360 CHAPTER 11 SPONSORSHIPcauses. Cause-related marketing allows companies to attract and retain consumers, diff erentiate
themselves from the competition and reach niche markets. Furthermore, cause-related sponsor-
ship can motivate and engender loyalty in employees. In a 1999 study, 87% of employees in
companies with cause-related programmes indicated a strong loyalty to their employer.
Gradually, for many companies, cause-related sponsorship has evolved from a short-term, one-
shot activity to a long-term strategic choice. Cause programmes are selected because they
fi t into company competencies and long-term strategic objectives. Cause-related sponsorship
places high demands on a company’s strategy. A company wanting to engage in cause pro-
grammes successfully should be aware of the important principles of such activity: integrity,
transparency, sincerity, mutual respect, partnership and mutual benefi t. If not, the whole
sponsorship programme will backfi re, and the company will become known as insincere,
opportunistic and lacking in credibility.^66
A hybrid form of broadcast and cause-related sponsorship is the organised sponsorship of
advocacy advertising on TV. For instance, an insurance company could sponsor TV spots in
which parents are warned against situations that are potentially dangerous to children, such
as water boiling on a stove, knives within reach, etc.Twenty-one companies paid €700 million to be able to call themselves official sponsor of the 2006 World
Championships Football. Fifteen major partners each paid about €40 million, smaller partners each paid €15 million.
In return, they demanded exclusive publicity rights. FIFA’s (the organiser) statistical handbook is sponsored by
Gillette; in the press rooms only Philips video screens are installed; browsing the Internet can only be done via
Deutsche Telekom; and at the bar only Coca-Cola drinks can be offered. The return on sponsorship is often sub-
stantial. For instance, Adidas sold 15 million championship footballs, as well as 3 million shirts. Of course, the
competitors of these sponsors are aware of the commercial impact and, by means of ambush marketing, also try to
benefit from the championships. The Dutch beer brand Bavaria launched a promotion in the Netherlands. When buying
a case of Bavaria, a free pair of orange trousers with a lion’s tail and the Bavaria logo was given (orange being the
colour of the Dutch football team). About a thousand supporters who showed up in the orange trousers were obliged
to take them off if they wanted to enter the stadium. Others got the warning not to take their wallet out of their bag,
because Puma (the wallet’s brand) was not an official sponsor. In the German stadiums, the name of insurance
company ‘Allianz’ on the ‘Allianz Arena’ had to be covered, because the company was not a sponsor of the tournament,
although it paid lots of money to link its name to the new stadium. These measures are not exceptional. Sponsors
and organisers hire ‘spotters’ to discover and prevent all forms of ambush marketing at major events.^67BUSINESS INSIGHT
Sponsors of the 2006 World Championships Football prevent ambush marketingAmbush marketing
Ambush marketing occurs when an organisation deliberately seeks an association with a
particular event without being an offi cial sponsor of the event to persuade the audience that
the ambusher is a legitimate or major sponsor.^68 Th is can be done by sponsoring the media
covering the event, by sponsoring sub-categories within the event (one team or one player), or
by overstating the organisation’s involvement in the event by means of supporting advertising
or sales promotion activity during the event.
Ambush marketers use several techniques, some of which are illegal, most of which are at
least dubious, and some of which are legitimate. Ambush sponsors can use logos and brand names
in non-authorised media: they can use sports logos and sports images without permission,M11_PELS3221_05_SE_C11.indd 360M11_PELS3221_05_SE_C11.indd 360 3/6/13 4:07 PM3/6/13 4:07 PM