The ultimate goal for an advertiser is to get as many eyeballs on their ads as possible with performance topping the list of KPIs. However, with the wider industry coming face to face with its carbon footprint reality, additional priorities have since been thrown into the mix.

With both attention and carbon emissions climbing the priority ladder of campaign metrics, it’s unsurprising that the discussion has led to the correlation between two factors that have never before been placed side-by-side.

Attention metrics can be used to help measure effectiveness of digital ad campaigns in capturing audience attention. By analyzing these metrics, brands can evaluate the success of their campaigns and optimize them to reach their target audience more effectively.

Something that has sparked interest in recent months is the direct correlation between high attention data and low carbon emissions. It stands to reason therefore that, in the same way low emissions and good quality publishing go hand in hand, high attention and quality publishing should equally align.

Given that both attention and carbon emissions are primary focuses for the digital ad industry, it makes sense to find a way to bring the two together.

Looking through a sustainability lens

The industry’s goal is to lower advertising’s carbon emissions. Advertisers have started to adopt a two-pronged approach to proactively reduce emissions by targeting “green” inventory whilst also blocking or removing high emitting publications from their portfolios.

By introducing attention metrics into the conversation, we’re not only talking about how to make the industry more environmentally aligned, but doing so in a way that further improves impact performance.

In fact, research has already demonstrated a direct correlation between attention and carbon emissions. This is the case across a variety of attention methodologies — recent studies from Lumen, Playground XYZ and Adelaide have all come to similar conclusions using their unique technology.

Ultimately, if an ad isn’t being seen or isn’t receiving the desired attention, it’s a waste of money and emissions.

Carbon emissions should therefore be a variable that is used alongside existing attention metrics. Combined, the data will help brands gain a clear understanding of how their campaigns are performing, where their successful media exists and therefore which publishers they can afford to remove.

Each ad needs to deliver genuine impact. By using emissions data to supplement and better understand attention data, regardless of which attention metric you prefer, businesses will uncover areas of opportunity to improve and make their ads more effective.

A powerful combination

We all know that fewer ads on a site is a better experience for the user audience. And fewer ads mean less emissions and greater attention on those that remain. It’s a win-win.

This supports Scope3’s mission to decarbonize the programmatic advertising industry. With our vendor-agnostic approach, Scope3 is partnering with the attention ecosystem to empower firms – and their customers – to leverage sustainability as a measured variable in future campaigns.

These partnerships are founded on two goals: measurement and reduction. Attention companies measure and deliver invaluable data to their customers that demonstrate overall campaign performance. The next stage is introducing carbon emissions into the reporting process.

Armed with this insight, businesses become empowered to make data-driven decisions and specifically target high attention, low emission publishers in all future campaigns.

It’s time to build upon the attention metrics that advertisers are plugging into and add a carbon emissions layer. Being sustainable does not mean sacrificing performance – far from it! Applying a carbon lens only enhances the industry’s goal of optimizing ad effectiveness and reducing its negative impact on the planet.

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