Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Attention spamming versus quality programming
From the May 19 Wall Street Journal:
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WSJ: Most ad folks think the 30-second commercial is the optimal format. Your "Webisode" lasts for several minutes. Do consumers have that long an attention span?
Mr. [Jerry] Seinfeld: There is no such thing as an attention span. There is only the quality of what you are viewing. This whole idea of an attention span is, I think, a misnomer. People have infinite attention if you are entertaining them.
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Think how this applies as well to education, business and even public diplomacy. The goal may not be entertainment, but Jerry's message is essentially the same: deliver high quality content focused on the customers' interests&needs, and you will earn their attention. Fail to have a decent product for their minds, or ignore where their hearts are, and you have lost them.
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WSJ: Most ad folks think the 30-second commercial is the optimal format. Your "Webisode" lasts for several minutes. Do consumers have that long an attention span?
Mr. [Jerry] Seinfeld: There is no such thing as an attention span. There is only the quality of what you are viewing. This whole idea of an attention span is, I think, a misnomer. People have infinite attention if you are entertaining them.
////
Think how this applies as well to education, business and even public diplomacy. The goal may not be entertainment, but Jerry's message is essentially the same: deliver high quality content focused on the customers' interests&needs, and you will earn their attention. Fail to have a decent product for their minds, or ignore where their hearts are, and you have lost them.
