Is there a hotter topic than attention in the world of advertising right now? Everyone’s got an opinion, and no two opinions are alike. With so much interest in the subject – and so much confusion about what it means –MAD//Fest will have a dedicated stage on the topic and ATTENTION@MAD//FEST will span two days, 6 and 7 July of the festival.

ATTENTION@MAD//Fest will bring together the leading innovative brands, publishers, attention providers, and award-winning agency groups. It will also go a step further, to broaden our horizons the stage will host controversial and thought-provoking academics and researchers.

The first theme of the conference will be the Cost And Value Of Attention. Years of research has shown that not all ads are created equal: ads in one medium get noticed – and noticed for longer – than ads in other media. But so what? How can you use this insight to buy better ads and make more money?

We’ll bring together forward thinking like AB InBev, New Balance, GSK and Dreams to share stories of how they have reduced the cost and increased return of their advertising across TV, digital and social. Simon Moore’s case study of how Dreams have used attention data to take tough decisions will be particularly compelling.

To put these case studies in context, Will Page, author of Tarzan Economics, will be on hand to apply some proper economics to the Attention Economy.

The second theme will be about Getting A Larger Share Of Attention. If there is a market for attention, how can smart advertisers beat the market? We’ll have interesting perspectives from format owners talking about how size matters; publishers quantifying how quality journalism drives quality attention; and creative specialists talking about ingredients of eye catching advertising.

But there’s more to attention than advertising, and we risk missing the bigger picture if we just focus on what we know already. The third theme of the conference will be the Ethics Of Attention, which we have put together in partnership with the Centre for Attention Studies at King’s College London. Julia Bell’s new book Radical Attention casts a critical eye over the phenomenon of the Attention Economy. Professor Bobby Duffy, author of The Perils of Perception, will talk about the relationship between attention, the media and the Brexit vote. Edmund Sonuga-Barke will ask what’s deficient or disordered in so-called ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’. And Katie Devlin will talk about attention, intimacy and sex with robots.

ATTENTION@MAD//Fest will shed light on the Attention Economy, but it will also highlight what we still don’t know. As an industry, as a society, it can seem we don’t even known what we don’t know. The two-days will be a great opportunity not only to share some interesting answers, but also ask some challenging questions, and map out an agenda for future discoveries.  

Mike Follett, Managing Director of Lumen Research, will be hosting ATTENTION@MAD//Fest on 6 + 7 July at The Old Truman Brewery

Over 7,000 brands and agencies are expected to attend MAD//Fest London 2022, 3,000 more than 2021 when MAD//Fest was the only UK industry festival to take place in physical form. In addition to access to the ATTENTION@MAD//Fest stage you'll also be able to hear from Rachel Waller, Global VP Innovation, Burberry; Cristina Diezhandino, Global CMO, Diageo; Tina Koehler, Global VP Marketing, Deliveroo; James Brown, MD, BrewDog; and Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder & CEO, S4 Capital.

Earlybird tickets are available here.