What is the value of attention? Do we need to create the maximum amount of attention to achieve the maximum outcome for our ads? The simple answer, given by Mark Barber (Radiocentre), is no. Advertisement can already have powerful effects at low levels of attention. “If something isn’t listened to, it is still heard.” This effect is not reached by any other medium but audio.So perhaps it is better to concentrate on the advertisement to avoid unnecessary purchases.
Furthermore, advertisement that relates to activities boosts engagement and memory encoding. For example, as many people listen to the radio while driving, ads that are directly targeted at drivers in that moment have proven to be very effective. Radio ads with positive emotions dramatically change behavior. Strong positive emotions trigger higher sales. But most importantly, targeting the right-brain creative features like music, drama, intimacy, and vivid characters are more associated with memory and emotion, and therefore more memorable. Using this knowledge, radio ads are as likely to cause long-term effects as TV.
How to earn from distraction?
“Watching is silver, listening is gold.” As Research Director Sheng Song (Ster) emphasized, attention has been looked at in the wrong way. The focus should be on distraction. Because in times of social media and a world that is turning faster and faster, the magic lies in distraction, not in attention. It is a marathon, not a sprint. When comparing brand recognition in the distracted mode with full focus, it becomes clear that the effect after three exposures is greater with distraction than with full focus. This is the magic of distraction.
