In a World of Infinite Content, Attention Comes First

Ever feel like you’re drowning in content?

Generative AI has made creating words, images and campaigns nearly frictionless. Content that once took weeks now emerges in seconds.

But here’s the truth: While AI’s output is infinite, human attention remains finite.

And for marketers, attention isn’t just scarce, it’s the most valuable resource we have.

On average, we now spend around 25 years of our lives staring at screens. For those under 25, 16 of those years will be spent on their phones alone.

AI promises speed, scale and efficiency. And that’s real value. 83% of content creators are already using AI, and AI-assisted tools are behind roughly one-third of all digital marketing content today.

But scale alone isn’t success. If no one is paying attention, there’s nothing to optimize.

In Facebook’s News Feed, people spend, on average, 1.7 seconds with a piece of content on mobile and 2.5 seconds on desktop.

Attention spans across devices have collapsed from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to just 47 seconds today.

That’s not a crisis, it’s a challenge. The challenge of making content that doesn’t just fill feeds but earns a pause.

What actually breaks through?

• Surprise and originality. People remember what they didn’t see coming.
• Empathy and perspective. Ideas land when they feel like they come from someone who gets it.
• Memorable experiences. Not just messages, but moments worth retelling.

AI can spark ideas and remix trends. But it’s human clarity that sees the unspoken need, notices the subtle detail and transforms output into something unforgettable.

At DS+CO, we embrace AI, but we don’t mistake more for better. We use the tools to accelerate research, explore variations and sharpen execution.

But strategy, resonance and the spark of an idea that makes someone stop mid-scroll? That doesn’t come from prompts. That comes from people.

Here’s how we put it into practice:

• We audit for resonance, not just reach. Optimization starts with attention. If no one notices, nothing else matters.
• We filter AI through human clarity. The tool might generate options, but our job is to ask: Which one solves the real problem?
• We practice radical attentiveness. We build experiences around small, powerful details. The kind that prove we’re paying attention.

When CooperVision asked us to communicate its plastic‑neutrality efforts, the easy answer might have been to lead with numbers: hundreds of millions of bottles collected, tons of waste diverted, polished charts and stats. But in today’s content-saturated world, where attention is fleeting and resonance matters more than reach, we knew that wasn’t enough.

The real challenge wasn’t scale, it was connection. People weren’t struggling with the math—they were struggling to see how their choices truly mattered. Sustainability felt abstract. Recycling felt confusing. What audiences needed was proof that their actions created tangible, personal impact.

So rather than building another polished campaign, we leaned into the details that make people stop and care, the kind that show we’re paying attention. In Bali, we met collectors transforming plastic waste into livelihoods: a father funding his daughter’s education, a woman protecting her village’s beauty, families gaining access to eyecare for the first time.

By telling these stories, we reframed the initiative as “Bigger Than Bottles,” not just about removing plastic, but about sparking belief. The campaign didn’t just generate impressions; it earned attention and inspired empathy.

And that’s the throughline to the broader narrative: In an age where AI can deliver scale at speed, it’s human clarity that creates meaning. Less about volume, more about resonance.

AI will continue to scale content. That’s a given.

But only humans can create the connections that make content worth scaling.

The brands that rise above today’s content overload will be the ones that balance scale with substance, using AI for efficiency, and people for clarity, empathy and originality.

Because in the end, optimization only matters if the message earns attention first.

At DS+CO, that’s what we’re building toward. A future where clarity comes first and attention isn’t automated—it’s earned.