IAS Partners with Snap and Lumen to Launch Industry-First Attention Metric for Snapchat Ads

In a bold move to redefine how advertisers measure engagement, Integral Ad Science (Nasdaq: IAS) has announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Snap Inc. and Lumen Research, bringing custom attention measurement to Snapchat ads via the IAS Signal platform.

This new tool goes well beyond traditional viewability metrics, combining Lumen’s eye-tracking data with IAS’s AI-powered media quality signals to deliver a Snapchat-specific “Attention Score”—giving advertisers unprecedented insight into how users actually engage with content on one of the world’s most visually immersive social platforms.

Why It Matters

The digital ad world is rapidly shifting from click-through rates and impressions to attention metrics, the new gold standard for campaign performance. Why? Because in a saturated media landscape, eyeballs don’t equal engagement. What advertisers really want to know is: Did the user actually pay attention—and did it influence behavior?

This partnership makes Snapchat the first social platform to offer third-party attention measurement, giving advertisers tools to:

• Move beyond viewability and access predictive attention scores based on real eye-tracking data.

• Compare performance across platforms, thanks to integrated reporting in IAS Signal.

• Get third-party verification, bringing transparency and credibility to campaign metrics in a notoriously opaque social media environment.

The Tech Behind the Score

Lumen’s contribution is no small feat. The company boasts the world’s largest opt-in eye-tracking dataset, which powers its predictive attention model. By layering that on top of IAS’s existing media quality insights—like brand safety, fraud detection, and ad placement—the Snap Attention Score offers a holistic, actionable view of how ads are consumed.

“It’s what people pay attention to that truly shapes behavior,” said Mike Follett, CEO of Lumen Research. “This partnership gives advertisers on Snap the clarity and confidence to measure how attention drives action.”

Context: The Rise of the Attention Economy

This launch isn’t happening in a vacuum. Marketers are increasingly focused on attention as a KPI, especially as cookies crumble and measurement transparency becomes a competitive advantage. Snapchat, with its full-screen, vertical video format, is ripe for attention-based analysis—especially among Gen Z, who are more ad-skeptical and swipe-happy than ever.

IAS is capitalizing on this trend. In late 2024, the company rolled out its Quality Attention™ Optimization product in beta—using the same Lumen eye-tracking model now applied to Snap—to help advertisers activate attention insights in programmatic campaigns.

Snap’s inclusion means advertisers can now evaluate social, open web, and programmatic channels side by side in IAS Signal. It's a notable leap for a platform that’s traditionally guarded about third-party metrics.