Dr Karen Nelson-Field: Challenger Brands Should Use More OOH

Dr Karen Nelson-Field has stressed that audience attention is not binary, and traditional media metrics like reach and time-in-view provide one-dimensional insights to marketers.

While maintaining good creative is what ultimately engages audiences, the Amplified Intelligence CEO maintained, stressing that attention is the stage from which that creative drives the outcome.

Speaking at SXSW Sydney, Dr Nelson-Field discussed the limitations of conventional measurement systems and the importance of addressing attention decay — a challenge especially prevalent in digital formats.

“Time-in-view is the Achilles heel of modern measurement,” she said, pointing out that although ads might be seen, they’re often not viewed with significant engagement.

Her work reveals that attention decay is faster in digital spaces due to the fleeting nature of user interaction, particularly with scroll-based formats. 85% of digital ads receive fewer than 2.5 seconds of active attention, a figure she calls the "attention memory threshold."

Dr Nelson-Field contrasted digital advertising’s transient nature with out-of-home (OOH) formats, where 89% of ads maintain active attention beyond the 2.5-second threshold. She attributes this difference to the user experience: in OOH environments such as bus stops, the audience is naturally immersed due to their physical surroundings, allowing for more sustained attention.

“The user experience defines how much attention you pay,” she said.

According to Dr Nelson-Field’s research, the effectiveness of media placement cannot be judged solely on time-in-view – an opportunity to be seen is not the same as being seen.

While media platforms dictate how much attention an ad receives, Dr Karen stresses that ultimately the creative is what makes a sale.

“Attention is the stage, but creative drives the outcome,” she said.

Small brands need to secure more active attention to stand out against larger competitors. Dr Nelson-Field’s findings show that smaller brands are hit harder on lower-attention platforms.

She suggests smaller brands invest in higher-attention formats like OOH to maximise their impact.