Share on LinkedIn
Share on XThe Mission
Kimberly-Clark partnered with IAS and NCSolutions (NCS) to understand how media quality impacts business outcomes — specifically sales lift and return on ad spend (ROAS). With growing interest in attention-based metrics, the brand wanted to validate if IAS Quality Attention™ could translate into improved outcomes across different digital formats.
The Approach
The study was conducted in two parts. Test 1 ran in Q2 2024 and focused solely on browser display media. Test 2, which ran in Q4 2024, expanded to include video and mobile in-app formats. NCS’s Sales Effect methodology was used to compare sales from exposed households to a modeled baseline, isolating the incremental impact of exposure to higher-attention media.
For both tests, IAS segmented impressions by below-average and above-average Quality Attention™ scores, allowing Kimberly-Clark to directly compare sales outcomes between the two.
The Results
In Test 1, limited to browser display, there was no significant difference in sales lift between low and high attention segments. But in Test 2, where display, video, and in-app ads were included, the picture changed dramatically.
Attention scores rose by 36%—from an average of 53 in Test 1 to 72 in Test 2. More importantly, households exposed to above-average attention media in Test 2 saw a 313% higher sales lift than those in the below-average group. The results highlighted how video and in-app formats, when paired with high attention scores, could significantly influence purchase behavior.
Return on ad spend also improved. In both tests, higher attention was correlated with stronger ROAS, but the effect was most pronounced in Test 2. With the addition of high-attention formats, ROAS increased by 78%, reinforcing the link between quality attention and real business outcomes.
Why It Matters
This study demonstrated that attention isn’t just a branding metric — it’s a key indicator of performance. By optimizing toward IAS Quality Attention™, Kimberly-Clark was able to identify high-value inventory, allocate budget more effectively, and drive measurable impact on sales.
If you’re still measuring success by impressions alone, you’re leaving impact on the table. Like Kimberly-Clark, you can turn attention into real business outcomes—higher sales, stronger ROAS, and smarter media investment.
