The rise and rise of the attention economy

Advertising, as a business, has always been about attention

Back at business school, nearly 40 years ago, we were taught the AIDA Model — Attention, Interest, Desire, Action — as a linear continuum of consumer behaviour. Much has changed in the past four decades. But the gateway to consumer interest, involvement and interaction still remains “attention”. A simple request to “please pay attention” implies two important characteristics of attention: That it is limited, and that it is valuable. So, when we “pay” attention to any one thing, we somewhat deplete our reservoir of mental resources, being left with less attention available to spend or use, elsewhere. Human attention, therefore,