The Attention Rights Movement

I have written a piece on the emergence of an Attention Rights movement over on Nicole Ferraro's terrific microsite, InternetEvolution. Check it out and join the global conversation.

As marketers and advertisers hungrily explore ways to monetize online attention, they face mounting challenges. Consumers have migrated online precisely because they want more control over the media they consume. The old bargain -- content for attention -- is broken. Empowered viewers now reject TV’s standard promise of 22 minutes of content in exchange for eight minutes of brain-dead ads. With place- and time-shifting technology at their disposal, viewers, listeners, and readers do not want, nor need they endure, advertisements. As a result, online ads, be they behavioral, contextual, or declarative data-based, are all falling short. Give consumers the choice, and they would rather get information from a trusted friend or expert. This is giving the old Hollywood/Madison Avenue nexus fits. The ROI on a dollar of integrated advertising today, even when measurable, is dismal.

Comments

[Ethan Bauley]

"The end game is collaboration marketing where advertising, meaning paid placements of messages, becomes more and more marginal. The focus shifts to becoming more helpful by creating rich, serendipitous environments that people will actively seek out"

John Hagel

http://edgeperspectives.typepad.com/edge_perspectives/2008/03/shift-happens-t.html

I love the phrase "Attention Rights"...very catchy ;-)