This-Party Ad Measurement Partners Announce New Snap Attention Measurement

This is slightly awkward, though a win for advertisers either way.

Today, both Integral Ad Science (IAS) and DoubleVerify have each announced a new attention measurement element for Snapchat, which will provide more insight into how your Snap ads are driving engagement in the app.

Though IAS is pitching theirs as “first-to-market,” and DoubleVerify is saying that theirs is a “first of its kind.”

It seems that all platforms in digital marketing take inspiration from each other.

First off, on IAS’s “first-to-market” attention measurement solution. IAS has partnered with both Snap Inc. and Lumen Research to combine Lumen’s eye-tracking-based ad response insights with its own AI-powered media quality data, in order to measure Snap ads attention.

So how does eye-tracking work in this context?

Well, essentially, it’s an estimate of attention, matching what’s on screen with likely viewer engagement.

As explained by Lumen:

“Lumen’s eye-tracking technology converts a phone or computer’s webcam into a sensor that detects attentive seconds per thousand (APM) based on the Lumen Predictive Attention Engine.”

Though that doesn’t mean that Lumen is using your device camera to track your attention.

How it works is, Lumen conducts studies using large groups of participants, who are measured through this process to see what’s grabbing their attention on screens. Lumen then uses that data to formulate signal insights which then power its predictive engine, and understand what people are looking at any given time.

Heatmaps like this are an example of the process in action, providing advertisers with more insight into what people are actually looking at as they go about their in-app or online activity.

So, in essence, this new third-party verification measurement will provide more info on how exactly your Snap ads are driving engagement, which can better inform your content approach.

DoubleVerify’s solution is virtually the same:

“The new offering combines DV’s scalable ad exposure data, including key metrics such as viewable time and screen share, with eyes-on-screen ad signals from Lumen Research, creating the most holistic attention solution available for advertisers seeking to measure their performance on Snapchat at scale. This is the first solution on Snapchat to combine impression-level ad exposure metrics with eyes-on-screen data, delivering an unprecedented level of attention insight across their platform.”

DV says that its solution will be able to provide insight into ad focus, dwell time, and an “Attention Index,” which is an overall measure of attention on Snap, and also includes comparative performance insights by vertical.

That could be another consideration for your Snap ads, ensuring that you’re optimizing the right elements to maximize ad response.

And if you’re serious about your Snap ads, or spending big on Snapchat promotions, that could be worth considering.