Marketing Communications

350 CHAPTER 11 SPONSORSHIP

depending on the objectives and the target groups of the global communications campaign,

sponsorship projects will be selected that are best capable of reaching the desired target

groups. For instance, products targeted at up-market demographic segments will sponsor

tennis, golf and the arts, while brands targeting youngsters will focus on popular music festival

or programme sponsoring.

Table 11.1 Sports sponsorship target audiences in Canada

Audience Mean importance (on 7-point scale)

Potential customers 5.79

Existing customers 5.62

Local community 5.60

General public 5.16

Business community 4.37

Workforce 4.33

Distributors 3.21

Shareholders 3.18

Suppliers 3.09

Ethnic groups 3.05

Government 2.74

Source : Based on Thwaites, D., Anguilar-Manjarrez, R. and Kidd, C. (1998), ‘Sports Sponsorship Development in Leading Canadian

Companies: Issues and Trends’, International Journal of Advertising , 17(1), 29–50. Reproduced with permission of WARC.

Does major investment in sports sponsorship actually benefit brand owners? This seems to be primarily the case

among young consumers. The impact of sports sponsorship on other age groups is much more limited. In 2002,

NOP World questioned 1001 people from a representative sample of the UK population on behalf of the Superbrand

organisation to test brand awareness and brand perception of the sponsors of World Cup soccer. Within the 15–24 year

old range, 40% of people said that they would feel more confident about a brand if it sponsored high-profile sporting

events such as the World Cup. Only 19% of the 25–34 year olds and 18% of the 35–44 year olds feel more confidence

in a sponsoring brand. This percentage even lowers to 13% of 45–54 year olds and a mere 6% of 55–64 year olds.

For the over 65s, this percentage increases slightly to 11%. The impact of high-profile sporting events appears primarily

to impress the younger age groups.^26

RESEARCH INSIGHT

World Cup sponsorship and brand perception

Chapter objectives

Sponsorship is a very fl exible communications tool that can be used to achieve both marketing

(product or brand) and corporate communications objectives. Table 11.2 gives an overview of

the two categories of objectives. In each of the categories a distinction can be made between

the type of target group and/or the type of objective.^27

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