How Does Sport Sponsorship And Product Association Influence Consumer Behavior?

by

Abstract

Purpose - The present research involves corporations that served as Grand National Sponsors of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and aims to explore whether a strategic approach was employed in the acquisition and management of their Olympic sponsorship.

Design/methodology/approach - A multiple case study analysis was employed, for which data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The study sample included seven of the ten Grand National Sponsors that signed agreements with ATHOC, the Organizing Committee of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Data analysis was organized around five themes inspired by the existing literature.

Findings - With the exception of two firms, the majority of the Grand National Sponsors reported no clear or measurable objectives and limited consideration to strategic or brand-related initiatives in their decisions to invest in the national Olympic sponsorship program. However, they did report plans to invest resources to leverage their rights, even though in most cases no specific evaluation processes had been designed.

Research limitations/implications -

Given that the Olympic Games are organized every four years in a new location, the findings of this research may not find direct application to other markets and organizing committees that implement their own sponsorship programs. Nevertheless, this research did show relatively poor recognition f the role of sponsorship in creating value and building the corporate brand. Corporations considering becoming involved in sport sponsorship and also event organizers are encouraged to adopt a more strategic approach in the sponsorship solicitation and management process.

Originality/value - Existing literature has discussed the role of sport sponsorship in brand management and the communication mix, and has highlighted the benefits for firms that establish long-term ties with the Olympic Games. The present research adds to that line of work by highlighting if and how a strategic and brand building approach was adopted in the context of national-level Olympic partnerships.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACTII

CHAPTER 11

Introduction1

Corporate sponsorship and Olympic Games4

Present research6

CHAPTER 28

Literature review8

Sponsorship and corporate strategy8

Integrating sponsorship into organizational marketing12

Sponsorship and brand management13

Sport-based entrepreneurship15

Sports innovation16

Sports-based proactiveness18

Sports risk-taking20

The importance of entrepreneurship in sports21

CHAPTER 324

Methodology24

Sample24

Data collection25

Data analysis27

CHAPTER 428

Results28

Sponsorship as part of corporate strategy and brand management efforts28

Stated goals and/or objectives30

Allocated resources34

Sponsorship activation36

Sponsorship evaluation37

CHAPTER 539

Conclusion and Discussion39

Community-based entrepreneurship43

Managerial implications and conclusions51

REFERENCES54

Chapter 1

Introduction

The meaning of sponsorship as an integral element of the marketing mix has been conceptualised by Sandler and Shani (1993) with the following definition: “[Sponsorship is] the provision of resources (money, people, or equipment) by an organization directly to an event or activity in exchange for a direct association to the event or activity” (p. 39).

Corporate spending on sport sponsorship in many European countries and in North America has increased dramatically (Lachowetz et al., 2003). Global spending on sponsorship was estimated to reach $US28 billion in 2004 (from $US25.9 billion in 2003) of which, according to the International Events Group, 69 per cent relates to sporting events (International Events Group, n.d.).

There is plenty of evidence that sport sponsorship, including Olympic sponsorship, can be very effective in achieving a number of objectives, not the least of which ...