Advertisers have spent the last decade optimizing for a number that's stopped meaning what it used to. According to the Association of National Advertisers' 2025 Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency study, only 47.1% of programmatic ad spend becomes "working media,” an ad that's actually viewable, measurable, and in front of a real person. The other 52.9% disappears into non-viewable placements, unmeasurable inventory, and made-for-advertising sites built only to catch a bid.

That gap is why the industry has stopped asking how many impressions a campaign bought and started asking how much attention it actually earned.

Ad blockers, skippable pre-roll, multitasking screens, and banner blindness have made it clear that a served impression and a perceived one are two very different things. A 2024 study by VCCP Media and attention-measurement platform Amplified found that 85% of digital video ads get less than 2.5 seconds of real attention, barely long enough to register a logo, let alone a message. The same research found that distinctively branded ads could be recalled after just 1.5 seconds of exposure, and performed up to 2.5 times better than poorly branded ads shown for the same length of time.

The lesson for buyers: attention isn't only about how long someone looks. It's about whether the format gives a brand the chance to be seen at all.

Format matters enormously here. Skippable video, banner ads competing for space with a dozen open tabs, and audio played at low volume in the background all struggle against the same problem: a viewer who can look away, will. Formats built around a captive moment — out-of-home, cinema, in-vehicle video — tend to hold up better because there's no tab to switch and no ad to skip.

That's the thinking behind TaxiTV, Curb's in-ride video network, which puts screens in more than 15,000 taxis across 65-plus U.S. markets. Every screen sits in the back seat for the length of a real trip: no skip button, no competing screen, no ad blocker. It's one answer to the attention economy question is a format built around attention that can't be scrolled past.

If you're rethinking how attention gets measured and bought heading into 2027, Curb is proud to sponsor Advertising Week New York this year, and our team will be on-site October 5 to 8 at The Penn District. Come talk with us about attention, measurement, and where in-ride media fits.
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Advertisers have spent the last decade optimizing for a number that's stopped meaning what it used to. According to the Association of National Advertisers' 2025 Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency study, only 47.1% of programmatic ad spend becomes "working media,” an ad that's actually viewable, measurable, and in front of a real person. The other 52.9% disappears into non-viewable placements, unmeasurable inventory, and made-for-advertising sites built only to catch a bid.

That gap is why the industry has stopped asking how many impressions a campaign bought and started asking how much attention it actually earned.

Ad blockers, skippable pre-roll, multitasking screens, and banner blindness have made it clear that a served impression and a perceived one are two very different things. A 2024 study by VCCP Media and attention-measurement platform Amplified found that 85% of digital video ads get less than 2.5 seconds of real attention, barely long enough to register a logo, let alone a message. The same research found that distinctively branded ads could be recalled after just 1.5 seconds of exposure, and performed up to 2.5 times better than poorly branded ads shown for the same length of time.

The lesson for buyers: attention isn't only about how long someone looks. It's about whether the format gives a brand the chance to be seen at all.

Format matters enormously here. Skippable video, banner ads competing for space with a dozen open tabs, and audio played at low volume in the background all struggle against the same problem: a viewer who can look away, will. Formats built around a captive moment — out-of-home, cinema, in-vehicle video — tend to hold up better because there's no tab to switch and no ad to skip.

That's the thinking behind TaxiTV, Curb's in-ride video network, which puts screens in more than 15,000 taxis across 65-plus U.S. markets. Every screen sits in the back seat for the length of a real trip: no skip button, no competing screen, no ad blocker. It's one answer to the attention economy question is a format built around attention that can't be scrolled past.

If you're rethinking how attention gets measured and bought heading into 2027, Curb is proud to sponsor Advertising Week New York this year, and our team will be on-site October 5 to 8 at The Penn District. Come talk with us about attention, measurement, and where in-ride media fits.
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