From Exposure to Real Attention: WPP Media Aims to Change the Way We Invest in Media

With a new Nordic Attention Model, WPP Media aims to make attention a tangible quality metric in media planning. The model is designed to give advertisers a stronger foundation for prioritising media investments based on their potential to drive impact, shifting the focus from the volume and cost of impressions to their actual value for the business.

An ad can be delivered, visible and registered as an impression without ever being noticed. Yet, the media industry has traditionally optimised for how many people ads can reach, how much impressions cost and whether ads have been viewable. This challenges a fundamental assumption in media planning: that a delivered impression automatically has value.

With a newly developed Nordic Attention Model, WPP Media aims to change this perspective. The model makes attention a tangible and actionable quality signal that can be used to assess media investments throughout the entire process, from planning and activation to optimisation and evaluation.

In a media landscape with more channels, formats and opportunities to connect with consumers than ever before, knowing how many impressions an investment delivers is no longer enough. Advertisers need to understand their quality and how they contribute to business growth.

From Visibility to Real Attention

“Reach, CPM and viewability remain fundamental metrics, but they primarily tell us about the potential to be seen, not whether an ad is actually noticed. That is the additional layer attention brings. It helps us assess the quality of an impression, rather than simply how many people we reach or what it costs,” says Josephine Blaabjerg, Programmatic Director, WPP Media.

A cheap impression is not necessarily a good investment if the likelihood of generating attention is low. Conversely, a more expensive impression may offer greater value if it captures more attention and therefore has a stronger potential to drive impact.

Attention does not replace existing metrics. Instead, it complements them with a new layer of quality, giving advertisers a more nuanced foundation for comparing channels, prioritising formats and deciding where to invest their media budgets.

From Data to Better Media Decisions

WPP Media's Nordic Attention Model is built on three complementary data sources: extensive research involving more than 30,000 participants and 350 tested conditions, Marketing Mix Modelling across 141 brands and 14 sectors, representing a combined media investment of more than EUR 2.1 billion, as well as local eye-tracking data from Nordic panels observing more than one million impressions per month.

By combining research-based knowledge of attention with documented marketing effectiveness and actual media behaviour, the model can assess the quality of impressions across channels and formats. This is done through three metrics: a See/Hear Score estimates the likelihood of an impression being seen or heard. A Focus Score assesses the level of attention. Together, they form an overall Attention Score.

The model covers display, video, CTV, audio, digital out-of-home, native and paid social, and can be applied throughout the entire media process. Before a campaign, it can help qualify the choice of channels and formats. During a campaign, it can support optimisation of the media mix and budget allocation. Afterwards, advertisers can evaluate how many attentive impressions their investment has generated.

This makes it possible to assess media investments based on the attention they have actually generated.

A Model That Evolves with the Media Landscape

“The media landscape is constantly changing. New platforms and formats emerge, and consumer media behaviour evolves. That is why WPP Media's Attention Model is designed to continuously integrate new knowledge and documented media effectiveness, including insights from walled gardens and audio, where it can be difficult to get a clear picture of the quality of media buying. The model gives advertisers a dynamic and up-to-date decision-making foundation, based on global and Nordic data, to assess media quality, prioritise investments and strengthen the impact of their media budgets,” says Patrick Østergaard, Executive Strategy Director, WPP Media.

Media Is Where Growth Begins

Media is more than just a channel for creating visibility. It is a strategic investment in shaping preferences, influencing demand and creating long-term business value. But if media is to be prioritised as a genuine driver of growth, its contribution needs to be better understood and documented.

With the Attention Model, WPP Media is taking a step towards a more informed approach to media investments. By more closely connecting attention with documented marketing effectiveness, advertisers gain a stronger foundation for assessing which impressions create value and where media budgets have the greatest potential.

Because the value of media is not simply about how many people a brand reaches, but about the quality of the interactions that take place between brands and people. As we become better at understanding and documenting that value, the role of media becomes clearer for what it should be: a strategic investment in business growth.