“Beyond Visual Attention”: how to save our attention from information overload

ROME – Attention is a scarce resource, and in a context of information overcrowding such as the one in which we are immersed, it is increasingly complex to communicate effectively. This is the central theme of the research project “Beyond Visual Attention”, promoted by Omnicom Media Group in collaboration with Ainem (Italian Association of Neuromarketing), Ipsos and Nielsenwhich was presented in Rome.

Too much information is cognitive overload

There video communication it is confirmed to be a highly performing (as well as audio format), while formats static advertisements (such as banners) generate a “memory” around 50% compared to the video format. These first evidences emerge from the analysis of Ainem, who conducted a laboratory study, monitoring the three dimensions of attention with neuroscientific analysis: the visual one (through eyetracking), that of the mind (through electroencephalogram) and that of the body (through Galvanic Skin Response).
“The enormous mass of information that circulates on the web, on social media, on TV and in other channels causes enormous inconvenience within our society, one of these is cognitive overload“, explains Marco Girelli, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Italy. That is: an excess of information generates a lack of attention, difficulty in grasping content, focusing and making choices. “This research represents a milestone, a first important step that will allow us to proceed in the analysis of this problem”.

The role of television

Television still plays a very big role relevant. In fact, the memory of a brand seen on TV is three times higher than mobile and only 17% of advertising breaks are interrupted by zapping. Furthermore, confirming the importance of audio in activating attention, we now also know that one in five people remember a past commercial on TV even if they weren’t looking at the screen at the time. Ipsos conducted the study by literally entering the homes of Italians and detecting, through sophisticated AI and machine learning tools, their TV and mobile use behaviors in the daily domestic context. It is interesting to note that theattention to advertising drops significantly in the bedroomwhere 47% of visual attention was paid to the ad, while in living room you get to 60%.

How to invest for brands

“The integration of the data collected by Ainem and Ipsos, with the surveys carried out by Nielsen on the declared average use of Italians, will allow us to create coefficients of attention and help i brands to invest more effectively and at the same time lead the market towards more sustainable communication”, added Girelli, “reducing the overload to which people are subjected. Our commitment is to draw a industry path which may be a best practice. It is a precise responsibility, in a market context that moves, overall, about 9 billion euros per year and which becomes increasingly difficult to monitor due to its speed of transformation and the complexity that surrounds it