10 Things Mike Follett Taught Me About Attention -- And Why Your Ad Is Probably Just Expensive Wallpaper

Mike Follett, CEO of Lumen Research, isn’t your typical ad-tech sage peddling tired buzzwords and hollow metrics. He’s more like a highly disciplined surgeon in a world of self-proclaimed nutritionists: cutting straight to what matters and leaving the fluff for those still stuck in 2015. The guy is obsessed with attention—measuring it, tracking it, and proving that without it, you might as well not exist in the advertising world. Here's a deep dive into what Mike Follett taught me about attention, with none of the sugarcoating.

1. Attention is the New Gold

In today’s digital landscape, attention isn’t just valuable—it’s the currency that powers everything. Think of it like actual gold hidden beneath layers of dirt (read: impressions and clicks). You can spend all day sifting through the fluff metrics of digital marketing, but until you hit that gold vein of attention, you’re basically mining in the wrong spot. Without real, meaningful engagement, your ad might as well be wallpaper in a waiting room—visible but ignored.

Mike believes that too many marketers are still chasing fool’s gold. Impressions? Clicks? That’s like counting the number of times someone drives past a billboard and assuming they bought the car. Attention, on the other hand, is the actual conversation your ad has with a potential customer. It’s the moment they lean in—metaphorically speaking—and actually care. If they’re not leaning in, you’re wasting ad dollars on pretty pictures that fade into the background.

2. Viewability is a Scam

If attention is gold, then viewability is like a counterfeit bill—it looks good, but it’s essentially worthless. Marketers obsess over whether their ad is "viewable," as if just appearing on a screen somewhere is the same as being noticed. Mike’s here to tell you that viewability is the participation trophy of digital advertising. Just because your ad is on screen doesn’t mean anyone gave it the time of day. It’s like walking past someone in a hallway and thinking you had a meaningful conversation.

The truth is, viewability metrics are built on a shaky foundation of wishful thinking. They measure the opportunity to be seen, not whether the ad was actually noticed. And there’s a huge gap between those two. It’s like being in the same room as someone and assuming they’re in love with you because you happened to be in their line of sight. Mike wants marketers to focus on the real deal—measuring whether people actually engage with what’s on the screen. Otherwise, you’re just throwing good money after bad impressions.

3. Context is King, but Attention is the Emperor

We’ve all heard the phrase “context is king,” but Mike ups the ante: attention is the emperor that really runs the show. Sure, context matters. You don’t want to run your fancy perfume ad on a gritty sports blog—unless, of course, you’re targeting a very niche audience. But even if the context is perfect, it’s all for naught if no one’s paying attention. The fanciest stage means nothing if the audience is asleep or scrolling Instagram.

In the world of digital advertising, context sets the table, but attention determines whether anyone’s eating. A well-placed ad on a premium news site might get more eyeballs, but if those eyeballs are too busy reading the article, your ad is just background noise. Mike insists that the trick is balancing context with capturing attention—otherwise, you’re just dressing up for a party where no one’s dancing.

4. Multiple Short Exposures Beat One Long One

Here’s where things get interesting: when it comes to getting your message across, it’s not about dropping a monologue. Mike’s research shows that multiple short exposures are far more effective than one long-winded ad. Think of it like a rock band. You don’t need to play the same song for 30 minutes straight to get stuck in someone’s head. A few catchy choruses repeated at the right moments will do the trick.

This doesn’t mean that depth is irrelevant, but in today’s attention economy, it’s the quick, repeated hits that matter. Your goal as a marketer is to be that catchy tune stuck in someone’s head, not the seven-minute guitar solo that drags on too long. Instead of pushing for one long, emotional appeal, you’re better off going for repeated impressions that lodge in people’s brains. It’s the drip-drip of familiarity, not the fire hose of information, that makes a lasting impact.

5. Attention Decay is Real

We live in a world where the collective attention span seems to be shrinking faster than Wolverine’s patience in a Deadpool cameo. Mike knows this better than anyone, and he’s quick to point out that marketers are fooling themselves if they think people are glued to their screens. Sure, someone might "see" your ad, but are they really paying attention? Or are they half-watching while scrolling through TikTok and texting their friends?

This is where the concept of attention decay comes into play. The longer an ad runs, the more likely it is that attention will drop off. People can only focus for so long before their minds wander. It’s not that we’ve become goldfish with a three-second memory span—it’s that we’re constantly bombarded with stimuli. Mike’s research proves that after a few seconds, attention wanes, which means marketers need to work faster, smarter, and more creatively to hold on to that precious mental real estate.

6. Real-Time Optimization is the Dream (But Not Sci-Fi)

Mike isn’t one to dwell on sci-fi fantasies, but he’s optimistic about the future of real-time ad optimization. Imagine this: your 30-second ad is running, but halfway through, the system detects that the viewer’s attention is drifting. Bam—your ad switches to something more engaging. Mike thinks we’re inching closer to this kind of dynamic adaptability. It's not the stuff of sci-fi anymore; it’s just a matter of time (and tech).

But here’s the kicker: while real-time optimization sounds like a marketer’s dream, it’s no silver bullet. Mike’s cautious optimism reminds us that even the best tools in the world need quality inputs. You can’t rely on AI to do all the heavy lifting if your creative strategy is weak. Real-time attention tracking will be the next frontier, but only for brands that are ready to roll with the punches and adapt in the blink of an eye.

7. Creative Haikus Beat Bad Novels

If you’re still producing long, drawn-out ad campaigns like it’s 2003, Mike’s got news for you: brevity is your best friend. Think of your ad like a haiku—not a bad one, but a masterfully crafted, punchy message that resonates in seconds. No one has time for a bad novel of an ad. We’re in an era where short, impactful messages win over long-winded brand monologues every time.

It’s not that long-form content is dead, but when it comes to capturing attention in the digital age, you need to think like a poet, not a novelist. Get to the point. Say what you need to say quickly, and make it memorable. It’s like comparing a blockbuster action scene to a 10-minute dramatic monologue—one is going to capture attention much faster than the other, and in a world of scrolling, faster is better.

8. Not All Eyeballs Are Created Equal

We’ve all been guilty of throwing money at social media ads and assuming eyeballs equal engagement. Mike’s research busts that myth wide open. Just because your ad appears on a social feed doesn’t mean it’s getting attention. It's like putting your ad on a billboard in a town where everyone’s too busy texting while driving—sure, they might see it, but did they actually notice? Probably not.

Mike points out that ads running in premium content environments—like quality news sites—often get better attention simply because viewers are already engaged. If someone’s reading a serious investigative piece, they’re more likely to notice an ad than if they’re half-watching a TikTok dance. Brands need to think critically about where their ads are appearing and who is paying attention, not just how many eyes they’re getting.

9. Programmatic Isn’t the Devil, But It’s No Saint Either

Let’s talk about programmatic advertising—an absolute fire hose of ads, sprayed with precision but not necessarily accuracy. Mike’s take? Programmatic isn’t evil; it’s just been mismanaged. The problem is clutter—too many ads, too little attention. When you have six ads fighting for space on the same page, you’re not multiplying attention; you’re diluting it. It’s like trying to have six conversations at a noisy party—you can’t focus on any of them.

What Mike advocates is using attention metrics to clean up the programmatic mess. If you can measure where attention actually lands, you can start buying smarter and targeting platforms that aren’t assaulting users with too many ads. Programmatic isn’t the villain of the ad world, but without attention-based data to guide it, it’s more of a chaotic free-for-all than a well-oiled machine.

10. Quit Being So Self-Serious

Finally, Mike’s last bit of wisdom is a gut punch to every marketer’s ego: we’re not changing the world. At least, not in the way we think. There’s this pervasive attitude in the advertising industry that we’re doing something important—as if ads are what’s keeping society running smoothly. Mike calls that out for what it is—self-serious nonsense. Sure, advertising plays a role in capitalism, but let’s not act like we’re curing diseases or ending world hunger.

Instead, he suggests that advertisers should lighten up and remember what we’re really here to do—capture attention, deliver value, and entertain. At the end of the day, people don’t care as much as we think they do, and the moment we forget that is the moment we lose sight of what makes advertising effective in the first place. Get over yourself, focus on the work, and make it matter where it counts: in the fleeting moments of someone’s distracted attention.

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