According to the IAB, digital video will pass linear in ad spend in 2024. And with this new age of TV comes new strategies for reaching consumers.

“Digital video is the future of video,” David Cohen, IAB’s president and CEO, said during the NewFronts Main Stage at Convene 225 Liberty on Wednesday. “Understanding next-generation solutions through NewFronts is as relevant and as important as ever before.”

Like last year, IAB brought back its Main Stage event for the 2024 NewFronts, allowing 20 companies to present throughout the day on what’s next in TV advertising. (See a list of presenters here.)

These are three big takeaways from the presentations on where the future of TV is headed:

Pay attention to new measurement methods

With companies desperately trying to reach consumers in an increasingly fragmented marketplace, presenters emphasized attention as a key metric for success.

For example, GSTV, a data-driven, national video network across fuel retailers, noted during its presentation that a new study conducted with Lumen found that 95% of its impressions (a.k.a. the people stopping to fuel up) delivered eyes-to-screen. The finding showcased how the platform receives three times the attention of CTV ads and 2.5 times that of linear ads when compared to data from TVision.

And despite the short duration of stops at the fuel pump, the company said impressions delivered 91% more attentive viewing time than a 30-second spot on CTV.

Additionally, Teads, a global advertising platform, announced CTV with TVision and Omnichannel with Adelaide as strategies for ensuring campaigns are optimized for attention to drive outcomes. According to Teads, the partnerships introduce new omnichannel capabilities and let advertisers dictate the impact of campaigns with precision.

“The strategic use of attention metrics forms the foundation for planning robust omnichannel campaigns,” Neala Brown, svp, strategy and operations at Teads, said. “It will lead to better outcomes as it allows for us to manage and adjust the level of attention needed for your campaign while also ensuring scalability.”

Taking attention a step further, Telly, a two-screened, ad-supported smart TV (which serves hundreds of ads per day), may have made the most notable measurement impression.