Lights, Camera, Impact: Measuring Brand Sponsorship in Streaming Content

Introduction

At Purchased, we believe the best way to evaluate media investments is by measuring what matters: actual shopper behavior. That's exactly what we did for a recent campaign where our client, a leading streaming platform, partnered with a personal care brand to sponsor a holiday special.

We set out to answer two critical questions:

1. What was the brand impact of this seasonal sponsorship?
2. Did it drive real-world sales?

Methodology: Longitudinal Test and Control

The holiday special aired for 4 weeks and featured sponsor branding as a preroll to the special. Our research used a "recruit-to-view" model: selected shoppers were invited to view the content and log their real-world personal care purchases over a 30-day period via our mobile Shopalong platform.

Participants were split into:

• A Test group, who were directed to view the special
• A Control group, who watched other top shows on the platform

Shoppers submitted receipts for any personal care product purchases (in-store or online) over the next 30 days.

The Results: Real Lift, Real Business Outcomes

Brand Awareness: Exposure to the special resulted in a 2.4x lift in unaided top-of-mind awareness for Sponsor. The effect was even stronger among younger shoppers aged 18–34.

Brand Consideration: Sponsor consideration jumped 13 percentage points, with a 2x lift in shoppers placing the brand as their top choice. Among Gen Z and Millennials, the headroom lift was especially pronounced (23% vs. 13%).

Sales Lift: This campaign wasn't just about perception. It drove real purchase behavior.

Notably, these lifts came from both new and returning customers — a sign that the sponsorship successfully strengthened brand loyalty while attracting fresh buyers.

Why It Worked

What made this methodology so effective in quantifying digital advertising impact on sales and brand metrics?

• Longitudinal test/control: The methodology is able to determine lifts based on advertising exposure by comparing the control (non-exposed) group to the test (exposed) group over time.
• Realistic environment: Test and control group behaviors are measured in a realistic environment that does not interfere with live campaigns.
• Validated purchase behavior: We validate purchase behavior and capture data from actual shopper online and in-store receipts.

Conclusion

The results were clear: strategic sponsorship in premium, highly engaging content can boost both brand perception and real-world sales. Through our measurement platform, Purchased delivered quantifiable ROI insights that helped our client and their sponsor understand and optimize their partnership.