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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/1705 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Zhou, Yuan |
| Publisher | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
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