Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine sponsorship effectiveness at the Division I level, including the relationship between fans and sponsors. To collect the necessary data, the 13-item questionnaire was disseminated at two college football games by volunteer sampling at three Division I universities in the United States. With a total of 407 respondents, LISREL 8.52 and SPSS 17.0 were used to analyze the data for descriptive statistics, CFA, and SEM. By utilizing SEM, the variables of team attachment, sponsor image, word of mouth, and purchase intentions fit the proposed model. Pragmatically, the significance of team attachment can be understated in its role as an initial construct to begin the sponsorship process. Considering the construct of sponsor image as a mediating variable, sponsor image played an important role to anticipate an increase in positive word of mouth or an increase in consumer purchase intentions.
Highlights
Sponsorship is noted to be an integral part of the promotional and marketing mix (International Event Group [IEG], 2004; Kotler, 2000; O'Reilly et al, 2008). Ukman (2004) defined sponsorship as “a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property” (p. 154)
Noting the revenues and business relationships at stake among universities, sponsors, and fans, research into team attachment, sponsor image, and how it relates to sponsorship effectiveness is critical to the success of future collegiate sport sponsorship agreements (Alexandris, Tsaousi, & James, 2007; Deane, Smith, & Adams, 2003; Cornwell & Coote, 2005)
In an effort to improve upon their study by addressing the insufficient number of items that were used to measure each construct and a lack of literature to support these constructs, the purpose of the current study was to modify their scale to examine how college football team attachment contributes to sponsorship effectiveness by studying three American college football teams in the Division I level
Summary
Sponsorship is noted to be an integral part of the promotional and marketing mix (International Event Group [IEG], 2004; Kotler, 2000; O'Reilly et al, 2008). Ukman (2004) defined sponsorship as “a cash and/or in-kind fee paid to a property (typically sports, arts, entertainment, or causes) in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that property” (p. 154). The drop of 3.3% in 2010 was an improvement from the decrease of 7.8% in 2009, IEG (2011) indicated that promotional spending would plateau in 2011. Informed of these numbers, a significant focus of this research and for future sport sponsorship agreements will be the benefits that sponsors receive from investing financial support and providing products and service. Noting the revenues and business relationships at stake among universities, sponsors, and fans, research into team attachment, sponsor image, and how it relates to sponsorship effectiveness is critical to the success of future collegiate sport sponsorship agreements (Alexandris, Tsaousi, & James, 2007; Deane, Smith, & Adams, 2003; Cornwell & Coote, 2005)
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