"This program contains product placement": Effects of sponsorship disclosure on television viewers’ responses

Television viewers are increasingly exposed to texts saying "This program contains product placement" or PP (short for product placement) logos incorporated in television programs. These so-called sponsorship disclosures aim to inform viewers about advertising that is embedded in television programs. This dissertation examines the effects of such sponsorship disclosures on viewers’ processing of and responses to sponsored television content and the embedded brands. The studies in this dissertation provide four important insights. First, the studies demonstrate that the effects of a disclosure depend on its duration, timing and type. Second, viewers’ awareness of a sponsorship disclosure in a television program appears to be an important precondition for any of its effects. Whether viewers are aware of the disclosure depends on both the characteristics of the disclosure and on audience characteristics. Third, the dissertation demonstrates that when viewers are aware of a disclosure, it increases viewers’ visual attention to the sponsored content and enhances the recognition of the sponsored content as advertising (i.e., activates conceptual persuasion knowledge). As a consequence, it also makes viewers perceive this content more critically (i.e., higher rates of attitudinal persuasion knowledge and self-reported critical processing). Fourth, the effect of a sponsorship disclosure on the processing of the sponsored content also influences the persuasive outcomes of this sponsored content. As a result of the activation of persuasion knowledge, a sponsorship disclosure increases viewers’ brand memory and leads to less favorable brand attitudes. These findings have important theoretical implications and are useful for policy makers and advertisers.