Impact of congruence in cause marketing campaigns for professional sport organisations

Abstract

Cause marketing is the fastest growing type of sponsorship and is a key tactic for implementing a firm’s social responsibility strategy. Unique characteristics of the sport industry make cause marketing participation compelling, if not expected for sport organisations. This study assessed the relationship between sponsor-cause congruence and consumer responses to cause marketing programmes for professional sport leagues. A total of 186 students participated in a two-group experimental design. Results indicated a main effects difference for sponsorship response variables between congruent and less congruent conditions. Perceived sincerity was significantly more positive for congruent sponsor-cause linkages. Subjects’ level of interest with the sport league sponsoring a cause was a significant covariate with attitude toward the sponsor and indirect/direct consumption intention. Given the low means for the consumer response variables, the cause marketing efforts of professional sport brands may not have the same impact as those executed by brands in other product categories.