Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Attention
spans
Consumer Insights,
Microsoft Canada

1Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

ForewordThink digital is killing attention spans? Think again.
As more and more facets of Canadians’ lives go digital, we felt it was
important to understand what impact today’s digital lifestyles arehaving on consumers and their attention, and what that means formarketers. Hence, this research was born. I can honestly say this study
proves you don’t always get what you expect…
It is no surprise that increased media consumption and digital lifestyles
reduce the ability for consumers to focus for extended periods of time.
But, I never would have guessed that tech savvy consumers are actually
getting better at processing information and encoding that
information to memory. If there’s no need to stay tuned in, why not
move onto the next new and exciting thing for another hit of
dopamine?
I would have thought spending more time online or with media ingeneral would heighten one’s ability to filter out distractions. Wrongagain, not the case. No matter what environment humans are in (be it
the plains of Africa or a crowded street in New York), survival depends
on being able to focus on what’s important — generally what’s
moving. That skill hasn’t changed, it’s just moved online.
Today, multi-screening is a given, so it’s reassuring to know thatmultiple screens don’t reduce the (potential) impact of advertising.
Since consumers turn to their secondary screens to fill in those inbetween moments when they might otherwise drop off completely,
they’re more engaged overall and already primed for immersive
experiences.
While these results certainly held some surprises for us, they are all
good surprises. Rest assured, digital won’t be the cause of our (at least
attentional) downfall.

Alyson Gausby
Consumer Insights Lead, Microsoft Canada

2Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

3

Table ofcontents
Executive summary
ReportIntroduction/background
Methodology

4
5
6
10

Findings
3 types of attention:

14

Sustained
In short
In action

15
24
25

Selective
In short
In action

26
32
34

Alternating
In short
In action

36
43
44

Key takeaways
Contact us
Appendix

45
48
49

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

4“We are moving from a world where computing power
was scarce to a place where it now is almost limitless,and where the true scarce commodity is
increasingly human attention”- Satya Nadella

Executive
summary

Good news! It’s not as bad as you think.

For readers without
the attention span (ortime) to read the fullreport, here are theneed-to-knows:

Marketing too must evolve:

Attention is obviously a necessary ingredient for effective
advertising, but Canadians’ digital lifestyles are changing thebrain, decreasing the ability for prolonged focus and increasing
their appetite for more stimuli.

 Don’t believe everything you read: there’s a lot of variancebeyond the <30 year old digital natives. Media
consumption, frequency of multi-screening, and social
media usage are the main indicators of attention spanvariance.

 Overall, digital lifestyles deplete the ability to remain

focused on a single task, particularly in non-digital
environments. But, all is not lost. Connected consumers are
becoming better at doing more with less via shorter burstsof high attention and more efficient encoding to memory.

 Multi-screening trains consumers to be less effective atfiltering out distractions – they are increasingly hungry forsomething new. This means more opportunities to hijack
attention but also that brands need to work harder tomaintain it.

What can marketers do?

 Be clear, personal, relevant and (quickly) get to the point Defy expectations, leverage rich media and movement tograb attention

 Embed calls to action, be interactive, use sequential

messaging, and build cohesive, immersive experiences
across screensMicrosoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

ReportOur environment is
rapidly changing andwe’re adapting
Consumers’ lives are increasingly digital- at work, home and everywhere in
between. With news reduced to 140
characters and conversations condensed
to emojis, how is this affecting the way
Canadians see and interact with theworld?

5

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

6

We know human attention
is dwindling

12

seconds

8

seconds

9

The average humanattention span in

2000

seconds
The average humanattention span in

2013
The average attention
span of agoldfishSource: Statistic brain

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

7

Addictive technology behaviours areevident, particularly for younger
Canadians(% agree)18 to 24

65+

When nothing is occupying myattention, the first thing I do is reachfor my phone

77%

10%

I check my phone at least
every 30 minutes

52%

6%

The last thing I do before I go to
bed is check my phone

73%

18%

I often use other devices while
watching TV

79%

42%

I watch more TV programs throughcatch-up/streamed TV than live

74%

13%

I often watch a number of episodesof a show back-to-back

87%

43%

From Microsoft’s Cross-Screen Evolution research, we know consumers’ relationships
with their devices (particularly their phones and TVs) are continuing to evolve.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

8“[What information consumes is] the attention of
its recipients. Hence a wealth of information
creates a poverty of attention.”- Herbert Simon
Nobel winner, Economics (1978)

Theory:brain plasticity

The goal for thisresearch is tounderstand what
impact technology
and today’s digital
lives are having on
attention spans.

The brain has the miraculous
capability to change itself overtime. It is able to rewire andform new capabilities
throughout the course of one’s
life. This ability allows humans
to adapt both to new, orchanging situations in theirenvironment.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

9

An academic framework:
Sohlberg & Mateer’s modelof attention
This study breaks
attention into threeparts because we
don’t think that
attention can be
simply characterized
as how long people
can concentrate —different tasks,
devices, and lifestyles
require different sets
of attention types.

3 types of attention:

Sustained

Prolonged focus
Maintaining prolonged focus during
repetitive activities

Selective

Avoiding distraction
Maintaining response in the face ofdistracting or competing stimuli

Alternating

Efficiently switching between tasks
Shifting attention between tasks demanding
different cognitive skills

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

10

Methodology
To understand the changing natureof attention, we used a multi-phaseapproach:
Quantitative survey to gauge overallattention and gauge habits and perceptions

Neurological research for finer
measurement of attention spikes and togauge connection and encoding to memory

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Part 1:
Onlinequantitative
survey11Gameified online quantitative survey | 2,000 Canadian
respondents | fielded Q4 2014
The survey and games were designed to assess consumers’
attention capacities. They also included a range of metrics on
digital lifestyles that academic evidence suggests could havean impact on attention and broader cognitive functioning.
Respondents were divided into three equal sized groups
based on performance – low, medium, and high attention –each representing 1/3 of the sample.

F

K8

A

Is the letter avowel or aconsonant?

K8

Is the number
odd or even?

X
C
B
Sustained

Responding to patterns

Selective

Spotting differences*See Appendix for additional methodological information

Alternating

Classifying numbers
and letters

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Part 2:
Neurologicalresearch(neuro deep-dive)12

Tracked activity stations and gamefied survey
112 Canadian respondents | fielded December, 2014
Participant brain activity was recorded and behaviour filmed asthey interacted with different media and performed various
activities across devices and in different environments.

Attention levels were captured via portableelectroencephalograph (EEG) and activities were mapped against
tasks and behaviours to understand how attention varies byscreen, task, content type, and structure.
Results were reported as ACE (Attention, Connectivity, Encoding)scores, as well as number of attention bursts (individual
instances where the attention activity in the brain breached the
top quartile of brain activity for the task).

*See Appendix for additional methodological information

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Glossary(just for reference,here are some key
terms you’ll see
throughout thisreport)13

ACE

Attention

Neuro research EEG output
score (acronym forattentional resources,
connection, encoding)

The allocation of mental
resources to visual orconceptual objects

Connection

Attention
burstsThe measured emotional
connection to stimuli(one of three ACE scores)

Encoding
The ability to encode stimuli
to memory (one of three
ACE scores)

A count for the number oftimes attentional activity
reaches the 75th percentile
for an individual

Alternating
attention

Selective
attention

The ability to shiftattention between tasks
demanding different
cognitive skills

The ability to avoid distraction
and maintaining responses in
the face of competing stimuli

Sustained
attention
The ability to maintainprolonged focus during
repetitive activity

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Findings
It’s not just ‘kids thesedays’.
Top factors that impact attention:• Media consumption• Social media usage• Technology adoption rate
• Multi-screening behaviour
These factors affect different aspects
of different types of attention, indifferent environments.
So how, why, and what does thismean for marketers?

14

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Types of attention

Sustained
Selective
Alternating

Prolonged focus
The ability to maintainprolonged focus during
repetitive activities

15

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

16

Canadians struggle to keep their attention
focused. This has a significant impact on work-lifebalance, particularly for tech and media savvy
consumers
At work/school(% agree)

44%

45%

37%

Higher among:

Higher among:

Higher among:

68%
early tech adopters

66%
early tech adopters

71%
18-24 year olds

67%
heavy social media users

65%
heavy social media users

62%
early tech adopters

67%
18-24 years old

61%
18-24 years old62%
heavy social media users

57%
heavy multi-screeners

60%
heavy multi-screeners

51%
heavy multi-screeners

55%
high volume media
consumers

55%
high volume media
consumers

48%
high volume media
consumersof Canadians really haveto concentrate hard tostay focused on tasks

get side tracked fromwhat they’re doing byunrelated thoughts or
day dreams

don’t make the best useof their time sosometimes they have towork late/weekends

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

17

The ability to remain
focused on a single task ismost correlated with:
1. Volume of media consumption
2. Social media usage
3. Multi-screening behaviour
4. Adoption of technology
Not surprisingly, these behaviours are also highly correlated witheach other as well. While age is also correlated with thesebehaviours, it isn’t significantly tied to sustained attention.

Sustained attention spans age & gender% high sustained attention by demographic

Age
18-34
35-54
55+

Gender
31%
34%
35%

33%

31%

Male

FemaleMicrosoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

18

Long-term focus erodes withincreased digital consumption, social
media usage, and tech savviness% high sustained attention by behaviour

39%

Light

33%

MediumWeb browsing

Heavy

27%

36%

Light

Multi-screening
while online

33%

Medium
Heavy

27%

36%

Low
MediumSocial media usage

High

29%
23%

35%

Late

Tech adoption

Medium
Early

31%
25%

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

19

Neuro readings show higher usage ofsocial media increases short bursts ofhigh attention
While they may havelower sustained
attention overall,
moderate to heavysocial media users
have moreintermittent bursts ofattention (highintensity for shortdurations) in the
short-term. As time
lapses, this advantage
gets smaller.

Index: average number of peaks (bursts*) inattentional behaviour by timeframe (seconds)

1.08

1.07

1.05

1.06

1.03

0.78

0.82

0.85

0.87

0.9

3s

5s

10s

15s

30s

Light/no social media users
Moderate/heavy social media users*A burst occurs each time attentional activity reaches
the 75th percentile for an individual

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

20

The impact social has on sustained
attention is different in different
environments
Heavier social media
users pay more
attention in interactive(digital) environments,
but their attention
scores are lower thanlighter users in morepassive experiences(TV).

In both environments,
their bursts ofattention allow heavier
users of social media
to process informationand encode it tomemory more
efficiently.

Index: overall performance across attention (concentration),connection (emotional) and encoding (memory)

Interactive environments (not TV)

10

7

1
-2

-21

-29
Attention

Connection

Encoding

TV Only26

13-9Light/no social
media users

3-5

Moderate/heavy social
media users-8Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

21

Early tech adopters have more burstsof high attention
Similar to heavy social
media users, earlytech adopters havelower sustained
attention in the longrun but more burstsof high attention in
the short term. Again,
this advantage
erodes over time.

Index: average number of peaks in attentional
behaviour by timeframe

1.35

1.31

1.29

1.28

1.25

0.82

0.85

0.86

0.87

0.88

3s

5s

10s

15s

Later adopters
Early adopters

30s*See the appendix for
additional methodologicalinformation

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

22

The impact of tech adoption differs byenvironment
Following the same
pattern as social
media usage, earlytech adopters pay
more attention todigital screens. They
also process
information better
than later adaptors inthese interactive
environments.
For TV, while early
adopters pay lessattention overall, they
still process
information
significantly better –they’ve trained theirbrains to do morewith less.

Index: overall performance across attention (concentration),connection (emotional) and encoding (memory)

Interactive environments (not TV)

33
7
-3
-17
Attention

Encoding
TV Only

37

21

-42
Later adopters

Early adopters-19

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Overall, digital lifestyles have anegative impact on prolonged focus
The thrill of finding something new often
makes connected consumers jump off
one experience into another. The 'feel
good' neurotransmitter, dopamine, isreleased when consumers are doing
something they find rewarding.

19% of online
The good
news:

tech adoption andsocial media usage
are training
consumers to
become better atprocessing andencoding information
through short burstsof high attention.

Source 1: Visible measures

viewers defect in thefirst 10 seconds.1
But, this varies significantly by creative.
With today’s digital lifestyle, marketersneed to make an almost immediate
impact before consumers switch
off/move on.

23

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

In short…

Digital lifestyles affectthe ability to remain
focused for extended
periods of time.
Canadians with more digital lifestyles (those who consume
more media, are multi-screeners, social media enthusiasts,
or earlier adopters of technology) struggle to focus inenvironments where prolonged attention is needed. Why?
The thrill of the new. Increasingly immersive, multitouchpoint experiences should become the priority tocombat drop-off amongst these audiences.
While digital lifestyles decrease sustained attention overall,it’s only true in the long-term. Early adopters and heavysocial media users front load their attention and have moreintermittent bursts of high attention. They’re better at
identifying what they want/don’t want to engage with andneed less to process and commit things to memory.
When consumers are looking for something to care about at
every moment, rapid fire tactics like branded content,
native advertising and generally useful, entertaining,and shareable content are best.

24Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

25

In action…

Get your message across,right out of the gate
Canadians lose interest, FAST.

They’re suckers for novelty. It's more exciting to jump fromsubject to subject or device to device than to concentrate on asingle thing at any one time. Hook consumers right off the batwith clear and concise messaging that’s communicated as earlyas possible. We don’t always have time to build a story so craft
headlines that can say it all.
With the attention
grabbing opening line
“ship my pants?”, Kmart
hit home its new shipping
feature. The ad certainly
makes one’s ears perk up,
begging the question“did I just hear what I
thought I heard?!”

How can your brand help?

Make it personal and communicate clear consumer value. How
will paying attention make their life be better? Today’s
marketing is about instant gratification and appealing toconsumers’ needs and desires to ensure your message isrelevant.

Lowe’s “Fix in Six” videos helped consumers one life hack at a time bysimplifying everyday tasks through fun stop-motion 6-second videos.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Types of attention

Sustained

Selective
Alternating
Avoiding distraction
Maintaining response in theface of distracting orcompeting stimuli

26

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

The same devices used to get things done PC, tablet, smartphone (or some combination)- are now the gatekeepers of an infinite
number of distractions and sources of instantgratification.
“We keep the top
level item in focus
and scan the
periphery in casesomething more
important emerges."
Or something morealluring, reassuring,or simply lessdemanding.1

Source 1: Harvard Business Review, Take Back you Attention27

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

28

As consumers are exposed to more messaging
across devices, they’re starting to look for ways
to simplify, “switch off”, and identify what’s mostimportant.

54%of Canadians saytechnology cansometimes maketheir lives worse

only

B 39%
think it’s important u disconnect frompersonal technology
to make time totmonthly or more
switch off all their51%
devicesoften

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

29

Messaging needs to be tailored andrelevant to cut through the clutter

49%

of Canadians are more likely to pay
attention to communications when they’redelivered in the right context, at theright time1

46%

are interested in tools to better filter
content (up from 39% in 2014)1

41%“Offering an ad I
don’t like is SPAM. An
ad that I can use andlike is a service.”– Male, 40

Source 1: Microsoft Digital Trends 2015, Canada

of Canadians like it when ads are tailored totheir personal interests/preferences

35%

don’t mind if a brand sponsors articles orcontent on a website

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

30

The ability to filter out distractions isn’t
affected when consumers are only
using one screen% high selective attention

Age
34%

18-34

30%

35-54

35%

55+

Gender
31%

35%

Male

FemaleWeb browsing
light
medium
heavy

35%
33%
31%

Age, gender,and digital
lifestyles don’t
significantly
impact selective
attention

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

31

Introducing secondary screens
reduces selective attention
It’s a question oflifestyle. We see nodrop in performancewith device or social
media usage, justwhen multi-tasking.

Index: Selective attention levels by behavior

551
357

People with highselective attention
actively choose
fewer distractions.
Those that spend
more time multiscreening havesignificantly lower
selective attentionalscores.

238

183

-17

-72

-147
-255

SocialMedia &
TV

181

TV &
Internet

Emails &Internet

Lower usage of device combinations-179

Phone &
Internet

Emails &TV

Higher usage

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

32

In short…

Canadians’ ability to filter out distractions is a function of theirsurroundings, not their demographics, media consumption,social media use or device usage. People with higher selective
attention appear to actively choose to have fewer distractions
and multi-screen less frequency.
On the other hand, heavy multi-screeners find it difficult tofilter out irrelevant stimuli – they’re more easily distracted bymultiple streams of media.

Since 3/4 Canadians use multiple devices
at once (9/10 amongst millennials)1,
marketers should look for ways to: Hold attention (versus competingstimuli) Create opportunities to capture
consumers’ wandering eyes

Source 1: Microsoft Cross-Screen Evolution Research, 2014

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

In short…

What consumers cansee in one glance haseverything to do withwhat they’ll do next.
If overwhelmed by input or lack the
motivation to process it, their brain will stoptaking it in.
Exclude unnecessary information. Part ofachieving clarity is eliminating distractors.
Stick to the main message. If something
doesn’t play a significant role, it’s not needed.

33

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

In action…

Be different
Stand out andchallenge the norm.
“Violate people’s
expectations…youwant to have people
turn their eyes up alittle bit more…
we’re attuned tosurprises and wehave a pleasantexperience withpositive surprises.”
Ben Parr
Author, ‘Captivology’

Look to outdoor
ads for inspiration– they’re always
competing against
their surroundings!

Source: Forbes, ‘Ben Parr wants your attention: Q&A with the author of Captivology’, 201534

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

35

In action…

Get moving
Harness the power of
peripheral motion.
Human survival has been
based on the ability to focus
on what’s most important(generally what’s moving).
Rich media ads help capture
attention and dramatically
improve engagement.

CTR

Engagement

Standard display

0.13%

0.98%

Rich media display

0.16%

11%

+23%

+1022%

Source 1: eMarketer Adform, 2014

Draw consumers in
Linking directly to full screen video or landing
experiences can drive immediate action.2 On Xbox,
the ad is the only animated/moving tile tonaturally grab users’ attention

Xbox 360 Example - CA

Source 2: Xbox Advertising Internal Data on 55+ Xbox 360 advertising campaigns from (Sept 2013 – Aug 2014) – CAMicrosoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Types of attention

Sustained
Selective

Alternating
Efficiently switching
between tasks:
Shifting attention between tasks
demanding different cognitive skills

36

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

37

Multi-screening behavior is the
single biggest driver of theability to shift between tasks
Alternating attention levels are mosthighly correlated with:
1. Multi-screening behaviour
2. Volume of media consumption
3. Adoption of technology
4. Social media usage

Odds are, you’re a multi-screener

67%

of Canadians say multitasking is the only way they
can get things done.
Higher among younger:76%
18 to 2438%
65+

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

38

Age and gender don’t
significantly impact the ability
to shift between different tasks% high alternating attention by demographics

Age
36%

18-34
35-54

28%
36%

55+

Gender

33%

34%

Male

FemaleContrary to popularbelief, women don’t
appear to be any
better at attention
multi-tasking thanmen.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

39

Digital behaviours improvealternating attention% high alternating attention by behaviours
Late

Tech adoption

Medium

39%

Early

40%

Light
MediumWeb browsing

29%
34%
37%

Heavy

Low
MediumMulti-screening
while online

31%

High

27%
32%
37%

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

40

An active social media lifestylebuilds alternating attention – to acertain point
Moderate users ofsocial media are
better at multitasking than lower
users.
But, when crossing
into the top quartileof social media
usage, scores
plummet.
Social media candrain one’s resources,
reducing the ability toallocate attention,connect with content
on an emotional
level, and process
information.

Index: overall performance across attention, connection, andencoding by social media usage (divided based on usage)

60

57
35
11

0

-6

-84

-125
Attention
Low social usage
Medium social usage
High social usage-134
Connection

Encoding

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

41

Multi-screen environments not only
improve overall attention, they
improve emotional connection andencoding to memory
Index: overall performance across attention (concentration),connection (emotional) and encoding (memory)

The more resourcesthat consumers
commit in multiscreening
environments
improves connection
to content andencoding to memory.
Multi-screeners
appear to be in aheightened neuralstate – they’re primed
for more immersive
experiences.

37

36

9
-21

-89

Attention
Multi-screen-102

Connection
TV only

Encoding

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

By analyzing video footage
from multi-screening
environments, we see thatwhile consumers may belooking at their phones (rather
than the TV), they are still
responding to auditory cues,
like laughing at jokes.
It was also observed that ‘calls to action’ wereeffective in encouraging consumers to lookup at key moments (e.g., when abrand/product is featured).

42

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

In short…

Canadians with more digital lifestyles
are better at simultaneously
processing information from different
sourcesMulti-screening doesn’t reduce the potential impact ofadvertising - digital lifestyles are associated withgreater levels of attention. But, immersive, engaging,
multi-touchpoint experiences are needed tocapitalize on these opportunities.
Embedding ‘calls to action’ within content helps to
optimize multi-screeners’ attention. These are criticalfrom an auditory standpoint – while a consumer may
not be always be watching, they’re likely listening –make sure to capture their attention (and eyeballs) at
key moments.
Leverage multi-screening behaviours and be actionfocused. Encourage consumers to seek out additional
content on other devices (e.g., visit a website topurchase). Multi-taskers are adept at acting quickly to
do something new/different.

43Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

44

In action…

1

Honda

Honda’s “Other Side”
campaign instructs viewers
to switch between two
scenarios (via keyboardkeys) to see the two sides
of a man’s life: one as afamily man collecting his
kids from school and theother as a bank robber.
This engaging campaign
uses active involvement tosustain attention andfulfill the need for
new/different stimuli.

2

DisneyDisney’s second screen
app extends the film
experience with usercontrolled, in-depth
galleries, flipbooks 360
turnarounds, and puzzles.
It holds even a young
child’s attention andencourages deeper
engagement.

3

Samsung

Samsung’s Note 4interactive video ad –with image gallery,features information, andclick-to-shop feature –plays to multitasking/multi-screening
habits by embedding asecond screen within thevideo window.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspansKeytakeaways

4545

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

46“Brains are being rewired — any shift in stimuli results in a
rewiring...the techniques and mechanisms to engage in rapid-fireattention shifting will be extremely useful”

Danah Boyd,
Microsoft ResearchTechnology isn’t athreat or a problem
for marketers, per se.
While it introduces some challenges, it also createssignificant opportunities.
In today’s connected age, digital media consumption
is a given and Canadians are adapting to the massive
amounts of information they’re exposed to every day.
As the prevalence of multi-screening increases, social
becomes integrated in different ways, and consumers
continue to adopt new technologies, attention spansare decreasing overall. This is a universal truth, it’s
NOT just ‘kids these days’. Brands must go beyond
basic demographic segmentation because digital
lifestyles and behaviours are more tied to attention
levels than demographics are.
Now for the good news: Canadians’ increasingly
digital lifestyles are also making them more efficientat processing information and recording it to theirmemories. They’re able to do more with less, so thatthey can move on to the next new/exciting thing.
All this means that brands need to find different,
more creative, and increasingly immersive ways tomarket themselves and engage Canadian consumers.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

47

Address all 3 types
of attention:
Sustained

Tech adoption, social
media usage, and multiscreening behaviours
mean consumers are
getting worse at paying
attention for extended
periods of time, butthey’re able to do morewith less through higher
bursts of attention andmore efficient encoding
to memory.
Be clear, personal,
relevant, and get tothe point.

Selective

Filtering out distractions
isn’t related to tech orsocial media usage ormedia consumption, but
it declines with more
multi-screening. Brands
need to hold consumers
attention to compete withother stimuli, but there’s
also potential to grab
attention away from otherinterests.
Defy expectations,
keep it moving, anduse simplicity to focus
on your message.

Alternating
Digital lifestyles improve
the ability to switch
between tasks, but only
to a certain point, when
consumers can getoverwhelmed.

Embed calls to action,
be interactive,
continue experiences
onto other screens,and use sequential
messaging.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

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48

Questions?
www.microsoftadvertising.com/researchContact alyson.gausby@microsoft.com

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

Appendix49
49

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

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Calculations:
Quantitative research
The study divided
respondents into
three equal – sizedgroups based on
performance – low,
medium and highattention – eachband represented
33% of the sample.

37%

A score oforhigher represents astatisticallysignificant difference
in attention.

The results from the games were analyzed in thefollowing ways. For the purpose of the analysis, anoverall score was calculated for each of the games:

Sustained

Counting the number of times respondents correctly
identified an X occurring after an A.

Selective

Counting the number of times respondents correctly
identified a change in the orientation of the rectangles.

Alternating

Calculating the difference in the time lapsed to perform aseries of consecutive number or letter classifications,compared to a mixture of number and letter classifications.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans

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Calculations:
Neurological research
Sustained

Selective

Alternating

Average scores fromneurological test
environments werebroken into equal parts:
low, medium, and high.
The average number ofpeaks in attention
behaviour for various
timeframes were
calculated to determine
bursts in attention.

Average mobile
components from themulti-screen werecompared with resultsfrom the dedicatedmobile environment
average. By analyzingeach participant’s
attention levels during
the mobile task stationand comparing themagainst their attention
levels while using amobile device during themulti-screen task station,a functional measure forthe level of distraction
was calculated.

Average neurologicalscores from the multiscreen test environment
were divided into equalparts: low, medium, andhigh.

Microsoft attention spans, Spring 2015 | @msadvertisingca #msftattnspans