The document discusses the challenges and opportunities that marketers face in today's "attention economy", where consumers are constantly distracted by multiple devices and media. People are consuming more media simultaneously and have shorter attention spans. This makes it difficult for advertisements to be effective. Marketers must create unique and shareable content that can capture consumers' fragmented attention. Sponsored content placed within articles and shared on social media has shown success in subtly promoting brands in a way that holds users' interest.

1. Fighting for interest in the
Attention Economy
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by Monique Deziel

2. We live in what’s called
The attention economy
we are always
consuming, always
multitasking never
focusing on just
one subject.
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7

3. We are surrounded by mass media
and multiple devices
Never giving our
attention to just
one brand
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6, 7

4. Studies have shown that people
are consuming more media
this is a result of media multi­tasking, with
overlapping time on different devices
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6, 7
4

5. CC Photo By: Scott Hibberson Creative Commons Licence https://www.flickr.com/photos/26249834@N07/6166386244/
and people are becoming more skilled at
consuming more than one type of media at
once
7
5

6. CC Photo By: Eric Peacock Creative Commons Licence https://www.flickr.com/photos/evilpeacock/13235187545/
“40 percent of smartphone and tablet users
multitask in front of the TV daily.”1

7. This presents a new challenge for marketers,
even highly anticipated super bowl commercials
may become less effective due to people media
multitasking while watching them
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8. CC Photo By: Bubba Miller Creative Commons Licence https://www.flickr.com/photos/saginaw_bubba/7907340680/
Although many people tune in to watch
the super bowl,
very few will consume the entirety of the
program without checking in on
another device 1

9. The youngest generation is growing up
learning to media multitask and have
incorporated this into their everyday lives
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10. giving them the skills to
perform better while
multitasking
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11. Consumers are also armed with a
variety of tools that help them filter
and block media
allowing them to make choices about
consumption
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12. to have an effective advertisement Marketers
must tailor their advertisements for the
different levels of attention that are expected
from consumers
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11

13. One way to gain the attention of consumers
is through sponsored content
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8

14. Sponsored content
incorporates advertisements
into editorials in a way
that consumers won't skip
directly over them
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15. Canadian family magazine
published an article titled “5
Tips for establishing a routine
with your baby”
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16. This was one of A series of articles for
expecting parents, each article
sponsored by the brand aveeno
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17. This drew attention to the brand and
made them seem knowledgeable about a
cause important to their consumers
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18. Brands must
also
consider
whether their
content
is share
worthy
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19. marketers must take
advantage of where
consumers are on
social media and
where they share
content
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20. People will share content with
their friends if it's something they
want to show they care about or
think their friends will care about
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21. and you want to
attract attention to
your content
shares indicate attention
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22. With so many sources looking to
grab consumers’ attention
it’s important to have stand out
content
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23. The attention economy doesn’t
have to be framed negatively, but
marketers must understand how it
effects their communications
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24. Works Cited
1. Blanding, M. (2014, January 29). Super Bowl Ads for Multitaskers. Retrieved
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/super­bowl­ads­for­multitaskers
2. Grimm, J. (2014, June 30). 10 Best Examples of Sponsored Content. Retrieved from
http://www.pressboardmedia.com/10­best­examples­of­sponsored­content/
3. Jones, K. (2016, October 12). Is your content share­worthy? 4 questions to ask. Retrieved
http://marketingland.com/content­shareworthy­4­questions­ask­194156
4. Krashinsky, S. (2014, December 04). Four ways Canadians are consuming media
differently. Retrieved http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report­on­business/industry­
news/marketing/four­ways­canadians­are­consuming­media­differently/article21949630/
5. Krashinsky, S. (2015, May 11). Advertisers cash in on attention spans of digitally savvy
Canadians. Retrieved http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report­on­business/industry­
news/marketing/microsoft­study­looks­at­attention­span­of­digitally­savvy­
canadians/article24359527/
6. Matrix, Sydneyeve. “Module 1, Lecture 1.” FILM 240. Kingston. September 14.
7. Matrix, Sydneyeve. “Module 1, Lecture 2.” FILM 240. Kingston. September 21.
8. Matrix, Sydneyeve. “Module 2, Lecture 2.” FILM 240. Kingston. September October 5.
9. Reddy, Sumathi. (2014, October 13). Teen Researchers Defend Media Multitasking;
Doing Homework with Music, Texts, Tweets Works Better for some. Retrieved Wall Street
Journal. ProQuest. 10. Sellas, B. (n.d.). Five ways the "attention economy" is driving your
business. Retrieved from http://www.businessesgrow.com/2016/08/03/attention­economy/
11. Teixeira, T. (2015, October 14). When People Pay Attention to Video Ads and Why.
Retrieved https://hbr.org/2015/10/when­people­pay­attention­to­video­ads­and­why