Sponsorship
A relationships’ perspective
The actors
Operational issues
Corporate objectives
Venue
Corporate
clients
Relationship
Regulators
Agents
Managers
Organiser
Sponsor
Performers
Integrity
issues
Competitors
Event
Media
Consumer
markets
Marketing Communications
objectives
Marketing Communications objectives
• Brand awareness and brand image
• part of an integrated campaign
– advertising and promotions
– direct marketing
• sampling and merchandising
see Marketing Communications texts
e.g.Kitchen, Fill, Pickton & Broderick, Pelsmacker
Corporate objectives
• Corporate image
– PR, community relations
– opinion formers and stakeholders
• Employee relations
– incentives and rewards
• Trade channel relations
Corporate Hospitality
Opportunities whereby the company can make
face-to-face contact with selected publics in
a prestigious context
thereby strengthening and personalising
relationships
with decision-makers, trade channels and
business associates
Meenaghan, T (1983)
Creating goodwill in an informal context
Pelsmacker (2000)
Events as experiential marketing?
Sponsorship as story-telling?
A unique and memorable experience involving the
individual as a person (Pine & Gilmore 1999)
Sponsorship as a strategic tool
• A resource for competitive advantage
–
–
–
–
strategic fit
difficult to imitate
non tradable
risk and uncertainty - priced below true value
Amis (1997) in Pickton & Broderick p 520
Sponsorship as joint venture
• Becoming relationship-based rather than
transaction-based
• long-term co-operation between sponsor
and sponsored
Meenaghan T (1998)
eg Nike/ManU/NYY
Sponsorship relationships
Marketing channel theory issues
• Roles
• Domains
• Power/Dependency
• Trust
• Reward
affecting operational control and artistic/sporting integrity
The changing role of the sponsor
• Donor - simple exchange to reach audience
• Investor - looking for longer-term ROI
• Impresario - takes control to ensure event
reflects brand values
– Meenaghan 1998 in Fill 1999
Glastonbury v Virgin festivals?
Media relationships
Same issues as with sponsorship relationships
eg News Corp / Rugby League
• strategic tool (globally)
• joint development of Superleague
• Power/dependency issues
• Whose show is it?
• What happens if they pull out?
A personal relationship?
• the brainchild of an enthusiast
• personal satisfaction from success
• becomes an advocate within a business or
social network
• needs high-level personal contact
throughout
• positive stroking after the event
Hill, O’Sullivan x 2 (1995) Morgan (1996)
Key sources
• Meenaghan T (1983) Commercial Sponsorship European Journal of
Marketing 7, 2-73
• Meenaghan T (1998) Current developments and future directions in
sponsorship International Journal of Advertising 17, 3-28
• Amis, J, Pant, N and Slack, T (1997) Achieving a sustainable
competitive advantage - a resource based view of sports sponsorship
Journal of Sports Management 11, 80-96
• Hill, E, O’Sullivan C & T (1995) Creative Arts Marketing BH
• Eldridge Pope/Dorchester Community Play case study in Morgan 1996
• Oikonnen, R et al (2000) Sponsorship as Relationships and Networks
Corporate Communications, an international journal