Brand communication and the Attention Economy

In this paper, the con­cept of the atten­tion eco­no­my is exten­ded bey­ond infor­ma­tion and atten­tion and put within the fra­me­work of com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Prof. Wad­dick Doy­le argu­es that com­mu­ni­ca­tion pro­ces­ses com­mo­di­fy atten­tion, pro­du­cing meanings as well as cul­tu­ral and eco­no­mic value. With the influ­en­ce of digi­tal media and the dema­te­ria­li­za­tion of goods, brands are an incre­asin­gly impor­tant part of the glo­bal eco­no­my. They func­tion to orga­ni­se and chan­ge the habits of daily life and com­mo­di­fy atten­tion. They have beco­me signi­fi­cant gene­ra­tors of eco­no­mic value. Brands do this not becau­se they trans­mit infor­ma­tion but becau­se they now con­tri­bu­te to sha­ping the habits of daily life inc­lu­ding and how human beings think abo­ut them­se­lves. The­se habits and iden­ti­ties gene­ra­te eco­no­mic value In many dif­fe­rent ways. Brands beha­ve like nation sta­tes as sha­pers of iden­ti­ty and pro­du­cers of atten­tion and have in case of Apple and Face­bo­ok even attempt to cre­ate currency.