As viewers pale at the prospect of independent Clive Palmer’s prospective 45-minute election ads, Nine Entertainment has a message that may concern us all: Longer adverts get more attention.

The Australian broadcaster has released research showing commercials on linear television and BVOD deliver a “significantly longer window of active attention” from viewers, compared to ads of the same length on social media.

Nine has gone back to attention measurement company Amplified Intelligence for what it says is “the most technologically-advanced study into attention to advertising ever undertaken in Australia”.

Eye-tracking technology was used in 200 households to find out when they were paying attention to their screens – across linear channels, and 9Now on both connected TV and mobile – and when they weren’t.

The study collected and analysed 11,500 “viewing occasions” covering news, reality and lifestyle programming at various times of the day, and measured three levels of attention – active (looking directly at the ad), passive (in the room but not looking at ad) and non-attention, across programming, advertising, integration and promotional content.  

It also looked at the length of time viewers paid attention, whether the length of an advertisement affected attention, and how attention levels changed by time of day.  

The eye-tracking technology – which captures where the human eye is looking five times every second – was used to map how many seconds of active attention was paid to 15 and 30 second adverts during Nine-screened content.

Nine says the research found that its platforms delivered “superior attention”, with 9Now on mobile achieving the highest level of active attention.

Existing data from Amplified Intelligence – using the same methodology – on active attention of ads on Meta’s platforms has already been released, and Nine says the “astounding” 21.1 seconds’ attention collected by a 30 second ad on 9Now is almost four times as much as Meta’s best performing video ad format. 

“But not all active attention seconds are equal,” says the broadcaster. “Amplified Intelligence has previously shared that it takes three seconds of active attention to an ad to access memory, and for every additional second, that brand lasts in memory for a further three days.”

The research also looked at what it calls “short term advertising strength” – comparing a purchase after ad exposure with purchase after no ad exposure – finding a bigger uplift in brand choice from those exposed to television or BVOD, than those exposed to social ads. 

Work by Amplified Intelligence chief executive Karen Nelson-Field, and the results of the study showed Nine’s video assets were three to four times more effective in delivering a short term sales impact over Facebook, rising to a massive six times more effective on CTV, the broadcaster said.

Karen Nelson-Field – who wrote The Attention Economy and Viral Marketing: the science of sharing – said the linear and CTV channels delivered long periods of active attention for advertisers. “Based on the link between attention and memory, this keeps brands in consumers’ minds for longer.”

Nine’s director of powered Liana Dubios says the research showed the power of television and BVOD of being able to place brands front and centre in viewers’ minds. 

“Social media sounds seductive but total television is where brands influence sales, and we have the numbers to prove it,” she says, adding that she was “delighted” that Australia’s Seven Network was also implementing a study with Amplified Intelligence.

The new research delivers higher STAS figures than those in a 2017 Think TV benchmark study. Core Amplified Intelligence figures then were 144 for linear TV and 161 for BVOD, compared to 166 for linear TV and 170 for BVOD in 2021.