Today's viewers have a huge choice of programming and the kit to control the viewing they want. They can watch more of the shows they love and they can extend their intense relationships with these programmes through emerging interactive digital technologies. For brands involved in well-thought through and well-executed TV sponsorships, there are fresh opportunities to add to the power of the broadcast spot, and huge rewards to be gained. However, success begins with the on-air creative …

Thinkbox's research with Duckfoot - TV sponsorship: a brand's best friend - set out to uncover the inner workings of sponsorship; how and why sponsorship works and the ways in which its impact can be best measured. It also uncovered some interesting things about how the on-air work. It found that the best results come about when the sponsorship bumpers successfully introduced the brand into the emotional relationship that the viewer had with their programme.

Where there was a more of an obvious link between a sponsorship bumper's creative content and the programme content, the research found that the brand performed better across all the key measures. Likewise, when there was a more obvious link between the brand itself and the programme, the brand performed better. If this link was not as obvious, then the sponsorship creative needed to work harder to establish the link or the sponsorship needed time and repetition in order to embed in viewers' minds.

Viewers want to understand the link between the sponsored programme and the brand, and they will often deconstruct the creative to get at that understanding. It's part of the game - not unlike the 'guess the ad' game that many viewers play during the commercial breaks.

But what else do we know about how sponsorship works and the elements that make up a successful sponsorship?

Channel4 commissioned a piece of research from SPA to answer just these questions. They were looking for some generic insight to understand how viewers de-code sponsorship messages and the common denominators that, from a viewer's perspective, explain a successful or failing sponsorship. The outcome was a set of best-practice guidelines to help make on-air sponsorships more effective.

Below you will find ten creative tips from the report, plus some additional things to think about when developing your creative. We hope you'll find them useful.

Creative Guidelines

1. Be creatively empathetic with programme. Your on-air work should be consistent with, and pay homage to, the programme content or style. Good creative keeps context top of mind. How would the viewers feel about your work next to their programme?
   Good examples: Lurpak & Jamie's 30 Minute Meals, Fruit Pastilles and Britain's Got talent, Dulux & Ugly Betty. Givenchy & The Oscars on Sky, and Bailey's & Sex in the City, Haven Holidays & Primeval.
2. Share your advertising's creative style. The look and feel of sponsorship should be consistent with your advertising. Specifically: production values, tonality and branding. Integrate some advertising elements but make your sponsorship distinctive from your advertising.
   Good examples: Kia & FA Cup, Talk Talk & Big Brother. Mini dramas & ITV drama.
3. Be original/ innovative: Strikingly originality or "Intelligent sponsorship" commands attention. Don't make the viewer work too hard to 'get it', but a little cleverness is very valuable.
   Good examples: Guinness & Rugby World Cup. Powergen & ITV weather original, Cadbury & Coronation Street "chocolate" animation,
4. Clear message; perhaps a straightforward product story and fit with programme. Something that delivers immediate comprehension and is not unduly contrived or complex.
   Good examples: Bounty & Love Island. B&Q sponsors 4 Homes / Property Channel 4, Panasonic Viera & Sky Moview Premier HD
5. Entertaining. Unsurprisingly, humour is cited as a fundamental requirement. Match the medium!
   Good examples: FiveDVD & the Farm or Yorkie & Soccer a.m. Phones 4 U & Hollyoaks.

Executional Guidelines

1. Frequent copy rotation. Make a sufficient quantity of bumpers and rotate them appropriately, especially for long-running programmes, like Lost, and for genre or strand sponsorship (e.g. drama, property shows). This helps to avoid wear-out, decay and irritation due to perceived high level of repetition. Good examples: Carphone warehouse & Big Brother. Cadbury & Coronation Street.
2. Minimal text: Ideally you should limit the words on the screen to the brand name and a strap-line that communicates the sponsorship connection. Good examples: Stella & Films on 4. Wolf Blass & The Ashes
3. Recognisable voice-over. Use a clear, ideally recognisable, voice-over paired with a strap-line to help with instant aural recognition. Not a strap-line alone. Good example; Bailey's & Sex in the city
4. Sonic logo. Evidence suggests that these can direct attention, act as a mood-shaper and raise expectation. They can also aid the recognition of a sponsorship. Good examples; Cote D'Or & Wild at Heart. Direct Line insurance & property shows.
5. Bold product logo/"Pack Shot". There is usually a requirement for this to be centre-stage. It aids message clarity and recall. Good examples; Wolf Blass & The Ashes on Sky. Bailey's & SITC

Some other things to keep front-of-mind...

• Resist the temptation to make an ad that butts up to the editorial: you are likely to end up with something that is both a poor ad that doesn't deliver everything an ad could, and a poor sponsorship that doesn't do what great sponsorship should.
• The main aim of the on-air creative should be to build an association between the advertising brand and the programme brand: that association is the message. For creatives, the process of understanding the viewer relationship with the programme and coming up with an engaging, fresh link is both the challenge and the reward.
• Put as much care into your sponsorship as you do with your spot advertising. It really is worth it.