Should've gone to Sonder

With over 15 years of sponsorship experience with Channel 4, we’ve become experts in understanding the intricacies of sponsorship effectiveness. So when Specsavers took on the sponsorship of Channel 4’s iconic show Countdown, we were excited to help measure its impact. Our aim was to assess how their sponsorship could amplify two of their key services—audiology and home visits—in a market known for its longstanding brand recognition.

We designed a detailed study over the two years of Specsavers’ sponsorship, timing measurement points around key rotations between their audiology and home visits ident sets. Using a controlled exposed vs. control approach, we matched samples on behavioural metrics and focused on the most relevant targets for Specsavers’ services. By boosting the sample size, we ensured robust enough data for meaningful analysis, giving a clear view of how the sponsorship was performing against the core objectives.

While our standard analysis showed strong overall performance, we needed to go deeper to bring the results to life. We segmented viewers and non-viewers across Specsavers’ target groups, tracking brand metrics over time. This granular approach revealed exactly how well the sponsorship resonated with the relevant audiences, highlighting both the successes and the opportunities for optimisation.

Our findings demonstrated that Specsavers’ sponsorship of Countdown effectively amplified awareness of their audiology and home visits services among a highly relevant audience. We showed them how each ident set worked on its own, but more importantly, the strength of their combined approach. These insights gave Specsavers the confidence to continue rotating their ident sets regularly, ensuring ongoing viewer engagement and maximising brand gains.