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

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to assess, 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 operationalized 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 maximize 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.

Football clubs as mediators in sponsor-stakeholder relations

“…Exposure on match day has a positive effect on sponsor brand loyalty (Vale et al, 2009), but it is quite important to strive for a balance between number of sponsors and potential turnover when attracting sponsors. This argument is equally important for sponsors who benefit more, in terms of brand equity, from more exclusive sponsor arrangements (Donlan, 2014). Exposure effects are also depending on previous brand experiences resulting in that exposure of a known brand on match day will have a stronger effect than for a less known brand (Breuer and Rumpf, 2011).…”

“…Furthermore, perceived alignment of sponsor and sponsored club is one central dimension in the "Brand Image Transfer" model proposed by Smith (2004). This strategic fit between the sponsor and sponsee has in a number of studies been shown to be an important dimension in generating a favourable attitude towards the sponsor (Becker-Olsen and Hill, 2006;Cornwell et al, 2005;Donlan, 2014;Grohs et al, 2004;Lacey and Close, 2013;Woisetschläger et al, 2017;Zaharia et al, 2016). A lack of fit, e.g.…”

Effect of Brand Enhancement on Buying Behavior towards the Sport Sponsorship Companies in Riyadh, KSA

“…This means that sponsorship improves the buying power of the sponsor company (Biscaia et al, 2017) through the positive financial indicators such as stock prices, property rights, and the brand value (Kim, Trail, Woo, & Zhang, 2011). In details, the sports sponsorship has a positive role in enhancing, promoting, and improving the brand loyalty (Donlan, 2014). It is clearly shown that sports sponsorship has a positive impact on the awareness , impression, and loyalty of the sponsor company and its brands (Biscaia et al, 2017) as well the brand enhancement (Limba & Jurkutė, 2013) and this will improve the buying behavior toward their products (Pijkeren, 2010).…”

Sport-related branded entertainment: the Red Bull phenomenon

“…In previous studies the influence of certain communication tools on brand equity and brand value was explored (Donlan, 2014); e.g. Kim (2001) focussed on advertising, Alexander (2009) and Henseler et al (2011) on sponsorship and both were compared by Hoek et al (1997) and Cornwell (2013), who discussed the current state of research on sponsorship-linked marketing, also referring to sport.…”