MarTech Interview with Simon Kvist, Founder & CEO of Adnami

Simon, you have online media experience from both the business development, buying, and sales sides. Tell us a bit about your professional journey and what inspired you to establish Adnami in 2019?
My career began in marketing and PR before transitioning into online video at Goviral which was acquired by AOL Europe in 2011. This move exposed me to international markets, high-level partnerships and the evolving digital media landscape—experiences that have been key to Adnami’s growth.

I launched Adnami in 2019 to address a major industry challenge: standardising high impact formats across the open internet. Our technology gives publishers scalable, premium ad products and allows advertisers to use display advertising as a brand-building channel, not just a performance tool. That vision continues to drive me today.

With your extensive experience of over a decade, what insights led you to focus specifically on attention measurement in the digital advertising industry?
The internet is flawed. As an industry, we’ve been relying on media currencies defined by what was possible a decade ago—not what’s possible or truly meaningful today. Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of what advertising is really about: telling stories and making an impact, not just chasing arbitrary metrics. I want to challenge that.

I first became fascinated with the concept of attention in advertising back in university. I studied marketing and communications during a time of major digital transformation—YouTube and Facebook had just emerged, and I saw firsthand how the attention economy, a concept introduced by Herbert A. Simon and later expanded by Thomas H. Davenport, was playing out in real life. Their theory resonated with me deeply: as far back as the 1960s, it was clear that while information would continue to grow exponentially, human attention would remain finite—making the fight for attention more intense over time. The rise of the internet made this more relevant than ever, and now, with AI reshaping the landscape, it’s an even bigger challenge.

Having spent over a decade at the intersection of brand advertising and technology, I’ve long believed that our industry has been failing to measure the true relative effectiveness of different media and creative formats. That’s what drives my focus on attention measurement—it’s about redefining how we value advertising in a way that truly reflects impact.

Attention measurement, both as a process and as technology, is a game-changer in advertising. What makes you believe it and how does it offer value to advertisers?
Attention represents a significant evolution in media measurement, moving beyond outdated metrics to provide a more accurate and meaningful way to assess impact. To me, attention isn’t just another trend—it’s a fundamental shift in how we understand, plan, buy, measure and optimise media.

Attention has always been at the core of advertising. But in the past five years, the conversation has evolved from justifying its relevance to focusing on how brands and media companies can actively leverage attention data to drive real business outcomes. We are no longer at the starting line—attention has matured into a tangible, scalable tool for advertisers.

By analysing attention levels across billions of impressions and signals each month, we see the massive variance in performance across different URLs, formats, devices and placements. This unlocks a major opportunity for advertisers to optimise their media investments and achieve better business results. The key takeaway? Not all reach is created equal. Relying on reach alone as the holy grail of media planning and execution is no longer enough—attention is the missing piece that bridges the gap between visibility and true impact.

Adnami launched its attention measurement solution, Sonar, last year. How have you and your team designed Sonar to help advertisers optimize their ROI?
We designed Sonar—and our entire product portfolio—with a clear goal: to create more value for our partners. That means better measurement, better formats and better activation. The natural result? A higher ROI for advertisers.

For too long, inconsistencies in tools and metrics have made attention measurement complex, slow and difficult to scale—for both advertisers and publishers. Sonar was built to change that. It provides a scalable, reliable and universal solution, setting a new benchmark for what effective advertising should look like. Today, key brands are already leveraging Sonar to drive smarter media decisions and optimise campaigns across all formats.

What are the common hindrances that businesses face when adopting this process, and how do you suggest overcoming them for better advertising strategies?
The challenges we’re solving in attention measurement and optimisation are similar to those we addressed with high impact formats. Marketers need scalable solutions, efficient workflows and unrestricted access to data. The biggest hurdle we identified regarding attention measurement—and experienced firsthand—was achieving scale. Media campaigns optimised and measured through the lens of attention should be as seamless as clicking a button on any media platform.

Another challenge businesses can face when adopting attention measurement (and introducing new concepts in general) is shifting mindsets and ingrained habits. The industry has made impressive progress in a short time, recognising that attention is a more meaningful way to define success in media effectiveness. However, the real test now is operationalising it – embedding attention measurement into everyday decision-making and execution.

We provide the tools, and they are designed to be intuitive and efficient, but advertisers need to invest some time to unlock their full potential. We’ve seen brands make small adjustments and achieve over a 100% uplift in attention—proving that the effort pays off. In that sense, adopting attention-based strategies isn’t just smart; it’s a no-brainer.

As a leader in the advertising space, what key trends do you foresee shaping the future of the industry?
I see three key AI-driven trends shaping the future of advertising. First, workflow automation: AI has the potential to streamline repetitive tasks, improving efficiency. Second, campaign optimisation: AI can process vast amounts of data and manage multiple channels simultaneously, making ad spend more efficient and delivering better results. This will minimise friction in the advertising ecosystem, leading to better outcomes and increased value for advertisers—particularly if independent publishers can leverage these advancements. Lastly, creative production is evolving with generative AI. While AI may handle much of the creative work, humans will still refine the final product. While fully automated creative isn’t imminent, AI will significantly reduce the cost of high-quality video production, making it accessible to more brands. Together, these trends promise an exciting future where AI enhances efficiency, creativity, and scalability, driving greater value for advertisers and the broader ecosystem.

High-impact video ads are on the rise as brands seek to create more engaging content. How have your insights shaped Adnami’s approach to these ads, and what sets your strategy apart in this increasingly popular space?
Video has been a rapidly growing category in digital media, expected to grow another 13% in 2025. And rightfully so. Our data shows that high impact video ads generate 50% more attention than ads with static creatives.

However, streaming platforms can only handle about 30% of the ad load that traditional TV can, creating a gap in premium video inventory. This has led to increased competition and innovation. While social media and sales networks are trying to fill this gap, they fall short of delivering the premium experience that TV once provided. Adnami bridges this gap by offering high impact video ads that provide a premium experience, ensuring brands get the attention and results they need in this increasingly competitive space.

To truly stand out, measuring accurately, optimising media buying and ensuring ads are placed in the right environments is essential. Adnami’s strategy offers a significant advantage here as we not only provide high-quality video formats, technology and service but also the right tool to measure its effectiveness.

How do you see the evolving dynamic between big tech companies and smaller advertisers, and what role will it play in the future of advertising?
The advertising market today suffers from an unhealthy concentration of power in a few tech giants. This dominance has led to the decline of quality content, journalism and the free press. Newspapers have seen a 77% decline in jobs over the past two decades, illustrating the broader impact on democracy and society. Smaller advertisers, particularly SMEs, remain heavily dependent on platforms like search engines and social media, with little change in sight.

This presents a two-sided challenge: big tech companies dominate with reach, but they serve their own interests above all else. On the other hand, independent publishers lack coordination and standardisation, making their ad products less competitive. We aim to solve this issue by working towards standardisation between websites and display ad formats. This helps publishers maintain capital and their essential role in informing the public. By supporting publishers and quality journalism, advertisers can make ethical choices that can help rebalance the advertising landscape and create a more sustainable, fair ecosystem for all.

Interview question: What upcoming innovations or features can we expect from Adnami to enhance ad effectiveness?
At Adnami, we’re focused on driving innovation in high impact and video advertising for the open internet. Recently, we’ve enhanced our platform with a powerful data layer, enabling us to track attention performance on every impression. This allows us to break down data by creative versions, formats, placements, devices and more, helping us predict which impressions will deliver the best results.

Moving forward, we’re making this data accessible through more detailed reports, AI-powered analytics and automated optimisation tools, enabling advertisers to effortlessly improve their campaigns and maximise impact.

What advice would you give to advertisers new to attention measurement and high-impact video ads to maximize their success?
If you’re not yet measuring and optimising for attention in your display and video ads, my advice is simple: start now. Not doing so means you’re likely wasting your ad spend. I also recommend not getting too bogged down by the choice of vendor or methodology. The key is to commit to attention measurement and move away from relying on outdated metrics like clicks and viewability as the sole indicators of media quality. Focus on tools that align with your specific KPIs and make it easy to work with. Choose solutions that provide actionable data insights, allowing you to scale and optimise your campaigns for maximum impact.

Additionally, consider investing in vertical video ads. You can repurpose your existing social video content for this format, offering an easy, cost-effective way to start testing and driving results.

A quote or advice from the author:
“All reach is not created equal – understanding media quality through the lens of attention represents a huge opportunity for brands to optimise their media investments”.