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.

M.Comm. / Millions of people around the world watch motor racing on television, and millions of people journey to race circuits to experience personally the excitement and glamour [Howard, 1992: 81]. The ear-splitting noise, the smell of the fuel, the gleaming cars and the drivers - modem-day knights in armour, who do battle at unbelievable speeds. And behind every driver are sponsors, managers, engineers, mechanics and a whole team of professionals. Since cars were invented more than a century ago, men have felt an impulse to race them, while manufacturers have used the sport to prove the superiority of their vehicles.

Thesis (MTech (Marketing))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2010 / A total of R4.8 billion was spent on sports sponsorship in South Africa in 2008, while a remarkable increase in sports sponsorship indicates that research, which deals with studying effectiveness of sports sponsorship, is essential. Moreover, brand extension was considered as a means to assist brand revitalisation and revival; however, in order to render brand extension implementation successful proved another important aspect of this research. Therefore, this research answers the question: can marathon sponsorships help sponsors to achieve effective and successful brand extensions? This study applied quantitative methodology as its research design. A self-administered questionnaire was designed for the survey and quota sampling was implemented in the research. A sample of 122 athletes who ran the full marathon at the Weskus Marathon was collected at the venue where athletes collected their running numbers on 5th of March 2010 for the following day’s race. This process continued until the researcher had asked 122 athletes for their cooperation to complete the questionnaires. The responses indicated that marathon athletes agreed that: first, a qualified marathon enhances the sponsor's brand image; second, the sponsor's brand was visible at the previous event; third, I can recall the sponsor’s brand of the most recent marathon in which I participated (excluding current marathon); fourth, sponsoring the marathon enhanced my awareness of the sponsor's brand/product; and last, it is good to have the same sponsor sponsoring a marathon continuously. Conversely, the responses also illustrated that the marathon athletes were neutral towards the following research statements: firstly, participating in marathons that have high media coverage; then, I will buy a new product in addition to the brand, which sponsored the marathon; and finally, my experience of the marathon will influence my decision to buy a new product in addition to the brand, which sponsored the marathon. Hence, the research explored the hypothesis that marathon sponsorship can be utilized as an effective way to achieve brand extension. Furthermore, regarding brand extensions and marathon sponsorships, male athletes of the Afrikaner or English culture who use English as their home language, think that marathon sponsorships will be effective for brand extensions. Such athletes are normally around 41 to 50 years old, are professional, managerial and are involved in other work such as administrative, marketing, skilled craft, self employed and so on, and have a higher education – postgraduate diploma/degree, while their running years range from 3 to 5 years.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Marketing)-Dept. of Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2007 xiv, 129 [19] leaves / This study examined brand awareness after a change in sponsor and audience perceptions about the sponsors and the event before and after the change.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Marketing)-Dept. of Marketing, Durban University of Technology, 2007 xiv, 129 [19] leaves / This study examined brand awareness after a change in sponsor and audience perceptions about the sponsors and the event before and after the change.

Organisations both locally and internationally spend large portions of their marketing budgets on sponsorship opportunities in order to achieve organisational and marketing objectives. The Springboks are in partnership with an assortment of sponsors, from main sponsors to associate sponsors to official suppliers, all with their own objectives to achieve through their affiliation with the Springboks. Although sponsorship is a rapidly growing marketing communication medium, there seems to be uncertainty about aspects related to its impact and effectiveness. The primary objective of the study was to explore the influence that the sponsorship of the Springboks has on the consumer’s decision to purchase the sponsor products within the Tshwane area. The study was an exploratory study and made use of qualitative data collection tools such as naïve sketches and focus group interviews to obtain primary data. The collected data was analysed by means of content analysis. Various variables that impact on the consumer’s final decision to purchase products can be identified and the literature states that limited knowledge exists regarding the influence of integrated marketing communication (IMC) tools on each stage of the consumer decision-making process. Psychological processes that make up consumer behaviour may be impacted by the effects of IMC and acting further to induce a specific decision from the consumer. This study provides knowledge regarding the influence of sponsorship on consumer behaviour. It was found that sponsorship can contribute to increased awareness of sponsors and that it contributes to positive attitudes maintained within the minds of the consumers. As a result of positive attitudes and increased awareness, participants mentioned that they may consider sponsor brands as alternatives in their decision-making process. The final decision to purchase sponsor brands, as indicated by participants, is not dependent on the sponsorship of the Springboks. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)