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2 Minute Read

 Welcome To The Attention Economy

The essential feature of both the AI age and the modern economy is unlimited information chasing finite attention. We will return to this theme throughout 2026, because attention is the single factor that drives every public affairs outcome. Simply put, if your issue does not break through the flood of information chasing decision-makers, you will lose. And as the AI age takes hold, that flood of information grows bigger and faster than ever. In today's short read, we frame up what it means to be an advocate in the attention economy, and show you how to win in 2026.

Advocacy Is Now a 24/7 Exercise 

Think about the best lobbying meeting your organization has ever had with a key decision-maker. How long was it? 20 minutes? 10? In the past, that might have been enough to win. But in the attention economy, the minute the lobbyist leaves the meeting, the battle for the decision-maker's attention continues to play out on your audience's screens. The rest of those 23 plus hours? You now have to win those too to succeed.

So let's start with a clear view of who your competition is for that attention, because it's not who you might think.

🔱 Your competitor for that attention is not just the organization lobbying on the other side. It's Netflix. It's retailers selling things. It's social media trolls. It's the latest outrage in Washington. It's countless things that mean that decision-maker who you're trying to persuade is not going to read your white paper. Instead, they will speak to some trusted influencers, and they will absorb whatever they see on their screens.

The Most Powerful Strategy For Winning The Battle For Attention

So what's the best way to win in the attention economy? It's simple: 

START NOW

The temptation this time of year is always to wait to start your campaign. But the most effective advocacy organizations understand that this approach is a recipe for failure in the attention economy. Because if you wait until everyone else is advocating at the same time, attention becomes even scarcer, and you fall dangerously behind your opponent who started advocating months ago. When even more information collides with the calendar and the clock, you're forced to spend even more resources to break through the noise.

Two Ways To Operationalize This Email

🔱 Stop taking comfort that the calendar says January. In the attention economy, it's always game time.

🔱 Build your advocacy plan immediately. Start it as soon as possible. Get ahead of your opposition before they do the same to you.

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