In an era where “attention decay” is a constant headache for digital marketers, Venatus has released new data suggesting that the cure lies within the high-focus environments of gaming, sports, and entertainment.
Venatus today announced the results of an independent analysis conducted by Lumen Research, which claims that its specialised video ad campaigns deliver up to five times the attention of standard industry benchmarks.
The core of the findings centres on a cognitive state Venatus calls “In the Zone.” This refers to moments when users are deeply immersed in interactive content, characterised by high intentionality and focus. Unlike the passive “doom-scrolling” common on social media, users in these environments are in a state of heightened receptivity.
According to the study, when messaging aligns with this specific mindset, the results are materially stronger than those of traditional in-stream video. Users are nearly twice as likely to view an ad compared to standard in-stream benchmarks. Ads were watched for an average of eight seconds, quadrupling the industry average of two seconds, and campaigns generated up to five times higher Attention Per 1,000 Impressions (APM).
The data, validated by Lumen’s eye-tracking technology, suggests that environmental quality is the primary driver of ad performance.
“Attention isn’t evenly distributed across digital media,” says Nick Hugh, CEO of Venatus. “What we first observed in gaming… is that there are environments where attention behaves fundamentally differently than anywhere else on the web. When audiences are ‘In the Zone,’ attention is sustained rather than interrupted, making each impression inherently more valuable.”
Mike Follett, CEO of Lumen Research, echoes this sentiment “Our methodology uses eye-tracking to measure the reality of attention to advertising. The Venatus results show that attention to advertising is a function of attention to content: the more absorbing the environment, the more attention extends to the ads. High-quality, highly relevant content creates the conditions for high attention and highly effective advertising.”
