Attention Measurement Firm Lumen Merges with Avocet

UK-based attention measurement platform Lumen has merged with media-buying platform Avocet, with the combined business taking the Lumen company name - and announcing a £3m funding round. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Lumen operates continuous eye tracking panels to measure the consumer attention generated by media impressions. Its Attention Measurement Platform (LAMP) uses web camera eye tracking to record visual attention from panel participants, creating a training data set for machine learning models to score video and display media formats for attention metrics. Avocet's demand side platform (DSP) offers in-built viewabiity scoring to help understand and drive cross-device conversions. The company focuses on helping plan and execute digital advertising on the basis of the attention ads will get, rather than simply recording if the ads were loaded or viewable for a specific number of seconds.

The firms say the merger formalises their long-standing partnership, bringing together Lumen's panel and Avocet's scaled ad tech. FirstPartyCapital led the £3m funding round, which the business will use to drive expansion across the US and Europe, while supporting further innovation and tech development. Lumen now plans four hires during the next six months in the US - across account management, advertising operations, data strategy and marketing - with a new team operating out of New York to complement the company's existing presence in San Francisco.

Lumen MD Mike Follett (pictured) says the merger will lead to 'a step change in the way the industry thinks about attention; creating a new category of attention measurement and optimisation'. He adds: 'Viewability is already a well-known and understood category, but the market has been calling out for evolution in the measurement of attention. Our growth will answer this need and enable us to go further, faster'.

Web sites: www.lumen-research.com and www.avocet.io .