The Hidden Cost of Getting Noticed

Today’s marketing world is obsessed with ROAS, CPC, and CPS. We use them to validate performance, justify budgets, and defend every dollar spent.

But almost no one talks about a metric that sits before all of those:
“COBS” - the Cost of Being Seen.

In a digital environment where attention is fragmented and competition is louder than ever, visibility has become just as valuable as conversion. Understanding what you’re paying simply to get in front of a consumer’s eyes is critical, especially for companies in their growth stage.  

When I broke down the data across different channels like dedicated email, mobile, and even direct mail, one thing stood out clearly:

Mobile is the most cost-effective way to be seen.

Across every metric in the comparison:

• Mobile delivered some of the lowest Costs of Being Seen at only 8 cents!
  

• Cost-per-open (a direct proxy for Cost of Being Seen) was more efficient than email or direct mail
  

• Even large newsletter blasts with massive reach carried higher COBS costs
  

• Mobile struck the strongest balance between scale, efficiency, and attention
  

We focus so much on the cost of a click or a sale that we forget the first step:
You can’t convert someone who never sees you!

COBS reframes the conversation from just performance to presence.
Awareness compounds. Visibility builds familiarity.
And familiarity is the foundation of trust, the trust that converts.

Putting COBS Into Practice: Beyond Mobile

For brands looking to actually act on COBS and get into mobile efficiently, we built Beyond Mobile. It’s designed specifically for marketers who want mobile reach without the learning curve or heavy lift. Beyond Mobile gives brands a streamlined, cost-effective entry into mobile marketing, letting them reach consumers directly on their most engaged device, at a lower COBS than almost every other channel. It’s an easy, scalable way to start winning the visibility game where attention happens.

If you’re only measuring the bottom of the funnel, you’re missing the actual beginning of it.
Start tracking what it costs simply to be seen.

The brands that win aren’t just the ones with the best ROAS—they’re the ones that buy attention the efficiently.

In 2025, attention is the most expensive currency…
unless you know where to purchase it smarter.

By: Weston Smith | Account Assistant + Marketing Coordinator