Opinion - Generation Media

Attention as a new metric for Marketing success

This month, Jonathan looks at how marketers can capture young gamers’ interest, why attention matters and the unique opportunities this presents for brands.

In today’s marketing landscape, attention is increasingly recognized as an essential metric, as traditional exposure-based measures alone fail to fully gauge an ad’s effectiveness. Marketers are beginning to prioritize attention to improve their ability to connect with consumers. First revealed at KidsCon24, Generation Media is proud to have conducted the world’s first media attention study focused on children’s audiences, in collaboration with Hoopla and Lumen. In summary, children pay much more attention to gaming ads than adults, so why is this important to marketers and what can we do with this information?

Why attention matters

In marketing, attention is often the missing link between ad exposure and outcomes. While impressions and click-through rates measure reach, they do not indicate whether a consumer truly engaged with the message. Attention-based metrics, however, provide insight into how deeply an ad resonates with its viewers. Within the study, ads that captured sustained attention among young gamers drove higher recall, brand favourability and brand choice. This sustained engagement is a powerful tool for marketers, as each second of attention increases the likelihood of brand recall and, ultimately, purchase consideration. Children’s attention to gaming ads: a unique opportunity

The study’s findings show that children, particularly those aged 8–12, demonstrate higher levels of engagement with gaming ads than adults do. This is partly due to the format of Hoopla’s "HooPLAY" ads, which integrate directly into games, making them playable, immersive and rewarding. Unlike standard video ads, which adults often ignore or skip, these playable ads require user interaction, holding children’s attention for a significant amount of time.

On average, children in the study interacted with these ads for up to 73 seconds - more than double the 35 seconds observed in adult-focused ads. This demonstrates that younger audiences have unique media consumption habits, particularly within digital and gaming environments, which marketers can harness by aligning ad formats with the natural behaviour of young consumers.

How interactive gaming ads outperform traditional formats

Interactive ads in mobile gaming environments consistently outperformed traditional ad formats in the study. The playability aspect of the ads required children to spend at least 20 seconds engaging with the ad before returning to the main game. This interactive format kept children engaged longer and fostered a high level of brand recall. The study reported a remarkable 73% brand recall rate, compared to just 58% for standard ads aimed at adults. This trend underscores a valuable insight for marketers: gamified and interactive ad content that matches the medium not only captures but sustains children’s attention.

Attention as a predictor of brand outcomes

The study demonstrated that higher attention levels correlate with positive brand outcomes, such as improved brand favourability and an increased likelihood of brand choice. Children who spent longer viewing and interacting with the ads reported stronger preferences for the brands showcased. For instance, 54% of children exposed to the ad selected the advertised brand over competitors in a choice-based test.

Brand favourability also saw a boost due to extended attention. After exposure to the ads, children’s positive perception of the brand rose by 23%, with this increasing to more than 30% for ads which were played longer. The study revealed that brand elements like logos and product visuals within the gaming environment further improved recall, indicating that clearly branded, visually engaging content is essential for converting attention into long-term brand affinity.

Implications for marketers

While adults’ shorter attention spans and preference for skippable content often lead to limited engagement, children’s extended focus on interactive gaming ads reveals a substantial opportunity for brands. Some key considerations for leveraging attention-focused strategies in your next marketing campaign include:

• Embrace playable, interactive ad formats: interactive ads that encourage participation are highly effective at capturing young audiences’ attention. Marketers should prioritize formats that integrate seamlessly into gaming environments, encouraging engagement without disrupting gameplay.

• Focus on visual and interactive elements: ads that incorporate visually engaging and interactive features, such as characters or gamified tasks, yield longer view times and stronger brand recall. This insight encourages marketers to invest in visually appealing, interactive creatives tailored for gaming platforms.

• Use attention metrics as a primary KPI: traditional KPIs, such as impressions, provide limited insight into engagement quality. Attention-based metrics offer a clearer understanding of how audiences interact with ads, allowing marketers to optimize creatives for sustained focus, which directly impacts brand outcomes.

• Recognize the potential of young audiences: the high attention span of children in gaming environments presents a unique and largely untapped opportunity. By crafting ads that appeal to children’s interactive preferences, marketers can build brand loyalty early, influencing preferences that could last into adulthood.

In a digital landscape crowded with competing content, attention is emerging as a vital metric for evaluating ad performance. Looking ahead to 2025, Generation Media will be looking to conduct further studies to assess the attention paid to ads across other key advertising platforms for kids so that attention metrics can play an expanded role in the planning, execution and evaluation of campaigns. For the time being, the high engagement rates among children in gaming environments point to an exciting future where attention-based strategies can drive impactful, longterm brand connections.