Does the Game Matter? Analyzing Sponsorship Effectiveness and Message Personalization in Sport Live Broadcasts

This study aims to increase the effective use of in-stadium sponsor message placement by analyzing the influence of various
run-of-play characteristics on television viewers’ visual attention allocation. Sports broadcasts constitute one potential platform
for sponsors to place personalized messages. However, literature still questions the effectiveness of in-stadium sponsor messages,
and the influence of game-related factors on viewers’ visual attention has received little consideration in this context. In addition,
researchers call for more reliable and realistic measures concerning the effective evaluation of sponsorship-linked marketing.
Therefore, this study uses real-time adaptions (eye-tracking, in-play betting odds, etc.) utilizing live soccer broadcasts as one
of the first. Data were analyzed second by second (n = 100,298) using generalized linear mixed models. Results indicate
significant associations of several run-of-play characteristics with viewers’ visual attention to sponsor messages depending on the
characteristic, the games’ degree of suspense, and playing time. Findings provide hands-on advice for practitioners to enhance
sponsor message placement during live broadcasts.