How to measure attention: the metric that matters most in digital advertising
If you create or run digital ads in 2025, you need to make them capture attention - and know how to measure it. At Adnami, we believe that attention is the single most valuable currency in advertising today. It drives outcomes, indicates performance, and helps marketers make smarter decisions. But how do you actually measure attention in a meaningful, scalable way? In this article, we break down the signals, metrics, and tools that make attention measurement easy and scalable.
Recap: Attention isn’t a buzzword; it’s a business driver
In 2025, it’s no longer enough for an ad to simply appear on a screen. Today, the real question is: Was it actually seen? And did it make an impact? That’s where attention steps in. At Adnami, we’ve been talking about attention for a while. Why? It's a far better proxy for campaign success than traditional metrics like viewability or CTR. It correlates with real business outcomes - brand recall, purchase intent, and even sales. Studies show that attention is 7x more effective at predicting awareness than viewability. Read more about why attention outperforms traditional metrics here.
The basis for measuring attention: key attention signals
Understanding what drives attention is step one. Knowing how to measure it - reliably and at scale - is what turns data into business results. Our attention model at Adnami is built on five key attention signals. These aren't isolated indicators; they work together to offer a full-spectrum view of how much attention your ads receive.
- Time-in-View
Think of this as the foundation. The longer your ad remains in view, the higher the likelihood of generating attention. But it's not just about "more time = better"; research shows that attention follows a logarithmic curve. That means short bursts (even 0.25 seconds) can make an impact. Adnami’s measurement tools capture all of this, right from the first millisecond. - Engagement
Clicks aren’t dead, but they’re no longer the full story. We track active interactions - scrolling, tapping, swiping and yes, clicking - to assess how audiences are engaging with an ad. Our engagement signal caps per user to avoid skewing data, offering clean, honest metrics. - Visibility
An ad that technically appears on a screen isn’t necessarily visible. Our model considers how much of the ad is visible at any given time, with more visibility translating to greater potential for attention. Crucially, we measure visibility from the very first millisecond - not one second in, like traditional viewability metrics. - Pixel Coverage
The more space your ad takes up on the screen, the more likely it is to get noticed. We evaluate how much of the screen your ad occupies in real time, with adjustments for screen size and device type. Mobile formats, for instance, often outperform desktop simply due to higher relative coverage. - Position
Top-left still rules. Users consume content in predictable patterns, typically in an F-shaped reading layout. Ads tucked in certain areas or away from content zones tend to underperform.
Want to know more attention-grabbing tips and how you can optimise based on these key attention signals? Download our latest white paper, “It’s all about attention,” to access our in-depth signal attribution breakdown.
Attention metrics: turning signals into strategy
Signals are just raw ingredients, metrics are where strategy begins. At Adnami, we’ve developed a clear set of attention metrics that translate all those data points into something brands, agencies, and publishers can actively use. These metrics allow you to benchmark performance, evaluate creatives, and make smarter buying decisions.
Here are the core metrics we use:
- Attention per Mille (APM): APM measures the attention generated per 1,000 visible impressions. This lets you measure your creative’s performance and compare different versions.
- Effective Attention per Mille (eAPM): Effective Attention per Mille (eAPM) indicates the attention generated per 1,000 served impressions. This is the perfect metric to analyse the attention performance of your media buying activities.
- Attention-Adjusted CPM (aCPM): This is the future of analysing digital ads’ pricing. Attentive Cost per Mille (aCPM) indicates the price for 1,000 attention points. It allows you to compare media buys, not just by price or impressions but by value. Use the metric to inform your bidding strategies and get the most out of programmatic buying.
Sonar: a scalable attention measurement tool
Now that you know about the right metrics, you need a reliable tool to start measuring them. But is that easier said than done? Fragmentation is one of the biggest challenges in attention measurement - different formats, platforms, and tags complicate scaling insights. To put an end to this misery, we developed Sonar: a one-tag solution for measuring, analysing and optimising attention across all display environments.
How Sonar changed the game:
- Unified model: No need for separate tagging strategies by format, sites and markets. One universal tag gives you a scalable, unified attention dataset.
- Real-time insights: Sonar integrates with your DSP or ad server, giving you data that you can act on instantly - not just in post-campaign reports.
- BI tool integrations: Export data straight into your business intelligence tools or dashboards for seamless workflow alignment.
- Privacy-proof: Sonar collects only non-personally identifiable information (non-PII) and is fully future-proofed against third-party cookie changes.
- High granularity: Whether you want to analyse attention by creative, domain, format or more, Sonar gives you the flexibility and depth to do it all.
With Sonar, attention moves from being a buzzword to a tangible, optimisable KPI.
Want the best tips on improving attention outcomes?
What we’ve shared in this blog is just the beginning. Read our white paper “It’s all about attention” to find benchmarks by format and device, simple optimisation hacks for advertisers and publishers, plus much more.
