Many of us are familiar with these situations - a film that is interrupted at the most heated moment by a sponsorship spot. Most of us definitely do not like it. Unfortunately, nowadays television cannot do without effective marketing in any respect. All the more reason, therefore, to prepare such a sponsorship spot in order to draw the viewer's interest and, most importantly, not lead to irritation when the screening is interrupted at the least expected moment. Another issue - the sponsorship indication must comply with the law, as this is not a case of a classic advertising message. This is, however, helped by regulations known as sponsor indications. It is worth saying a little more about what they are and why it is worth remembering them.

Sponsorship indications - what is allowed to be shown in the spot?

First of all, a sponsorship reference allows the inclusion of a trademark, which is particularly important as a company's logo is very often a key recognition point for a brand. What is more, the creator also has the right to include a reference, e.g. to a website or to boast in a few seconds about the awards he or she has won. The producer has 8 seconds for each sponsorship spot.

And what is not allowed?

We have told ourselves above about producer rights, but when considering the sponsorship indications themselves, it seems that we have more sub-points to avoid. Firstly - as mentioned above, the sponsorship spot must not be in the nature of a traditional advertising message. Firstly, the sponsorship spot appears both before and after the programme. Emotional words that so often colour an advertising message - such as 'best for you', 'unique' or 'irreplaceable' - must not appear in the sponsorship spot. Interestingly, while it is permissible to include a website address, reference to social media profiles is prohibited. The use of language is very important for a sponsorship spot.

First and foremost, it is important to remember that the producer is the sponsor of the broadcast, not the product. Therefore. The message must include the phrase "the programme sponsor is...", if the producer necessarily wants to include the product, the message must read "the programme sponsor is the producer of e.g. orange juice". The sponsorship spot must not contain additional animations that emphasise the value of the product. In short, in a sponsorship spot we have a total limitation to the minimum, which can be seen especially in the case of cinema messages. No additional information may appear, apart from possibly the name of the director or the leading actors.

Medicines and beer

Specific cases as far as sponsorship indications are concerned include medicines or various dietary supplements and beer. As far as prescription drugs are concerned, here only the name of the manufacturer and the name of the products can be given. E.g. syrup, eye drops, etc. If, on the other hand, we want to have a visualisation, this can only be taken into account for non-prescription medicines. Such rules also apply to dietary supplements or products for any medical purpose, among others. Sponsorship guidelines in the case of beer include, among other things, that the product cannot be presented by an individual or any visualisation. In the case of beer, only that element which is considered to be a direct trademark may be presented.

The law must be taken care of

Sponsorship indications are a very important element to follow. The reason? Those responsible regularly carry out analyses of sponsorship spots. What is more, many national stations without which we cannot imagine our daily life have already fallen prey to such analyses. In the event of an infringement, the fine can be up to PLN 180 000. The most common mistake is, of course, the desire to 'smuggle in' as many advertising features as possible to encourage people to buy the brand's products.

Despite so many limitations, sponsorship spots are extremely popular and are still very much in use. It is safe to say that this is the way of communication of today. What counts nowadays is speed, concreteness and, ideally, one key sentence. And since a sponsorship spot is not the essence of the advertising message, it is safe to say that the viewer gets what he or she expects today. But the key is to comply with the law, so that we can confidently call ourselves doomed to success.