Dentsu Japan International Brands Launches Introducing the Attention Economy, an Attention Research Report Based on Eye Tracking Data of Ad Viewing

Tokyo, 28 October  —  Dentsu Japan International Brands* (DJIB), in collaboration with leading platforms such as Mobkoi, Ogury, Teads, and Twitch, along with Lumen Research and Realeyes, the research partners, has conducted a large-scale study to investigate the impact of attention on brand recall, engagement, and brand choice, using the latest Vision AI and eye-tracking technology across digital advertising media in Japan. Following dentsu’s Attention Economy study conducted in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia starting from 2019, the research focuses on the Japanese market-we have now completed an attention economy report especially for Japan. 

 ^{*Dentsu Japan International Brands is a brand consisting of Carat Japan, iProspect Japan, dentsu X Japan, and dentsu international Japan office in Japan.} 

In this increasingly digital advertising industry, this study introduces a new metric—attention—derived from a new value system that prioritizes effectiveness over mere efficiency. It demonstrates how capturing attention directly influences campaign performance. 

 Research Methodology: 

The study categorizes attention into three types: Active Attention, Passive Attention, and Non-Attention (i.e. no attention is detected), and was conducted based on the following two hypotheses: 

1. If someone does not look directly at an ad, it cannot have an effect. 

2. If someone looks at an ad over a period of time, it will have a greater effect. 

Over 8,000 mobile users in Japan had their attention and emotional reactions measured while viewing ads across 7 different ad formats, including display, rich media, social media, etc. Eye-tracking, visual attention and facial expression data was collected from over 45 different creatives. 

The relationship between attention and advertising effectiveness was examined by analyzing both survey responses and measured data. The study also accounted for the unique characteristics of the Japanese market, such as the use of non-Latinate language, which uses both pictographs and multiple scripts, a preference for vertical top-to-bottom text, localized webpage formats, and Japanese expressions and physical reactions (using algorithm-trained by Japanese annotators on Japanese faces).

Attention Metrics: 

The evaluation of attention was based on three key metrics: 

• Viewed Percentage 
• Average Viewed Time 
• Attention per mile (APM, attention per 1,000 impressions) 

Calculation: % viewed X av. viewed time X 1000 = APM 

By combining viewed percentage, average viewed time, and impressions into a composite metric, APM allows for a more precise measurement of advertising effectiveness. 

Key Findings: 

⚫ The longer an ad is viewed, the higher the brand recall The data shows a clear positive correlation between attention and brand recall. Users who viewed ads for less than 1 second had a recall rate of 21%, which rose to 41% for those who viewed the ad for more than 10 seconds. Additionally, 1-3 seconds and 3-6 seconds were identified as efficient viewing durations, which improved brand recall rates by 14 and 29 points, respectively. 

⚫ Voluntary attention increases brand recall more than forced attention. Ads that captured voluntary attention (where users could control whether to view the ad) achieved higher brand recall and selection scores than forced-attention formats (such as non-skippable videos). Those who voluntarily watched ads for 5-10 seconds were 18% more likely to recall the advertising than forced views, and those who watched for more than 10 seconds recalled 79% more when the attention was voluntary. 

⚫ Optimizing ad creatives for platforms and audiences and adopting multi-platform strategies are crucial Rich media formats (incl. display and video) achieved similar response rates to global averages, with strong brand recall, making them a reliable choice for engaging Japanese users. Forced-view formats showed increased response rates across all ad formats but may lead to reactions that could impact brand recall. Therefore, balancing forced and voluntary viewing is essential. Creatives that were optimized to their intended media environment delivered better outcomes than those that were not optimized. 

⚫ Five Factors That Influence Attention: Viewable Time, Forced Viewing, Duration, Movement, and Size are vital factors that impact attention in a given media environment. The creative itself, and its compatibility with its environment, is also a significant contributor to attention and subsequent outcomes. By leveraging these factors, it is possible to enhance audience attention. 

This study highlights a new model tailored to the Japanese market, enabling precise analysis of viewability. Incorporating attention into the delivery and development of ad creatives provides more effective marketing campaign strategies. 

Together with leading advertisers and media partners, DJIB is leading the change and actively investing in finding a solution. We aimed to define a new value system and ultimately challenge how the industry trades by valuing what is likely to be ‘achieved' over what is ‘bought’. Results are not only measured by media metrics but also going beyond and taking marketing and even business values into account. DJIB will continue to provide integrated marketing strategy solutions that enhance brand equity and drive investment success. 

For more details, the full ‘Introducing the Attention Economy’ report can be downloaded from this link.