Is Attention the New Intent in Marketing?
Marketing is shifting. For years, brands have built strategies around consumer intent—tracking search queries, product page visits, cart additions—all to catch people ready to buy. It worked, but it also meant missing a much larger audience that wasn’t yet in the buying phase. Now, brands are paying attention to, well, attention. The fight is no longer just about who captures the consumer at the point of intent but who earns and holds their focus long before they decide to buy. Both intent and attention are real-time leading metrics, and brands that understand this are running more dynamic, responsive campaigns. But the real unlock? Attention drives action—and when it’s sustained over time, it pays off in ways intent alone never could. In this piece, we’ll break down why this shift is happening, why an agile approach is now non-negotiable, and how attention works differently depending on the objective.
Intent-based marketing made sense when data tracking was easy. A simple Google search could tell you what a consumer wanted. If someone searched "best running shoes," you served them an ad, and chances were, they’d buy. But things have changed. Privacy laws have made consumer data harder to access. Algorithms no longer favor just relevance; they reward content that holds attention. The average attention span has dropped to about eight seconds (Boston Digital). People aren’t just searching anymore—they’re scrolling, watching, engaging. And brands that can’t capture attention in that window lose out.
Attention is now currency. A study by the Advertising Research Foundation found that increasing attention by just 5% can drive a 40% lift in brand awareness. But beyond awareness, attention leads to action. The more a consumer engages with a brand—watching, interacting, returning—the stronger the likelihood they’ll convert. Not always immediately, but over time. This is where many brands get it wrong. They see attention as a short-term play, expecting instant results. In reality, attention compounds. The more consistently a brand earns attention, the more it builds familiarity, trust, and eventual loyalty.
In the contrast, attention isn’t one-size-fits-all. Its impact depends on the objective. If the goal is brand awareness, the focus should be on reach and retention—how long people engage and how often they come back. If the goal is conversion, attention should be more intent-driven—nudging engaged audiences toward a decision. For customer retention, it’s about sustaining attention post-purchase, keeping consumers connected to the brand so they return. Each requires a different approach, but the core principle is the same: attention fuels action, and when aggregated over time, it becomes the strongest predictor of long-term success.
Marketers who still rely solely on intent signals are playing catch-up. The real game is happening earlier—when consumers are just getting familiar with a brand, watching, engaging, and forming opinions long before they’re ready to buy. Attention-first marketing doesn’t ignore intent; it feeds it. The brands that get this aren’t just chasing conversions. They’re playing the long game, building relationships that turn attention into trust and trust into loyalty. And in a world where everything changes fast, that’s the only way to stay ahead.
Keep being intentional.