Sponsorship of individual athletes in relation to the company’s marketing strategy

Abstract. Sports marketing is constantly evolving and its importance as a marketing tool is strengthening worldwide. As a result, sponsorship of individual athletes and personal brands have become strategic marketing tools for companies. The marketing strategy of companies should follow and support the overall strategy of the company, therefore marketing measures, such as, sponsorship should also follow and support the overall strategy. Previous research has examined sponsorship from the perspective of value creation as well as from the perspective of how sponsorship affects the corporate image and the benefits of sponsorship for stakeholders. In terms of strategy, sponsorship has been examined from the perspective of what kind of sponsorship strategies companies have. Sponsorship in general and the sponsorship of individual athletes as its sub-theme are still very little studied themes in Finland. Therefore, comprehensive data is required on how sponsorship can be utilized as a strategic tool in marketing. The aim of the study is to investigate how the sponsorship of individual athletes in Finland is linked to the marketing strategy of companies. Interviewing Finnish companies is of primary importance for researching this topic. The research follows an abductive process, which means that the existing literature is studied first, and the empirical analysis is conducted based on the formed theoretical framework. The research is a qualitative multiple-case study, and the empirical data is collected through five semi-structured interviews with company representatives of large and medium-sized enterprises of various business sectors. Based on the data, companies perceive individual athlete sponsorship either as an embedded part of a marketing strategy, as partially embedded marketing measure, or as not in relation to marketing strategy. This is influenced by factors, such as, industry, the size of the sponsorship agreement, the athletes’ own motivation, and the companies’ ability or inability to utilize individual athletes in the company’s marketing communications. Sponsorship of individual athletes was seen as a regionally significant factor from the perspective of corporate social responsibility

The planning and optimisation of DVB-H radio network

In the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) radio network planning, there are details that lack final consensus in the scientific field. The aim of this doctoral dissertation is to investigate advanced DVB-H radio network planning and optimisation. This dissertation presents the results of measurement techniques, network coverage and quality estimation, technological and economical optimisation, as well as error correction and single frequency network performance. The outcome includes proposed DVB-H radio network planning and optimisation methods that can be applied to the further investigation of detailed parameters in the radio link budget. There are also case studies that show the functionality of the presented methods with typical performance values. Based on comparative investigations, a process chart was created for DVB-H radio network planning and optimisation. The process blocks can be applied in a typical DVB-H network deployment, for the initial high-level phase as well as in the detailed network planning and optimisation phase. Using this process, the most relevant items were selected for in-depth studies. The investigations are presented in the annexed publications. The reminder was revised by comparative literature studies. The structure of the thesis follows the designed process charts. The main focus of this dissertation is the development of DVB-H radio network planning methodologies. One of the goals was to investigate the radio interface measurements, their post-processing and analysis. This can provide a guide to the selection of the appropriate values as a function of the radio channel type. An additional goal is the controlled management of over-sized single frequency network areas through the balancing of elevated SFN interference levels and related SFN gains. The development of a radio path loss simulator is the basis for these studies. The case results are presented as a function of the relevant radio parameter values, transmitter power levels and site antenna heights, both in theoretical and realistic network layouts. In addition to these topics, this document also investigates selected electro-magnetic compatibility, human exposure safety zones and radio coverage estimations. Also the balancing of technical radio parameters and network costs in order to complete the planning process steps is covered

Katsaus viestialan viimeaikaiseen kehitykseen

Artikkelin johdannossa todetaan, että "Teletekniikan kehitys on kaikilla aloilla nopeaa ja laaja-alaista, joten sen tarkastelussa on rajoituttava vain eräisiin oleellisimpiin ja yleistä mielenkiintoa omaaviin kohteisiin." Ensimmäisessä luvussa "teleteknillinen kehitys ulkomailla" tarkastellaan aluksi viestinsiirtotekniikan osalta radioyhteyksien laadun parantamista todeten, että "HF-alueen ahtauden ja kasvaneen informaatiomäärän takia ollaan vähitellen siirtymässä digitaaliseen viestinsiirtoon." Toisena tarkasteluun on otettu RADA-järjestelmä (Random Access Discreate Address), jossa leveä kaista vartaan monelle käyttäjälle samanaikaisesti. Seuraavana käsitellään elektronisia keskuksia ja yhdistettyjä puhelinverkkoja. "Ensimmäiset elektroniset puhelinkeskukset on jo otettu kokeilumielessä yleiseen liikenteen käyttöön." Uusista viestivälineistä mainitaan muun muassa näköpuhelin ja kuvataan lyhyesti ionosfääritutkimuksen kohteita sekä ydinräjähdysten vaikutusta radioyhteyksiin. Katsauksessa käsitellään seuraavaksi lyhyesti mikroelektroniikan kehittymistä ja laaja-alaisesti tietoliikenteen yleistä kehitystä, tuoden esille muun muassa puhelin- ja telextilastoja maailmanlaajuisesti, puhelinliikenteen automatisoinnin ja valtamerikaapeleiden sekä tietoliikennesatelliittien tilannetta. Lisäksi käsitellään, digitaalisten tietojen kaukosiirtoa, yleisradio- ja televisiotoimintaa sekä yksityiskohtana nk. "kuumaa linjaa". Luvun lopussa tarkastellaan sotilaallisia viestijärjestelmiä, kuten muun muassa USA:n strategista viestiverkkoa sekä eräitä ulkomaisia viestivälineitä.Luvussa, "Teletekniikan kehitys kotimaassa", käsitellään ensin lyhyesti kehitystä puolustuslaitoksessa todeten esimerkiksi yhtenä uutena välineenä kenttäsuuntaradiot. Seuraavana tarkastellaan siviilisektorin radiotoiminnallisen ja -teknillisen kehityksen puitteissa muun muassa Posti- ja lennätinlaitosta ja Yleisradion toiminnan kattavuutta. Puhelin- ja lennätintoiminnan puitteissa esitellään Posti- ja lennätinhallitus ja muut toimiluvan saaneet puhelinlaitokset. Artikkelin lopuksi tarkastellaan lyhyesti viestialan teollisuuden toimijoita tuotteineen ja totaalista viestitoimintaa todeten yhtenä esimerkkinä, että asetus viestialan neuvottelukunnasta annettiin vuoden 1962 lopussa

1.4 µm continuous-wave diamond Raman laser

The longest wavelength (~1.4 µm) emitted by a diamond Raman laser pumped by a semiconductor disk laser (SDL) is reported. The output power of the intracavity-pumped Raman laser reached a maximum of 2.3 W with an optical conversion efficiency of 3.4% with respect to the absorbed diode pump power. Narrow Stokes emission (FWHM 40 nm was achieved via rotation of an intracavity birefringent filter that tuned the SDL oscillation wavelength

~1400-nm continuous-wave diamond Raman laser intracavity-pumped by an InGaAs semiconductor disk laser

We present a ~1400nm-emitting diamond Raman laser intracavity-pumped by an ~1180nm semiconductor disk laser. We measured a maximum output power of 2.3 W at ~1400nm with an output coupling of 3.5%. The Raman laser was tunable from 1373 to 1415nm using a 4-mm-thick birefringent filter

Assessment of human influenza pandemic scenarios in Europe

The response to the emergence of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic was the result of a decade of pandemic planning, largely centred on the threat of an avian influenza A(H5N1) pandemic. Based on a literature review, this study aims to define a set of new pandemic scenarios that could be used in case of a future influenza pandemic. A total of 338 documents were identified using a searching strategy based on seven combinations of keywords. Eighty-three of these documents provided useful information on the 13 virus-related and health-system-related parameters initially considered for describing scenarios. Among these, four parameters were finally selected (clinical attack rate, case fatality rate, hospital admission rate, and intensive care admission rate) and four different levels of severity for each of them were set. The definition of six most likely scenarios results from the combination of four different levels of severity of the four final parameters (256 possible scenarios). Although it has some limitations, this approach allows for more flexible scenarios and hence it is far from the classic scenarios structure used for pandemic plans until 2009