Involvement and loyalty of runners in sponsorship effectiveness - The case of athletics races

Correr es una actividad física de ocio popular y conveniente. La distancia más popular son los 5 km que acumularon 8,9 millones de registros en 2018. Las inversiones de empresas en patrocinio en todo el mundo superaron los $ 65 mil millones. Aumentar el conocimiento de la marca es uno de los principales objetivos para que las empresas se involucren en los patrocinios. La mayor parte de la investigación sobre el patrocinio no se ha realizado desde la perspectiva del deporte basado en la participación, existen resultados contradictorios y no se ha evaluado la dependencia entre la tasa de reconocimiento de la marca del patrocinador y la distancia de la carrera, ni la dependencia de la lealtad a la carrera. Mostrar los efectos de la distancia de la carrera, la implicación y la lealtad a la carrera en las tasas de reconocimiento de la marca de los patrocinadores en los corredores. Una muestra de 736 corredores de una de las carreras atléticas más populares de Portugal completaron un cuestionario. Se realizó una prueba de Chi-cuadrado y una prueba T para evaluar las diferencias entre los grupos de corredores. El grupo de corredores que completaron la carrera de 5 km mostró mejores resultados en la tasa de reconocimiento de marca patrocinadora. Los corredores con un bajo nivel de implicación con la carrera mostraron resultados superiores, y no se encontraron diferencias significativas entre grupos con diferentes niveles de lealtad a la carrera en el desempeño de la tasa de reconocimiento de la marca patrocinadora. El patrocinio de la carrera de atletismo, deporte basado en la participación masiva, es una herramienta impresionante para dar a conocer la marca de los patrocinadores. Running is a popular and convenient leisure activity. The most popular distance is the 5 km that amassed 8.9 million registrations in 2018. Investments by companies in sponsorship around the world exceeded US$ 65 billion in the same year. Increasing brand awareness is one of the main goals for companies to get involved in sponsorships. Most of the research to date into sponsorship has not been done from the perspective of participation-based sports. Some results obtained are contradictory and the relashionship between the sponsor's brand recognition rate and the distance of the race (half-marathon, 10 km or 5 km) has not been evaluated, nor the relashionship with running involvement or loyalty to running. This research aims to show the effects of race distance, running involvement and loyalty to running on sponsor brand recognition rates in runners of athletics races. A sample of 736 runners from one of Portugal's most popular athletics races completed a questionnaire. A Chi-square Test and T-Test were carried out to evaluate the differences between the groups of runners. The group of runners who completed the 5 km race showed better results in the sponsors’ brand recognition rate. The runners with a low level of running involvement showed superior results, but no significant differences were found between groups with different levels of loyalty to running. The sponsorship of mass participation-based athletics races is an impressive tool to raise sponsors’ brand awareness. A corrida é uma atividade física popular e conveniente. A distância mais popular são os 5 km, registou mais de 8,9 milhões de corredores inscritos em 2018. Os investimentos de empresas em patrocínios em todo o mundo ultrapassaram US$ 65 bilhões . Aumentar a notoriedade da marca é um dos principais objetivos para as empresas patrocinadoras. A maior parte das investigações em patrocínio não foi feita da perspetiva dos participantes, existem resultados contraditórios e não foi avaliada a dependência entre a taxa de reconhecimento da marca, a distância da prova e a lealdade à corrida. Mostrar os efeitos da distância da corrida, do envolvimento com a corrida e da lealdade à corrida na taxa de reconhecimento da marca do patrocinador em corredores no contexto de corrida de atletismo. Uma amostra de 736 corredores de uma das corridas de atletismo mais populares de Portugal respondeu a um questionário. O teste qui-quadrado e o teste-t foram realizados para avaliar as diferenças entre os grupos de corredores. O grupo de corredores que completou a prova de 5 km apresentou melhores resultados na taxa de reconhecimento das marcas patrocinadoras. Os corredores com baixo nível de envolvimento com a corrida apresentaram resultados superiores e não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os grupos com diferentes níveis de lealdade à corrida. O patrocínio ao desporto baseado em participação massiva em corridas de atletismo é uma ferramenta impressionante para aumentar a notoriedade da marca dos patrocinadores.

Alcohol versus sponsorship: effectiveness in sports posters

PurposeThe academic literature debates the desirability of sponsoring alcohol products at sporting events, a discussion that increases as major sporting events approach. This study aims to examine the influence that sponsorship of an alcoholic product such as beer has on the sports spectator, and the level of efficacy with respect to congruent, alcohol, and incongruent sponsorship.Design/methodology/approachThe experiment was performed on 180 subjects considering three variables 3 × 3 × 2 (congruency type vs alcohol; sport discipline; placement). The experiment consisted of exposure to sponsored sports posters. Visual attention was recorded through eye tracking and then a self-reported questionnaire.FindingsThrough an experiment using eye tracking the results showed that the recall variable is higher among alcohol sponsorships and incongruent sponsorship, but it cannot be concluded either that the intention to buy or the attitude toward the brand differ among the sponsorships analyzed.Practical implicationsAlcohol brand is perceived as an incongruous brand in the context of sports sponsorship. Congruent sponsors attract more attention and recall, but no differences in terms of intention to buy. If purchase intent and consumption does not increase, perhaps sports sponsorship by alcohol brands should be reconsidered.Originality/valueThis research makes at least three relevant contributions to the scientific literature. (1) It examines the response to sponsorship in the media of the sports poster. (2) It analyses the consumer's response using neurophysiological means and provides new indicators in this area and (3) It compares performance indicators such as purchase intent, recall and brand attitude for alcoholic and non-alcoholic brand sponsors. These contributions could introduce new information about sponsorship performance.

A Tale of Two Sponsors: Comparing Channels of Sponsorship Effectiveness Using a Local Charity-Linked Event

The current study uses a local, charity-linked running event that attracts attendants with different motivations to participate and attitudes toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) to examine the effectiveness of sponsorship decisions for two primary, concurrent sponsors. Using a structural equation model for each sponsor, we find that the importance attached to various channels that influence sponsorship effectiveness to be sponsor specific. For the luxury automobile sponsor in our study, an attendant's motivation to participate is the only statistically significant and direct path to intention to purchase. Furthermore, while CSR also links to fit, the fit has no direct path to intention to purchase. This finding could potentially indicate that participants view the luxury automobile sponsorship as a positive expression of CSR, rather than through the event's lens. This finding implies that the luxury automobile dealer's sponsorship gains are not dependent on the event but the cause's support. In contrast, the sponsorship gains for the sports retailer are dependent on the event, where event satisfaction, event leverage, and event fit all have indirect paths to intention to purchase. Additionally, motivation to participate and the importance of CSR operates through different, indirect paths to intention to purchase for the sports retailer. While motivation to participate positively impacts event satisfaction and event satisfaction positively influences intention to purchase, CSR's importance operates through fit,which positively impacts intention to purchase. Our results for the sports retailer indicate an increased fit with the event enhances the sponsor's perceptions as socially responsible and enhances the intentions to purchase the sponsor's goods. Furthermore, a well-liked event increases the likelihood a participant will purchase the sports retailer's products

Congruence Effects on the Effectiveness of Sponsorship of Sport Event Websites: An Experimental Approach

Emerging online marketing strategies are an opportunity for the sport sponsorship industry as a way of complementing traditional methods. However, in-depth attention has not been given to the study of congruence effects on the effectiveness of sponsorship of sport event websites, and specifically to study the role and effects of sponsor logos. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the congruence effect of sponsor brands featured on the website of a sports event on sponsorship effectiveness in visual, attitude-related and behavioural terms, using an eye-tracker to monitor memory activation and changes in attitudes and intentions. In study 1, the role of congruence on website sponsorship was analysed, using real brands sponsoring the ninth edition of the “Mallorca 312” Cycletourist Tour (42 participants). In study 2, the congruence of fictitious brands was analysed on the effects of website sponsorship of the 37th edition of the MAPFRE (competitions brand name) Copa del Rey regatta (101 participants). Congruence is preferable to incongruence in sponsor brands, except when the sponsorship aims to boost a recall of new market brands. The results validate the importance of managing congruence levels in the online sponsorship of sports events due to the influence on sponsorship effectiveness and its impact on cognitive processing.

The significance of a sponsored event on lesser-known brands in a competitive environment

Purpose Existing research neglected examining the environmental effect of an event on the effectiveness of sponsorship activation in a competitive setting. The purpose of this study is to explore how the event environment impacts consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses to competitive brands that co-present at an event. Design/methodology/approach The research comprised an exploratory pre-test and two studies at a sport event with a retailing environment. The exploratory pre-test was used to examine the competitive relationship in the local market between the market leader and the lesser-known sponsoring brand. Study 1 used structural equation modelling to test how the event environment impacts consumers’ attitudes toward both brands at the post-consumption stage. Study 2 compared actual sales data of the two competing brands to examine the immediate effect of the sponsorship space on consumption. Findings The results revealed the event environment had an impact on consumers’ brand attitude toward both the lesser known sponsoring brand and the non-sponsoring market leader. However, the effect on the sponsoring brand that activated its sponsorship was influenced by consumer involvement with the event and was more salient. Furthermore, the product sales of the less-known sponsoring brand outperformed that of the market leader that co-presented at the event. Originality/value This study addresses a call to go beyond exploring the brand image of the sponsoring brands in isolation and holistically examine sponsorship effectiveness. The study contributes to knowledge on both attitudinal and actual behavioural outcomes of sponsorship activation in a competitive environment.

Examining Sponsorship’s Effectiveness Over the Internet: A Conceptual Framework for Researchers and Practitioners

The aim of this research is to examine sport sponsorship’s effectiveness over the internet. A conceptual framework for sponsorship evaluation over the internet was proposed, incorporating crucial factors such as supporters’ beliefs about sponsorship, their satisfaction form the sport event as well as their degree of sport involvement, the usage of website and social media, awareness of and attitude toward real sponsoring firms and their actual and future purchase intentions concerning sponsors’ goods and services. A quantitative method was used for the purpose of the current research and a total of 3434 questionnaires were successfully completed and analyzed. The empirical results indicated that sponsorship awareness impacts positively and significantly in both actual and intended purchase behavior of the respondents, suggesting that sponsorship awareness is the initial stage of a continuum of fans’ responses that can lead to their purchase intentions and actual purchase. Evidence on this study contributes to the ongoing debate about sponsorship effectiveness and its implication on customer behavior and provides significant implications for managers wishing to improve their future revenues by investing in sponsorship deals, since sponsorship awareness is an important feature that managers must control in order to affect their customers purchasing decisions.

The Role of Art in Persuasiveness of Sport Sponsorship

In this chapter, authors from two disciplines—sport management and art education—explore three art-related identities in the context of sport sponsorship and explain how these art-related roles might influence the persuasiveness of sport sponsorship by affecting a sport fan's aesthetic assessment. Specifically, a sport fan could have multiple identities that are related to art, such as an art critic, an artist, and an art-event attender, and he/she might have a higher standard of aesthetics when processing persuasion messages built in sport sponsorships. By introducing the concept of art and aesthetics into the discussion of sport sponsorship effectiveness in the persuasion process, scholars and practitioners can learn from the role of art in fandom and apply this information to the context of sponsorship research and practice by highlighting its ever-growing importance in affecting the persuasiveness of sponsorship communicating in today's media. The challenges of methodology and possible research suggestions are discussed in the conclusion.

National Team Fans

Football (i.e., soccer) is the most popular sport in Portugal, whose national team is considered a symbol of the entire country. This study sought to identify this team's fan profile and brand image's main components and the main determinants of the team's sponsorship effectiveness. Data were collected on fans several weeks before the 15th Union of European Football Associations Euro 2016. This study's initial qualitative phase was followed by a quantitative phase. Thirty face-to-face interviews were conducted, after which 801 fans filled out a survey. Qualitative analysis identified nine image associations that Portuguese fans link with their national team: national symbol, pride, passion, strength, strong emotions, happiness, optimism, connection, and positive feelings. Four clusters of fans' expectations and demographics were found, confirming heterogeneity. The team's sponsorship effectiveness is stronger for sponsors' clients and highly involved fans, as well as when brand image congruence exists between sponsors and the sponsee.