps reduce carbon emissions.
2. Attention
After serving an ad impression, the first question is: are real humans paying any attention to the ad? Viewability is typically used as a proxy metric for attention. The problem? Many ads can technically be viewable but most humans will rarely pay attention to them. Banner blindness is a prime example.
With human attention becoming more and more divided, it is harder than ever to ensure that consumers are paying attention to TV, CTV, or pre-roll ads. Especially considering that 79% of people look at their phone or other device while an ad plays on TV and 90% of people skip pre-roll ads.
So how can you know if your audience is paying attention? There are several ways of finding out, through eye-tracking studies, surveys and more. Adelaide, a leading metrics measurement company, scores ad placements and their likelihood of capturing viewer’s attention using AI which analyzes various attention signals. Adelaide’s AU scoring is available on Sharethrough’s curated marketplace, providing advertisers with a turnkey method of maximizing viewer’s attention.
Read More: How Advertisers can Maximize Attention Thanks to Sharethrough’s New Partnership with Adelaide
Moving beyond viewability as a pseudo-metric for attention, how can advertisers help consumers comprehend the brand’s messaging?
3. Comprehension
If TV, CTV, or pre-roll ads have managed to capture the attention of the audience, the next step towards behavior change is that they comprehend the message. But grabbing consumer attention doesn’t mean comprehension is guaranteed. Through some of our research, we discovered that 75% of people keep their devices on mute. Because of this, most people expect videos to have captions so they can read and comprehend the advertiser’s message. Social media platforms recognized this need and built tools that allow anyone to easily add captions to their videos. The same can be true for the open web.
Referencing our previous eye-tracking studies that revealed people look at the headline space of an ad, we tested adding captions in that space to see if there would be an improvement in comprehension. We found that ads with captions improve comprehension by 56%, on par with editorial content. This led to the development of Dynamic Video Captions, which automatically add human-verified captions in the headline space of your video ads.
Knowing that improving the attention towards TV, CTV and pre-roll ads also improves bottom-funnel metrics, how does improving comprehension help maximize performance gains and drive behavior change?
4. Behavior Change
There is a clear correlation between comprehension and behavior change, as Ford discovered when they improved the viewer’s comprehension towards their ads by 142%. Using Dynamic Video Captions, Ford saw a 19% increase in purchase intent of their product offering. Not only that, but their cost per completed view was 59% lower than the industry average and their video completion rate was 57% higher. By improving comprehension, Ford was able to drive behavior change, improve their bottom-funnel metrics and save on ad spend.
Read More: How Ford Increased Brand Metrics of Their Video Campaigns With Dynamic Video Captions Technology
Greater Comprehension Leads to Greater Advertising Outcomes
Although attribution is often used as a proxy for behavior change, comprehension is more revealing whether an ad will convince consumers to change their behaviors. But comprehension begins with attention and viewability doesn’t accurately measure if someone saw the ad or even paid attention. Contact us to learn more about how Sharethrough and Dynamic Video Captions can help maximize the reach of ad campaigns and increase the attention and comprehension leading to improved bottom-funnel outcomes, save on ad spend and maximizing ROI.
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech is a short 3-minute podcast exploring the news in the digital advertising industry. Ad tech is a fast-growing industry with many updates happening daily. As it can be hard for most to keep up with the latest news, the Sharethrough team wanted to create an audio series compiling notable mentions each week.
Many brands focus on two ends of the spectrum for advertising success: viewability as a proxy for attention and attribution as a proxy for behavior change.
But we’re missing an important step between attention and behavior change, especially since measuring those metrics come with many caveats. What’s lacking here is comprehension. Did the audience truly understand the message necessary for creating a shift in behavior? In this post, we cover how advertisers can drive behavioral change through exposure, attention and comprehension of their digital ad campaigns.
Driving Behavior Change With Advertising
The ultimate goal of advertising is to convince people to change a specific behavior, such as purchasing a product. The path to that behavior change starts with exposure to an ad at top-of-funnel behaviors, such as brand awareness. But often lost in the sea of performance measurement KPIs are two key factors in the path to behavior change: is the consumer paying attention to TV, CTV and pre-roll ads, and did they even comprehend the message.
The 4 Stages of Behavior Change
The path to behavior change happens in 4 stages:
- Exposure
- Attention
- Comprehension
- Behavior change
The framework for that path looks something like this:
Each step along this path has specific implications and measurement options for advertisers, so let’s dissect each one.
1. Exposure
Ad exposure is a fairly straightforward delivery of any advertisement be it a banner, pre-roll video, sponsored social post, CTV video ad, etc. It is typically measured by impressions delivered, or cost per impression (CPM) Some brands prioritize reach and/or frequency as a key goal of their ad campaigns, measured through impressions. However, solely focusing on those metrics means not knowing if consumers were paying attention, and/or if they led to a behavior change.
The Research on Made-For-Advertising Sites & Their Impact on Attention
In fact, a recent study by the ANA revealed that 21% of impressions come from Made for Advertising sites. When advertising on MFA sites, advertisers can struggle to differentiate between organic and paid impressions, making it hard to discern genuine interest from clickbait-driven visits, resulting in impressions that may not even reach their intended audience. So to advertisers this looks like their performance is improving when in reality they’re inflating their vanity metrics without meaningful gains, along with emitting larger amounts of carbon waste.
The Sharethrough Difference
Sharethrough was the first SSP to automatically remove all Jounce-identified MFA sites from our over-the-shelf and custom packages. Helping advertisers from wasting 15% of their ad spend that would’ve gone to MFA sites, can instead fund high-quality publishers. Additionally, removing MFA sites also helps reduce carbon emissions.
2. Attention
After serving an ad impression, the first question is: are real humans paying any attention to the ad? Viewability is typically used as a proxy metric for attention. The problem? Many ads can technically be viewable but most humans will rarely pay attention to them. Banner blindness is a prime example.
With human attention becoming more and more divided, it is harder than ever to ensure that consumers are paying attention to TV, CTV, or pre-roll ads. Especially considering that 79% of people look at their phone or other device while an ad plays on TV and 90% of people skip pre-roll ads.
So how can you know if your audience is paying attention? There are several ways of finding out, through eye-tracking studies, surveys and more. Adelaide, a leading metrics measurement company, scores ad placements and their likelihood of capturing viewer’s attention using AI which analyzes various attention signals. Adelaide’s AU scoring is available on Sharethrough’s curated marketplace, providing advertisers with a turnkey method of maximizing viewer’s attention.
Read More: How Advertisers can Maximize Attention Thanks to Sharethrough’s New Partnership with Adelaide
Moving beyond viewability as a pseudo-metric for attention, how can advertisers help consumers comprehend the brand’s messaging?
3. Comprehension
If TV, CTV, or pre-roll ads have managed to capture the attention of the audience, the next step towards behavior change is that they comprehend the message. But grabbing consumer attention doesn’t mean comprehension is guaranteed. Through some of our research, we discovered that 75% of people keep their devices on mute. Because of this, most people expect videos to have captions so they can read and comprehend the advertiser’s message. Social media platforms recognized this need and built tools that allow anyone to easily add captions to their videos. The same can be true for the open web.
Referencing our previous eye-tracking studies that revealed people look at the headline space of an ad, we tested adding captions in that space to see if there would be an improvement in comprehension. We found that ads with captions improve comprehension by 56%, on par with editorial content. This led to the development of Dynamic Video Captions, which automatically add human-verified captions in the headline space of your video ads.
Knowing that improving the attention towards TV, CTV and pre-roll ads also improves bottom-funnel metrics, how does improving comprehension help maximize performance gains and drive behavior change?
4. Behavior Change
There is a clear correlation between comprehension and behavior change, as Ford discovered when they improved the viewer’s comprehension towards their ads by 142%. Using Dynamic Video Captions, Ford saw a 19% increase in purchase intent of their product offering. Not only that, but their cost per completed view was 59% lower than the industry average and their video completion rate was 57% higher. By improving comprehension, Ford was able to drive behavior change, improve their bottom-funnel metrics and save on ad spend.
Read More: How Ford Increased Brand Metrics of Their Video Campaigns With Dynamic Video Captions Technology
Greater Comprehension Leads to Greater Advertising Outcomes
Although attribution is often used as a proxy for behavior change, comprehension is more revealing whether an ad will convince consumers to change their behaviors. But comprehension begins with attention and viewability doesn’t accurately measure if someone saw the ad or even paid attention. Contact us to learn more about how Sharethrough and Dynamic Video Captions can help maximize the reach of ad campaigns and increase the attention and comprehension leading to improved bottom-funnel outcomes, save on ad spend and maximizing ROI.
Founded in 2015, Calibrate is a yearly conference for new engineering managers hosted by seasoned engineering managers. The experience level of the speakers ranges from newcomers all the way through senior engineering leaders with over twenty years of experience in the field. Each speaker is greatly concerned about the craft of engineering management. Organized and hosted by Sharethrough, it was conducted yearly in September, from 2015-2019 in San Francisco, California.
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