SAN JUAN, PR — If your flashy TV ad aired during the Super Bowl, but half the country had gone to the bathroom, is it really so effective?

Laura Baker is on a mission to do better.

In this video interview with Beet.TV, Baker, SVP, Strategic Partnerships, Infillion, explains why the intersection of engagement and attention is what could drive the media industry beyond some of its current challenges.

Consumers come first

Infillion’s true[X] helps deliver interactive ads that, if engaged with, can earn viewers a lighter ad load or other benefits.

In a world replete with more choice than ever, it’s all part of being “consumer-first”, Baker says, speaking at Beet Retreat 2023 in Puerto Rico.

“Consumers need to have a voice today in our conversation,” she says. “I am hoping that the challenge that we spend a little more time addressing is that end user, the viewer, the consumer that’s consuming this content.”

Leaking attention

Having conducted consumer research last year, Infillion’s Baker concluded: “Consumers actually like ad breaks because it gives them the opportunity to … go to the bathroom, you go run and grab a beer, et cetera.”

But what good is an advertising modality in which people actively leave the screen when brands most want them to stay? That’s the problem Infillion’s true[X] is trying to address.

And not just for TV. In games, Infillion is helping enable extra lives or ad-free session time, in return for engaging with an ad. For education publishers like Mathway, Infillion is using ads to give users extra articles or equations, for example.

It is introducing a value exchange into advertising, where once there was simply a message.

Attention can measure engagement

If that kind of creative modality becomes as commonplace as Baker hopes it will, it may force a re-appraisal of how ads are measured and priced.

There is a world of difference between a viewer who left the TV to heed the call of nature and one who stayed to play with a brand’s interactive game.

“What does that actually mean around consumer attention and what are we as an industry going to do around enabling attention as a metric?,” Baker asks.

“We’re seeing a lot of new measurement startup companies, collaborating with agencies and brands to actually be able to measure and plan and ultimately buy against attention-worthy inventory and publishers.”

To Fight SVOD, The TV Experience Must Respect Viewers: Infillion’s Baker

Infillion and beyond

Infillion is new company formed out of a merger of Gimbal and true[X].

Infillion’s true[X] was previously acquired by Fox and then sat with Disney through its acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

In October 2020, true[X] was sold to Gimbal, a technology company focused on using location information to activate ads.

In February 2022, the pair announced a new single brand, Infillion.

You’re watching coverage of Beet Retreat San Juan 2023, presented by LiveRamp, Madhive, Magnite, Paramount, T-Mobile Advertising Solutions and VideoAmp. For more videos from the Beet Retreat, please visit this page.

By Robert Andrews on @robertandrews