Attention Metrics Are Becoming the New Viewability: A Skeptic's Guide

A critical analysis of the attention measurement movement in digital advertising, examining whether the industry's embrace of attention metrics represents genuine progress or a rebranding of old viewability problems with new complexity. The piece surveys methodological differences between eye-tracking, scroll-velocity, and panel-based attention vendors and finds significant inconsistency in how attention is defined and measured across providers. It calls for MRC accreditation of attention measurement before widespread adoption.

A critical analysis of the attention measurement movement in digital advertising, examining whether the industry's embrace of attention metrics represents genuine progress or a rebranding of old viewability problems with new complexity. The piece surveys methodological differences between eye-tracking, scroll-velocity, and panel-based attention vendors and finds significant inconsistency in how attention is defined and measured across providers. It calls for MRC accreditation of attention measurement before widespread adoption.