Consumer Attention Marketing Strategies : How do companies’ perception of online consumers’ attention span affect their digital marketing strategies?

Abstract: The world of digital marketing is advancing at a rapid rate, an ever so increasing number of individuals are connected to the world wide web and subsequently being exposed to marketing messages in the thousands each day. For marketers this poses a unique challenge when it comes to creating a marketing segment which conveys their message effectively by attaining the attention of the consumer. This in turn means that their marketing efforts may be lost in the digital sea of millions other impressions being thrown at the daily user. The purpose of this research paper is to therefore explore and gain greater understanding on how companies’ perception about consumer attention span could be, to then provide a perspective on how the modern marketer can work to incorporate this as a factor in their marketing. This research study was conducted through a qualitative methodology with a deductive approach which meant that theories were first gathered to then be compared with the empirical evidence consisting of three semi-structured interviews with chosen companies. The research indicated that modern marketers could benefit from understanding their target audience and catering their marketing message to suit their needs and values. Furthermore, constant measurement and analysis proved to be important in creating the best type of advertisement which captured the attention of the consumer.