Christopher Rumpf

The impact of color and animation on sports viewers' attention to televised sponsorship signage.

Although competition for viewers’ attention to sponsorship signage in sport telecasts has become a growing issue in sponsorship-linked marketing, sport management research has not yet investigated how to create eyecatching sponsorship signage in the cluttered visual surroundings of sport events without negatively affecting the viewers’ first objective: watching sports. This research takes into account the peculiarities of televised sport sponsorship platforms by including (1) the concurrent appearance of sport action and sponsor signage, (2) the color contrast between signage and sport surroundings, and (3) viewer confusion as a reaction to an overload of sponsorship information. Based on a laboratory study, it was found that both color and animation significantly impact sports viewers’ attention. However, animation can lead to visual confusion for television sport viewers, and may jeopardize intended sponsorship effects. These findings provide scientific evidence for the opportunities and risks of visual...

Determinants of viewer attention in concurrent event sponsorship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of exposure-related and consumer-related factors on the return of sponsorship investment through their influence on viewers’ attention for sponsor signage. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through an experimental study (n=92) involving eye-tracking and a questionnaire, and were analyzed using regression analysis. Findings The results show that viewers’ attention for sponsor signage is affected by the signage color of concurrent sponsors, as well as viewers’ brand familiarity, and sport involvement. In particular, the findings reveal that viewers’ attention for sponsor signage increases with greater color contrast between concurrently visible sponsor signage. Further, signage receives more attention if viewers are familiar with the brand and less involved with the sponsored event. Given that attention is an important prerequisite for further processing of sponsorship information, these findings have important implications for managers seeking to evaluate the return on their sponsorship investment. Practical implications When assessing the return on a sponsorship investment, marketers should consider the characteristics of surrounding sponsor signage and the audience with regard to their impact on viewers’ attention for their own signage. Ideally, marketers should attempt to create a greater color contrast between their own signage and its surroundings in order to maximize viewer attention. Originality/value This paper provides valuable information on the importance of concurrently visible sponsor signage and audience characteristics for the return on investment of sponsorships through their impact on viewers’ attention.

Animation intensity of sponsorship signage: The impact on sport viewers’ attention and viewer confusion

Purpose Visual animation of sponsorship signage has become a frequently used technique at televised sports with the aim to increase viewer attention. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of animation intensity of sponsorship signage on sport viewers’ attention and to examine viewers’ visual confusion as a reaction to increasing animation intensity. Design/methodology/approach Based on a lab experiment, eye-tracking methodology was applied to analyze the participants’ visual attention to animated sponsorship signage. The stimulus films showed a highlight video clip of a tennis match and included five different intensity levels of animated signage. The hypothesized causal relationships were tested by using linear regression analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings The results demonstrate that animation intensity of sponsorship signage positively influences sport viewers’ attention. The findings also reveal that animation intensity has no significant effect on sport viewers’ visual confusion. Practical implications The findings suggest the use of higher animation intensity levels for effective sponsorship communication in sports broadcasts. Furthermore, there is still more potential to improve sponsorship communication at televised tennis events as viewer confusion was not affected by animation intensity. Originality/value This research contributes to the body of knowledge by taking into account different intensity levels of animated sponsorship signage in a tennis event context. It is the first study that demonstrates the impact of animation intensity to improve sponsorship communication at televised sporting events.