Thesis (M.S.)--Springfield College, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

D.Phil. (Sports Management) / Despite the large amounts of money spent on sponsorships and per implication sport sponsorship, little research is available concerning sponsorship practices in South Africa. There is thus a need for a research study or project to establish how corporate sponsors and sport organisations manage relationship marketing within sponsorships. Literature shows that there is a need to understand the various relationships in sport sponsorships, in order to be able to establish and maintain long-term successful sponsorship agreements. Most international as well as local research on the subject, focused on the establishing of the sponsorship objectives (Abratt & Grobler, 1989; Mattheus, 1996; Polonsky, Sandler, Casey, Murphy, Portelli & Van Velzen, 1996 and Spence, Abratt & Mattheus, 1997). Although this gap is prevalent in the broader field of sponsorships, the focus of this study is on the maintaining and enhancing of the sponsorship relationship between a corporate sponsoring organisation (the sponsor) and sport federations (the sponsoree). The primary objective of this study is to develop a framework from a marketing perspective that could guide the establishment and enhancment of relationships in sport sponsorships in South Africa between a sponsor and a sponsoree. The following sub objectives were formulated to help achieve the primary objective of the study: - Identify, describe, analyze and contextualize the relationships within sport sponsorships. - Investigate, describe and argue the theoretical framework of marketing and the positioning of relationships therein. - Compare the theoretical framework of relationships in sport sponsorship with the current practices within the South African context. For the purpose of this study, the respondents have been divided into two categories. The first category is corporate organisations in South Africa involved with sport sponsorships (that is corporate organisations sponsoring sport). The second category is the sport organisations in South Africa (sport codes) that receive sponsorship money. The first phase of the study involved an intensive study of the available literature on the subject, involving local as well as international resources. This provided the academic as well as the theoretical basis for this study. The second phase of the study focused on the empirical research of the study. During the empirical research phase, a questionnaire was developed in order to determine the primary and secondary objectives of the study. The growth in sponsorships illustrates its popularity as a marketing communication element to be applied by organisations. All indicators are that sport sponsorships will continue to play a major role in the marketing communication of organisations. It is therefore important that marketers understand the role of sport sponsorships within marketing. Corporate organisations view the sponsorship relationships as an activity that will benefit both the corporate organisations, as well as the sport federations. This implies that such a relationship already exists. Sport federations on the other hand rank the development of such a relationship as a priority, implying that they are of the opinion that such a relationship does not exist at this point. The two target groups ranked the reasons (or intentions) to become involved in sponsorships somewhat differently. For the respondents of the corporate organisations, the development of the corporate image is the most important goal. The respondents from the sport federations are of the opinion that the most important goal for corporate organisations to get involved with sponsorships lies in the fact that sponsorships have the ability to generate some free publicity for the organisation. The respondents of the two target groups viewed the different factors that might have an influence on the sponsorship decision-making differently. Respondents from corporate organisations viewed the ability to get their organisation involved in the community as the element that had the greatest influence on their decision-making process while the respondents from the sport federations on the other hand saw the coverage that a sporting event would get, as the element that would have the biggest impact on the decision making process. Trust was viewed by both the corporate organisation as well as the sport federations as an important element in the forming and establishment of relationship marketing within sport sponsorships. In the establishment of relationships within sport sponsorships, the conclusion can be drawn that the concept of loyalty has a very strong influence, since the respondents from both target groups viewed it as such. The same conclusion can be drawn concerning the development of bonds in sport sponsorship relationships. After comparing the views of the two target groups concerning the role of empathy in sport sponsorship relationship, it was found that each group had a different view of its importance. The respondents from the corporate organsiations saw it as very important while the respondents

Thesis (D.Com.(Marketing & Communication Management.))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 12, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of British Columbia, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-137). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of British Columbia, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-137).

No description available.

Marketers make extensive use of sponsorship as an instrument to build and enhance corporate image, with global sponsorship spending exceeding USD50 billion in 2012 (IEG, 2013). This growth in sponsorship spending has been paralleled by growth in sponsorship research. The various definitions of sponsorship are centred on the concept that the sponsor pays in return for the opportunity to be associated with the given event. The transfer of image from the event to the brand is therefore central to the productivity of any sponsorship arrangement. Hence, it is unsurprising that image transfer models in which the transfer takes place from the event to the sponsor’s brand are prevalent in the literature. Whilst providing a good foundation, the extant sponsorship research has several shortcomings. For example, it is generally based on a unidirectional image transfer process, and the underlying mechanism of image transfer is attributed primarily to associative network theories (which, on their own, do not answer the why and how of the image transfer process). Further, most discussions in this arena use attitudinal change and the ability to recall as proxies for the existence of image transfer rather than measuring it directly. We know that events are largely thematic and engage the audience at an emotive level, but the sponsorship literature contains no studies on the role of affect in image transfer. Associative theories, whose roots lie in cognitive psychology, concern propositions, cues and outcomes, and yet they remain peripheral and largely ignored in the sponsorship literature. Observation also suggests that event-brand sponsorship arrangements are highly complex and susceptible to reciprocal image transfer. This research addresses these shortcomings by using prior affect as the central mechanism to extend associative network theories to the sponsorship context. The central argument of this thesis is that a necessary condition for any image transfer to occur (event to brand or brand to event) is the absence of directly formed prior affect for the brand (in the case of conventional image transfer)/event (in the case of reverse image transfer). In the presence of directly formed prior affect, the association between event image and brand image is blocked, and no image transfer occurs. A series of pretests and experiments provide empirical evidence to show that image transfer is a bi-directional phenomenon, cue directionality strengthens image transfer, the presence or absence of directly formed prior affect for the brand (event) determines whether image transfer occurs, the method of affect formation (neutral affect or indirect affect) moderates transfer strength, and image transfer from event to brand and from brand to event is asymmetrical. The limitations and theoretical implications of the research are discussed, and future research directions proposed.

M. Comm. / The view that some sports receive support from potential sponsor companies more readily than others, were investigated during this study. If this view was not applicable all sports would, for instance, receive equal media coverage, would be financially strong and there would not have been competition for sponsorships. Some sports attract potential sponsor companies more thanother sports. The study focused on this aspect, as well as highlighting the importance of the company identifying itself with a specific sport to ensure an efficient and mutually advantageous relationship to both parties. Companies planning to use sport as marketing medium must make marketing decisions in terms of the type of sport they want to use to market their products. Specific sport organisations do not necessarily know what the company expects from the sport itself. Synchronisation must therefore be reached between the specific sport organisation's needs and the potential sponsor's marketing needs, which should be mutually beneficial. The overall study problem is stated as a question: Which aspects are of importance when a company decides to market its products through sport as a medium? The descriptive research instrument utilised for the aim of this study is the questionnaire. Information was gained by asking subjects to answer questions in writing. The final questionnaire consisted of non-discriminating, precise questions which could be answered frankly by the subjects. The study is structured around the marketing planning process, which emphasise decision making aspects involved in the allocation of sponsorships by companies planning to market their products through sport. From the research it is clear that companies will sponsor sport only if concrete benefits are to he gained from it. It is the responsibility of the sports organisation to emphasise these benefits to the company involved. The benefits mentioned are mainly advertising opportunities, as well as publicity for the company which want to market its product through sport. Furthermore it was found that companies sponsor sport, or use it as a marketing medium, only if the company and the sports organisation have corresponding spheres of influence. In other words the company's target market must to a large extent, correspond with the participants of the sport and its spectators (primary and secondary users). It was also found that sponsorships are mostly given to team sports which are practised on a national level. Sponsoring companies were mostly found to be market leaders. Marketing opportunities offered by sport to a company is compiled by the type of sponsorship the company support. At meeting-, special function-, 'corporate- and facility sponsorships, some of the marketing instruments (with special reference to promotional instruments) can be utilised to convey the company's sponsorship of the sport to the public. It is then for both the sport organisation, who apply for a sponsorship, as well as the company who want to market its product through sport, necessary to research certain aspects concerning the company and the sports organisation. With enough background information, chances increase for a successful symbiosis for both parties.

M. Comm. / Sponsorship has grown immensely the past decade and involves billions of rand worldwide each year. Many big companies use this form of marketing successfully to achieve certain objectives. In South African athletics however, problems and pitfalls that may hinder the success of a sponsorship are experienced at regular intervals. It is believed that sponsors use the wrong objectives or make the wrong choices; that problems occur too frequently; and that the problems experienced are caused by the inability of athletics organisers to address or prevent such problems. The purposes of this study are to identify and describe problems that are regularly found in sport sponsorships and especially athletics sponsorship in South Africa. The underlying objectives are to determine whether sponsors use the correct objectives, to identify problems that occur regularly and to establish the organisers' responsibility for these problems.