At Meltwater’s Summit on Tour: Asia, cognitive neuroscientist Carmen Simon gave the keynote, The Neuroscience of Attention. It explored one of the biggest challenges facing marketers in Asia today: how to make people look, listen and remember.
With generative AI accelerating the pace of digital communication, audiences are exposed to more content, more channels and more competing messages than ever. But being visible does not necessarily mean being noticed. And being noticed does not guarantee that a message will be remembered, understood or acted on.
Simon’s keynote offered a practical way to think about attention. Rather than treating it as something brands can simply demand, she showed how marketers can design content and experiences that make attention more likely.
Her framework focused on four approaches: being provocative, guiding people towards action, encouraging introspection and using visual design to direct attention.
Attention is more than being seen
Attention can be selective, divided, sustained or executive. People may focus on a single message, split their attention across multiple demands, remain engaged with an idea over time or concentrate on a complex task. Each requires a different kind of experience.
For marketers, this means the question is not simply how to get attention. It is: What do we want people to do with their attention once we have it?
A social post may need to interrupt someone’s scrolling. A thought leadership article may need to sustain attention over several minutes. A product experience may need to guide someone through a series of decisions.
The most effective content considers what happens after the initial moment of notice.
Make people look by being provocative
Provocative content challenges expectations.
It may introduce an unexpected idea, break a familiar pattern or create enough tension to make people reconsider what they thought they knew. The goal is not to shock an audience for its own sake. It is to create a moment of productive friction, or what Simon describes as the “right amount of wrong”.
If content is too predictable, people may have no reason to pause. If it is too confusing or disconnected, they may simply move on. The most effective ideas sit between the two: familiar enough to understand, but different enough to be interesting.
For brands, this could mean challenging an assumption in a category, presenting a familiar issue from an unexpected perspective or asking a question that creates tension. It might also mean showing what is missing from the usual conversation.
Exaggeration can help make an idea more noticeable, particularly when it is used to clarify a point rather than distort it. Clickbait creates a temporary interruption, but provocative content gives people a reason to keep thinking.
Turn passive attention into guided action
People are more likely to stay engaged when they have something to do.
That action does not need to be complicated. It might involve answering a question, comparing two options, making a prediction or looking for a specific detail.
This is the principle behind guided action. Instead of asking an audience to passively receive information, give them a way to participate in it. A brand might ask its audience to decide which option they would choose, identify what is different in an image or consider how an idea applies to their own situation.
Even a simple prompt can encourage people to process a message more actively.
These actions can make content more memorable because they require people to do more than simply encounter it. They can also create a stronger sense of reward. When someone works something out, finds the answer or reaches a conclusion, the experience becomes more satisfying.
For marketers, this means thinking beyond the delivery of information. A message may be more effective when it helps people discover something for themselves.
Use introspection to make messages personal
Attention is influenced not only by what is happening around us, but also by what is happening inside us.
People are more likely to engage with an idea when it connects to their own experiences, emotions, memories or questions. This is where introspection becomes important.
A story can prompt people to consider what they would do in the same situation, how an issue relates to their own lives or what they might do differently. It can also encourage them to reflect on what they believe or value.
The emotional journey of a story matters too. The emotional tone at the beginning and end can influence how the overall experience is remembered. A message that begins with tension and ends with resolution creates a different experience from one that begins positively and ends in uncertainty.
Introspection does not mean making every piece of content deeply personal or emotionally intense. It means creating space for the audience to see themselves in the message.
Instead of relying only on broad claims, brands can invite reflection with questions such as: “What would this change for you?” or “Where does this challenge show up in your community?”
The more relevant the question feels, the more likely people are to invest attention in the answer.
Design for visual search
People do not experience visual content in a random order. They scan, compare and search for meaning.
Clear visual structure helps audiences understand where to look and what matters. This is particularly important as people encounter increasingly complex content across websites, social platforms, presentations and digital experiences.
Good visual design is not only about making something attractive. It is about helping people find meaning quickly.
A clear focal point, strong contrast or recognisable pattern can direct attention towards the most important part of a message. By contrast, when too many elements compete for attention, audiences may struggle to understand where to begin.
When everything is emphasised, nothing is prioritised.
This is especially relevant for brands communicating complex subjects. Whether the message concerns data, technology, reputation or consumer behaviour, the challenge is often not a lack of information. It is helping people understand what deserves their attention first.
From visibility to meaningful attention
Attention is not a single moment, but a sequence.
First, people notice something. Then they decide whether it is relevant. They may process it, connect it to what they already know, feel something about it and decide whether to act.
That means marketers need to think beyond reach and impressions. The more useful questions are: What made people stop? What helped them understand? What made the message memorable? What did they do next?
Carmen Simon’s Summit on Tour Asia keynote offered a useful reminder: in a crowded media environment, the strongest content is not always the loudest. It is the content that understands how people pay attention.
Making people look is part science, part design and part empathy. It requires an understanding of what audiences notice, what they ignore and what makes an idea worth holding on to.
That starts with understanding consumers: what they care about, how they encounter content and what influences them to stop, engage and act.
In a crowded market, the brands that stand out will be those that do more than make themselves visible. They will create content that gives people a reason to look.
