Dentsu Launches First of its Kind Cross-platform Attention Study in Arabic
Partnering with Snap and Teads, and powered by Lumen Research, the study will unlock the performance of key digital platforms when it comes to eyes-on-format attention and the ability to impact brand outcomes across a range of industry verticals.
Image Above (from left to right): Ramzy Abouchacra, CEO of Carat MENA – the media agency within the Dentsu network, and Alex Jena, Head of Strategy and Product, Dentsu MENA.
Dentsu announced the launch of a new research study measuring attention in Arabic digital advertising for the first time. Conducted in partnership with Lumen Research, Dentsu will measure consumers’ attention spans across various leading platforms to establish the value of attention as a media effectiveness metric, including how best to measure it, value it, and apply it in practice for Arabic audiences.
Expanding Dentsu’s Attention Economy research into Arabic for the first time, the media agency network will work with research partner Lumen to apply eye tracking methodology to measure the attention paid to and eye tracking patterns of Arabic ads. The study will observe viewability, eye-tracked attention, and communications outcomes for brands. The intention is to move beyond standard metrics such as impressions, to capture the human experience of media, and to establish the value of attention as a media effectiveness metric.
“Dentsu has been pioneering attention research via our Attention Economy studies for more than five years, codifying, longer than anyone else, the value of engagement in video and display channels in English. Now, we’re thrilled to unlock new insights on attention in Arabic—a meaningful first for the industry,” said Ramzy Abouchacra, CEO, Carat MENA – the media agency within the Dentsu network. “The data will enable us to uniquely serve our clients across multiple verticals by proving the value of their Arabic language video and display ads based on real engagement measures that drive growth.”
The research will cover five media partner platforms and will feature five clients across key verticals including Auto, FMCG, Finance, and E-Commerce. Post research, digital media plans can be optimized to Effective Attention through a custom algorithm built by Lumen that will be exclusive to Dentsu media brands and codified into the network’s Merkury Planning software. This will allow clients to gain insight beyond conventional viewability metrics and enhance plans across platforms, formats, and contexts.
Alex Jena, Head of Strategy and Product, Dentsu MENA, added, “This study will serve as a game-changer in the battle for attention that media practitioners around the world and here in the region are trying to crack. We will be able to determine the optimal channel and format mix by vertical and get a real understanding on how impactful attention can be on brand consideration. To ensure this is all actionable and lives beyond a report, the formula will be baked into our Planning and Optimisation tool suite for any Dentsu client to use. Exciting times ahead!”
Mike Follett, CEO at Lumen Research, said, “Dentsu has been a leading partner of Lumen Research and together we’ve chartered new territory in understanding attention and building new norms and metrics in the space. We’re excited and intrigued to be building new data on Arabic attention and to assess how it compares and contrasts to English and other languages while offering advertisers in the Middle East a local dataset to identify specific media opportunities.”
The study will be the latest to be released by Dentsu’s Attention Economy, which launched in 2018.
