Disney Ad Data Shows Fandom Multiplies Streaming Ad Recall

Viewers who love a title enough to rewatch it show 4.7 times greater detailed ad recall and five times greater purchase intent than casual viewers, according to new UK research from Disney Advertising conducted with eye square. The study, "The Disney Difference: Revealing the Magic Behind Advertising Effectiveness," examined how audience connection to series and films influences advertising performance across global streaming platforms in the UK market.

For advertisers planning streaming budgets, the findings translate connection into measurable outcomes. Emotionally connected viewers delivered two and a half times greater detailed ad recall and almost four times greater purchase intent than non-connected viewers. Self-identified fans showed more than double the detailed ad recall and 1.9 times the purchase intent of non-fans. In plain terms, the same media spend works several times harder when the surrounding content commands loyalty rather than mere attention.

What did the research measure?

Disney Advertising and eye square tested three forms of connection — emotional connection, fandom and enduring appeal — against two standard effectiveness metrics: detailed ad recall and purchase intent. Each construct produced a distinct uplift:

• Emotional connection: 2.5x detailed ad recall, nearly 4x purchase intent versus non-connected viewers
• Fandom: more than 2x detailed ad recall, 1.9x purchase intent versus non-fans
• Enduring appeal: 4.7x detailed ad recall, 5x purchase intent versus one-time viewers

Lucy Gregory, VP of Audience Measurement and Insight at Disney Advertising EMEA, said: "With the strength of fandom intrinsically linked to greater ad recall and purchase intent, brands can establish more impact with their campaigns through advertising in premium streaming environments like Disney+, reaching audiences when they are engaged, emotionally connected and leaning forward."

Practitioners should read this as vendor-commissioned research. Disney Advertising sells the inventory the study validates, and the framing rewards premium environments of the kind it operates. The method and sample details sit with Disney and eye square.

How does Disney+ compare with competitors?

The research also benchmarked Disney+ against other tested streaming services in the UK, and the gaps are consistent across every measure of connection. On emotional connection, 79 per cent of Disney+ viewers reported feeling connected to the content they watched, against a 66 per cent competitor average — a 13-point difference. On fandom, 58 per cent of Disney+ viewers described themselves as fans of the content, compared with 45 per cent elsewhere, again a 13-point advantage. On enduring appeal, 89 per cent of Disney+ respondents said they would watch the content again; the competitor average was 73 per cent, a 16-point gap.

The commercial claim follows directly: identical ads tested across platforms performed better on Disney+. Detailed ad recall reached 28 per cent on Disney+ versus a 21 per cent competitor average, while purchase intent hit 46 per cent against 34 per cent — a 12-point uplift.

What is the commercial backdrop?

The research landed weeks after Disney Advertising's UK Upfront in early October, where the company disclosed its advertising momentum. More than 4,000 brands have advertised on Disney+ across EMEA since the ad tier launched in 2023. UK advertising revenue grew 80 per cent year on year. Sponsorship demand is also climbing, with over 50 sponsorships activated on Disney+ in the UK and more in the pipeline.

The geographic footprint keeps widening. From next month, the Disney+ ad tier will be live in 17 markets across EMEA, and the connection research itself will roll out in Germany, Spain, Italy and France over the coming months — extending a UK narrative built on fandom metrics into Disney's remaining European advertising markets as the company courts brand budgets there.