How can brands stand out in the attention economy?

Keep your email peeled for part two of this vox pop next week.

Harriet Donovan, managing director EMEA, Tommy: “From glaring red calls-to-action to placements that are hard to close, there are endless hacks if attention is your only goal. And if you live by the data, you might think an extra click or a few more seconds of watch time means you’re winning. If that’s the game, congrats! You’re playing it well. But relying on surface-level metrics is a risky path. The real challenge is reframing what attention is worth. You’ve got it, now what? Make it emotional. Make it relatable. Give people a reason to feel like their time was well spent. Consumers are more critical than ever because their feeds are saturated, their time is limited, and they’ve learned to tune out anything that doesn’t serve them. If you want their attention to matter, you need to give them something back.”

Michael Akkerman, chief business officer, Digital Turbine: “In the attention economy, scarcity alone no longer equals value. For years, marketers considered ‘premium’ to mean exclusivity: Super Bowl spots, homepage takeovers, velvet ropes. But these days, just because something is rare doesn’t mean it resonates. Consumers reward relevance over intrusion. Impressions are no longer the valued metric; leaned-in moments, such as the pause before a click and the breath before the next action, matter most in creating a real connection. Brands won’t win attention by forcing themselves into a consumer’s feed. They earn attention by providing engaging and unique experiences, like interactive playable ads that offer a gamified ad within another gaming app, or interactive lookbooks that let users browse a retailer’s catalog without leaving their app. Done right, these ads deliver both scale and meaning. With billions of users and eight times more attention than social media, mobile gaming uniquely connects brands with engaged consumers. Attention can’t be bought; it’s earned. And that’s why premium now means presence with purpose, relevance, resonance, and respect.”

Andrés Ordóñez, global CCO, FCB: “Grabbing eyes is easy. Winning hearts is what matters. Too often, brands chase impressions by forcing their way into feeds and screens. But attention without intention fails fast. The secret? Balancing magic and logic. Because the most impactful work doesn’t shout. It earns its place by understanding audiences, by being personal, relevant, shareable, and worth remembering – inviting audiences in, rather than interrupting. This, combined with a great idea that transcends culture, will help brands stand out and get to the most impactful work, because people will carry your idea forward and make it their own. Yes, attention is a currency, but it only gains value when it builds a genuine connection that lasts longer than the scroll.”

Mike Ruxton, creative strategist, Disrupt Marketing: “Whenever we’re discussing ‘attention’ in marketing, the key is to remember that nobody wants to watch advertising – they want to watch things that entertain them, that interest them, that make them feel something. It’s a straightforward value exchange. There’s no point pretending you’re not advertising something (people are too savvy for that), but if you inject feeling and creativity into quality communications, the attention will come. This applies to everything from big-budget TV spots to TikTok feeds. We can always pay for more reach - but we need to earn attention. This is partly why creator marketing is so valuable for brands looking to gain that elusive attention. Smart brands aren’t using influencers as sales reps – they’re treating them like independent creative directors, and allowing them to craft audience-first content that makes people laugh, cry, and everything in between. Good content secures attention, and attention allows you to build your brand.”

James Donovan, head of client strategy, GumGum: “Yes, brands need attention to make their ad spend worthwhile, but different brands require different levels of attention to drive meaningful outcomes. We should treat that individually, not universally. The truth is, getting attention is only the start. What really matters is what you do with it. In our industry, too much focus has been placed on getting the ad there, and not enough on making it worth someone’s time. Most consumers accept the advertising/content value exchange. What they’re tired of are ads that detract from their experience, failing on basic standards, and showing a lack of respect, even disdain, for the viewer. That, I think, is what’s sparked this debate. At GumGum, attention is one of our core pillars, alongside context – where the ad fits the moment – and creative, where it earns attention through quality and relevance. The best brands don’t just grab attention. They respect it and repay it.”

Sophie Coley, director of strategy, Propellernet: “Attention in itself isn’t the prize, brand appeal is. From an SEO perspective, you can create best-in-class content and work hard to earn the top spot in Google’s results, and still see a competitor further down the page get a stronger click-through rate, simply because they’re better known, more trusted, and more loved. Building awareness and positive sentiment is a long-term investment with benefits that stretch far beyond CTRs in organic search. From a broader point of view, while no one truly enjoys being forced to view an ad while waiting for content, brands that have earned trust probably have more grace to get away with inconvenient interventions. In fact, inconvenient interventions can be brand builders if they’re done in a clever and engaging way. An oldie but a goodie: Geico’s ‘unskippable’ ad with the dog eating spaghetti is still best in class for me.”

Leah Sand, chief engagement officer, VML: “We’re all caught in the battle for attention: everyone wants it, everyone gives it away, and yet nobody seems to have enough. This isn’t new. From newspapers to television to the devices we carry everywhere, there’s always been competition for our focus. What’s changed is the intensity and the overwhelming number of voices clamoring for a moment of our time. Here’s the paradox today: attention is both our most precious resource and something we casually give away. It’s scarce and abundant. Priceless and cheap. I see too many brands respond to this paradox by treating attention like something to be grabbed and stockpiled. Sure, you might win a click, but you lose the connection. And now AI pours gasoline on that fire: it’s never been easier to crank out more noise. The real advantage will go to the brands that flip the script, using AI not to shout louder, but to create moments people actually value. That’s what separates fleeting campaigns from enduring brands, and it’s where the future of marketing will be won. Here’s how I think about it: attention sparks a connection, and rhythm – knowing when to step forward and when to hold back – turns that spark into something lasting.”

Cezary Dobrowolski, brand marketing manager, inStreamly: ”Traditional media is a ‘lean-back’ experience – passive, on the couch, often with a phone in hand. Gaming is ‘lean-forward’ – full focus, engagement, and interaction. For brands that want not only to reach their audience, but to truly move them, the choice is obvious. In gaming, advertising doesn’t have to scream in the first seconds to be noticed. Thanks to appropriate context, brands can build relationships naturally, gaining significantly higher memorability and loyalty than in any other digital media. Gaming marketing isn‘t about ‘interrupting’ the player every 30 seconds. It‘s about getting genuine engagement from them. At inStreamly, we‘ve proven that authentic communication with gamers can be scaled worldwide. Using our contextual technology, we make brands communicate with players naturally, expanding the content perceived by recipients and triggering positive reactions and increased brand affinity.”