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The Behavioral Barometer
The latest and greatest from your human experience guides at Element Human
Attention is where great brand equity starts. Brands that grab—and keep—your focus are the ones that earn the right to build lasting loyalty and recognition.
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Consumers are bombarded with thousands of messages each day, getting noticed is not just a challenge—it’s a competitive advantage. At the heart of this battle for consumer recognition lies brand equity, a term that encapsulates the value consumers associate with a brand, built over time through perceptions, experiences, and interactions.
Brand equity influences everything—from purchase decisions and customer loyalty to how much consumers are willing to pay. But to shape these perceptions, there’s one critical prerequisite: attention. Without it, even the most brilliantly crafted brand message fades into digital obscurity.
Let's start with a (the?) model from David Aacker. The four elements of brand equity are as follows:
Now onto attention. Because attention is a pre-requisite to the brand equity game. As media consumption becomes more fragmented and fast-paced, attention has emerged as a scarce and invaluable resource. In fact, attention has been coined “the currency of the digital age” by behavioral scientists and marketers alike. This article explores how attention functions, why it matters for brand equity, and how brands can harness it effectively to cut through the noise and connect with consumers.
In advertising, attention refers to the act of capturing and holding your audience's focus long enough for your message to register, resonate, and inspire action. But it's not just about visual appeal—attention is a neurological process, deeply embedded in how the brain processes stimuli.
From a neuroscience perspective, attention is about the selective concentration of mental resources on specific pieces of information, while filtering out everything else (APA Dictionary of Psychology). It’s how we tune into a friend’s voice in a noisy room or notice a flashing sign while scrolling through our phones.
The brain does this by prioritizing high-contrast, salient stimuli—those that are visually or emotionally striking. Features such as bright colors, sharp contrasts, motion, and emotional content are automatically pulled into our mental spotlight, often before we’re even aware of it. This kind of “bottom-up” attention happens instinctively, guided by our brain’s drive to focus on what seems most important or urgent (Neurons Inc).
Modern neuroscience has shown that not all attention is equal. There are different types—like sustained attention (how long we stay focused) and selective attention (what we choose to focus on)—and each plays a unique role in advertising effectiveness. Getting consumers to look is just step one. Keeping them engaged long enough to process your message and associate it with your brand is where the real work happens.
Here’s where things get really interesting: attention doesn’t just help your ads get noticed—it plays a direct role in shaping brand equity.
First, attention is the entry point to memory and decision-making. Without it, your message won’t be encoded in the brain, meaning it won’t be remembered later when the consumer is standing in front of a shelf or scrolling an online store. Studies have consistently shown that ads which capture more attention also generate higher recall, better brand recognition, and stronger purchase intent (IPA Research, 2021).
Second, attention influences emotional engagement. When a viewer pays sustained attention to a brand message, they’re more likely to connect emotionally, which can influence brand associations and long-term loyalty. In fact, The Attention Council found that high-attention media environments are more effective at building emotional resonance, which is a key component of brand equity (Attention Council Report, 2023).
Lastly, attention drives consumer actions. In retail and e-commerce environments, where decisions happen in split seconds, capturing attention at the right moment can mean the difference between a sale and a scroll-past. According to research from Lumen, attention is the single best predictor of ad impact—more than reach, impressions, or frequency (Lumen Research).
In short, without attention, you don’t have awareness. Without awareness, you don’t have association. And without association, you can’t build brand equity. It all starts with that first glance.
This glorious PDF is brought to us by our friend, Jenni Romaniuk of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. It's a compilation of insights on effective brand health tracking - ranging from attitude measurement to marketing zealotry.
Attention isn’t random—it’s influenced by a set of neurological and psychological drivers. Understanding these core elements can help marketers create ads that are not only seen but also remembered and acted upon. The three most significant drivers are salience, relevance, and control. Each plays a distinct role in guiding how and where consumers focus their limited attention.
Salience is the quality that makes something immediately noticeable. It’s why a red umbrella stands out in a sea of black ones or why flashing lights catch your eye. In advertising, salience is all about contrast, surprise, and differentiation.
Neurologically, our brains are wired to notice what’s different from the environment. High-contrast visuals, sudden movement, bright colors, and unique formats automatically trigger our attention mechanisms. This is referred to as bottom-up processing, where stimuli "demand" our attention based on their sensory properties (Eysenck & Keane, 2015).
When used well, salience helps brands break through the noise. For example, think of Apple’s product launches: minimalist, stark visuals with a single item in focus. This contrast with the cluttered digital space makes the content stand out sharply. Similarly, brands like Coca-Cola have mastered the use of iconic, consistent color to stay instantly recognizable even in busy ad environments.
However, salience is only the first step. It grabs attention—but keeping it requires relevance.
Relevance determines whether attention sticks. It’s the emotional or cognitive “hook” that convinces the brain, “This matters to me.” While salience grabs the viewer’s eye, relevance determines whether they care enough to keep watching, reading, or engaging.
According to The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, emotionally relevant content increases ad effectiveness by 23% because it connects with viewers on a deeper level (LinkedIn B2B Institute, 2022). Whether it’s humor, nostalgia, shared values, or relatable life moments, emotionally resonant advertising creates cognitive fluency—making the content easier to process, remember, and respond to.
From a practical standpoint, this means tailoring messages to your audience’s life context, values, and aspirations. It also means showing products in real-life use cases or featuring stories that reflect your target customer’s day-to-day challenges.
The more relevant your ad feels, the more likely it is to command not just attention, but meaningful attention—the kind that builds trust and long-term equity.
The third piece of the puzzle is control, often referred to as top-down attention. This is the conscious, intentional act of focusing on something. Unlike salience or relevance, which rely on the environment or emotional triggers, controlled attention is a mental effort guided by goals or tasks.
For instance, when a shopper goes online looking for a new laptop, they’re in a high-control mode—they’re scanning, comparing, and evaluating with purpose. Ads that are aligned with their intent (e.g., product specs, user reviews, or limited-time deals) are more likely to hold attention because they match the viewer’s mental focus.
However, this type of attention is also fragile. It can be easily disrupted by more salient or emotionally compelling stimuli. That’s why even highly relevant ads can get derailed if they aren’t designed with clarity and simplicity in mind.
To maximize control-based attention, brands should:
When you combine all three—salience, relevance, and control—you create a holistic attention strategy that works across every stage of the consumer journey.
Understanding how attention works is just the first step. The next challenge is designing ads and brand experiences that harness this knowledge effectively. From visual design to content structure and cultural universality, there are proven strategies to maximize consumer attention and, in turn, build stronger brand equity.
Here’s something remarkable: attention isn’t just psychological—it’s biological. And that means the way people process visual stimuli is surprisingly similar across geographies and cultures. Regardless of language or background, our eyes and brains are drawn to the same types of visual cues.
A study conducted by Neurons Inc using eye-tracking and EEG technologies confirmed that people across different markets exhibit highly similar attention patterns, especially in digital advertising (Neurons Inc). Key elements like branding, product visuals, and text consistently draw attention first—no matter if the viewer is in the UK, Brazil, or Japan.
This universality gives global brands a strategic advantage. Instead of localizing the visual structure of every ad campaign, marketers can focus on optimizing core visual elements:
Universal attention patterns allow brands to scale more effectively while ensuring that key messages are noticed and remembered worldwide.
Humans are social beings. Our brains have evolved to recognize and respond to faces within milliseconds. In fact, a specific area of the brain—the fusiform face area—is dedicated entirely to facial recognition (ScienceDirect).
In advertising, this translates to one of the most powerful tools in the creative toolbox: human faces. Whether it’s a smiling customer, an expressive emotion, or a familiar celebrity, faces automatically draw the eye and create emotional engagement.
According to a study by Lumen Research, ads featuring faces increase attention by up to 40%, especially when the face is looking directly at the viewer or gesturing toward a product (Lumen).
But there’s a caveat—especially with celebrity endorsements. If not handled carefully, the star power can overpower the product, leading to a phenomenon known as “overshadowing.” This occurs when viewers remember the celebrity, but not the brand. The solution? Make sure the celebrity is interacting with the product, not just posing beside it. Ensure the brand logo and key message are near the face or connected visually through gaze or gesture.
In user-generated content and influencer marketing, the same rule applies: faces should support, not steal, the spotlight from your brand.
One of the most overlooked factors in attention optimization is ad layout and placement. Research has shown that some areas of a screen or visual field are naturally “dead zones”—spots where the eye rarely goes, especially in fast-scroll environments.
For example, the bottom-right corner is often ignored unless specifically emphasized with motion or directional cues. On the other hand, the center and top-left quadrant receive the most attention, due to natural reading patterns in left-to-right languages (Nielsen Norman Group).
To optimize ad design:
Mobile design requires even more precision. On small screens, space is limited, and attention is fleeting. That’s why your logo, product, and CTA must appear in the first frame of the video or at the top half of a static ad.
Brands like Spotify and Nike have successfully optimized for these principles by using bold, high-contrast designs and placing their branding front and center from the first second.
This study explores consumer engagement in social media influencer marketing using the self-determination theory and a stimulus-organism-response framework. It analyzes the impact of influencer, advertisement, and social factors on consumer engagement levels (content consumption, contribution, and creation) through psychological motivators like self-disclosure willingness, innovativeness, and information trust.
Attention isn't just an immediate trigger for action—it’s a long-term asset in building brand equity. Over time, ads that capture and sustain consumer attention create deep associations with a brand, fostering trust and loyalty. This ongoing engagement compounds the impact of attention by strengthening emotional connections and making the brand more memorable in consumers' minds.
Furthermore, as consumers' exposure to a brand increases, their mental availability—the likelihood that they will think of a brand when making a purchase decision—also grows. In an environment filled with options, top-of-mind awareness is a critical competitive advantage, and sustained attention plays a crucial role in maintaining that awareness (IPA Research, 2021).
Brands that consistently capture attention don't just create short-term sales; they earn the right to cultivate long-lasting relationships with their audiences. By leveraging the attention to build emotional connections, brands foster consumer loyalty, turning one-time buyers into advocates.
To effectively harness attention, brands must also understand how to measure it. While the concept of "attention" is intangible, advancements in technology have made it possible to track and quantify. Tools like eye-tracking, heatmaps, and neuroimaging are used to analyze how consumers interact with content. More accessible metrics like viewability, engagement rates, and time on screen can also serve as proxies for attention if you don't have the ability to model and simulate the human experience.
Through these technologies, brands can optimize their content and placements, refining their strategies to maximize the likelihood of capturing and maintaining consumer attention across platforms and devices.
In the information age, attention is both a precious resource. It plays a pivotal role in building brand equity, influencing everything from initial awareness to long-term loyalty. By understanding how attention works and implementing strategies to capture, hold, and engage consumer attention, brands can create deeper, more meaningful relationships with their audiences.
As competition for consumer focus intensifies, the brands that succeed will be those who not only grab attention but keep it—ensuring that their messages resonate, their products are remembered, and their identities are entrenched in the hearts and minds of their customers. In the end, attention is the foundation on which brand equity is built.
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