31.01.2018 – A growing number of major sporting events makes use of LED perimeter boards to present the event sponsors to the audience in front of the screens. This technology enables the sponsoring brands to display their marketing messages in various ways. In particular, visual animation of sponsorship signage has become a frequently used technique to direct the viewers’ attention to the brands.

Although recent research has shown that animated sponsor signage leads to higher sport viewer attention compared to static signage, there is still a lack of knowledge whether the intensity of animation is also crucial to increase attention of sport viewers.

Based on an eye-tracking experiment, the participants’ visual attention to animated sponsorship signage in a tennis video clip was analysed. The findings reveal that the level of animation intensity positively influences the sport viewers’ attention to the sponsor. It suggests that the animation intensity of signage can play an important role in improving sponsorship communication in sport broadcasts.

The research paper was recently accepted for publication in Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal.

Otto, F. & Rumpf, C. (2018). Animation intensity of sponsorship signage: The impact on sport viewers’ attention and viewer confusion. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, doi.org/10.1108/SBM-05-2017-0029.