Sponsorship, and particularly sport sponsorship, continues to grow ahead of all other forms of marketing communication in stature and spend. As a result, there is a growing need for proper sponsorship management and accountability within organisations. The objective of the study was to evaluate how an organisation manages sponsorship to effectively enhance brand image, a long-term differentiator for brands. Focusing on the Energade brand, a qualitative case study method of research, using data from secondary sources and face-to-face interviews, was used to test the propositions developed through literature review. The study indicated that effective management of sponsorship entails setting of consistently aligned and prioritised objectives. In order for a sponsorship to enhance brand image, the sponsorship has to be leveraged at an optimal ratio; the sponsored property has to be congruent with the sponsoring brand at an intrinsic, positioning, and communication objective levels; and lastly, in order for sponsorship to effectively enhance shift brand image, its association with a sponsored property has to be long term. The Energade sponsorship fell short of enhancing the brand‟s Image. Whilst having some of the prescribed affective sponsorship management practices, a number of limitations were identified. Recommendations for managing sponsorship to enhance brand image, from planning, execution and evaluation were presented. Setting of objectives should be more rigorous, leverage activity and non-sponsorship messages should be complementary, sponsorship congruency should be beyond functional fit, and long-term sponsorship of a single property is more effective than sponsoring different properties over time. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

An investigation of the relationship between corporate sponsorship activities and human resource constructs was conducted through an online questionnaire with employees of a southern U.S. energy provider. Specifically, three sponsorship-related constructs, fan identification with a sponsored sport property, employee involvement with the sponsorship, and employee attitude toward the sponsorship were hypothesized to be positively related to employee organization identification and job satisfaction. Social identification theory (SIT) provided the theoretical foundation of this study. Through a series of hypotheses, the three sponsorship-related constructs were hypothesized to exert both direct and indirect effects on employee organizational identification and job satisfaction. Testing the process of missing data for approximately 80 of the total 427 respondents showed that data was missing at random (MAR). Thus, missing data values were imputed using regression techniques available in AMOS 16.0 software. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to evaluate the path of predicted relationships. Assessment of the measurement model fit for the entire model showed that all but one indicator, for involvement with the sponsorship, loaded on latent variables as expected. In addition to comparing the results of the SEM analysis of the imputed data set (n = 427) to the data set with only complete responses (n = 308), a random sample (n = 200) was also analyzed, in order to assess the impact of sample size on fitting the data to the models. A competing models approach to SEM analysis showed that four nested models differed only marginally on a couple goodness-of-fit indices. The principle of parsimony was thus utilized to select and evaluate the fit of the appropriate model. Evaluation of the hypotheses showed that fan identification and involvement with the sponsorship did not exert direct effects on employee organization identification and job satisfaction, but did influence these human resource constructs in an indirect manner. Additionally, an unpredicted, indirect relationship between organization prestige and job satisfaction was also established. Lastly, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, along with the identification of several recommendations to guide future research relating corporate sponsorship with the internal audience.

Darbo objektas – Rėmėjo siekiami tikslai, remiant BC Kauno „Žalgirį“ Darbo tikslas – Įvertinti rėmėjo siekiamus tikslus remiant BC Kauno „Žalgirį“ Darbo uždaviniai. 1. Apibrėžti sporto paramos sampratą ir privalumus 2. Išnagrinėti galimus rėmėjų siekiamus tikslus per paramą 3. Įvertinti rėmėjo siekiamus tikslus remiant BC Kauno „Žalgirį“ Darbo metodai: 1. Mokslinės literatūros analizė; 2. Interviu; 3. Anketinė apklausa raštu 4. Kokybinių duomenų analizė. Išvados: 1. Sporto parama gali būti apibrėžtas kaip parama, kuriame rėmėjas iškeičia pinigus ar produktus į teisę susieti savo prekės ženklą ar produktą su sporto renginiu, sporto žaidėju ar komanda, tuo pačiu jai padėdamas tapti finansiškai gyvybinga. Pagrindiniai išskiriami sporto paramos privalumai- ji netiesiogiai veikia vartotoją, suteikia galimybę teigiamai asociacijai su sporto organizacija, yra pajėgi pasiekti kelias tikslines rinkas vienu metu, gali optimaliomis išlaidomis padėti pasiekti įmonės tikslus. 2. Pagrindiniai paramos tikslai- žinomumo didinimas, įvaizdžio sukūrimas, keitimas, stiprinimas, pardavimų didinimas, tikslinių rinkų pasiekimas. Norint pasiekti įmonės paramos tikslus, svarbu susieti įmonę su remiama sporto organizacija, taip pat reikia vykdyti investivijų grąžos tyrimus, ir išsiskirti kuo originalesnėmis idėjomis. 3. Pagrindiniai paramos tikslai- prekės ženklo žinomumas, įvaizdžio kūrimas ir asociacija. Vienodai reklamuojamas ir įmonių produktas ir prekės ženklas, tačiau kuo didesnė įmonė tuo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / -.

Corporate sponsorships have received increased attention from brand managers and academics in recent years. While researchers agree that sponsorship aids in generating favourable images for the sponsor, both at the corporate and brand levels, a lack of theory-guided models has prevented investigation into more complex phenomena. Current understanding of sponsorship effects is largely confined to the single sponsorship context with dominant emphasis on sponsorship awareness. The challenge surrounding sponsorship image measurement is only heightened by the increase in sponsorship activities. A growing number of brands are becoming associated with multiple events or entities. The purpose of the present research is to understand the mechanisms that underlie consumer processing of a brand’s sponsorship portfolio to affect inferences about sponsor brand associations, and in particular brand personality, brand meaning and brand attitude. The present research consolidates a range of conceptual and theory-guided models used by previous researchers, and adds to sponsorship literature by outlining how an accessibility based model can be applied to explain the cognitive processes involved when consumers encounter a brand’s sponsorships sequentially. In the context of a sponsorship portfolio, the associative network memory theory, congruence theory, and accessibility-diagnosticity theory are considered collectively and integrated into a conceptual framework to guide the development of hypotheses. The general theory proposed here is that accessibility of a sponsorship episode determines whether it will be used in subsequent information processing and percolate through to sponsor evaluations. A three-experiment research program is developed to explore the dynamics behind the portfolio effects. Pretests are conducted to identify brands and sponsorship properties that conform to the experimental manipulations but also to control for extraneous variables. Experiment 1 is designed to investigate the impact of perceived sponsorship portfolio fit on sponsor brand associations, and to determine how consumers assess portfolio fit. The experiment employs a 2 (sponsorship category relatedness: related vs. unrelated) x 2 (event personality fit: high fit vs. low fit) x 2 (sponsor product category: apparel vs. watch) between-subjects factorial design. Results point to sponsorship category relatedness as an important reference point in the evaluation of portfolio fit because it pulls sponsorships together when event personality fit is low, showing the predominance of category-based mode of processing. The role of event personality fit emerges when sponsorships lack categorical relatedness, leading to piecemeal-mode processing. Its influence of event personality fit is largely mute when sponsorships are categorically related, possibly because the individual event concepts are overwhelmed by a superordinate categorical imagery. Experiment 2 is designed to (1) allow replication of the portfolio effects with an additional sponsor product and different sets of sponsorship portfolios, and (2) investigate how individuals respond to a sponsorship portfolio which contains sponsorship properties with conflicting categories and personalities. Specifically, Experiment 2 aims to determine whether one sponsorship “frames” the processing of another sponsorship in a portfolio, and if so, determines the direction of framing. The experiment employs a 2 (sponsorship presentation sequence: sports first vs. cause first) x 2 (visual cues: present vs. absent) x 3 (sponsor product replicates: apparel vs. watch vs. juice) mixed factorial design. Two key findings emerge from this experiment. First, inferences about the sponsor brands’ personalities are made in an additive fashion by augmenting event personalities, conforming to the “entitativity” principle. Second, when a sports sponsorship (rather than a cause sponsorship) is presented first in a portfolio, conceptual fluency is enhanced. This is because the sequence of processing is consistent with the way that people naturally think, thus leading to greater processing fluency. Experiment 3 is developed to further test the sponsorship framing effect and to explore the role of articulation in forging a relationship for ostensibly unrelated sponsorships. The experiment uses a 2 (sponsorship frame: sports frame vs. cause frame) x 2 (articulation: present vs. absent) between-subjects factorial design, plus a replicate and two control groups. Results replicate the findings of previous experiment where inferences for the sponsor brand personality are determined in an additive fashion. The findings also provide insights into when and whether using articulation in sponsorship communications can be beneficial. While articulating the relationship between sponsorships increases the perceived brand meaning consistency and clarity, a boomerang effect on brand attitude is observed, possibly because the commercially oriented content attributes a sales-oriented motive to the sponsor, which in turn, leads to a less favourable brand attitude. Theoretically, this research adds to current understanding of consumer-focused sponsorship processing by moving beyond simple pairing of sponsor and event, to consider the relationship between sponsorship properties. Through the integration of accessibility-diagnosticity theory, this research demonstrates that the way sponsorships influence brand evaluations is likely to be more complex than suggested by the existing literature and contributes to the development of methods to measure image transfer process. Practically, this research assists managers who are interested in the formulation of sponsorship policy and strategic design of sponsorship portfolios. The conceptual model developed in this thesis offers useful guidelines in providing input into the decision-making process when considering whether sponsorships could be used as brand building tools.

Corporate sponsorships have received increased attention from brand managers and academics in recent years. While researchers agree that sponsorship aids in generating favourable images for the sponsor, both at the corporate and brand levels, a lack of theory-guided models has prevented investigation into more complex phenomena. Current understanding of sponsorship effects is largely confined to the single sponsorship context with dominant emphasis on sponsorship awareness. The challenge surrounding sponsorship image measurement is only heightened by the increase in sponsorship activities. A growing number of brands are becoming associated with multiple events or entities. The purpose of the present research is to understand the mechanisms that underlie consumer processing of a brand’s sponsorship portfolio to affect inferences about sponsor brand associations, and in particular brand personality, brand meaning and brand attitude. The present research consolidates a range of conceptual and theory-guided models used by previous researchers, and adds to sponsorship literature by outlining how an accessibility based model can be applied to explain the cognitive processes involved when consumers encounter a brand’s sponsorships sequentially. In the context of a sponsorship portfolio, the associative network memory theory, congruence theory, and accessibility-diagnosticity theory are considered collectively and integrated into a conceptual framework to guide the development of hypotheses. The general theory proposed here is that accessibility of a sponsorship episode determines whether it will be used in subsequent information processing and percolate through to sponsor evaluations. A three-experiment research program is developed to explore the dynamics behind the portfolio effects. Pretests are conducted to identify brands and sponsorship properties that conform to the experimental manipulations but also to control for extraneous variables. Experiment 1 is designed to investigate the impact of perceived sponsorship portfolio fit on sponsor brand associations, and to determine how consumers assess portfolio fit. The experiment employs a 2 (sponsorship category relatedness: related vs. unrelated) x 2 (event personality fit: high fit vs. low fit) x 2 (sponsor product category: apparel vs. watch) between-subjects factorial design. Results point to sponsorship category relatedness as an important reference point in the evaluation of portfolio fit because it pulls sponsorships together when event personality fit is low, showing the predominance of category-based mode of processing. The role of event personality fit emerges when sponsorships lack categorical relatedness, leading to piecemeal-mode processing. Its influence of event personality fit is largely mute when sponsorships are categorically related, possibly because the individual event concepts are overwhelmed by a superordinate categorical imagery. Experiment 2 is designed to (1) allow replication of the portfolio effects with an additional sponsor product and different sets of sponsorship portfolios, and (2) investigate how individuals respond to a sponsorship portfolio which contains sponsorship properties with conflicting categories and personalities. Specifically, Experiment 2 aims to determine whether one sponsorship “frames” the processing of another sponsorship in a portfolio, and if so, determines the direction of framing. The experiment employs a 2 (sponsorship presentation sequence: sports first vs. cause first) x 2 (visual cues: present vs. absent) x 3 (sponsor product replicates: apparel vs. watch vs. juice) mixed factorial design. Two key findings emerge from this experiment. First, inferences about the sponsor brands’ personalities are made in an additive fashion by augmenting event personalities, conforming to the “entitativity” principle. Second, when a sports sponsorship (rather than a cause sponsorship) is presented first in a portfolio, conceptual fluency is enhanced. This is because the sequence of processing is consistent with the way that people naturally think, thus leading to greater processing fluency. Experiment 3 is developed to further test the sponsorship framing effect and to explore the role of articulation in forging a relationship for ostensibly unrelated sponsorships. The experiment uses a 2 (sponsorship frame: sports frame vs. cause frame) x 2 (articulation: present vs. absent) between-subjects factorial design, plus a replicate and two control groups. Results replicate the findings of previous experiment where inferences for the sponsor brand personality are determined in an additive fashion. The findings also provide insights into when and whether using articulation in sponsorship communications can be beneficial. While articulating the relationship between sponsorships increases the perceived brand meaning consistency and clarity, a boomerang effect on brand attitude is observed, possibly because the commercially oriented content attributes a sales-oriented motive to the sponsor, which in turn, leads to a less favourable brand attitude. Theoretically, this research adds to current understanding of consumer-focused sponsorship processing by moving beyond simple pairing of sponsor and event, to consider the relationship between sponsorship properties. Through the integration of accessibility-diagnosticity theory, this research demonstrates that the way sponsorships influence brand evaluations is likely to be more complex than suggested by the existing literature and contributes to the development of methods to measure image transfer process. Practically, this research assists managers who are interested in the formulation of sponsorship policy and strategic design of sponsorship portfolios. The conceptual model developed in this thesis offers useful guidelines in providing input into the decision-making process when considering whether sponsorships could be used as brand building tools.

Corporate sponsorships have received increased attention from brand managers and academics in recent years. While researchers agree that sponsorship aids in generating favourable images for the sponsor, both at the corporate and brand levels, a lack of theory-guided models has prevented investigation into more complex phenomena. Current understanding of sponsorship effects is largely confined to the single sponsorship context with dominant emphasis on sponsorship awareness. The challenge surrounding sponsorship image measurement is only heightened by the increase in sponsorship activities. A growing number of brands are becoming associated with multiple events or entities. The purpose of the present research is to understand the mechanisms that underlie consumer processing of a brand’s sponsorship portfolio to affect inferences about sponsor brand associations, and in particular brand personality, brand meaning and brand attitude. The present research consolidates a range of conceptual and theory-guided models used by previous researchers, and adds to sponsorship literature by outlining how an accessibility based model can be applied to explain the cognitive processes involved when consumers encounter a brand’s sponsorships sequentially. In the context of a sponsorship portfolio, the associative network memory theory, congruence theory, and accessibility-diagnosticity theory are considered collectively and integrated into a conceptual framework to guide the development of hypotheses. The general theory proposed here is that accessibility of a sponsorship episode determines whether it will be used in subsequent information processing and percolate through to sponsor evaluations. A three-experiment research program is developed to explore the dynamics behind the portfolio effects. Pretests are conducted to identify brands and sponsorship properties that conform to the experimental manipulations but also to control for extraneous variables. Experiment 1 is designed to investigate the impact of perceived sponsorship portfolio fit on sponsor brand associations, and to determine how consumers assess portfolio fit. The experiment employs a 2 (sponsorship category relatedness: related vs. unrelated) x 2 (event personality fit: high fit vs. low fit) x 2 (sponsor product category: apparel vs. watch) between-subjects factorial design. Results point to sponsorship category relatedness as an important reference point in the evaluation of portfolio fit because it pulls sponsorships together when event personality fit is low, showing the predominance of category-based mode of processing. The role of event personality fit emerges when sponsorships lack categorical relatedness, leading to piecemeal-mode processing. Its influence of event personality fit is largely mute when sponsorships are categorically related, possibly because the individual event concepts are overwhelmed by a superordinate categorical imagery. Experiment 2 is designed to (1) allow replication of the portfolio effects with an additional sponsor product and different sets of sponsorship portfolios, and (2) investigate how individuals respond to a sponsorship portfolio which contains sponsorship properties with conflicting categories and personalities. Specifically, Experiment 2 aims to determine whether one sponsorship “frames” the processing of another sponsorship in a portfolio, and if so, determines the direction of framing. The experiment employs a 2 (sponsorship presentation sequence: sports first vs. cause first) x 2 (visual cues: present vs. absent) x 3 (sponsor product replicates: apparel vs. watch vs. juice) mixed factorial design. Two key findings emerge from this experiment. First, inferences about the sponsor brands’ personalities are made in an additive fashion by augmenting event personalities, conforming to the “entitativity” principle. Second, when a sports sponsorship (rather than a cause sponsorship) is presented first in a portfolio, conceptual fluency is enhanced. This is because the sequence of processing is consistent with the way that people naturally think, thus leading to greater processing fluency. Experiment 3 is developed to further test the sponsorship framing effect and to explore the role of articulation in forging a relationship for ostensibly unrelated sponsorships. The experiment uses a 2 (sponsorship frame: sports frame vs. cause frame) x 2 (articulation: present vs. absent) between-subjects factorial design, plus a replicate and two control groups. Results replicate the findings of previous experiment where inferences for the sponsor brand personality are determined in an additive fashion. The findings also provide insights into when and whether using articulation in sponsorship communications can be beneficial. While articulating the relationship between sponsorships increases the perceived brand meaning consistency and clarity, a boomerang effect on brand attitude is observed, possibly because the commercially oriented content attributes a sales-oriented motive to the sponsor, which in turn, leads to a less favourable brand attitude. Theoretically, this research adds to current understanding of consumer-focused sponsorship processing by moving beyond simple pairing of sponsor and event, to consider the relationship between sponsorship properties. Through the integration of accessibility-diagnosticity theory, this research demonstrates that the way sponsorships influence brand evaluations is likely to be more complex than suggested by the existing literature and contributes to the development of methods to measure image transfer process. Practically, this research assists managers who are interested in the formulation of sponsorship policy and strategic design of sponsorship portfolios. The conceptual model developed in this thesis offers useful guidelines in providing input into the decision-making process when considering whether sponsorships could be used as brand building tools.

Thesis (PhD) - Swinburne University of Technology, 2007. / Doctor of Philosophy, Swinburne University of Technology - 2007. Typescript. Bibliography: p. 209-229.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. E. Newton Jackson, Jr., Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Sport Management, Recreation Management and Physical Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 13, 2005). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alberta, 1997. / In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation. Also available online.

This thesis examines corporate social responsibility initially in Britain, where there has recently been a conspicuous growth of interest in business social involvement, and Italy. Corporate social responsibility is defined here as business engagement in the wider community in order to contribute towards the general well-being of society. Our analysis employs a hybrid methodology: we employ a variety of sources, namely, historical texts, secondary studies and detailed case studies of corporate social programmes based on in-depth interviews of relevant personnel and the study of company documents. Our aim in this study is to provide a general explanation of why companies go beyond their commercial remit to become engaged in communitarian and philanthropic action. A socially and politically informed analysis is furnished: we place this area in its historical and political context, without losing sight of the role played by economic forces. Any explanation of contemporary advances in corporate social responsibility needs to stress the role of the modern state in society, and, more specifically, the development of relations between the state and the business community. It is argued that, in Britain, as a response to the political and economic crisis of the 1970s, the links between the business and state sectors became ever closer. This, as we shall demonstrate, created the institutional opportunities for active business involvement in society in areas such as environmental protection, small firm development and urban regeneration. Italy has seen less political impetus given to active corporate involvement in society. The most significant achievements, though, have come from within the state sector. A final consideration of our social analysis is that we attempt to analyse the contribution of the private sector to wider society. This is especially pertinent because, in Britain, corporate responsibility has come to be seen as a private solution to public problems. We show, using original case study material, that there are limits to what companies can achieve on a social front. We conclude that corporate social responsibility must emphasise the need for companies to observe social and legal restrictions in their pursuit of commercial goals, rather than necessarily engaging actively in social action.