Sponsorship billboards are short audiovisual messages, usually 8 seconds long, that appear before or after television programmes and inform viewers about the programme sponsor. In other words, they are sponsorship indications that aim to introduce the brand or product of the programme sponsor. Although sponsor billboards are not formally advertisements, they certainly serve the marketing purposes of the advertiser. One of the advantages of sponsorship billboards is that their airing before or after a themed programme allows you to reach your intended target audience. For example, a manufacturer of car spare parts may want to air its advertisement before an automotive programme, as there is a good chance that this programme will be watched by a group of people interested in products in this category. A producer of fizzy drinks, on the other hand, may choose to broadcast its billboard before a weather forecast that interests a wider audience. A second advantage of sponsorship billboards is that they are cheaper to broadcast than regular 30-second ads. Therefore, many companies choose to use this form of promotion, especially when they want to target their advertising to a specific audience.
