Our new report, The Live Moment Effect, features biometric research conducted with MediaScience, reveals a clear takeaway for media buyers: ad effectiveness in live sports is heavily influenced by the emotional context in which ads are delivered.
By analysing real-time fan responses during live sports games, we explored how emotion-driven moments shape attention, memory, and ultimately brand recall. The findings reinforce a simple but powerful idea: not all ad breaks perform equally, even within the same broadcast.
High-impact, unexpected moments, such as turnovers or late scoring plays, drive sharp increases in emotional intensity and surprise. These moments don’t just engage fans in the moment; they create a measurable “carryover” effect that influences how subsequent ads are processed.
Specifically, ads shown immediately after these high-surprise moments saw up to a 2x lift in unaided brand recall compared to those shown after more routine gameplay. The difference isn’t driven by break timing alone, but by the emotional state viewers are in as they enter the break.
As the game progresses, emotional intensity continues to build, creating a dynamic environment where attention fluctuates in line with gameplay. This reinforces the importance of aligning media strategy with the live context, rather than treating sports as a fixed, linear channel.
For advertisers, the implications are clear:
- Prioritise placements dynamically, following high-impact moments
- Align creative with the emotional intensity of gameplay
- Leverage real-time signals to optimise delivery
Live sports already provide a highly engaged audience. But this research shows that moment-level context can significantly amplify outcomes, turning strong engagement into stronger memory.
A moments-driven approach enables brands to act on this insight, identifying and activating around the key inflection points that drive attention and recall.
In live sports, effectiveness isn’t just about reaching fans, it’s about reaching them at the moments that matter most.
To see more insights in The Live Moment Effect, download the full report here.
