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

Authors: Niklas Hansson and Niklas Johansson Supervisor: Svante Andersson Keyword(s): Sponsorship, Sport sponsorship, Sponsorship fit, Sponsorship objectives, Sponsorship outcomes, Sponsorship approach Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and explore how companies and sports teams decide to enter sponsorship agreements with each other. The purpose is also to explore the entire sponsorship process together with the specific relationships between sponsor/-s and sponsee/-s. This will be done in order to make a contribution to the research field of sponsorship in the context of sports teams. Research Problem: How does the sponsorship process form and how do sponsors/ sponseeswork with their sponsorship relationships? Method: The main methodological choice has been the abductive research method, where theories have been added and removed from the framework, in order to analyse data properly. A qualitative approach has been chosen and empirical data from eight organisations form two cases with three sponsors and one sponsee has been gathered. Primary data were collected from personal interviews and complemented with secondary data from websites and other material provided by the respondents. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework consists of classic sponsorship theories,in order to form a solid theoretical base for the concept of sponsorship. These classics are presented together with more modern theories regarding sponsorship in connection to certain aspects of the process and relationships and thus making the theoretical framework current and up to date. Conclusion: The process has been seen to take one out of two options, whereas a structured sponsorship process is one option and the other option is a rather unstructured sponsorship process. Sponsors and sponsees reported that they work increasingly with their networks and thus suggested that the network approach connected to sponsorship will grow more important in the upcoming years. Generally, it appears as if the main focus within sponsorship, in terms of fit, is how it works internally or within the agreement between sponsor and sponsee. Whether it signals something good or bad to the audience is therefore of no real interest or matter.

Sponsring i Sverige idag är en miljardindustri och idrotten får den största delen av kakan. Allsvenskan ligger i framkant när det kommer till sponsring och föreningarnas omsättning består till stor del av sponsorintäkter. Av den summan står huvudsponsorer för den största delen och är därmed den kategori sponsorer studien behandlar. Vårt syfte är öka förståelsen för vilka mål som är gällande för huvudsponsorerna, om de aktiverar sin sponsring samt om storleken på deras kostnad påverkar målen. För att ta reda på det identifierade vi de vanligast förekommande målen i litteraturen och lät Allsvenska huvudsponsorer svara på hur viktiga målen var för dem. De fick även frågor gällande aktivering och kostnadsstorlek. Studien kartlägger vilka mål som är viktigast för de Allsvenska huvudsponsorer som deltagit. Exponering och externa mål visade sig vara viktigare än mål som var riktade internt. Det mål som utmärkte sig mest var Ökad varumärkeskännedom som fick klart högst resultat. Studien stärker även den rådande bilden av att svenska företag är dåliga på att aktivera sin sponsring, exempelvis visade det sig att vissa av huvudsponsorerna inte aktiverar sin sponsring alls. På grund av respondenternas låga svarsfrekvens gällande frågan om kostnadsstorlek misslyckades studien i viss mån att kategorisera målen på det sättet. / Sponsorship in Sweden is a billion crown industry and sports gets the biggest part of that sum. The highest soccer league in Sweden, Allsvenskan, has clubs that rely heavily on sponsorship money to make the business run. Each club has sponsors in different categories depending on much they invest. This study will focus on the main sponsors in each club that pay the clubs the largest amount. Our purpose is to increase the understanding about which objectives with sponsorship that are most established among main sponsors to clubs in Allsvenskan. Also to examine if they activate their sponsorship and if the size of the investment affect the sponsorship objective. To do this we identified the most common objectives with sponsorship from literature and let main sponsors of clubs in Allsvenskan respond to how important each of these objectives were to their sponsorship. We also included questions regarding activation and size of investment. This study shows which objectives with sponsorship that are most established to main sponsors of clubs in Allsvenskan. Objectives of more external character regarding exposure seemed more important than other objectives. The objective of Brand awareness scored the highest result. The study also underlines the notion that swedish sponsors are bad at activating their sponsorship, some of the participating sponsors didn’t activate their sponsorship at all. Because most participants did not answer the question about how much they invest in the club the study to some degree fail to categorise objectives with sponsorship in regards to how big the investment is.

Title: “The influence of managers personal preferences on sport sponsorship in small-medium sized businesses - A qualitative case study of the effect on brand equity” Date: 2023-05-23Level: Bachelor Thesis in International MarketingAuthors: Emma Salqvist & Hanna Hedin Supervisor: Olga Rauhut Kompaniets Examiner: Fawzi Halila Aim: This study aims to provide an analysis of how the managers’ personal preferences on sport sponsorship has an impact on the sponsoring company’s brand equity in small-medium sized companies. Methodology: The study has a qualitative research method with a deductive approach. A conceptual model was made based on a theoretical framework of findings from previous studies. Three main themes were highlighted, including brand equity, sport sponsorships in brand strategy and managerial aspects of sport sponsorship. Empirical material was collected through six semi-structured interviews with managers in a decision making role within sport sponsorship decisions. Further the results were thematically analyzed. Findings: In small-medium sized companies, sport sponsorship is often driven by managers’ personal objectives which conflicts with brand strategy. When personal objectives dominate the sponsorship decisions, the effect on brand equity tends to be limited in comparison to strategic decisions. Keywords – Sport Sponsorship, Brand Strategy, Brand Equity, Managers’ roll, Biased Decisions, Sponsorship Objectives Paper type – Bachelor thesis

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] / -.

Bakgrund: När idrotten kommersialiserades så blev markandsföringsverktyget sponsring en central strategi för att kommunicera med marknaden. Idag används strategin av företagen för att nå målsättningar som ligger utanför den dagliga verksamheten. De flesta företag har målsättningar med sponsring, även om målen skiljer sig åt. Problematiken ligger i att företagen anser att effektmätning av sponsring är komplicerat och kostsamt. Således är det problematiskt för företagen att veta om deras sponsringsinvesteringar ger önskat resultat. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa en fördjupad förståelse kring varför företag väljer att sponsra idrottsföreningar och i vilken utsträckning företag utvärderar effekten av sina sponsringssamarbeten. Teori: Vi har använt oss av relevanta teorier för att kunna besvara studiens syfte. Metod: Studien utfördes genom en kvalitativ metod. Intervjuer har genomförts av en semi-strukturerad karaktär, där frågorna ställdes med hjälp av en intervjuguide. Vidare är urvalet baserat på ett bekvämlighetsurval. Slutsats: Samtliga företag vill ha ett rättvist utbyte av sina sponsringsinvesteringar. De mest återkommande målsättningarna med sponsringen är samhällsansvar och varumärkesbyggande. Gällande effektmätningen så handlar det om enklare utvärderingar eller en känsla av att göra gott, snarare än effektmätningar i nyckeltal. / Background: The Commercialization of sport led to that the marketing toolsponsorship became a central strategy for communicating with the market. Today, the strategy is used by companies to achieve goals that are outside of daily operations. All companies have objectives with sponsorship, even if the objectives differ. The problem lies in the fact that the companies believe that measuring the effect of sponsorship is complicated and costly. Thus, it is problematic for companies to know whether their sponsorship investments are producing the desired results. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding of why companies choose to sponsor sports associations and to what extent companiese valuate the effect of their sponsorship collaborations. Theory: We have used relevant theories to be able to answer the purpose of the study. Method: The study was carried out through a qualitative method. Interviews were conducted of a semi-structured nature, where the questions were asked following an interview guide. Furthermore, the selection is based on a convenience sample. Findings: The companies that sponsor all want some form of fair exchange. The most recurring objectives that the companies have with the sponsorship are social responsibility and brand building. Regarding the measurement, it is about simple revaluations or a feeling of doing good, rather than measuring the effect in pure keyfigures.