Lumen research

Lumen Research operates as a specialized attention technology firm, providing advertisers and publishers with tools to measure and optimize media investments. Founded in 2013 by Mike Follett and Navid Hajmirza, the London-based company was established to deepen the understanding of visual engagement with advertising. Follett's background includes strategic planning roles at advertising agency DDB in London, New York, and Mumbai, complemented by an MBA from Imperial College, London, which provided a foundation for tackling advertising effectiveness from a new perspective.

The company's business model centers on its proprietary eye-tracking technology, which initially powered creative attention studies. This technology has evolved into a comprehensive suite that helps clients determine if an ad is seen and for how long. Lumen Research generates revenue by providing its attention measurement platform, LAMP, to clients, enabling them to plan, purchase, measure, and optimize their media spend based on attention metrics. This is offered through integrations with planning tools, Demand Side Platforms (DSPs), and viewability pixels. Its client base includes advertisers, brands, publishers, and major media organizations like Dentsu and Havas.

At the core of Lumen's service is a patented, end-to-end eye-tracking data collection platform that uses webcams on desktops and mobiles to gather visual information from a global, opt-in panel of consumers. This extensive dataset, comprising billions of eye movements, is used to train a predictive algorithm. The algorithm estimates attentive seconds per impression by analyzing factors like viewability characteristics, domain, and dwell time, allowing for scalable attention prediction without continuous eye-tracking. In November 2022, Lumen Research merged with adtech developer Avocet to enhance its capabilities, combining its panel data with Avocet's advertising technology to create an omnichannel measurement platform. This merger was supported by a £3 million funding round led by FirstPartyCapital to fuel expansion in the US and Europe.

Keywords: attention measurement, eye-tracking technology, adtech, digital advertising, media optimization, visual engagement, advertising effectiveness, attention economy, predictive attention modeling, LAMP platform, campaign planning, media buying, ad measurement, advertising ROI, creative testing, demand side platform, ad verification, Mike Follett, Navid Hajmirza, Avocet merger