Chapter 13

Identify the sponsors shown at the Mets’ CitiField. 1.According to the hierarchy of effects, what are the likely marketing objectives for these brands ? 2.How many of these are unknown brands trying to increase awareness?

Explain how Geico’s sponsorship of the Mets (or a local team) could influence fans to transfer affinity with the team to Geico. What kinds of things would Geico need to do for fans to see the brand as more distinct? Why would more passionate fans be likely to pay attention to the sponsors at the game?

1. Passionate fans recall sponsors better than less passionate fans. 2. Related brands fare better than unrelated brands. 3. Prominent brands fare better than unknown brands. 4. Congruent brand images fare better than incongruent brand images. 5. Plausible brands fare better than implausible brands. Without looking, write down all of the brand names you can recall from the picture of the Mets’ stadium.

1. Passionate fans recall sponsors better than less passionate fans. 2. Related brands fare better than unrelated brands. 3. Prominent brands fare better than unknown brands. 4. Congruent brand images fare better than incongruent brand images. 5. Plausible brands fare better than implausible brands. Now, which of the following brands do you recall from the CitiField picture? Count the number out of 15. Why do you recall some better than others? 1. Geico 2. Caesar’s Palace 3. Bob’s Furniture 4. Alliance Building Supplies 5. Budweiser 6. Fox News 7. GoldUSCoins.com 8. Verizon 9. Nikon 10. Sharp 11. Lincoln-Mercury 12. Spongetech.com 13. Citibank 14. SNY 15. Pella

Compared to less passionate fans, passionate fans recall sponsorship associations because of:  Frequent attendance and media consumption —passionate fans gain more exposure to the sponsor.  High involvement with the sport and identification with the team— passionate fans are highly attentive to information related to the event and the property.  Emotional intensity—passionate fans deeply elaborate or think about sponsor messages.  Think of the last time you visited a new stadium or arena.  How did your level of passion for the team influence your exploring the facility and otherwise paying attention to what was going on at the game?

 Category: The brand offers products in the same category as the property. Example: Nike sponsors the New York Yankees who use (Nike) sporting goods.  Customers: The brand’s target market overlaps the target market of the property. Example: Lexus sponsors MLB teams whose upscale buyers of premium seats and season tickets also buy Lexus cars.  Consumption: The brand’s products are frequently consumed by fans at events of the property. Example: Coke sponsors the San Francisco Giants because beverage consumption is a major part of sporting events.  Think back to the Mets’ example. Most New York fans would find these easiest to recall because of related:  Category: SNY (The official Sports Network for NY)  Customers: CitiBank (Large NYC Bank)  Consumption: Budweiser (Baseball & beer)

 Assume you are selling sponsorships for your college or university.  Based on the five principles discussed,  What companies make sense as potential sponsors? Develop a prospect list for your school.  Which current sponsors don’t make sense? What should they do with these sponsors?  Insert picture of local stadium or arena here.

 Select one of the less prominent and unrelated sponsors for your local team. Based on the text’s discussion of the implications for the sponsor, what would you advise them to do?  What specific suggestion do you have for helping them manufacture relatedness?  Insert picture of local stadium or arena here.

 What is sponsorship activation?  How is brand sponsorship activation different from brand advertising?  For example, how is AT&T’s sponsorship of the Dave Matthews Band different from its TV ad campaigns?

Adidas pays $15 million annually for its sponsorship of the MLS (through 2018).  How much should Adidas expect to spend on brand activation?  What do some of the top brands spend on activation?  In terms of exposure to build awareness among its target market, could Adidas buy this exposure at better costs elsewhere?

 State Farm’s promotional objectives for sponsorships include generating leads (in order to write new auto and home insurance policies) from two key segments:  Hispanic families  Moms over 35 with children at home  Select a local team and design a sponsorship activation strategy to reach these targets for State Farm.  Which activation tools will you use?  How could a custom branded presence at the team’s venue facilitate reaching State Farm’s objectives?  What live marketing events would you plan?  How would you design customer data capture?

 As you review the goals of an activation strategy, how many of these are accomplished with signage at the stadium?  Think of a recent visit to a major sporting event. Based on these criteria, which sponsors did the best job of brand activation?