Digital outdoor media company QMS has released the results from its global-first research on the role human attention plays in out-of-home (OOH) environments. The research debunks the myth that OOH is a glance-only medium and showcases how brands can leverage the attention flywheel to maximise their OOH investment.
The landmark research by QMS and audience measurement company Amplified Intelligence revealed OOH ads scored an average 12 seconds of total attention.
Importantly, 90% of the QMS sites tested by Amplified Intelligence secured more than 2.5 seconds of active attention, which is the global threshold for something to be committed to long-term memory. In addition, the research found that OOH was 5.9 times more likely to deliver above the attention memory threshold than other digital channels.
The initial phase of the research included 11 different advertiser categories on 12 large and small format sites in Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, and captured a significant sample size of 1.23 million – the single largest sample collected by Amplified Intelligence globally.
“This research is at the forefront of global campaign innovation and is a significant step forward in understanding how people engage with OOH and the various dimensions that need to be considered for OOH planning and buying in this new era,” said QMS chief strategy officer Christian Zavecz.
“Traditional metrics like reach and opportunity-to-see still have a role to play in measuring OOH, but they are not enough. It’s time to pay attention to modern media metrics that will shape the future of OOH and omnichannel marketing and drive greater campaign effectiveness”.
“As leaders in understanding real human attention, Amplified Intelligence’s first-to-market technology, real-world approach and uniformity of models for channel comparison has allowed us to understand the power OOH has in gaining attention like never before,” he said.
“The research confirms that OOH is far more than a fleeting glance – it captures real, measurable attention that translates into meaningful brand impact. This OOH data will serve as a powerful extension of our attention measurement framework, demonstrating how attention-based insights can complement traditional metrics to reveal the true impact of ads across multiple channels. In an era where capturing and holding attention is increasingly difficult, this data is key to driving stronger, more effective brand outcomes,” said Amplified Intelligence CEO and founder, Dr Karen Nelson-Field.
“Our market-leading research is proof that OOH should no longer be considered as a glance-only medium, reinforcing the importance of the channel within omnichannel planning – for brands big and small,” said QMS strategic sales director, Adrian Venditti.
“The future of advertising will increasingly focus on attention as a more sophisticated and accurate way of planning and evaluating client campaigns. This research shows OOH captures and holds attention and importantly provides brands with another dimension for campaign planning”.
“We are thrilled to drive this innovation for the global OOH industry and are excited for the study’s next phase,” he said.
The results of the research were released during a presentation at SXSW Sydney by Mr Zavecz and Dr Nelson-Field, followed by a panel discussion including Suncorp executive manager of media, Greg Kearney, and OMD national head of communications planning, Thad King. QMS is the presenting partner of the Advertising & Marketing track at SXSW Sydney.
QMS and Amplified Intelligence will continue to build on their Attention based research study adding more markets, more formats and more modes.
