Table of Contents

3 I. Methodology

Methodology A total of 165 participants were contacted, via , by Performance Research and asked to complete an online questionnaire about the sponsorship decision-making process. Respondents were screened by IEG, Inc. to be sponsorship decision-makers from small, medium and large corporations worldwide. Data collection was conducted in January and February Research objectives included, but were not limited to, determining the benefits and services that are most important to companies when making sponsorship decisions and estimating how companies are budgeting for measurement and activation. The margin of error for this study is approximately + 4%. This study was conducted in conjunction with IEG, LLC. LLC. 4

II. Executive Summary 5

Decision-maker Survey Shows Confidence In Sponsorship Remains High Despite unstable economic conditions roiling around them, corporate marketers remain committed to sponsorship, according to the eighth annual IEG/Performance Research Sponsorship Decision-makers Survey. In fact, the average share of overall marketing budgets captured by sponsorship has hit a record high of 19.5 percent. Just six years ago, the average company devoted only 12 percent of its marketing dollars to sponsorship. In addition, for the first time ever, the majority of survey respondents-57 percent-allocated 11 percent or more of their overall budgets to the medium (see chart on pg. 20). The reason for that sponsorship bullishness may be seen in another high water mark from the survey: Fifty-six percent of sponsors reported that their return on sponsorship is increasing, versus 15 percent who said it was unchanged and six percent who said returns were diminishing. Another 24 percent said they did not know how their ROI was trending (see chart on pg. 49). Source: IEG Sponsorship Report March 17, 2008 Volume 27: Number 5 6

Decision-maker Survey Shows Confidence In Sponsorship Remains High (Continued…) With a recession looming over their heads, expectations might be that a greater number of sponsors would be belt tightening, but their self-reporting on spending actually shows a slight increase in the number of sponsors who said their companies’ spending would rise this year (40 percent as opposed to 38 percent in the ’07 survey). Forty-one percent of sponsors were keeping budgets steady and 19 percent said they would spend less in ’08 (see chart on pg. 18). Gut Still Rules, As Little Is Spent On Research Nearly half of survey respondents said their companies spend nothing on evaluating the appropriateness of potential sponsorships (see chart on pg. 45), and one-third said nothing was spent to measure the success of existing partnerships (see chart on pg. 43). Only 20 percent spent more than one percent of a sponsorship’s total budget on pre- deal evaluation, while only 23 percent spent that amount on measuring return. Source: IEG Sponsorship Report March 17, 2008 Volume 27: Number 5 7

Gut Still Rules, As Little Is Spent On Research (continued) On a similar note, only 19 percent of sponsors said they had a dedicated budget for sponsorship research. The average amount spent on activation relevant to rights fees (see chart on pg. 19) declined this year after increasing for the past three years. Activation spending slipped to $1.50 for every $1 spent on rights fees after reaching a record high 1.9-to- 1 ratio in the ’07 survey. In terms of what sponsors hope to achieve through their partnerships, increasing brand loyalty distanced itself as the most important objective, as 71 percent of sponsors rated it a 9 or a 10 on a 10-point scale (see chart on pg. 26).The ability to capture contact information for lead generation and database marketing grew in importance this year, now ranking as the sixth most important objective. Source: IEG Sponsorship Report March 17, 2008 Volume 27: Number 5 8

III. Assertions 9

Assertions Some might be disappointed that the latest IEG/Performance Research Sponsorship Decision-makers Survey shows a decline in the activation-spending-to-rights-fee ratio from 1.9-to-1 last year to 1.5-to-1 this year (see Executive Summary). However, we don’t believe this result indicates that sponsors are less inclined to activate their deals. More likely, the drop reflects that leveraging activities are moving toward lower-cost media and communication tools, especially online, and away from costly traditional advertising. As evidence, note the survey’s finding that while advertising remained the top activation method, online promotions rose to the fifth most popular leveraging tool, with 62 percent employing Internet tie-ins versus 51 percent who said in last year’s survey that they activated online. Another reason for the lower activation ratio is that targeted sponsorship opportunities such as associations, B2B partnerships and local properties require lower levels of activation spending than do mass-market deals. Source: IEG Sponsorship Report Assertions: Jim Andrews March 17, 2008 Volume 27: Number

Assertions (continued) In a couple of additional survey findings, sponsors noted a slight decline in their reliance on agencies. Fifty-nine percent of sponsors reported that they used an agency to help support their sponsorship programs, reversing a three-year trend in which a growing number of sponsors (52 percent in ’05 to 62 percent in ’07) reported that they used agencies. Also, the percentage of sponsors who said they consulted with a sponsorship specialist to help determine their strategy and select opportunities declined from 17 percent last year to 13 percent this year. 11 Source: IEG Sponsorship Report Assertions: Jim Andrews March 17, 2008 Volume 27: Number 5

III. Respondent Profile 12

Decision Making Responsibilities "Within your organization, which of the following describes your responsibilities regarding sponsorship? 13

Sponsorship Programs By Region “In what regions do your sponsorship programs operate?” 14

Personal Location By Region “In which region are you personally based?” 15

Choosing Property to Sponsor “How do you typically go about choosing a property to sponsor?” 16

IV. Sponsorship Spending And Involvement 17

Likely Sponsorship Spending Compared to Prior Year “How will your overall sponsorship spending in [current year] compare to [prior year]?” 18

[*Based on those who responded] “Approximately what % of your org’s overall marketing budget do sponsorship rights fees represent?” Percentage of Marketing Budget Spent On Sponsorship 19

Leveraging/Spending Ratio “As best as you can estimate, what is your company’s typical promotional spending ratio?” Average Ratio of Activation Spending to Rights Fees 2003 – 1.7: – 1.3: – 1.5: – 1.7: – 1.9: – 1.5:1 [*Based on those who responded] 20

Agency Used for Support “What types of agencies, if any, do you use to help leverage/support your sponsorship program?" 21

“During the past 12 months, which of the following marketing communication channels have you used to leverage your sponsorship programs?" Marketing Communication Channels Used [Top 5] 22

“During the past 12 months, which of the following marketing communication channels have you used to leverage your sponsorship programs?" Marketing Communication Channels Used [6-9] 23

“Compared to 2007, how much do you expect your company to be involved in the following types of sponsorship in 2008?" More Likely to be Involved in Sponsorship Category than Prior Yr. 24

“Compared to 2007, how much do you expect your company to be involved in the following types of sponsorship in 2008?" Less Likely to be Involved in Sponsorship Category than Prior Yr. 25

Sponsorship Objectives [Top 5 “9&10” Ratings] "Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following objectives as to their importance to you or your marketing team's decisions when you evaluate which sports or properties to sponsor?" 26

Sponsorship Objectives [Other top “9&10” Ratings] "Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following objectives as to their importance to you or your marketing team's decisions when you evaluate which sports or properties to sponsor?" 27

"Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following objectives as to their importance to you or your marketing team's decisions when you evaluate which sports or properties to sponsor?" Sponsorship Objectives - Business To Business [“9&10” Ratings] 28

"Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following objectives as to their importance to you or your marketing team's decisions when you evaluate which sports or properties to sponsor?" Sponsorship Objectives - Sales & Promotional [“9&10” Ratings] 29

"Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following objectives as to their importance to you or your marketing team's decisions when you evaluate which sports or properties to sponsor?" Sponsorship Objectives - General [“9&10” Ratings] 30

"Using the same scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following benefits as to how valuable they are to your organization?" Value of Benefits [“9&10” Ratings] Top 5 Results 31

Value of Benefits [“9&10” Ratings] Results 6-10 "Using the same scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following benefits as to how valuable they are to your organization?" 32

Value of Benefits [“9&10” Ratings] Results "Using the same scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following benefits as to how valuable they are to your organization?" 33

Value of Benefits [“9&10” Ratings] Results NA "Using the same scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is not at all and 10 is extremely, please rate the following benefits as to how valuable they are to your organization?" 34

V. Research Considerations 35

“What is your primary source of sponsorship industry news?" Primary Source of Sponsorship Industry News [*Based on those who responded] 36

“From the following list, which sources would you say you rely on to provide you with sponsorship industry news?" Sources of Sponsorship Industry News [Top 5 Sources] [*Based on those who responded] 37

“From the following list, which sources would you say you rely on to provide you with sponsorship industry news?" Sources of Sponsorship Industry News [Sources 6-9] [*Based on those who responded] 38

"Which of the following do you typically analyze when making your decision?" Information Sought Pre- Sponsorship [Top 4 Results] 39

Information Sought Pre- Sponsorship [Results 5-8] "Which of the following do you typically analyze when making your decision?" 40

Have A Budget for Sponsorship Research “Do you have an on-going budget for sponsorship research?" 41

“Approximately what % of a sponsorship’s total budget is typically spent on pre-selection research to evaluate fit?” Rights Fee % Spent on Pre- Event Research to Evaluate Fit 42

“Approximately what % of a sponsorship’s total budget is typically spent on concurrent / post-event research to measure success?” Rights Fee % Spent on Concurrent / Post-event Research 43

VI. Property Perceptions 44

“Please rate the following ‘property-provided services’ as to how valuable they are to your organization?" Value Placed On Property Provided Services [“9&10” Ratings] 45

“To what degree do you depend on properties to help you measure your ROI during / after your sponsorship involvement?” Average Ratio of Activation Spending to Rights Fees 2003 Mean= Mean= Mean= Mean= Mean= Mean=5.9 Extent You Depend On Properties To Measure ROI 46

“Are properties meeting your expectations in delivering ROI measurement or research information?" Properties Meeting Expectations 47

“In general, over the past few years has your ROI from sponsorship…?" Perceived ROI From Sponsorship Over Past Few Years 48

Company Profile 49 Performance Research (Newport, Rhode Island) was organized in 1985 to provide quantitative and qualitative evaluation of event marketing programs to corporate sponsors, properties and their agencies. Over the past twenty years, the company has conducted over 1 million, on-site, on-line, and telephone interviews and more than 500 focus groups regarding corporate sponsorships of sports, leisure activities and special events. As a leader in custom sponsorship evaluation, Performance Research has in-depth experience with varied events worldwide, and is a primary research partner with many of the world’s top corporate sponsors, including: Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Citi-Financial, R.J. Reynolds, Sony-Ericsson and UBS.

Performance Research 25 Mill Street Newport, RI USA contact: Bill Doyle, Vice President 50