Trends in the Attention Economy

McKinsey & Company just released The Attention Equation, a data-rich look at how media companies, creators, and platforms can better compete in the fragmented, distracted attention economy. The report argues: winning attention isn’t about time spent, but about focus and purpose. Here are some of the insights I took away from reading the report: 1️⃣ Live Experiences Are the Gold Standard of Attention: Live concerts and festivals deliver some of the most valuable attention in media, monetizing at $17.18 per hour—far ahead of digital formats like streaming music ($0.12/hour) or radio ($0.11/hour). Why? Because audiences at live events are highly focused and motivated “to enjoy something they love,” showing why live experiences remain central to the business of music, even as digital grows. 2️⃣ Most Media Attention Is Distracted—and That’s Why Monetization Lags: Americans already spend 13 hours a day with media, yet much of that is fragmented, distracted, or multitasked—like scrolling social media while streaming video. Inflation-adjusted revenues remain flat because growth in consumption has been concentrated in low-focus formats like digital audio, radio, and podcasts, which monetize at just pennies per hour. The lesson: more minutes ≠ more value. 3️⃣ The Why Matters: Purpose Predicts Value: Attention is more valuable when it’s purposeful. Formats consumed primarily “to enjoy something I love”—like live concerts, theatrical films, and niche streaming—monetize much better than formats consumed “for background ambience” or “light entertainment,” like radio and cable. For music specifically, while streaming and radio are heavily used, they’re often ambient, explaining their lower revenue per hour despite emotional resonance. 4️⃣ 🧭 Focus, Not Just Time, Unlocks Spending Power: Heavy consumption alone doesn’t guarantee revenue—because not all hours are equal. The top 10% of consumers by time spent only account for ~22% of media spend, while the top 10% of spenders account for nearly half of all dollars spent. The missing link? Focus. Consumers who are more attentive to the media they consume spend significantly more: a 10% increase in average focus is associated with a 17% increase in spend. Those in the top quartile of focus spend twice as much as those in the bottom quartile. Even in music, listeners who engage deeply—rather than passively—represent a much more valuable audience to reach. A big thank you to authors Kabir Ahuja, Marc Brodherson, Jordan Banks, and Jamie Vickers for sharing this great report. Check out the full report below ⤵️

What’s the biggest marketing risk I see in 2025? Attention. Not the lack of it, the cost of earning it. I’ve been watching this shift unfold. Consumers aren’t just fatigued, they’re overwhelmed, over-targeted, and over it. They’re muting, detoxing, disconnecting. They’re trading smartphones for dumbphones (3.2M already this year), flipping on greyscale, leaving platforms entirely, and craving more real, less curated. And honestly? I get it. This isn’t just about screen time. It’s about control. Intention. Space. And that changes everything about how I think about marketing today. I’ve stopped thinking of reach as a goal in itself. If a strategy relies on rented attention, platforms, influencers, algorithms, I see the vulnerability. Because the scroll is slowing. Because people are saying: “I don’t want more content. I want more meaning.” Period. So I’ve started shifting the way I work, toward belonging, not broadcasting. That means: • Building brand-owned spaces and communities • Investing in content people want to engage with, not just what’s visible. Quality > Quantity • Creating emotional loyalty, not just transactional habits • Letting research and real behavior guide me, not assumptions. Online AND offline. This next wave of marketing I’m chasing? It’s slower. Smarter. More human. Filling the cup, not emptying it. And every strategy I build now starts with one question: How do I keep people connected, even when they’re tuning out? ♻️ If you’re thinking about these shifts too, follow me for more on brand, behavior, and building marketing that actually matters. #MarketingStrategy #ConsumerBehavior #BrandBuilding #AttentionEconomy #CMOinsights

Attention might be the most powerful asset class of the next decade. Not real estate. Not energy. Not even AI. Because unlike those, attention can be monetized instantly, globally, and repeatedly — with almost no marginal cost. Today, we’re watching individuals convert attention into massive enterprise value, often without infrastructure or inventory. Cristiano Ronaldo earns more from Instagram than football. At $1.4 million per post, brands pay for a moment of his audience’s attention — and that moment is worth more than 90 minutes on the pitch. Ryan Kaji made $35 million on YouTube last year — at age 13. He didn’t inherit anything. He built an audience, then leveraged it into media, merchandise, and movie deals. Attention was his seed capital. Esports prize pools now rival — and sometimes beat — Wimbledon. The 2024 Esports World Cup offered $60 million. Why? Because the audience is there. And when attention flows in, capital follows. Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert pulled in 27 million viewers. No stadium could hold that. But attention doesn’t need seats — it scales digitally. And when it does, the monetization follows. In business today, attention isn’t a byproduct — it’s a core input. And for investors, creators, and operators alike, ignoring its value might be the biggest missed opportunity of the decade.

We talk a lot at Claim about how attention is becoming more important than capital - or almost anything else. Gen Z Economist Kyla Scanlon calls it the attention economy: whoever captures curiosity first earns a fast-track to capital, talent, and customers. Gen Z understands this intrinsically, and the playbook to reach them has been reshaped around this - beyond simple TikTok trends. The best brands already recognize it. Here are three examples worth understanding: 📺 Kalshi just turned a $2K, three-day AI-generated NBA Finals spot (“The world’s gone mad – trade it”) into roughly 20M impressions, showing that culture-hacking doesn't have to be expensive. Riding that buzz – and its status as the only CFTC-regulated event-contract exchange. Two weeks later, the startup parlayed attention into a $185M round at a $2B valuation, positioning itself as the regulated on-ramp for trading real-world events. 🐟 “David”, the new protein bar brand from RxBar founder Peter Rahal, pushed back on biohacker takedowns of the product with a flex: “Buy our protein bar… or a $50 box of frozen wild-caught cod.” The internet went wild. I ate a David bar within one hour, and I can't be the only one. Zero ad budget required. 🤳 Zohran Mamdani flipped a shoestring campaign budget into a mayoral primary win against a much better-funded opponent in Andrew Cuomo and buried him despite Cuomo owning the traditional airwaves. Why this matters 1. Distribution now comes before production. Build the community first; monetize later. 2. Authenticity is cheaper than ads. Audiences reward brands that act human, not corporate. 3. Attention compounds. Every earned view becomes a no-cost option on future revenue. Food-for-thought for operators (F&B or otherwise): Audit your attention balance sheet before tweaking your product or media strategy. Where are you already earning organic curiosity? Double down. Where are you invisible? Create something worth talking about – and do it before bigger competitors notice the conversation has moved. Attention is free to print, scarce to keep. How are you investing yours?

The Attention Economy isn't coming. It's here. One truth keeps surfacing in conversations: you can't just sell a product anymore. You're not only competing with other brands. You're competing for seconds of attention across YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Roblox, Fortnite, GTA RP, Discord, and even movie theaters, which are finding new relevance through gaming IP like Minecraft. We saw the early signals with cord-cutting and cord-nevers. Now?  • Gaming is TV for millions  • TikTok is replacing search  • YouTube is Gen Alpha's cable box  • Discord is where communities organize and thrive  • Roblox and Fortnite are where fandoms are formed  • FAST channels like Pluto TV and Tubi are redefining what TV even means  • And movie theaters are finding new relevance through gaming IP like Minecraft Gen Z and Alpha don't discover brands through ads. They discover them through creators, gameplay, social side-scrolls, and moments between memes. Moments come and go faster than ever. Very few things capture full attention anymore. ✅ Niche wins ✅ Community wins ✅ Cultural fluency wins This is no longer about impressions. It's about immersion. The brands that thrive embed themselves inside the platforms people already love. It's not a product. It's a strategy. Niche sells. Broad is broken. If you're still running a one-size-fits-all playbook, you're playing yesterday's game. Your 2025 challenge: Build a 360 strategy that integrates media, platform integration, and physical events. Know the community you're speaking to and move at the speed of culture. Your competition already is.

The Creative Class Now Drives the Economy Once, athletes were the symbols of wealth, influence, and global brand power. Today? Designers, content creators, filmmakers, coders, artists, and digital storytellers are playing that same role only the stadium is digital, and the audience is global 24/7. 1. Creators Are Building Personal Empires • Top creators like MrBeast, Emma Chamberlain, or Marques Brownlee generate millions annually from YouTube, brand deals, and IP licensing. • Designers and digital artists mint NFTs, launch fashion lines, or sell rights to major brands — creating wealth streams once reserved for CEOs and athletes. • Creatives today own their audience, their IP, and their channels. That means long-term control, monetization, and influence. 2. The Attention Economy = Big Money • Where attention flows, money follows. Brands now invest more in creators than in traditional ads. The influencer marketing industry hit $21B in 2023 and keeps growing. • Visual storytellers, UX/UI designers, meme artists, musicians, and editors shape how people consume, buy, vote, and dream. 3. Cultural Capital Has Shifted • Gen Z and Millennials admire creators the way past generations idolized athletes. • “Drip” and aesthetic are designed by stylists, photographers, and branding creatives — not agents or sports brands. • Creative outputs like short films, IG reels, animations, and even newsletters command influence across politics, tech, and entertainment. 4. Low Barrier to Entry, High Ceiling for Returns • The cost to become a creator today? A smartphone + Wi-Fi. • The upside? Potentially global reach, financial freedom, licensing deals, equity in startups, and long-term brand value Bottom Line: Just like athletes train for performance, creatives train in ideas, trends, tools, and emotion. Just like athletes build careers on talent, discipline, and audience love, so do creatives. Only now, it’s IP over endorsements, brand collabs over sports contracts, and viral reach over prime-time TV. In a world ruled by contentstorytelling, and design — Creatives aren’t just the new athletes — they’re the MVPs of modern culture. #CreativesAreTheNewAthletes #CreatorEconomy #AttentionIsCurrency #BrandPower #DesignIsInfluence #IPIsWealth

After the Astronomer CEO was caught on the kiss cam, his daughter began to post on TikTok. Soon, she had over 100K followers and 15M views. The only problem? The CEO of Astronomer doesn’t have a daughter. He only has two sons. Some sleuthing revealed that someone pulled a random woman’s Instagram photos to create a fake persona for a non-existent daughter, then started posting content like crazy. Why? Well, once the “daughter” had amassed an audience, the person behind the profile began to subtly plug a meditation app called Copia. This stunt embodies the state of marketing in 2025: guerrilla marketing. Everyone is desperate for eyeballs. This isn't surprising, since attention is the last scarce resource. Kyla Scanlon put it well recently: we've had traditional resources like land, labor, and capital. Now, increasingly, the new foundational input is attention. One timely example: CBS just announced they're ending Colbert. Despite being the leading Late Night franchise, viewership has shrunk 30% since 2016. Why? TikTok ate Late Night. We’re consuming content in bite-sized videos; Gen Zs spend 108 minutes per day (!) on TikTok. Young people don’t have the attention spans for 30-minute episodes of TV (and if they do, they’re scrolling their little screens while watching the big screens). As content production ⬆️ , attention spans ⬇️ . And we're about to see AI supercharge content production further. Google's Veo 3 model, Decart's Mirage, and other products are accelerating AI content. There's another equation that's important: As content production ⬆️ , the *price* of attention ⬆️ . Companies are left with two options: monetize attention (1) more broadly, (2) more deeply. To briefly look at both: ✔️ New mediums through which to monetize attention: This means expanding the *surface area* for attention. An example is voice, which can overlay other attention-eating activities (chores, TV, working out, etc) to open up more time in the day. Voice has a unique "why now" with LLMs: improved latency, lower costs, and models that can hold nuanced, emotive conversations. Voice-based products expand attention horizontally. ✔️ New business models through which to monetize attention: The other option is to more deeply mine attention. How do we capture more dollars from each moment of attention? We see a shift away from ads toward subscription, freemium, micro-transactions. Take Tolans, from Portola. Not only is the entire onboarding flow voice-led (check it out; it's a great example of the prior point), but you're then hit with a hard paywall. This is a reason Tolans is doing $10M+ top-line. Revenue is again a key metric for consumer companies, not just enterprise. -- As attention grows scarcer and scarcer, people will fight harder to extract more value—by finding broader ways to capture it, or by finding deeper ways to monetize it. Full Digital Native piece here: https://lnkd.in/e9AZwqkM