Impacts of game attractiveness and color of message on sport viewers' attention to prosocial message: an eye-tracking study

Purpose In recent years, neurophysiological tools have been vastly applied in sport marketing research. Eye tracking, a pervasive sensor technology, has received a growing interest to examine the effects of advertising through sport on viewer attention. While there is a plethora of evidence in advertising that supports the positive effects of various advertising types and locations on viewer attention in various sport contexts, little is known about the role of a prosocial overlay ad on viewer attention when watching televised football matches. Therefore, this research aims to examine the differences in viewers' attention (i.e. fixation and duration) with regard to game attractiveness and colors of the prosocial message during televised football matches. Design/methodology/approach To identify the research gap, the authors first reviewed the relevant sport marketing and neuroscience research on advertising effectiveness. The authors selected a prosocial message displayed. Adopting an experimental research design and using eye tracking, this study examined the impacts of game attractiveness and colors of message on viewer attention to the prosocial message displayed on an overlay advertisement during a football match. Findings The authors found that the colors of prosocial messages and game attractiveness had significant effects on viewer attention to the prosocial message. Originality/value In this study, the authors sought to add advertisement color, as well as game attractiveness, to the extant knowledge in marketing literature as effective advertising factors in capturing viewers' attention. These variables can offer marketers new insights in designing effective advertisements for the context of televised sports events in a specialized field.