Fifth Network Introduces "Attention Targeting"

Ad network Fifth Network has introduced a new metric by which to sell online ads, based on the length of time a viewer is likely to pay attention to a particular page ("length-of-exposure targeting"), reports ClickZ.

This "attention targeting" method weights every URL for maximum ad exposure time and lets advertisers place ads on pages they feel will generate the longest exposure to readers. Fifth Network provides various data that helps advertisers make an informed decision, but generally purport that pages with multimedia content tend to be the ones people stay on the longest.

The product is geared toward brand advertisers who want to put a message in front of an audience for the longest possible period of time. Bill Caspare, Fifth Network's president and CEO, said early tests of the offering have enabled it to offer advertisers an effective CPM at a lower rate than they pay for premium inventory. He said the targeting method allows the same interaction and click-through rates, plus the theoretical branding benefit of longer exposure to an ad.

Fifth Network's solution is an interesting attempt to directly correlate attention with advertising value. Yet it misses an important point: the quality of attention is more important than mere quantity. Joseph Carrabis in his paper "Get The Attention You're Already Paying For" thus argues that exposure alone is not enough; a more complex task, in particular for multimedia sites, is to design the "attention experience" in a smart and effective way:

"Most websites -- especially Web 2.0, RIA and rich media sites -- haven't learned how to be non-threatening. One of the things that happens in media rich environments is that our multi-modal system is constantly accelerating us and decelerating us, giving us a little adrenaline then taking it away, because it's designed for survival and is now left recognizing nothing it's alerting us to is a threat. In fact, most of what it's alerting us to is an irritation, something we didn't come to a site to do."

And: "Getting someone's attention by hitting them over the head is no way to win friends and influence people."

Comments

[Joseph Carrabis]

Hello and thanks for commenting on my article. I appreciate it. Please let me know if there's something you or your readers would like me to expand on. I'll do my best on IMedia, AllBusiness.com or BizMediaScience and let you know when it's available.
Thanks again. - Joseph