An empirical assessment of factors affecting the brand-building effectiveness of sponsorship

Purpose: This study assesses, in two different live sponsorship environments, the contribution of sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a quantitative survey methodology, employing self-administered questionnaires at two UK sporting events (athletics and cricket). To isolate the impact of sponsorship, questionnaires were also distributed to comparison sample groups not exposed to the sponsorship activities. The elements of consumer-based brand equity are operationalised in line with Aaker‟s (1996) brand equity measurement tool. Findings: Sponsorship can be an appropriate vehicle through which to build consumer-based brand equity; however brand building success is not guaranteed and is subject to a range of factors impacting upon particular sponsorships, including strength of the sponsor-event link, leverage activities and clutter. The most successful sponsorship displayed marked contributions to building brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. However, the presence of sponsorship clutter in particular was found to impact negatively upon the perception of quality transferred to a brand through sponsorship. Research limitations/implications: The use of live event settings limits the ability to tightly control all variables; therefore replication of this study using experimental methodologies is recommended. Nonetheless, findings indicate managers should consider the above mentioned contextual factors when selecting sponsorships in order to maximise sponsorship success. Originality/value: This study explores the contribution of sports sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity in live sponsorship settings, addressing concerns over the generalizability of previous experimental studies. Equally, this study compares the brand equity-building effectiveness of sponsorship for two sponsors, which differ on a range of contextual factors that impact upon sponsorship success

An empirical assessment of factors affecting the brand-building effectiveness of sponsorship

Purpose: This study assesses, in two different live sponsorship environments, the contribution of sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a quantitative survey methodology, employing self-administered questionnaires at two UK sporting events (athletics and cricket). To isolate the impact of sponsorship, questionnaires were also distributed to comparison sample groups not exposed to the sponsorship activities. The elements of consumer-based brand equity are operationalised in line with Aaker‟s (1996) brand equity measurement tool. Findings: Sponsorship can be an appropriate vehicle through which to build consumer-based brand equity; however brand building success is not guaranteed and is subject to a range of factors impacting upon particular sponsorships, including strength of the sponsor-event link, leverage activities and clutter. The most successful sponsorship displayed marked contributions to building brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. However, the presence of sponsorship clutter in particular was found to impact negatively upon the perception of quality transferred to a brand through sponsorship. Research limitations/implications: The use of live event settings limits the ability to tightly control all variables; therefore replication of this study using experimental methodologies is recommended. Nonetheless, findings indicate managers should consider the above mentioned contextual factors when selecting sponsorships in order to maximise sponsorship success. Originality/value: This study explores the contribution of sports sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity in live sponsorship settings, addressing concerns over the generalizability of previous experimental studies. Equally, this study compares the brand equity-building effectiveness of sponsorship for two sponsors, which differ on a range of contextual factors that impact upon sponsorship success

Leveraging sponsorship to achieve consumer relationship objectives through the creation of ‘marketing spaces’: An exploratory study

This paper explores the emergence of sponsorship-linked events as a strategy to leverage relational outcomes through sponsorship investment. The growing use of sponsorship-linked events reinforces the need to understand the potential of such leverage strategies, thus the findings contribute to the body of literature on effective sponsorship practices. Findings from semi-structured interviews with Sponsorship and Marketing Managers suggest a shifting orientation among sponsors towards the pursuit of relational objectives. The privileged access to consumers afforded through sponsorship allows sponsors to manufacture opportunities to create intimacy with customers through sponsorship-linked events in relaxed, comfortable environments; thus sponsorship-linked events are positioned as a rich environment to add value to consumer–brand interactions and achieve relational objectives. Hosting specifically designed events affords sponsors an increased modicum of control over consumer–brand experiences in sponsorship environments characterised by a lack of control over sponsored property actions. However, this control may be eroded by social media technologies, which facilitate consumer–consumer communication around sponsorship-linked events. Social media, however, is proposed as a useful tool to elicit consumer feedback, addressing the misalignment between current sponsorship evaluation practices and emergent relational objectives revealed in the empirical findings. Therefore, successfully activating the sponsorship-linked marketing space demands an integrated and strategic approach

The contribution of sports sponsorship to consumer-based brand equity

Sponsorship has become a multi-billion dollar industry, with sport accounting for over 70% of expenditure. Despite the growth in the use of sponsorship as a communications tool, the development of academic understanding has been slow and dominated by descriptive studies. Therefore, this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge concerning how sponsorship works, through the application of the theoretical framework of consumer-basedb rand equity to the domain of sports sponsorship. Following a comprehensive review of the varying conceptualisations put forward in the literature, a four-factor model of consumer-based brand equity was adopted, with the corresponding measurement tool modified, as a result of pilot studies, to fit the sponsorship context. This study empirically tests the contribution of sports sponsorship to elements of consumer-based brand equity using six sponsored events across three sports. In line with much previous sponsorship research, a quantitative methodology was employed, using a self-administered questionnaire. Responses from spectators exposed to the sponsorship stimuli are contrasted with those from a comparison sample not present at the sporting events. The results obtained indicate that sports sponsorship is a legitimate communications vehicle for building consumer-based brand equity. Differential results were found for the three sponsoring brands. The findings indicate that, in the case of newly launched brands, sponsorship alone is insufficient to go beyond brand awareness and build brand equity. Several reasons for the different levels of success between sponsors are explored in the thesis, however a dominant theme is the strength of association between the sponsor and the sponsored property. This thesis has moved forward the level of knowledge concerning the ability of sponsorship to contribute to brand building objectives and, therefore, acts as a springboard for future studies, particularly examining the conditions under which the impact of sponsorship is optimised.</p