Your digital video ad was served and on-screen. But did anyone actually watch it? In today’s saturated media landscape, the difference between an impression and real impact lies in one crucial factor: attention.
For years, viewability was the benchmark for success in digital advertising. Now, savvy marketers understand that a “viewable” ad doesn’t automatically equal a viewed ad. The industry is shifting its focus from simple exposure to genuine engagement, making attention metrics the new standard for measuring campaign effectiveness.
The Flaw of Traditional Metrics: Why Viewability Isn’t Enough
An ad can meet the technical standard for viewability, appearing on-screen for a few seconds, yet be completely ignored by the user. This creates a dangerous illusion of performance, where budgets are spent on impressions that fail to capture interest or influence behaviour.
The problem is widespread. According to research from the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), a staggering 39% of marketing metrics still focus on delivery and vanity figures rather than meaningful business outcomes. Optimising for viewability alone means you could be measuring success on ads that never truly connected with a human.
Defining Attention Metrics: Measuring What Truly Captures Interest
Unlike viewability, which simply confirms an ad’s presence on a screen, attention metrics measure how viewers actively engage with ad content. This provides a far more accurate predictor of campaign impact, from brand recall to purchase intent.
The data reveals a stark difference between presence and attention:
This proves that relying solely on View-Through Rate (VTR) or completion rates tells an incomplete story. An ad may be “completed” because it was unskippable, not because it was compelling.
Attention in Action: Performance Benchmarks for CTV and Mobile
Understanding attention requires looking at the context of where the ad is viewed. Connected TV (CTV) and mobile environments demand different strategies and deliver different results.
Connected TV (CTV): High Completion, Variable Attention
CTV is a powerful channel known for its high completion rates. Innovid’s performance data reports VTRs as high as 95.9% for 30-second ads. However, many CTV ads are unskippable, meaning completion is often a feature of the format rather than a measure of genuine engagement. The key challenge on CTV is breaking through the “lean-back” experience to ensure the message is not just played, but also processed.
Mobile Video: The Battle for a Split-Second
Mobile is an environment defined by rapid scrolling and short attention spans. Here, the first few seconds are critical. While shorter in-stream ads (e.g., 15 seconds) often outperform longer formats in completion rates, the real win is in designing creative that earns attention instantly. Mobile offers unmatched agility for real-time optimisation based on user behaviour, making it ideal for performance-driven campaigns.
How to Align Your KPIs with Campaign Goals
The most effective advertising strategies match the metric to the objective. Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all KPI, align your measurement approach with the specific outcome you want to drive.
The Path to Guaranteed Attention and Impact
The challenge for advertisers is ensuring their video ads have the opportunity to capture attention in the first place. Slow load times and buffering are silent campaign killers, losing the viewer before the message even begins.
SeenThis solves this problem with proprietary adaptive streaming technology. We deliver lightning-fast digital video ads that load instantly, eliminating buffering and maximising the potential for every impression to capture meaningful attention.
By removing technical barriers and focusing on pristine delivery, we enable you to move beyond misleading KPIs and measure what truly matters: tangible impact on your business goals.
Transform your digital video campaigns from passive impressions to active engagement. Start with SeenThis today and build your strategy around guaranteed impact.
Sources:
IAB Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report 2025: https://www.iab.com/insights/video-ad-spend-report-2025/
Innovid CTV Performance Data 2024: https://www.innovid.com/resources/research/
Think with Google – Video Ad Benchmarks: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/video/
CTV Advertising ROI Statistics 2025: https://seodesignchicago.com/case-study/advertising-case-studies/ctv-connected-tv-advertising-statistics-2025-the-complete-guide/
eMarketer Digital Video Forecast 2024: https://www.emarketer.com/content/digital-video-forecast-trends-q4-2024 TVision Eye-Tracking Research: https://tvision.com/research/
AI Digital CTV Guide 2025: https://www.aidigital.com/blog/connected-tv-advertising
DMA Marketing Research: https://dma.org.uk/research
