Today’s mobile consumer doesn’t scroll — they sprint. The MMA study found that on mobile, two-thirds of ads are cognitively recognized within 0.4 seconds, compared to 2–3 seconds on desktop
This is the reality of the high-velocity consumer: hyper-fast, hyper-selective, and unforgiving.
Marketers who still optimize for :15 or :30 spots are planning for a world that no longer exists. The study shows:
- Attention spikes early: from 5% at 100ms to 67% at 400ms
- More seconds ≠ more attention: even when ads stayed visible for 3000ms, consumers attended only ~46% of that time
- Mobile wins the speed race: emotional and cognitive responses fire faster and stronger than on desktop
How to Adapt to High-Velocity Behavior
- Engineer for Speed: Brand handles must appear upfront.
- Compress Storytelling: Land your core message before 400ms.
- Sequence Smarter: Use later seconds only to reinforce, not to introduce.
- Go Mobile-First: Formats like vertical and square drive faster recognition.
As one executive quoted in the study puts it: “We have to develop a strategy that works for the first second… it’s really about immediately breaking through.”
👉 Brands that recognize the speed of cognition aren’t just seen — they stay relevant at the pace of the consumer.
Sources
- MMA & Neurons Inc. (2019). Members Only – First Second Strategy Report
- Neurons Inc. (2019). Cognition Research Report Final
- MMA (2019). First Second Strategy Executive Summary
