Attention Economy

Our modern economy revolves around the human attention span, and for many businesses, the trick is in identifying and capturing it.

Up until recent times, our access to information was reasonably limited. But, as consumers embrace the digital world, power dynamics are shifting. We have a wealth of information at our fingertips, and knowledge is something quickly gained.

Here’s the catch: while information and knowledge are dynamic factors, attention remains static, like the number of hours in a day. It is a limiting factor.

What Is The Attention Economy?

The term attention economy was coined by renowned psychologist and economist Herbert A. Simon.

“In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.”

In short, this means that attention spans are limited, and looks into how companies target this to make their sales.

While multitasking is possible, paying equal amounts of time and quality of attention to two or more things at once is not.

Sure, you can scroll through your phone while watching an important match. But if you receive a compelling text message, you would perhaps miss out on a match-deciding goal.

Raising The Stakes For Brands

The fields of advertising and marketing are a means of disseminating information people need to allocate their resources appropriately.

Think, for example of video content — which is on the upswing. By placing ads during crucial portions of a video — they grab our focus instantly.

Show Me The Money

Big brands make big bucks through advertising. By tracking your viewing history, likes, dislikes, and so on — ads are delivered to you — tailormade.

And that’s where things have gotten tricky. Our short attention span means that we love looking at new, exciting and unpredictable things. So the more predictable they get, the less effective they are.

In this process of adapting, brands have been throwing in money blindfolded into multi-channels, trying to win a fight that they never will.

Navigating The Attention Economy

We often tend to ignore the different stimuli users need to pay attention to regularly. With so many options to choose from, we desire more prominent and flashier designs.

And then there’s this new phenomenon called “the attention ceiling.” Meaning, even if you create five unique designs, it’s entirely possible that only one of those become major hits.

But there are things you can do to circumvent this.

One At A Time

How much attention someone pays depends on countless factors, like what they were thinking of, doing at the moment, the subject of the ad, the time of day, etc.

While these are not in our control, how creatively we approach the issue is.

And one factor I’ve found incredibly useful is emotion. When something evokes emotion, it resonates. When that happens, you’ve got yourself a winner.

Ladder Engagement

The principle of ladder engagement requires users to make several smaller actions leading up to an ultimate goal.

Slowly building a relationship with smaller asks of attention earns trust and ensures customer attention and retention.

Social Media Is Here To Stay

Gone are those times where you could say that social media wouldn’t work for you and be okay with it. We have finally opened our eyes to this, and by doing so, it has disrupted traditional media.

The internet is a game-changer, having democratized content in India. It drives social inclusion by enabling consumers in remote areas access to information, education, and entertainment content.

Social media platforms continuously evolve their algorithm — and by extension, changing consumer behaviour. Algorithms show the most attention-grabbing information available in your social network.

If your newsfeed were full of dull information, you’d stop looking at it. So instead, you see the most extreme occurrences — simply because extremity grabs attention.

Speaking From Experience

People want quick, tangible results with the least amount of input. We all want that new way of doing something before understanding why or if it’s required.

First, we must ask ourselves, why is this approach required now? What does the audience want from my brand? What value are we adding? Why do we care?

Addressing these questions is essential. If not, then we will continue going around in circles, one agency to another shopping for answers, when the answer always lies within.

At Smudge, I help brands navigate these challenges and create unique experiences for their audience, keeping in mind our continually evolving world.

We’ll get more in detail on this in future posts.

So, What Now?

Providing value is an art, and it’s essential to figure out how to make this work for you. Create designs you would personally like and that a viewer would enjoy.

It’s also important to remember that the attention economy has brought a plethora of benefits to us as a society too.

For example, pre-internet, critical societal issues such as sexual assault or LGBTQ rights, racism or the failed drug war, were all abstract concepts that we never had to confront in any tangible way.

And with social media — we are compelled to pay attention to these issues. Whether we want to or not. And being able to send information to anyone, anytime, anywhere, we are also able to see quicker changes in policies than ever before.

So really, is the problem with the technology itself? Or is it more how we choose to use it?

The irony isn’t lost on us; this post was probably longer than you thought. But we hope we’ve grabbed your attention!

While you’re here, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below!