Paying for Attention

Getting someone’s attention these days takes on an increasing challenge in a media multi-tasking world. We’ve discussed this before on our site, but a new study from BIGresearch shows that simultaneous media use continues to grow:

• 65 percent of newspaper readers occasionally or regularly watch TV while they read
• 51 percent of people listening to the radio occasionally or regularly read the paper while listening
• 70 percent of Web users occasionally or regularly watch TV while they are online

Add magazines, email, instant messaging, text messaging, and other media multi-tasking possibilities to the list and it is clear that, in many cases, it is difficult to know if advertising reached and affected the consumer. And, because of that difficulty, it is more important than ever that marketing takes the responsibility to account for how customers and prospects were reached as well as the effectiveness of the media and the message.

Initially at least, all advertisers are paying for attention—recognition for a brand and/or a message. In the present simultaneous media usage environment, as much creativity is needed in finding the consumer and measuring the results, as there is in actually crafting the message. Most business leaders know it is difficult to improve what you can’t measure. Marketing is no different.