The Meanings of Sports Sponsorship 'Success': Not Just a Transaction but a Relationship

Abstract

Sponsorship of sports event is a big business. Yet there is almost no agreement on what constitutes "success." Many of the measures that are provided are either vague – e.g. "improves our brand position" – or intermediate – e.g., persistence of consumer memory of a sponsor mention. Moreover even these measures are one-sided, looking at what the sponsor "gets" from sponsorship, but not considering what those participating in the sponsored event receive? This article critically examines the existing literature on sports sponsorship and collates the various measures of success that have been used. These measures are ranked and assessed in terms of their meaningfulness to the sponsor and, where applicable, to those involved in what is being sponsored. Overall there is little consensus on whether event sponsorship is a "successful" strategy and what "success" actually means, or should mean. This is no surprise in one way since every event and each sponsorship is unique. In general there needs to be more research on the impacts of sponsorship from the event participant’s point of view and from the larger social frame.