Effectiveness of esports sponsor advertising: analyzing screen placement, sponsor type and match period in esports events with eye-tracking

Purpose – This study aimed to explore effective advertisement placements for sponsors of professional esports matches. Various factors pertaining to esports event broadcasting screens, such as advertisement placements (e.g. bottom-left corner), advertisement types (e.g. QR code), sponsor types (e.g. Spotify) and periods (i.e. match and nonmatch) were considered. Design/methodology/approach – Forty-one participants were recruited to watch the 2021 League of Legends World Championship and eye-tracking data on gaze fixation duration were collected using a Tobii x3-120 eye tracker. A three-way repeated measures analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Findings – The results reveal significant interactions between sponsor and placement, as well as between placement and period. Gaze duration was longer during the nonmatch period than during the match period. The longest gaze duration was observed for advertisements on the right side of the screen during the nonmatch period. The results also revealed a significantly positive association between gaze duration and sponsor recall but a significantly negative association between gaze duration and sponsor evaluation. Originality/value – This study is among the first to examine the interaction effects of advertisement placement, sponsor type and broadcast timing in esports using both objective (eye-tracking) and subjective (recall/evaluation) measures. It offers novel insights into banner blindness and advertising effectiveness during live esports events, informing evidence-based sponsorship strategies.