What Happens When Context Meets Measurement

Attention has become one of the most talked-about metrics in advertising. But it’s also one of the most misunderstood.

‍

Marketers want to know whether people are actually looking at their ads, for how long, and whether that attention turns into real outcomes. But the truth is, attention alone only tells part of the story. Attention tells us that an ad landed. Context explains why it mattered.

‍

That’s where our partnership with Xpln.ai comes in. By combining Channel Factory’s contextual intelligence with Xpln.ai’s evidence-based attention measurement, we can show how attention behaves on YouTube and, more importantly, what actually drives it.  When ads appear in environments that match a viewer’s mindset or emotion, attention becomes more predictive, translating into engagement, recall, and real results.

‍

The Wilkinson Sword Intuition case study: proof that context moves attention

For Wilkinson Sword Intuition, the goal was to understand which YouTube environments delivered the strongest performance for its creative. 

‍

By combining Channel Factory’s contextual targeting, Xpln.ai’s attention data, and creative analysis across categories, it became clear that the strongest environments weren’t always the obvious ones. Genres like Movies, Travel and TV entertainment consistently drove higher attention, showing that tone and storytelling style influence how audiences respond.

‍

Short-form videos sparked fast interest. Longer content built confidence and recall. Together, they turned curiosity into meaningful engagement, driving a 28% uplift in YouTube performance. This was powered by contextual alignment, not additional frequency or budget pressure, reinforcing what both Channel Factory and VCCP have long believed: attention isn’t a vanity metric; it’s a performance one.

Quickfire Q&A with David Winstone, Trading Director UK at Channel Factory

To see what this means in practice, we asked Dave Winstone to share his take on attention, context and what comes next for marketers:

1. What does the industry most often misunderstand about attention?‍

Too many advertisers treat attention as a post-campaign metric. They see it as something to measure, not something to plan around. The real opportunity lies in using it in-flight to optimise creative and build predictive models for future campaigns.

Adoption has also been slower than it should be. That’s partly down to complexity and lack of standardisation, but once we connect attention to real outcomes, uptake will accelerate quickly.

‍

2. What made Xpln.ai the right partner for Channel Factory?

We wanted a partner that could go deeper than top-line scores and give us robust, credible insight into why attention behaves the way it does. Xpln.ai stood out because of the strength of their methodology. They measure attention across screens, including CTV, using a combination of controlled lab testing and webcam-based data collection. This hybrid approach ensures the findings reflect real, observable viewer behaviour while maintaining methodological rigour.

‍

They provide attention insight that helps us understand how different environments influence performance. Once you can see how different environments influence attention, you can start to build models that predict performance and plan with much more accuracy. Their granularity, their rigour, and their walled-garden measurement capabilities made them the perfect partner.

3. How should marketers think about attention going into 2026, especially as standardisation accelerates?

We’re heading toward a much more standardised attention landscape. The Media Rating Council (MRC) has already begun work on defining standards, and that will help advertisers evaluate attention in a simpler and more consistent way. Standardisation is only the beginning but the next phase will be about optimisation, not just measurement.

‍

Marketers will start asking: What does optimal attention look like for my brand? What’s it really worth? Because the value lies not in every attentive second, but in the ones that actually drive outcomes efficiently.

‍

There’s also a sustainability angle here. Understanding the attention value of your impressions means achieving more attentive seconds with fewer ads, driving both a higher return on ad spend and reducing CO₂ impact.

‍

What this means for marketers today

This partnership is about using attention and context together to make smarter planning decisions.

Three actions matter most:

• Use attention to guide creative-context alignment. Look at where your creative performs best and plan into those environments deliberately.
• Combine short and long form. Short form builds momentum. Long form deepens impact.
• Treat attention as a predictor, not the end goal. The real target is outcomes. Attention is the early indicator of what will perform.

Attention becomes most valuable when it explains behaviour and helps marketers make smarter decisions.

The real advantage

Attention alone cannot improve performance. Context gives attention meaning, and evidence turns it into a planning tool. The Wilkinson Sword Intuition uplift proves how powerful this can be when done well.

If you would like to learn how attention and context can shape your YouTube strategy for 2026, the Channel Factory team is ready to help.

‍