Understanding the Sport Sponsorship Process from a Corporate Perspective

TLDR

A mailed survey was sent to Canadian corporations with advertising budgets exceeding $50,000 Cdn that were currently sponsoring sports, asking about sponsorship duration, selection criteria, evaluation methods, and reasons for discontinuation. Respondents viewed sport sponsorship primarily as a marketing tool, emphasizing ROI, exclusivity, public awareness, and image, rarely seeing it as philanthropic, and noted that most had discontinued sponsorships and only a third felt benefits were fair.

Abstract

Canadian corporations with advertising budgets in excess of $50,000 Cdn that are currently involved in sport sponsorship were contacted through a mailed survey. They were asked about the length and nature of their sport sponsorship involvements, the criteria used to select events, post-event evaluation methods, and reasons for discontinuing past sponsorships. The results revealed that these companies valued sport sponsorship as an important form of marketing communication but supplemented sponsorship initiatives with a variety of other communication measures. None viewed sponsorship as a philanthropic exercise. Respondents repeatedly noted the importance of return on investment in making sponsorship decisions. They valued exclusivity, public awareness, and positive image above other criteria when selecting sponsorship opportunities. Most of the sponsors had discontinued a sponsorship relationship in the past. Furthermore, only one-third of the sponsors felt that the benefits exchanged with sport organizers were fair and equitable.