The Impact of Sport Sponsorship on a Telecom Company

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW1

2.1 Aims and Objectives2

2.2 Sports in the Middle East2

2.3 Brand Image transfer and event sponsorship4

2.4 Sponsorship and Returns6

2.5 Sponsorship and Ethnocentrism7

2.6 Sponsorship and Market Expansion8

2.7 Link between sponsorship and purchase intentions10

2.8. Mapping the Hypotheses to the research objectives12

2.9 Summary13

REFERENCES15

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

The chapter will examine important issues related to sponsorship, image transfer and the returns that the sponsor can obtain in sponsoring sports events. The chapter will also examine if sponsorship provides a competitive advantage to the sponsor and if it is possible to quantify the returns from the sponsorship. These issues become very important since the objective of the research is to understand whether STC can obtain any advantage by sponsoring a UK football team. Each section provides a brief overview and where possible, hypotheses are formed. These will be tested later in the research during the survey.

In Chapter 1, a number of research objectives had been framed and these are revisited here. In this chapter, a literature review will be conducted to find out what other authors have written about the subject. While football clubs and events had hundreds of sponsors, the case of STC and MU is unique. This is unique because it is the first time that a Middle East and Arab owned company is sponsoring a premier cup UK football club. The objectives were to understand the perceived benefits that sponsorship of MU has on the brand image of STC. The literature review will examine from a theoretical perspective, if by sponsoring MU, STC has taken the right business decision. To answer this question, the literature review will cover a number of important subjects. These are image transfer from event sponsorship, obtaining a competitive advantage, quantifying the returns from sponsorship and the link between sponsorship and purchase intention. Five hypotheses have been framed and these will be tested using a survey instrument. The paper will also examine if Middle East football fans would like STC sponsoring a UK club.

2.1 Aims and Objectives

Understanding the perceived benefits that sponsorship of Manchester United has on the brand image of STC.

Analyse the manner in which subscribers of STC services in the Middle East are influenced by the sponsorship. Has it increased the brand recall and brand identity of STC as measured by increase in subscriptions?

How can STC employ the sponsorship deal to obtain a competitive advantage in its business goals of expansion in other nations?

To discuss various theories and models used for sports sponsorship, the benefits to the brands and ...