A new tool aims to show advertisers exactly how much attention their ads need to drive brand recognition. xpln.ai’s Ideal Attention Time metric promises more precise campaign optimization.
For advertisers and publishers, knowing how much attention an ad truly needs to build brand recognition can directly impact campaign performance and media spend. xpln.ai, an attention intelligence startup, has introduced Ideal Attention Time, a metric designed to help brands determine the minimum attention required for their creative to achieve business outcomes like product understanding and brand recall.
Fabien Magalon, CEO and Co-Founder of xpln.ai, explained that the company’s platform launched in 2022 with two main products: an attention measurement tool for campaign tracking and a targeting solution to optimize for attention. According to Magalon, the threshold for effective attention varies by creative, platform, and ad format, making it essential for advertisers to tailor their strategies accordingly.
One early adopter, insurance company AXA, used Ideal Attention Time in a campaign promoting legal and relocation services for victims of domestic violence. The campaign’s 30-second video revealed its AXA branding only in the final moments, which Magalon noted was powerful but not always effective in fast-scrolling digital environments. In such settings, viewers often move past ads before recognizing the brand, limiting impact.
Ideal Attention Time addresses this challenge by quantifying the minimum attention needed for brand recognition. Marine Gissy, AXA’s global media lead, said her team already understood which media channels drove attention, but not how much the creative itself contributed. AXA’s analysis found it took about three seconds to capture attention and five seconds to achieve brand recognition. xpln.ai’s system uses computer vision to analyze ad frames, labeling elements like logos, text, and people, and combines this with eye tracking, surveys, and panel data to measure attention and recall. The resulting data feeds an algorithm that predicts the attention required for recognition based on creative design and product.
After learning that five seconds was longer than desired for brand recognition, AXA worked with its agency to introduce the AXA logo earlier in the ad and developed longer formats to deepen engagement. These changes led to higher average attention times and reduced cost per attentive second. Gissy said the findings confirmed that attention was the key performance indicator with real business impact. Magalon added that some xpln.ai clients have found their content drives recognition almost instantly, suggesting that knowing the precise attention threshold can prevent overpaying for outcomes already achieved.
As advertisers seek more actionable metrics, the debate over attention and brand outcomes continues. Related discussions about the complexity of digital ad measurement and the risks of new automation layers have been explored in stories such as how agentic advertising may recreate programmatic’s intermediary challenges.
xpln.ai, founded in 2022, focuses on attention-based advertising solutions for brands and agencies. The company’s platform leverages computer vision and data partnerships to analyze ad performance across digital channels. Since launch, xpln.ai has worked with major advertisers including AXA and continues to expand its suite of attention measurement tools.
