Sports sponsorship effects on customer equity: an Asian market application

The authors of this study investigate sponsorship effects on customers in Korea and China, specifically to determine whether current sponsorship research applies to Asian countries and whether the model is significantly different between Korea and China. For this purpose, 251 Koreans and 309 Chinese participated in a survey. The findings suggest that appropriate fit between the sponsor and the sports event enhances brand loyalty and customer equity by positively influencing attitude toward the sponsor and brand image. However, in China, the sponsor's fit did not directly impact brand image. As expected, sporting event experience search positively affects attitudes toward the sponsoring brand, which enhances brand image. Koreans' more favourable attitude toward the sponsoring brand positively influences their brand preference, but favourable attitude does not significantly affect Chinese consumers' perceived congruency with a product. Brand image positively impacted brand preference, and therefore confirms brand personality's congruence effect in both countries. Both brand image and brand preference directly and positively enabled brand loyalty to develop more favourable customer equity. Koreans, however, showed higher effects in the relationships between brand image and brand loyalty and between brand loyalty and customer equity.     

The effects of consumer knowledge on responses to event sponsorships

Research into consumer responses to event sponsorships has grown in recent years. However, the effects of consumer knowledge on sponsorship response have received little consideration. Consumers' event knowledge is examined to determine whether experts and novices differ in information processing of sponsorships and whether a sponsor's brand equity influences perceptions of sponsor–event fit. Six sponsors (three high equity/three low equity) were paired with six events. Results of hypothesis testing indicate that experts generate more total thoughts about a sponsor–event combination. Experts and novices do not differ in sponsor–event congruence for high‐brand‐equity sponsors, but event experts perceive less of a match between sponsor and event for low‐brand‐equity sponsors. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sponsorship effects on brand image: The role of exposure and activity involvement

Sponsorships capture a significant proportion of marketing budgets. In firm evaluations of the effectiveness of sponsorship engagements, image improvements represent the most important company objective. This study develops and tests a framework for explaining how exposure and activity involvement moderate the effects of event image, event–sponsor fit, and event commercialization on sponsor image. Using empirical data collected at a large sporting event with multiple sponsors, the authors show that increased sponsorship exposure reduces sponsor image if respondents perceive a low fit between the event and sponsor or high levels of event commercialization. Involvement in the sponsored activity improves the sponsor's image, in that the effect of event commercialization is positive for highly involved persons. This paper concludes with some reasons for the findings, implications for the choice and design of sponsorships, and further areas for research.     

Drivers of brand image improvement in sports-event sponsorship

This stock-taking article re-examines 20 years of research on conditions that influence the magnitude of brand image improvement through sports-event sponsorship. The study suggests a procedure to adequately measure sponsor image change in field sponsorships and investigates potential factors related to the sponsored property, the sponsorship relationship, the sponsor, and the individual sports spectator that may affect the magnitude of sponsor image improvement. An empirical analysis in the context of a large sponsored sports event shows that some drivers influence sponsor image improvement directly in a multiple regression analysis (spectators’ perceived event image, event–sponsor fit, sponsor familiarity, and product category importance), while other drivers are related to sponsor image in bivariate analyses only (spectators’ event interest, sport interest, event exposure, and demographic characteristics). Reasons for these findings (e.g., interrelationship between drivers of sponsor image improvement), managerial implications, and consequences for the development of a comprehensive model of sponsor image formation are discussed.     

Are rival team fans a curse for home team sponsors? The moderating effects of fit,oppositional loyalty,and league sponsoring

Sports sponsorship is big business, and a great deal of research provides evidence as to sponsorship’s efficacy in achieving a large range of communication goals, particularly for brands that are perceived as fitting well with the sport by the most involved fans. A developing body of literature, however, suggests that fan passion for a favorite team or athlete might work against the sponsors of hated rivals. The current research contributes to the rivalry effects topic by examining the impact of sponsor-sport fit, business rivalry, and league sponsoring on “home” team fan attitudes towards the sponsors of their team’s main rival. The study finds that negative rivalry effects are particularly severe when the rival team sponsor has high-perceived fit with the sport and is a direct business rival to a “home” team sponsor, but that league sponsorships largely mitigate these rivalry effects.     

Effect of self-congruity with sponsorship on brand loyalty

The purpose of the paper is to extend self-image congruence research into the corporate sponsorship literature in marketing communications. We do this by developing a conceptual model showing how self-congruity with a sponsorship event affects brand loyalty. The model posits that self-congruity with a sponsorship event has a positive influence on brand loyalty, especially under two conditions: (1) when customers are aware of the firm sponsoring the event, and (2) when customers are involved with the event. The model was tested using data collected from five different surveys (total N = 1588) involving Nextel mobile communications services (brand) in relation to NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (the sponsorship event). The results provide some degree of support for the model.     

Brand Stereotyping and Image Transfer in Concurrent Sponsorships

Concurrent sponsorship, that is, when several brands simultaneously sponsor the same event, is a common yet understudied marketing communication situation. The research presented in this article explores the transfer of image that takes place among the sponsoring brands in this situation. The results of two experiments reveal that this image transfer is due to stereotypic processing. Additional analyses delineate more specifically the stereotyping process at work. They show first that the stereotype is ad hoc, rather than based on some a priori developed mental schema, and therefore that it is construed from the images associated with the concurrent sponsoring brands. And second, that brand stereotyping serves a cognitive rather than an evaluative function, thus suggesting a valence-neutral process whose outcomes can be beneficial or detrimental to a focal sponsor, depending on the images initially associated with the other sponsors. The implications of these findings for sponsorship research and practice are discussed, along with research limitations and future research avenues.     

Determinants of Consumers’ Attitudes Toward a Sport Sponsorship: A Tale from College Athletics

Although sponsorship is considered one of the most important revenue sources, there have been surprisingly few attempts to explain how sponsorship works in the mind of a consumer in the nonprofit business segment. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that determine consumers’ attitudes toward sponsorship in college athletics. A conceptual model includes factors related to the sports property/event/team and sponsors. This study also examined the role of a perceived congruence between the sponsor and the sponsored property. A structural equation model test using a convenience sample of 460 students enrolled in a division I-A university suggested that specific characteristics of both the sponsor and the sponsored event are significant determinants of attitudes toward a college athletic sponsorship, and the perceived congruence plays an important part as moderator of a sponsorship perception–attitude link.     

Understanding Consumer Response to Sponsorship Information: A Resource‐Matching Approach

Sponsorship of sporting teams and events has become an increasingly popular form of corporate and brand communication. Despite the continued growth of sponsorship spending, the corresponding literature base is highly fragmented and little agreement exists related to the psychological mechanisms underlying response. This paper integrates several prominent sponsorship research streams in promoting a “resource‐matching” perspective of cognitive elaboration and attitude change. This research holds that in the absence of clear functional fit between sponsor and event, identifying a basis for sponsor–event fit is likely to require some degree of cognitive effort. The results indicate stronger social identification with the sponsored event influences the favorability they attribute to sponsor motives and promotes stronger perceptions of fit between the sponsor and the sponsored activity. Further, the results indicate fit perceptions mediate the relationship between attribution and sponsorship response. Consistent with ELM theory, when cognitive resources are insufficient for the complexity of the fit‐matching task, social identification may still act as a peripheral cue in driving a positive affective response to sponsorship information.     

Residual Brand Awareness Following the Termination of a Long‐term Event Sponsorship and the Appointment of a New Sponsor

This study examined brand awareness after a change in sponsor and audience perceptions about the sponsors and the event before and after the change. A survey of the audience at a surfing event was conducted. The findings were that the original sponsor maintained high awareness levels with the audience, particularly awareness of the previously sponsored event, thereby supporting the proposition that long‐term sponsorship supports long‐term brand awareness. Secondly, the research found that a change in sponsorship does not necessarily lead to changes in respondents' perceptions of the event. Thirdly, the research showed that there was a mismatch in the values of the original sponsor and the event, whereas the current sponsor had a closer match with the event's values. Sponsorships change fairly frequently and it would be of interest to sponsors to know the extent to which benefits continue to accrue after they have stopped sponsoring an event. Since almost no research has been carried out on residual awareness and awareness decay, this paper should contribute to knowledge about the cessation of sponsorships, as well as to the broader field of sponsorship knowledge.     

The Vigor of a Disregarded Ally in Sponsorship: Brand Image Transfer Effects Arising from a Cosponsor

Typically, brands vie for image transfer from an event or other property when entering a sponsorship engagement. Yet, this practice leaves a valuable part of a sponsorship alliance unexploited. This study addresses a new opportunity for brand collaboration that may arise from the vigor of a disregarded ally. Specifically, the authors infer from congruity theory and associative learning theory to propose a research model that advocates the idea of a sponsor to also gain from brand attitude and personality traits innately tied to a cosponsor paired with the same event. Structural equation and, respectively, path model testing provide evidence for direct transfer of attitudes as well as for carryover of personality traits between two sponsor brands. These transfer effects turn out to be moderated by perceived fit between the sponsor brands’ images and by familiarity with the target sponsor brand. Brand managers may want to bring these findings to bear in sponsorship policy design and execution by purposefully choosing with whom they share a perimeter billboard or any other sponsorship signage. Such a deliberate approach stands in contrast to current sponsorship practice where agents tend to disregard linked cosponsors and, instead, fortuitously yield up to their fate.     

Leveraging sponsorship with corporate social responsibility

Sponsors increasingly engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities surrounding sponsored events (e.g., the soccer World Cup and Olympic Games). This study examines how linking CSR to sponsorship affects consumer attitudes towards sponsoring brands. Schema theory suggests that consumer CSR perception and brand credibility act as serial mediators. They transfer the positive effects of a CSR-linked sponsorship strategy. These effects only occur for brands with a moderately low congruity to the sponsored event (but not for brands with a moderately high congruity to the sponsored event). Two experiments measuring (Study 1) and manipulating (Study 2) sponsor–event congruity confirm the proposed mediation mechanism for brands with a moderately low sponsor–event congruity. CSR-linked sponsorship (vs. sponsorship without CSR linkage) does not influence attitudes towards brands with a moderately high congruity to the sponsored event. The study develops theoretical and practical implications for sponsorship and CSR strategies.     

A new framework for evaluating sponsorship opportunities

Despite the popularity of sponsorship, there remains a paucity of research attention. This is especially the case when considering the product relevance issue (the fit between the sponsor and the activity being sponsored). In the past, relevance has incorrectly been treated in terms of two mutually exclusive categories: function-based similarity (where the sponsor’s product is used in the event being sponsored) and image-based similarity (where the sponsor’s image is congruent with that of the event). In reality, however, these two types of similarity can coexist.

In this paper a new product relevance construct – integrated product relevance – is proposed. Research hypotheses are then formulated as to how integrated product relevance may affect consumer responses (in terms of quality perceptions, attitude towards the brand and purchase intention) to a sponsor’s products. Directions for future research are proposed based on this new construct.     

Determinants of Community‐Based Sponsorship Impact on Self‐Congruity

Sponsors increasingly shift from large professional to community‐based properties, as these can deliver an engaged audience and enable them to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility (CSR). This research comprises two studies and shows that community‐based sponsorship may improve CSR image and, in turn, self‐congruity, a key determinant of consumer behavior. Study 1 investigates perceived sponsor–club fit, confirming attitude and corporate positioning similarity as relevant predictors. Importantly, CSR image similarity does not impact fit, suggesting sponsorship opportunities for organizations independent of their initial CSR image. Study 2 shows perceived sponsor CSR image to mediate the relationship between the perceptions of a community‐based property's CSR image and consumers' self‐congruity with the sponsor. While perceived sponsor–club fit and sponsorship awareness moderate the relationship between property and sponsor CSR image, attitudes toward CSR moderate the association between sponsor CSR and self‐congruity. The paper concludes with implications and future research directions.     

Is Publicity Always Better than Advertising? The Role of Brand Reputation in Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility

Previous studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication suggest that firms’ social initiatives should be communicated through third-party, non-corporate sources because they are perceived as unbiased and therefore reduce consumer skepticism. In this article, we extend existing research by showing that source effects in the communication of social sponsorships are contingent on the brand’s pre-existing reputation. We argue that the congruence between the credibility and trustworthiness of the message source and the brand helps predict consumer responses to a social sponsorship. The results show that a non-corporate source (publicity) generates more positive brand evaluations than a corporate source (advertising) when the sponsor has a positive reputation. However, the converse effect occurs when brand reputation is low: when the sponsor has a poor reputation, a corporate source generates more positive brand evaluations than a non-corporate source. Mediation analyses show that the interaction effect between CSR information source and brand reputation can be explained by sponsorship attitude, persuasion knowledge, and perceived fit between the brand and the cause.     

The influence of sport sponsorship on brand equity and purchase behavior

Abstract

Drawing on Aaker’s brand equity model and Keller’s brand engagement concept and building on the sponsorship between a professional basketball club and a software company, this study examined how sport sponsorship affects brand equity and purchase behavior of the sponsor’s product. Data from 222 survey respondents were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The results provided evidence that perceived quality and brand engagement impact brand loyalty and purchase behavior of fans toward the sponsor’s product. Perceived fit between sponsor and sponsee and team identification were found to influence significantly sponsor’s brand equity constructs. The study extends Aaker’s model in the sport sponsorship context and highlights the influential role of perceived quality and brand engagement on driving sport team fans to form brand loyalty and purchase sponsor’s product.     

The impact of title event sponsorship announcements on shareholder wealth

Title sponsorships are often considered the crown jewels of sports sponsorship programs. Garnering top media coverage, title sponsorships are prized for both generating brand/product awareness and building image for their sponsors. Not surprisingly, the rising cost of title sponsorships has led some managers to question their underlying value. Accordingly, this study presents an analysis of the impact of 114 title sponsorship announcements of professional tennis and golf tournaments (both men’s and women’s), auto racing (NASCAR), and college bowl games on the stock prices of sponsoring firms. Overall, the results of the study suggest that title sponsorships are generally signed at market-clearing prices. Thus, companies undertaking title sponsorships typically receive exactly what they pay for—except in the case of NASCAR races (which show evidence of increases in share prices). Splitting the sample into new and renewing sponsorships generates results which differ dramatically by sport. Finally, a cross-sectional regression finds congruence of sport and sponsor, sponsorship by high tech firms and sponsorships by large firms all correlated with perceived sponsorship success.     

Memory Effects of Different Relational Links between Brands and Sponsored Events

Sport sponsorship is an important marketing communication tool, and stakes in sponsorship deals are high. Therefore, sponsors strive to ensure that their investments are effective and protected from competitors—that is, ambusher marketers’ attacks. Still, little is known about how ambush marketing affects sponsor identification and misidentification of ambushers as sponsors. This study investigates levels of sponsor and ambusher identification in three experimental settings, controlling for the presence/absence of an ambusher, communication modality, and response formats. A field study in the context of a large sports event demonstrates the external validity of the findings. The results provide evidence of a nondestructive interference of ambush marketing, indicating that ambush marketing does not necessarily harm sponsor identification. Misidentification of nonsponsors as sponsors occurs because of the indirect link established between the event and the company through ambush marketing, but not as a consequence of other communication activities by a competitor with no link to the event. Finally, a combined sponsor–ambusher perspective indicates that sponsors do not necessarily have a consistent “official sponsor” advantage over ambushers. Findings are discussed with emphasis on implications for sponsors, ambushers, and marketing researchers.     

Sponsorship portfolio as a brand-image creation strategy

The meanings held by events are sometimes transferable to a brand through sponsorship. The perceived sponsor-property fit affects brand evaluations. This research hypothesizes that in the case of a sponsorship portfolio, the source of image transfer can be composite, and brand image association may depend on the perceived fit between sponsorships. Building on theories of social cognition and categorization, this research proposes two dimensions of fit: sponsorship category relatedness and event personality fit. Two experiments show that categorical relatedness between sponsorships not only leads to the creation of a unified brand personality for the sponsor, but also enhances brand meaning consistency and clarity. Central category-related traits cue a category membership framework that integrates sponsorships in the portfolio. Under conditions of category ambiguity, the impact of event personality fit emerges. Interestingly, the findings suggest that sponsored properties having a “spiky” brand personality (having both high and low performance on dimensions) may communicate most clearly in a portfolio.     

Creative Analogy As a Means of Articulating Incongruent Sponsorships

Sponsorship congruence refers to the extent to which associations held for a property are perceived as sharing content and meaning with those held for a brand. Congruence has been shown to enhance the benefits derived from sponsorship. Consequently, it is important for an incongruent sponsor to articulate how it is related to a property. Analogical articulation represents a creative way of resolving perceptions of incongruity. A contribution of the current research is that it is the first to distinguish sponsorship effects on the basis of articulation type. Across four studies in which analogical articulations of incongruent sponsorships are compared to unarticulated and nonanalogical articulations (for both congruent and incongruent sponsorships), we find that analogical articulations improve perceptions of an incongruent sponsor's fit with a property and also perceptions of the sponsorship alignment's creativity. Analogical articulations also elicited a more pronounced “aha” moment of insight, which was found to mediate the effect of analogical articulation on perceptions of fit and creativity. Finally, analogical articulations yielded greater recall of the sponsorship.