Guest Column: "Pay attention to what your potential users pay attention to"
Change in medium also means a shift in how we consume, and it is worth understanding how this new world order is rewiring our habits, says Dr Sai Gaddam, Founder, Kernel Insights

Everyone is now online. They are now ‘friends’ on Facebook, spending hours every week sharing and appreciating pictures of cats and political revolutions. Unsurprisingly, advertisers are also rushing online to be their friend. What a great and refreshing change it is, to be able to reach out to the customers you choose to, and for a fraction of the cost! Or so you think, wrongly. This change in medium also means a fundamental shift in how we consume and what we pay attention to. And it is worth understanding exactly how this new world order is rewiring our habits.
The Under-Appreciated Currency of Attention
Here’s a fun little task for you. Watch this short, two-minute video and count the number of times players wearing white pass the ball to each other. You may watch this on mute, but if possible do listen to it.
Watch video here…
Recent psychology research is bearing out the fact that we are bad at remembering things. In fact, our brains actively ignore most of the world around us. And this is a good thing. You don’t want to be paying attention to traffic on the opposite side of the road, nor do you want to remember the pattern of flooring in every house you have ever visited. Selective attention is what allows us to operate well in a world full of irrelevant distractions and experiences.
But this is bad for your advertisement. Your ad is that guy in a gorilla suit desperately flailing his arms for attention. This is all the more true on the web. Eye tracking studies show that many of us are essentially blind to ads and hardly look at them. They fade into background noise, like the flooring in your friend’s apartment you visited last week.
Why do they fade into the background? Our brains are quite attentive and vigilant when they enter new environments, whether those are places in the real world or sites on the World Wide Web. Soon, however, we start learning where the useful information is spatially, and where the irrelevant information is. Ads then punish themselves further by having completely unrelated stimuli share the same space. An unfortunate example of this in action recently showed up on my Facebook page.
When I see ‘Mangalsutras’ and ‘Manforce’ appear together, my brain learns to ignore that spatial location. “Nothing useful is showing up there”, it silently tells me and nudges me away. There’s a wonderful saying in Telugu that if you are drinking milk under a palm tree, people will assume you are tanking up on toddy. You are known by the company you keep and the places you hang out at, and this is unfortunately true for ads as well.
When and Where Matter
Does this mean all web advertising is near-invisible? No. Facebook, surprisingly, is leading the way in making ads relevant again. In running campaigns for MakkhiChoose, I noticed that some ads were an incredible 80 times more successful in driving users and installations. That’s not 80 per cent but 8000 per cent! These are what Facebook terms newsfeed ads. Rolled out in March this year, their amazing performance is being noticed and reflected in their stock price.
The reason these newsfeed ads work well for Facebook – and will work even better for you – is an ingenious psychological hack. Facebook has conditioned us over the last couple of years to expect and focus on bite-sized stories in the form of updates. Conventional stories, like the ones you see on news sites or any of the other websites you visit, are single servings that often take up the entire page or multiple pages. An ad, in these cases, is an intrusion. On Facebook, thanks to our excellent conditioning, it just another short story you reflexively pay attention to. Simple, yet brilliant.
So, does this mean you must turn over your meager advertising budget to Facebook and pave their way to global domination? Not so fast. Facebook is not the only place your users ever visit, and besides the ad rates there will quickly rise to reflect their better quality. Your users are visiting many other niche websites. Reach out to them there in an engaging manner that makes sense and is part of the context. Pay attention to what your potential users pay attention to. Or you will end up being that helpless arm-flailing gorilla.
The author is the Founder of Kernel Insights
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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