At SXSW Sydney 2024, digital outdoor media leader QMS, in partnership with audience measurement pioneer Amplified Intelligence, unveiled a world-first study on the impact of human attention in out-of-home (OOH) environments. Developed over two years, the research aims to reshape how marketers measure and maximise outdoor media effectiveness.

QMS chief strategy officer Christian Zavecz and Amplified Intelligence CEO Dr Karen Nelson-Field sat down with Marketing to talk through the findings.

Marketing Mag: What are the challenges in building a model that can capture attention, especially in an out-of-home?

Dr Karen Nelson-Field: The challenges are the scale – the number of people/cars and the scale of the assets. It’s not a tiny phone in front of your face, it’s a 50-metre-high piece of advertising. So the models had to account for the distance away from the viewer in terms of height and distance, but also the sheer scale of humans.

We had to incorporate three different types of machine learning models.

1. One is pose estimation. This can tell from far away if you’re a human, and whether your body is moving in a human way to determine if you are a potential viewer of the advertising.
2. The second piece is facial detection and gaze tracking to understand the trajectory of your viewing, whether you’re looking straight at the ad, or not looking at the ad at all.
3. The third piece is to disaggregate it to an individual. So if you’re walking with five friends, instead of counting one person, it’s counting six.

How does out-of-home attention differ to other advertising formats?

KNF: The short answer is that the models don’t differ, and this is a really important point. We built the model so that it could be universal across all of the other assets and publishers we’ve ever collected data on. The model was designed around active attention, which is about looking directly at the ad. Passive attention is when you’re looking at the screen but not at the ad.

So the answer is it’s the same mathematically – and that’s a really essential factor because it needs to be universal for it to be relative and real, and for agencies to use the data in their planning systems. What is different is the differing levels of attractions depending on which site you’re at, and the numbers. We’ve deciphered that it’s not a glance medium, so the amount of sustained attention is solid.

Christian Zavecz: To give more context on the medium, it’s quite heavily nuanced. You have different formats within different environments and modes of transport with different orientations towards a screen. There are so many nuances which is why it’s just a difficult medium to measure and evaluate. The beauty of attention is that through findings, we’ve found that certain types of sites with specific characteristics or attributes are predictably the same in terms of the results.

That is extremely important because it’s impossible for us to measure tens of thousands of different sites, both financially and in terms of time. We can predicate and scale the results based on certain attributes. At the end of the day, we want things that are usable for our clients, and practicable enough to give them a greater understanding of out-of-home, which in turn optimises the way they use OOH to achieve more successful outcomes.

Why are traditional metrics like reach and frequency no longer sufficient on their own?

CZ: We like to talk about metrics in terms of dimensions, and traditional metrics alone are really a one-dimensional way of looking at optimising your advertising. At QMS, we’ve always emphasised that while the eyeballs are important, they’re not as important as the influence that the asset has on the consumer. 

They’re still going to be integral to any schedule, and we’re by no means talking them down, but we encourage our clients to look at further dimensions when planning and executive OOH.

How can those further dimensions be used by media buyers, planners and advertisers to reshape the way that they design their campaigns?

KNF: It’s all about value. Reach, frequency, cost and attention are the value equation, and it’s as simple as that.

In my latest book, I discuss the double jeopardy in low-attention platforms because you have to advertise more to get the same amount of memory outcomes. The value equation for a brand is all of those things combined, and that’s what this data provides – it’s the missing piece.

How is QMS using this new data and leveraging this insight to support its clients?

CZ: It’s never a sales tactic for us. This is something that we’re very passionate about. We are being pushed further into the automated world where you take human interaction and analyse it.  Similar to what Karen said, it’s as important as some of those other metrics, and for us, we think it will play a role in channel planning, campaign development and executions etc.

KNF: I said this quite publicly on stage, but I’m really proud of the QMS team. It’s rare that you see a category approach to this – normally it’s a publisher approach. Outdoor is really not a part of the traditional programmatic or digital ecosystem, so it was probably easier for them to move away from it. 

Instead, I think it’s a great initiative for QMS to invest in because they are genuinely interested in the category, and this is rare.

What does the future of out-of-home look like to either of you?

CZ: We’ve added this extra layer of understanding and optimisation for the sector, which is what we’re all about at the end of the day. We believe in our industry and we believe it works for our clients. A greater understanding of OOH means better outcomes for our clients, and that, for us, is the end goal.

KNF: It’s actually a couple of things for me as well. I’m close to Orlando Wood, chief innovation officer of System1, and he talks about the importance of showmanship – the creative expression – and salesmanship – the media side. 

He shares that our ability to build good creative is being diminished by the nature of how media works, but the value of good creative to long-term memory recognition is invaluable. If you ask consumers what ad campaign they remember most, it’s often outdoor or TV – the legacy mediums. My point is that OOH is a platform that allows for this, and there aren’t many other formats that can do this.

What are the key takeaways?

QZ: Look beyond some of the legacy reach metrics now that there’s a greater understanding in the sector. We’ve got new data to better inform campaigns so be open to using it.

KNF: And my key takeaway would be when it’s not a fast glance medium, you have the opportunity to be remembered.

Dr Karen Nelson-Field is the founder and CEO of Amplified Intelligence, a leader in the field of media attention measurement. With an extensive background in academia and industry research, Nelson-Field applies her expertise to develop advanced tools that help brands understand and optimise attention in advertising.

Christian Zavecz is the chief strategy officer at QMS. He has worked across various client sectors, including sports, media, insurance, consumer goods and gambling, with a strong focus on building long-term relationships and negotiating media contracts effectively.

Also, read about the ex-oOh!media and Wildstone experts outlook on the future of the outdoor industry.

Hero illustration by Billy Klein. Source Photographs: QMS (Supplied Content).