Case Study
WPP Media optimises attention for Specsavers with Adnami
WPP Media, the world’s largest media buying agency, partnered with Adnami to run an attention-driven campaign for Specsavers across Sweden. Using Adnami’s agentic optimisation, WPP Media set up an A/B test to find out whether optimising for attention - rather than traditional viewability metrics - could deliver stronger business outcomes for the brand.
The test compared two campaign strategies:
A. Test group: Optimised toward attention using Adnami’s agentic optimisation tool.
B. Control group: Optimised toward viewability (vCPM) using standard programmatic buying methods.
By shifting focus from passive viewability to active attention, WPP Media achieved substantial gains in performance. The attention-optimised campaign delivered more meaningful impressions, improved cost efficiency (aCPM), and validated the power of attention as a key driver of brand success.
54%
higher eAPM after optimisation
18%
lower aCPM after optimisation
WPP Media wanted to move away from the traditional “race to the bottom” of cheap CPM buying, where low-cost inventory often results in limited attention and weak brand impact. The objective was to test, in a controlled environment, whether attention-based optimisation could deliver better business outcomes than a standard viewability-based (vCPM) approach.
The campaign promoted a range of Specsavers offers, including one where consumers could receive a free second pair of glasses when purchasing another pair above a minimum price threshold. Overall, the goal was to drive maximum brand outcomes and ROI for Specsavers. To do that, a solution that delivers quality placements and optimises at scale - without adding operational complexity or compromising efficiency - was crucial.
Through Adnami’s Agentic Curation, WPP Media was able to streamline the workflow - bundling multiple relevant publishers into a single curated deal. This allowed the team to activate efficiently while maintaining full control over formats, markets, and KPIs.
The four-week campaign ran across premium publishers, including several major Swedish news sites, and included a variety of standard display formats on both desktop and mobile.
After about two weeks, Adnami’s analysis and Attention Reports informed several key optimisations to improve Attentive CPM (aCPM) and effective attention levels (eAPM):
- Bid strategy: Increasing bid caps to secure higher-quality placements that deliver true attention.
- Inventory refinement: Removing underperforming domains and formats with low scores.
- Device insights: Prioritising mobile placements, where smaller ad sizes delivered higher attention due to greater screen dominance.
- Cost savings: Achieving the lowest possible aCPMs and ensuring Specsavers got the most “bang for their buck”.
The control campaign, optimised only for viewability (vCPM), ran concurrently using a similar creative setup but without Adnami’s attention optimisation.
After four weeks, the attention-optimised campaign delivered outstanding performance improvements compared to previous viewability-optimised campaigns:
- 54% increase in attention after optimising the Adnami campaign (eAPM)
- 18% lower aCPM after optimisation of the Adnami campaign, proving greater cost efficiency
- 38% more attention in the optimised campaign vs. the vCPM control campaign
- 13% higher CTR in the attention-optimised campaign vs. the vCPM control group
These results proved that quality placements optimised for attention, rather than just viewability, lead to stronger brand outcomes.
Patrick Østergaard
Senior Client Director WPP Media
By partnering with Adnami, WPP Media successfully demonstrated the value of attention-based optimisation and drove outstanding results for Specsavers. Leveraging Adnami’s Agentic Curation and optimisation tools, as well as attention analytics, WPP Media achieved both efficiency and effectiveness, reducing aCPM and increasing ROI for their client. This case proves that attention is a meaningful driver of brand success. For media buyers ready to move beyond viewability and towards true ad impact, attention is the next frontier.
Create your own success story
Want to see how Agentic Curation and attention optimisation can enhance your next campaign?