Ambush marketing fails to gain meaningful exposure when its promotion reaches too few event followers, attracts little attention, or lacks a clear connection with the event. In these cases, people may notice the event without recognizing or remembering the non-sponsor brand.
When a promotion appears at the wrong time or in places that event followers do not use, it reaches only a small audience.
Among the many messages around an event, a campaign that is hard to see can easily be overlooked.
Without a clear event theme or link to a participant, people may view the promotion as unrelated to the event.
Even when the promotion gets noticed, an unclear brand name or logo can stop people from identifying the brand.
When the brand appears only briefly or looks different each time, event followers may not remember it later.