The job to be done The primary purpose, or job to be done, of media consumption typically falls into one of five categories. The following are the primary jobs to be done and the media types that fall into each category, listed from most to least valuable: 6 — ‘ To enjoy something that I love .’ In-person experiences—including live concerts and music festivals, theme parks, sporting events, and movie theaters—dominate this category. Physical books and (to a far lesser extent) audiobooks are also consumed primarily for love, as are certain niche streaming services (such as those outside of the top seven streaming platforms, focused on a specific genre of content). Digital music is also consumed primarily for love, but it’s the rare medium that’s consumed almost as heavily for background ambience (34 percent consume for love versus 20 percent for background ambience; background ambience is second only to radio). — ‘ For education and information .’ This is the primary job to be done for newspapers, magazines, and podcasts. Physical books, audiobooks, linear cable, and YouTube (but neither Instagram reels nor TikTok) overindex on this role. — ‘ For social connection .’ This is the primary job of social media sites (Facebook more so than others). Social video (including Instagram reels and TikTok but not YouTube), live events, and video games overindex on this role. — ‘ For light entertainment and relaxation .’ This is the primary job of cable television, video streaming, social video, and mobile and console gaming. Of that group, video streaming and console gaming are most likely to also be frequently consumed for love. The relative value of light entertainment is the same as that of social connection, meaning the attention equation predicts the same monetization value for each job. — ‘ For background ambience .’ This is the primary role of radio, with digital music, podcasts, and cable television all overindexing as well. Adding the attention quotient to traditional commercial drivers improves our ability to predict monetization per hour, and it provides valuable insights about why some mediums monetize better than others, alongside how monetization levels may change with time (Exhibit 5). For instance, an equation estimate of monetization that’s higher than its actual value (for streaming video, for example) may imply that the medium is undermonetized and that revenue can or will accelerate with respect to consumption. 6 T wo additional jobs to be done were measured in the survey, but they weren’t the primary or secondary job for any medium: “for inspiration and motivation” (audiobooks, short-form social video, and digital music sometimes fill this role, albeit to a small degree) and “to inform a purchase” (newspapers, magazines, and Instagram reels and TikTok occasionally fill this role). 10 The ‘attention equation’: Winning the right battles for consumer attention