If you have been paying attention, you will remember the research study on the effectiveness of TV program sponsorships conducted by the Marketing Scientist Group in collaboration with Paramount ANZ (Australia & New Zealand). The study explores the impact of attention on brand assets within TV sponsorships. The study encompassed a comprehensive experiment involving 2200 Australian TV viewers aged 18–69, exposed to various advertisements and sponsored programmes, including globally recognised shows like MasterChef Australia and Australian Survivor, as well as the aforementioned comedy show. The research sought to unravel how attention to brand assets within content and advertising influences brand outcomes.

Measuring attention in TV sponsorships

If you have been paying attention, you will remember the research study on the effectiveness of TV program sponsorships conducted by the Marketing Scientist Group in collaboration with Paramount ANZ (Australia & New Zealand). The study explores the impact of attention on brand assets within TV sponsorships. The study encompassed a comprehensive experiment involving 2200 Australian TV viewers aged 18–69, exposed to various advertisements and sponsored programmes, including globally recognised shows like MasterChef Australia and Australian Survivor, as well as the aforementioned comedy show. The research sought to unravel how attention to brand assets within content and advertising influences brand outcomes.

The study was elaborated further using passive eye-tracking data collected to discover the impact of attention/gazes on visual brand assets. The researchers employed passive eye-tracking data, measuring participants’ gazes on logos, products, and text via a camera. Merging this data with metadata and survey responses, the study unearthed several key findings.

The impact of paying attention to brand assets

A pivotal discovery revealed that when viewers paid attention to brand assets, there were notable increases across various metrics:

• top-of-mind brand awareness increased by 37%,
• the average number of brand associations increased by 16%,
• brand asset fame increased by 18%.

This suggests that attention to brand assets contributes to constructing brand memories and enhancing asset fame.

The study also delved into the impact of asset size on attention and memory. While there was a positive correlation between asset size and attention, the association with top-of-mind awareness was weaker. Medium-sized logos, in some instances, outperformed their larger counterparts, underscoring the influence of factors like time-on-screen, location, and context on building brand memories.

The impact brand assets in content on subsequent advertising

Furthermore, the research investigated whether brand assets featured in sponsored programmes influenced subsequent advertising. For example, participants exposed to a sponsored programme featuring a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) brand were later presented with different advertisements—billboards, standard TVCs, and bespoke TVCs featuring the brand asset. Intriguingly, participants who gazed at the QSR brand assets in the content were more inclined to pay attention and recognise the subsequent advertisements, underscoring the priming effect of content-advertising alignment.

In summary, the study’s key insights for TV sponsorships include the idea that attention to brand assets positively impacts memory metrics. Additionally, while brand asset size matters for attention, other factors also play a crucial role. Finally, brand assets in content prime viewers to respond effectively to subsequent advertising. This research advances our comprehension of TV sponsorships, providing further evidence why they work and how brand assets within content and advertising can shape brand outcomes.