Sponsorship Integrations in Television Programs on Russian TV Channels With a Target Audience of "All 14-44"

Every year the number of sponsorship integrations in the programs of Russian television channels is increasing, since this type of advertising is considered to be more native than direct advertising and forms positive associations among the audience. However, very little empirical research devoted to sponsorship integrations has been carried out. The main goal of this paper is therefore to typologize sponsorship integrations in the television programs of Russian TV channels with the target audience of «all 14-44» depending on how they are built into these programs’ formats. The methodological basis for the work was, first of all, the methods of typological analysis, dramaturgical analysis and comparative-thematic analysis of media content. For the practical research tasks an empirical method of an expert interview was also used. The results of the paper may reveal key features of different types of sponsorship integrations in the television programs of Russian TV channels with the target audience of «all 14-44» and become a theoretical base for further research. Moreover, it is expected to point out the most and the least suitable for sponsorship integrations TV formats relying on the expert judgment. The work consists of introduction; theoretical part where the approaches to the understanding of sponsorship integrations on TV is revealed and literature on formats and dramaturgy of Russian television programs is studied; practical part where various sponsorship integrations and how they are built into the formats of Russian TV programs are analyzed and the results of the expert interview are described; conclusion and references.