Banking on the pink dollar: Sponsorship Awareness and the Gay Games

Since 1982, the Gay Games have been staged every four years; the most recent one was Gay Games VI in Sydney, Australia, in November, 2002. It is an international event that attracts participation and spectators from over 100 countries. Sponsorship dollars have increased steadily and significantly at each Gay Games, from zero dollars in 1982 to $10 million in 2002. Sponsorship has come from both mainstream companies and gay and lesbian companies. At a time when lesbian and gay people are not yet fully accepted, appreciated, or understood in many countries, why would companies choose to use the Gay Games as a sponsorship venue, risking backlash from homophobic markets? Therefore, an objective of this study was to explore corporate sponsorship and the Gay Games. To date, three studies have been conducted on sponsorship and the Gay Games. This paper provides an overview of those studies and their results, an overview of the gay and lesbian sports market, and strategies marketers can use to reach the gay and lesbian sports market

An analysis of sponsorship recall during Gay Games IV

The purpose of this study was to de­termine if people attending the Gay Games could accurately identify the official sponsors. Sponsorship recall methodology was used, and a survey specific to the Gay Games was developed. Respondents included 182 people who identified them­ selves as a Gay Games athlete, spectator, or worker. Results were varied but showed an unusually high recall rate of the sponsors. Ad­ditionally, in relation to participant attitude toward the sponsors, the re­sults showed a comparatively strong attitude toward new loyalty to a company or product as a result of the company\u27s involvement in the Games: Ninety-two and three­ tenths percent said they would be more likely to buy the product of a Gay Games sponsor. This study could have significant implications for companies considering sponsorship involvement in lesbian and gay sports events

Examining the body of knowledge in sport management: A content analysis of the Journal of Sport Management

Sport management scholars have called for examination of the literature in sport management to explore its state in relation to its representation of the field of study and the industry. The purpose of this study was to examine the Journal of Sport Management (JSM). Content analysis methodology was used. Findings reveal that the 52 issues examined in this study contain 233 peer reviewed empirical research articles authored by 435 authors. The field of study, as measured against sport management curriculum standards content areas, was found to have unequal coverage with a high level of content in Management and Organizational Skills, Sport Marketing, and Sport Business in the Social Context. Additionally, the sport business industry is inequitably represented with a majority of research involving intercollegiate athletics (40%)

The Battle over Athletic Priorities in the Louisville Y.M.C.A.1892-1912

Chronicles the controversy over athletic priorities in the Louisville YMCA between 1892 and 1912 when Louisville YMCA general secretaries and physical directors tried to win acceptance of Luther H. Gulick\u27s philosophy of athletics by the YMCA board of directors and YMCA athletes. This philosophy emphasized athletics as individual self-improvement; winning was not stressed. Describes the difficulties in gaining acceptance for Gulick\u27s philosophy by the board of directors and the athletes, and the policy of the board and actions of the athletes once it was accepted

A Content Analysis of the European Sport Management Quarterly and its Predecessor the European Journal for Sport Management: 1984-2012

A profession must be built upon a sound body of knowledge in order for its professional status to be recognized and considered credible by society (Zeigler, 1987). The body of literature should also reflect and define the field (Fielding, Pitts, & Miller, 1991). To that end, examining the state of a body of literature is essential as the findings can reveal such significant information as content, trends, author collaboration, and topical gaps and disparities. The purpose of this study was to examine the European Sport Management Quarterly and its predecessor the European Journal for Sport Management. A content analysis of the journal from 1994 to 2012 was the methodology employed. Results determined that a vast majority of the papers are in four content areas – “Management and Organizational Skills in Sport”, “Sport Business in the Social Context”, “Sport Marketing”, and “Sport Economics”. Sport business industry segments as a focus of the papers stayed relatively the same over the years, although “International Sport” increased much more than any other industry segment. The gender focus of the articles was primarily male, and the authorship and editorial membership was also male-focused. The geographical dispersion of both authors and editorial review board members has broadened over time to be less European. Academics may find information from this study useful in developing strategies and lines of inquiry in research agendas. As well, editors of journals may utilize the findings to plan strategies related to addressing gaps or disparitie

Culture and other market demand variables: An exploration with professional baseball in the USA and Taiwan

Even though the consumer of spectator sports in the United States has many choices, professional baseball is still one of the most popular sports. In Taiwan, however, the spectator has little choice - baseball is the is the only professinal team sport.Unfortunately, there is very little research involving culture, other market demands, and baseball in America, and no research in Taiwan. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine culture and other market demands in relation to factors that influence spectator attendance at professional baseball games in the Taiwan Major League (TML) and in minor league baseball (MiLB) in the United States. The findings revealed that fans in MiLB and TML have some different attendance factors. Especially, they have the most differences in the following factors: offense of home team, offense on visiting team, defense of visiting team, official fan club member, special promotions, and going with family