The news: Snapchat is debuting an attention metric for advertisers through partnerships with Integral Ad Science (IAS), Lumen Research, and DoubleVerify, the company announced Monday.

IAS, Snap, and Lumen partnered to launch Snap Attention Measurement, a tool that uses IAS data and Lumen eye-tracking predictions to rate user attention for an ad. DoubleVerify is launching its own DV Authentic Attention product (which also uses Lumen eye tracking) for social media, with Snap as its initial partner.

Attention ascendant: Snap is capitalizing on a surge in interest following high-profile acquisitions, partnerships, and interest in alternatives to TikTok—but it’s also a bet on the rising importance of attention as a measurement of ad effectiveness.

Attention metrics are an increasingly popular way of measuring ad effectiveness that seeks to gauge actual outcomes from advertisements. They stand in contrast to “viewability,” a metric used for decades to estimate the likelihood that a consumer saw an ad.

Attention metrics have become staples of digital advertising campaigns—even as a lack of industry standards makes it difficult to compare results across platforms. To address the issue, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Media Rating Council (MRC) have published temporary standards ahead of a final edition later this year.

Those standards seek to bring a wide array of different attention signals into the fold rather than establish stringent definitions. In the absence of clear standards, several measurement providers have emerged, each using different signals to create their own unique attention gauges.

Our take: A platform-specific attention metric could help Snap attract more advertiser interest without the hurdle of navigating the increasingly complex attention space via independent vendors. Snap’s investment in attention is a sign that the metric is maturing—and that advertisers are weighing it heavily.