Sponsorship A relationships’ perspective
The actors Event OrganiserSponsor PerformersMedia Consumer markets Corporate clients Competitors Venue Regulators Agents Managers Corporate objectives Marketing Communications objectives Operational issues Integrity issues Relationship
Marketing Communications objectives Brand awareness and brand image part of an integrated campaign –advertising and promotions –direct marketing sampling and merchandising see Marketing Communications texts e.g.Kitchen, Fill, Pickton & Broderick, Pelsmacker
Corporate objectives Corporate image –PR, community relations –opinion formers and stakeholders Employee relations –incentives and rewards Trade channel relations
Corporate Hospitality Opportunities whereby the company can make face-to-face contact with selected publics in a prestigious context thereby strengthening and personalising relationships with decision-makers, trade channels and business associates Meenaghan, T (1983)
Creating goodwill in an informal context Pelsmacker (2000) Events as experiential marketing? Sponsorship as story-telling? A unique and memorable experience involving the individual as a person (Pine & Gilmore 1999)
Sponsorship as a strategic tool A resource for competitive advantage –strategic fit –difficult to imitate –non tradable –risk and uncertainty - priced below true value Amis (1997) in Pickton & Broderick p 520
Sponsorship as joint venture Becoming relationship-based rather than transaction-based long-term co-operation between sponsor and sponsored Meenaghan T (1998) eg Nike/ManU/NYY
Sponsorship relationships Marketing channel theory issues Roles Domains Power/Dependency Trust Reward affecting operational control and artistic/sporting integrity
The changing role of the sponsor Donor - simple exchange to reach audience Investor - looking for longer-term ROI Impresario - takes control to ensure event reflects brand values –Meenaghan 1998 in Fill 1999 Glastonbury v Virgin festivals?
Media relationships Same issues as with sponsorship relationships eg News Corp / Rugby League strategic tool (globally) joint development of Superleague Power/dependency issues Whose show is it? What happens if they pull out?
A personal relationship? the brainchild of an enthusiast personal satisfaction from success becomes an advocate within a business or social network needs high-level personal contact throughout positive stroking after the event Hill, O’Sullivan x 2 (1995) Morgan (1996)
Key sources Meenaghan T (1983) Commercial Sponsorship European Journal of Marketing 7, 2-73 Meenaghan T (1998) Current developments and future directions in sponsorship International Journal of Advertising 17, 3-28 Amis, J, Pant, N and Slack, T (1997) Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage - a resource based view of sports sponsorship Journal of Sports Management 11, Hill, E, O’Sullivan C & T (1995) Creative Arts Marketing BH Eldridge Pope/Dorchester Community Play case study in Morgan 1996 Oikonnen, R et al (2000) Sponsorship as Relationships and Networks Corporate Communications, an international journal