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 effectiveness of image congruence and the moderating effects of sponsor motive and cheering event fit in sponsorship

Using the case study data of the South Korea 2002 and 2006 World Cup sponsorship campaigns, this study examined (1) whether more favourable sponsorship response occurs as image congruence between a sponsor and the World Cup increases, and whether (2)consumer attributions of a sponsor’s motives in sponsoring the World Cup and (3) a sponsor’s perceived fit in aiding World Cup cheering events, namely cheering event fit, moderate image congruence’s effects on sponsorship response. Consistent with prior research, results suggest that high vs low image congruence sponsorships generate more favourable responses to the sponsorship, as measured by attitudes and intentions at three different levels of the hierarchy of effects. Results also show that high cheering event fit leads to more favourable sponsorship response. Furthermore, a negative interaction between image congruence and cheering event fit indicates that, albeit still significant and positive, the effect of image congruence on sponsorship response becomes significantly weaker at higher levels of cheering event fit than at lower levels of cheering event fit. A moderating role of a sponsor’s sponsoring motive has not been supported. Overall, the finding sunder score the significance of image congruence as well as the utility of cheering event fit as a particular type of ‘created fit’ that can be used to reduce the perception of low fit and its associated risks.     

The short- and long-term impact of brand placement in an advertiser-funded TV program on viewers' attitudes toward the sponsor brand and its main competitor

The present research investigates how viewers' liking of an advertiser-funded television program (AFP) influences viewers' attitude toward the brand that sponsors the program and its main competitor through a field study at two points in time (N_wave1 = 529 and N_wave2 = 256). An AFP is a television program which is fully sponsored by and built around a sponsoring brand. We test how the perceived program-sponsor brand fit moderates the effect of program liking one week and one month after the program finale. Program liking positively impacts brand attitude for the sponsor, and this effect becomes weaker over time. Program-sponsor brand fit reinforces the positive effect of program liking on brand attitude, especially in the longer term. In the longer term, program liking of an AFP also positively impacts viewers' attitude toward the main competitor of the sponsor.     

The impact of brand equity on brand preference and purchase intentions in the service industries

The antecedents of brand equity are considered to be brand attitude and brand image, and the consequences of brand equity are considered to be brand preference and purchase intentions. This study concentrates on service brands, selecting 18 from 3 service categories. A structural equation model is presented. Not only does it show a good fit with the research constructs but also the relationships between brand image and brand equity, and brand attitude and brand equity. The impact of brand equity on customer preference and purchase intentions is confirmed as well, which tends to validate the proposed research framework.     

A cross‐national validation of a new retail customer equity model

This study aims to examine retail customers of China and Korea with a view to understanding the differences in the effects of customer equity on perceived store loyalty. We built a modified model of retail customer equity incorporating three drivers of retail customer equity (experience equity, brand equity and relationship equity), and further substantiate the relationships among the three equity drivers. For this purpose, we measured the customer equity of large scale discount stores located in China and Korea. The result shows that experience equity and brand equity significantly influence customer loyalty, whereas relationship equity does not. The relationships among the three drivers of customer equity revealed that experience equity significantly affects both brand and relationship equities, but relationship equity does not significantly affect brand equity. Based on country level analysis, on Korean side the experience equity influences relationship equity, brand equity and store loyalty, whereas on Chinese side, experience equity influences relationship equity and brand 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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

“排”不掉的“他”：企业赞助溢出效应研究

通过排他条款保护赞助权益是赞助商最为关注的问题,但是排他条款难以实现赞助商独占赞助权益却是无法回避的现实问题。文章在赞助研究领域引入溢出效应理论,研究企业赞助对竞争品牌溢出效应的形成机制。结果表明,品牌进行赞助时,可能产生溢出效应,改变消费者对竞争品牌的评价;同时,与事件质量较低时相比,事件质量较高时,赞助事件质量对竞争品牌的溢出效应更大;另外,与赞助企业代表性较高时相比,赞助企业代表性较低时,赞助事件质量对竞争品牌产生的溢出效应影响更大。文章从溢出效应的角度拓展了企业赞助理论,回答了排他条款难以“排他”的理论机理,对企业开展赞助营销实践具有理论借鉴。     

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.     

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.     

Building brand equity with cause-related marketing: A comparison with sponsorship and sales promotion

Building brand equity is a key objective for a range of communication activities; however, greater understanding is required on how different communication options compare in their impact on consumer response to a brand. In particular, firms are increasingly using cause-related marketing (CRM) to achieve business as well as social objectives, yet there has been limited research comparing the effectiveness of this strategy to other communication methods that may achieve similar brand-related outcomes. Using an experimental design, we examine consumer attitudes toward CRM and CRM's impact on brand attitude compared with two other communication options: sponsorship and sales promotion. Our results show that consumers respond more positively to CRM and that this strategy can be more effective in achieving brand-related objectives. However, consumers must perceive that the partnered cause fits with the brand. In fact, perception of fit plays a more critical role in determining the impact of CRM than in the impact of sponsorship or sales promotion. These findings suggest that when firms are considering their communication mix, CRM can be a more effective way of developing favorable brand associations, but managers must associate with causes that consumers will perceive to fit with the brand. Furthermore, this fit should be communicated.     

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.     

Brand equity in hospital marketing

Health care marketers face unique challenges around the world, due in part to the role the health care field plays in contributing to public welfare. Hospital marketing in Korea is particularly challenging since Korean law prohibits hospitals from running any advertising. As a result, Korean hospitals depend heavily on customer relationship management (CRM). This study identifies five factors that influence the creation of brand equity through successful customer relationships: trust, customer satisfaction, relationship commitment, brand loyalty, and brand awareness. An empirical test of the relationships among these factors suggests that hospitals can be successful in creating image and positive brand equity if they can manage their customer relationships well.     

Modeling the Effects of Green Advertising on Brand Image: Investigating the Moderating Effects of Product Involvement Using Structural Equation

ABSTRACT

?This experimental study examined consumers’ response to green advertising for high- and low-involvement products by measuring its effect on consumers’ intention to purchase such brands. The present study enhances our understanding of the moderating role of product involvement and extends the structural equation tests of the four causal models. A dataset of 169 respondents is used to examine the role of brand image and brand attitude in the context of green advertisements. Consistent with earlier findings, the suggested model provides a good fit of the data and results indicate that positive attitude toward green advertisements, brand image, and attitude toward the brand enhances the chances of consumers’ purchase intention of such brands. The study also verifies that product involvement moderates the positive relationship between attitude toward green advertisements and brand image such that at higher levels of product involvement, attitude toward green advertisements has a stronger effect on brand image.     

Using evaluative conditioning to explain corporate co-branding in the context of sport sponsorship

This paper investigates the mechanism under which attitude formation takes place in corporate co-branding in the context of sport sponsorship. We developed a conceptual model that synthesises three theoretical frameworks (evaluative conditioning, relationship marketing and brand equity), aiming to explain corporate co-branding in the context of sport sponsorship. Specifically, the proposed model posits that, in sport sponsorship, close consumer relationships with a sport brand leverage sponsor brand equity elements (brand familiarity, brand personality and brand image) and can lead to positive outcomes (wordof-mouth communications). We tested the proposed model using data collected from fans of two professional soccer teams (N = 280). The results of the study confirmed the proposed relationships and further provided new insights regarding the role of brand equity elements in creating ‘backward’ effects to the sport brand (team). Moreover, the findings suggest that sport sponsorship might be the ideal context for co-branding partnerships between mature/high-equity brands.     

Effects of Strategic Exiting from Sponsorship after Negative Event Publicity

Research on the effects of event sponsorship has focused mainly on the consequences for brand equity of the association between a sponsor and a sponsored event. However, the effects of management's decision to exit from a sponsorship have received little empirical consideration. The studies reported here were carried out to fill this gap by systematically examining (a) the impact of a sponsor's corporate reputation on consumer responses to the strategic exit from a controversial sponsorship, and (b) the role that perceived trust in the decision plays in determining the outcomes. The results of two studies emphasize that strategic exiting from a controversial sponsorship (i.e., possible doping scandals at the event) can have positive consequences for the sponsor's image when the decision is trusted, but detrimental consequences when the exiting is attributed to overly self‐serving reasons. Trust in sponsorship withdrawal is elicited when the sponsor is perceived as having a good character with respect to meeting societal obligations, or when communication efforts are made salient that create trust in the withdrawal decision by a firm with a bad character.     

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.     

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.