Attention is the new conversion: Why attention beats viewability this EOF

By Jessica Miles, Country Manager, ANZ, Integral Ad Science (IAS)

As the End-of-Financial-Year (EoFY) approaches in Australia, marketers juggle two competing pressures: utilising their remaining budget before June 30, and proving that every dollar spent has delivered business outcomes so that they can rally for similar or higher budgets for the next financial year.

Digital advertising ad spend in Australia is projected to hit AUD 23.7 billion in 2025, accounting for approximately 78% of total advertising investment in the country… but how much of that is actually being seen, engaged with, or remembered? Spoiler alert! Viewability isn’t enough anymore.

Paying Attention To What Matters

For years, viewability has served as a default measurement of success for online advertising. If an ad is on-screen, “it counted”. But in a scroll-heavy, swipe-first landscape, ads can technically be viewable but mentally ignored.

Attention changes that. It’s a measure of whether an ad actually resonates, whether the ad captures focus, lingers in the mind, and drives action. And it’s fast becoming the most meaningful metric for media buyers looking to maximise outcomes, not just impressions.

What Actually Drives Attention?

Media quality is the foundation and critical to driving attention. A high-attention ad is one that is:

• Seen (viewable)
• Safe (appearing in brand-suitable environments)
• Engaging (drives interaction)

At IAS, we call this the trifecta of Visibility, Situation, and Interaction, three signals that predict whether an impression will lead to attention and ultimately results.

While human biases and preferences play a role in how attention is directed, marketers must still find a personalised, holistic suite of metrics that help them measure and optimise in real time to achieve higher consumer attention.

These signals provide actionable insight on attention while simultaneously allowing marketers to implement optimisation strategies to achieve better attention.

From Viewability to Outcomes: The Standard Charter Story

Take Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), the first financial bank brand to utilise Quality Attention Measurement. By scoring each impression against an attention index and reallocating spend in real time, SCB saw in a recent campaign:

• 126% increase in conversions
• -17% decrease in cost per conversion

That’s not just media efficiency, it’s business impact.

EoFY : Your Moment to Reassess

With the EoFY approaches in Australia, it’s time to prioritise high-attention, premium environments. The kind that consistently delivers performance across screens and formats. Use this moment to:

• Reevaluate placements against attention metrics (e.g. time in view and interaction rates)
• Cut media waste and reinvest in omnichannel strategies that track attention across platforms
• Push creative that earns attention, not just space

Because even the smartest placements need compelling creatives to seal the deal.

Ultimately, as we head into a new financial year in Australia, marketers who prioritise attention, and not just viewability, will be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of their campaigns and their impact on consumers. Marketers, attention is yours to harness. You just need the right strategy to get it.

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