Sponsorship Deals Research Articles

Sporting clubs’ perceptions about harmful industry sponsorship: Lessons from gambling research

Abstract Background Unlike tobacco, there are no restrictions relating to gambling sponsorship in Australian sports. While some sporting teams have voluntarily refused sponsorship deals with gambling companies and other harmful industries, many are still actively entering into or renewing such deals. There is limited understanding of why, despite widespread public concern, sporting organisations continue to engage in commercial partnerships with gambling companies and venues. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the ethical and related practical issues associated with gambling sponsorship. Methods In-depth interviews were held with 24 key decision makers in Australian community sporting organisations. Participants were asked questions relating to attitudes towards gambling, decisions about gambling sponsorship within their clubs, and issues relating to alternative sponsors and sponsorship disparities. Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Interviews revealed the difficulty for sporting organisations to avoid harmful industry sponsorship. When deciding to align with gambling companies, sporting organisations had to consider their own values and the reputational impact of such deals, and balance this with the financial viability of the sporting organisation. Despite sporting organisations relying heavily on sponsorship deals, some stated they would refuse gambling sponsorship for ethical reasons but recognised that sporting clubs in poorer financial positions may be more vulnerable to taking up gambling sponsorship. Conclusions As elite sporting organisations begin to move away from gambling sponsorship, gambling companies may target community sport. The authors consider practical strategies to protect communities from sponsorship from harmful industries. Key messages • Sporting organisations navigate ethical dilemmas when considering gambling sponsorships, weighing values, reputation, and financial viability. Policy action is needed to protect local communities. • Community sporting organisations face increased risk of gambling sponsorship as elite sporting clubs move away, prompting the need for protective strategies.

Exploring pregnancy and postpartum experiences among geographically diverse elite athletes: A qualitative study

ObjectivesFemale athletes who experience childbirth during their athletic careers can expect to return to elite sports postpartum and perform at a comparable or improved level. However, mothering athletes often encounter significant barriers when re-entering elite sports. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of a geographically diverse group of mothering athletes who returned to elite sports after childbirth. DesignQualitative phenomenological research design using semi-structured interviews. MethodsIn-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted with nineteen mothering elite running athletes hailing from fourteen different countries. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis. ResultsFindings were generated into five main themes: (1) Deciding to become a mother, (2) revealing pregnancy to stakeholders, (3) experience of pregnancy, (4) combining motherhood and elite running, and (5) improvement strategies to support athlete mothers. The findings revealed that participants experienced stress regarding their pregnancy announcements due to concerns about potential repercussions on their careers. These concerns included the impact on sponsorship deals, relationships with governing bodies, and interactions with their coaches. Participants felt their elite coaches and health practitioners had insufficient education to support them throughout their pregnancies and postpartum return to elite running. Finally, athletes express a sense of diminished pressure and increased motivation in races upon resuming their elite careers, attributing their improved athletic performance postpartum to their shift in focus from themselves to their child. ConclusionsThis study illuminates challenges and offers valuable insights to coaches, sponsors, health practitioners, exercise professionals, researchers, race organizers, and governing athletic bodies in better supporting mothering athletes.

Exploring the Potential Impacts of Mobile Sports Gambling on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Kenya

Kenya’s vibrant mobile sports gambling scene pulsates with the promise of economic prosperity and sporting excellence. Yet, beneath the gleaming facade, whispers of potential pitfalls like addiction, financial strain, and match-fixing cast a long shadow. This study embarks on a multifaceted exploration, wielding both quantitative and qualitative data to reveal the complex realities behind the hype that is all too familiar with the target group. The findings paint a nuanced picture. Young adults and those with higher incomes gamble more frequently, raising concerns about responsible gaming practices. While the industry sparks job creation in sectors such as customer service, marketing, advertisement/brand influencing, and programming, negative consequences like match-fixing and addiction cannot be ignored. For example, in 2023, Kenya’s football federation suspended 14 male football players and 2 coaches over match-fixing allegations, and in February 2020, FIFA banned 4 Kenyan players over an international conspiracy to fix league matches, showing that such iniquitous traits have already permeated the Kenyan sporting arena. Increased sponsorship deals are perceived to propel sports quality; for example, boxing in Kenya was considered a forgotten sport, but various pugilists have gotten lifelines from sponsorship deals with sports betting companies despite these ethical questions still remaining unanswered. Public awareness of government initiatives funded by gambling taxes remains surprisingly low, highlighting a need for greater transparency. Based on these insights, I propose a roadmap for navigating this dynamic landscape. Public awareness campaigns coupled with financial literacy education can empower Kenyans to gamble responsibly. Strengthening regulations and refining taxation systems will ensure fairness and optimize revenue generation. Expanding support services for problem gamblers and fostering workplace awareness are crucial steps towards mitigating negative impacts. Finally, in-depth research is needed to understand the long-term economic and social implications, paving the way for evidence-based interventions. This study transcends mere analysis, offering a crucial compass for policymakers and stakeholders. By acknowledging the double-edged nature of mobile sports gambling, we can chart a course towards a sustainable and responsible future for this transformative industry, ensuring that Kenya truly leverages its potential for growth and prosperity while safeguarding its social well-being.

Social media influencers helping the world? uncovering their advantages and tipping factors in cause-related marketing

While social media influencers have manifested their convertible marketing value in sponsorship deals, brands and non-profits have also been experimenting with them to promote social causes. Whether and how influencers’ traits that contribute to their commercial success also translate to cause-related marketing is yet understudied. This research investigates the specific traits and factors that help to explain influencers’ strengths in cause-related marketing through a qualitative approach via conducting in-depth interviews. Drawing on source credibility, parasocial relation, and congruence effect, this research identified several factors that potentially contribute to followers’ receptivity toward prosocial behaviors promoted by influencers, including source credibility, parasocial relation with followers, followers’ wishful identification, and different levels of congruence (influencer-cause fit, follower-cause fit, and consistency among causes). We further explore how followers perceive influencers’ promotion of prosocial behaviors from a marketing perspective. This research contributes to our understanding of the advantages of influencers in cause-related marketing, and advance knowledge on source credibility and congruence theory in the context of influencer marketing.

Protect student‐athletes, limit institutional risk arising from NIL deals with outside medical entities

In the fast‐moving arena of name, image, and likeness opportunities, it isn’t hard to fathom student‐athletes making NIL deals with physicians, hospitals, and physical therapy/sports medicine clinics similar to the sponsorship deals that athletics departments have made with medical professionals.

Marketing and Business Operations Analysis of Modern Mainstream Sports Events: A Comparative Study of NBA and CBA

This study delves into the marketing strategies and business operations of contemporary mainstream sports events, focusing on a comparative analysis between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). In today's globalized world, sports have evolved beyond mere competition into lucrative entertainment businesses. The NBA and CBA stand as two prominent examples of sports leagues that have garnered massive fan followings and commercial success, albeit in distinct ways. The research investigates the multifaceted aspects of marketing employed by these leagues. It explores how the NBA's international expansion strategies and well-orchestrated marketing campaigns have enabled it to establish a strong global presence. Meanwhile, the CBA's unique approaches to catering to its domestic audience and its collaboration with local brands are scrutinized for their impact on the league's marketability. Furthermore, the study dissects the business operations behind these sports leagues. It analyzes revenue generation models, including ticket sales, broadcasting rights, merchandise, and sponsorship deals, to discern their efficiency and sustainability. By comparing the revenue structures and financial performances of the NBA and CBA, this research aims to provide valuable insights into optimizing the business side of modern sports events. Through this comparative analysis, we hope to shed light on the key factors contributing to the success of sports leagues in the contemporary era. The findings are expected to be of interest to sports industry stakeholders, marketers, and businesses seeking to understand the dynamics of sports marketing and business operations in a global context.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Business Model of Formula 1

This paper provides an overview of the business model of Formula 1 (F1), a premier motorsport racing competition. The main sources of revenue for F1 include TV broadcasting rights, race hosting fees, sponsorship and naming rights, and merchandise sales. In analyzing F1's business model, this paper examines the various revenue streams and the challenges they face. F1 is facing challenges in the area of TV broadcasting rights due to the rise of streaming services and the changing media landscape. Additionally, scheduling conflicts due to the limited time available to hold races are creating tensions between stakeholders. The paper also looks at the impact of sponsorship on F1, including the extension of sponsorship beyond traditional marketing tactics by brands like Rolex and IWC. However, some sponsorship deals have encountered issues, such as Marlboro's association with tobacco and Alfa Romeo's partnership with Stake violating certain countries' laws. It also draws upon a combination of literature review and personal experience to identify key issues and propose potential solutions. By analyzing existing research and drawing upon observations, the paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the business model of Formula 1 and the challenges and opportunities it faces in the current market. Finally, the paper concludes with recommendations for addressing these issues, including exploring alternative revenue streams, implementing more flexible scheduling, and ensuring that sponsor partnerships align with F1's values and do not violate local laws.

PUNJABI POP MUSIC VIDEOS AS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL OF PROMOTION IN INDIA

Punjabi pop music videos have gained significant popularity in India in recent years. These music videos, which often feature catchy beats, energetic dance numbers, and colorful production values, have become widely popular among young people in India. These music videos have been used as a tool for brand promotion and marketing by various companies and organizations. These music videos offer a unique platform for reaching a large and engaged audience, particularly among younger people. Brands and products can be featured in the music video itself or advertised during the video through product placements or sponsorship deals. This research paper investigates the use of Punjabi pop music videos as an effective tool for promotion. A sample of 1000 respondents from different parts of India were surveyed through both offline and online methods using a self-made questionnaire to study effectiveness Punjabi pop music videos as Promotional tool.

Reversing equity transfer in sponsorship for competitive advantage of emerging local events: quantitative evidence from an experimental study

PurposeBuilt upon the balance theory and schema theory, this study examined the impact of sponsors' intangible attributes, including consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and brand-event image fit (BEIF), on consumer responses to emerging local events (ELEs), as well as major boundary conditions of this mechanism.Design/methodology/approachTheoretical hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis of covariance and structural equation modeling with the data from two experiments: the experiment in the pilot study was used to calibrate sponsor stimuli, and the experiment in the main study was designed to assess consumer responses to different sponsor-event combinations.FindingsResults of this experimental study illustrated the dominant role of CBBE in influencing individuals' perceived event value and intention to participate in the context of ELEs and revealed the noticeable but limited moderating effects of BEIF and sport identification.Originality/valueThis study highlighted the importance of sponsorship in the marketing communications of ELEs and suggested prioritizing the overall attributes of sponsors in the sponsor-selection. This study also called for more research attention directed toward the intangible benefits that sporting events could receive from sponsorship deals.

Putting the First Amendment in Play: Name, Image, and Likeness Policies and Athlete Freedom of Speech

Following a unanimous defeat at the Supreme Court in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) v. Alston and facing an impending start date for various state laws that would force action on athletes’ ability to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL), the NCAA recently made the decision to simply allow states and member colleges and universities to promulgate NIL restrictions on their own. But while such a delegation helps the NCAA stave off relevant antitrust action against them, placing regulatory authority over college athlete endorsement and sponsorship deals in the hands of government actors like state legislators, governors, and public educational institutions brings constitutional analysis into play in a way that has not previously been seen in sports due to the wholly private natures of sports leagues and the NCAA.
 Along these lines, this Article applies First Amendment jurisprudence to three recurring NIL restrictions imposed by states and schools: (1) restrictions on athlete deals that conflict with institutional endorsement deals; (2) restrictions on athlete deals with vice industries like gambling and alcohol; and (3) broad restrictions on deals that conflict with undefined “institutional values.” To do so, we apply several First Amendment doctrinal frameworks—those concerning commercial speech, student speech, public employee speech, and the overbreadth doctrine—to provide a range of different means by which courts may interpret how the rights of college athletes are affected by NIL policies. In the end, we find that the nature of these restrictions as overbroad prior restraints of free speech creates significant doubt as to the constitutionality of many of these restrictions under the First Amendment. We conclude that such restrictions in no uncertain form “present a ‘realistic danger’ [that these actors] could significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections,” including the advanced protections for political speech.

Why do they matter?: Commercial partnerships with the infant feeding world

Partnerships with charities and public organisations are a tactic commercial companies use to seek new customers. The UK restricts advertising of first infant milk formula. However, if a formula company gains access to families and professionals through a partnership or sponsorship deals, they benefit from a cost-effective marketing tool. With increased pressure on public funds, it is tempting for companies to enter relationships with respected organisations. However, families pay the price – often literally – for products that cost more, even though they are nutritionally equivalent to much cheaper options. Emma Pickett explores why these partnerships matter.

Les enfants sont rois par Delphine de Vigan

Reviewed by: Les enfants sont rois par Delphine de Vigan Jennifer L. Holm Vigan, Delphine De. Les enfants sont rois. Gallimard, 2021. ISBN 978-2-0729-1581-9. Pp. 352. Critics of the digital age and globalization suggest that new technologies have led to a destabilization, even loss, of community and identity. Who are we if we can be anyone at any time? What do we choose to share of ourselves and with whom? To what communities do we belong if the whole world lies before us, accessible through a few clicks? However, for Mélanie Diore, the protagonist of Delphine de Vigan's eleventh novel, it is precisely because of this digital world that she finds meaning in her life. Mélanie is the mother of Kimmy and Sammy, stars of Happy Récrée, a YouTube channel through which Mélanie documents and shares every element of her children's lives. Each day, millions of followers enter the Diore home to watch Kimmy and Sammy as they indulge their mother's whims in the hopes of getting more "likes," more sponsorship deals, more followers, more fame. Every moment of the children's lives is an elaborately crafted made-for-tv moment. Except one. During a rare afternoon left to play hide-and-seek with the neighborhood children, six-year-old Kimmy goes missing. Police investigator Clara Roussel's work to understand the Diore family and find Kimmy plunges the reader into an exploration of the psychology behind Melanie's choices as she builds a digital following, choices that seem increasingly exploitive and potentially dangerous. Like other novels by Vigan, Les enfants sont rois is a slow-burning thriller exposing the troubled psychologies of the novel's characters—of families trying to negotiate relationships in a world in which everything is for sale and very little remains too intimate to share. Imagining the consequences of a life in which the boundary between public and private fades into oblivion, Les enfants sont rois is gripping and provocative, speaking to a moment in which our private lives are increasingly visible to the outside world, thanks to Zoom, TikTok, Instagram and other forms of social media. One of the novel's successes is that Kimmy's kidnapping, a common trope in thrillers, is not the element that drives the novel's suspense. The reader may, in fact, ask if Kimmy's kidnapping is an act of benevolence. Tension arises, rather, from the steady drip of knowledge about reality television, social media, influencers, and technology that accumulates as the novel progresses. The juxtaposition of Melanie's utter denial about the consequences of an anonymity-free life with her son's extreme paranoia, which consumes the last third of the novel, is highly disturbing. With a narrative arc spanning three decades, the narrator explores the short and long-term psychological, emotional, and social effects of living a camera-ready life. The narrator speaks of potential social media-induced psychological disorders that will trouble and haunt today's children in their adult lives, suggesting problems we may have to confront in the not-so-distant future. [End Page 275] Jennifer L. Holm University of Virginia's College, Wise Copyright © 2021 American Association of Teachers of French

Putting the First Amendment in Play: Name, Image, and Likeness Policies and Athlete Freedom of Speech

Following their unanimous defeat at the Supreme Court in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) v. Alston and facing an impending start date for various state laws that would force action on athletes’ ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL), the NCAA recently made the decision to simply allow states and member colleges and universities to promulgate NIL restrictions on their own. But while such a delegation helps the NCAA stave off relevant antitrust action against them, placing regulatory authority over college athlete endorsement and sponsorship deals in the hands of government actors like state legislators, governors, and public educational institutions brings constitutional analysis in play in a way that has not been seen in sports due to the wholly private natures of sports leagues and the NCAA. Along these lines, this Article applies First Amendment jurisprudence to three recurring NIL restrictions imposed by states and schools: restrictions on athlete deals that conflict with institutional endorsement deals, restrictions on athlete deals with vice industries like gambling and alcohol, and broad restrictions on deals that conflict with undefined “institutional values.” To do so, we apply several First Amendment doctrinal frameworks—those concerning commercial speech, student speech, public employee speech, and the overbreadth doctrine—to provide a range of different means by which courts may interpret how the rights of college athletes are affected by NIL policies. In the end, we find that the nature of these restrictions as overbroad prior restraints of free speech creates significant doubt as to the constitutionality of many of these restrictions under the First Amendment. We conclude that such restrictions in no uncertain form “present a ‘realistic danger’ [that these actors] could significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections,” including the advanced protections for political speech.

Sport sponsorship announcement and stock returns: a meta-analytic review

PurposeGiven the public availability of secondary data on investments in events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and professional sports, event studies that measure stock market response to these investments have grown. Previous findings are mixed, however, with some studies suggesting that the announcement of sponsorship contracts is a positive event and others finding detrimental effects of the announcement on shareholder value. This study aims to analyze the mixed findings from event studies in sport sponsorship to determine if sponsorship announcements influence stock market response.Design/methodology/approachThe meta-analysis examines more than 20 years of research on event studies in sponsorship (34 studies).FindingsThe overall results show a positive, but non-significant effect of partnership deal announcements on shareholder wealth. Further analysis considers the effects of sponsorship announcements by each type of event window to see the impact of the announcement relative to time (pre-announcement, announcement day, post-announcement and pre- to post-announcement). This closer examination of the event window shows that stock prices of sponsoring organizations increased in the pre-announcement window.Originality/valueQuantitative meta-analytic findings indicate that information about sponsorship deals appears to leak to share markets and positively influence share price. This finding suggests that sponsoring the sports and events found in these event studies is seen as value enhancing for sponsoring firms.

Consequences of Event-Sponsor Fit in Sport Sponsorship: Evidence from the Indian Premier League

This study investigates the sponsorship effectiveness in the context of the Indian Premier League (IPL). A conceptual model was developed with the event-sponsor fit as the independent variable and brand equity and purchase intention of the event sponsor as the dependent variables. Data were collected from 303 IPL fans using a questionnaire survey. Structural equation modelling was used. IBM SPSS 17 and AMOS 18 software were used for data analysis and hypotheses testing. The results showed that event-sponsor fit influences the attitude towards the sponsor and sponsorship as a whole. The attitudinal constructs influenced the brand equity and purchase intention of the sponsor brand. This is the first study that empirically tests the relationship between event-sponsor fit, attitudinal constructs, brand equity and purchase intention in the context of IPL. The findings of this study can help the brand marketers to make the best of the sponsorship deals.

Logos on Everest: Commercial Sponsorship of American Expeditions, 1950–2000

In the 1950s, outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer donated down jackets to American mountaineers embarking on climbing expeditions in the Himalayas. In the 1990s, chemical manufacturer W. L. Gore & Associates donated both goods and $2 million to an expedition in Antarctica. The funds dedicated to sponsorship by the end of the twentieth century reflect a shift in how companies saw expeditions as useful to their marketing goals. This article uses two archives previously unexplored by historians that offer an unprecedented chance to compare sponsorship relationships in a single industry across decades. Commercial sponsorship of American expeditions and athletes has undergone three dramatic changes since 1950, and these shifts help explain how sponsorship as a form of marketing became so popular. Sponsorship contracts shifted from vague to specific as a result of decades of unsatisfying results for corporate sponsors. Sponsored athletes became business partners and began taking an active role in promoting the companies that provided them cash or donations in-kind. Finally, companies developed strategies for leveraging their sponsorship deals. The changing landscape of the business of expeditions ultimately reveals how the most long-lasting legacies of these extreme adventures happened far from the trail and much closer to company boardrooms, sponsorship managers’ offices and retail stores where consumers learned to engage with the narratives companies and athletes had crafted together.

Examining Sponsorship’s Effectiveness Over the Internet: A Conceptual Framework for Researchers and Practitioners

The aim of this research is to examine sport sponsorship’s effectiveness over the internet. A conceptual framework for sponsorship evaluation over the internet was proposed, incorporating crucial factors such as supporters’ beliefs about sponsorship, their satisfaction form the sport event as well as their degree of sport involvement, the usage of website and social media, awareness of and attitude toward real sponsoring firms and their actual and future purchase intentions concerning sponsors’ goods and services. A quantitative method was used for the purpose of the current research and a total of 3434 questionnaires were successfully completed and analyzed. The empirical results indicated that sponsorship awareness impacts positively and significantly in both actual and intended purchase behavior of the respondents, suggesting that sponsorship awareness is the initial stage of a continuum of fans’ responses that can lead to their purchase intentions and actual purchase. Evidence on this study contributes to the ongoing debate about sponsorship effectiveness and its implication on customer behavior and provides significant implications for managers wishing to improve their future revenues by investing in sponsorship deals, since sponsorship awareness is an important feature that managers must control in order to affect their customers purchasing decisions.

Athlete off-field misconduct, sponsor reputation risk, and stock returns

ABSTRACT Research Question: Does athlete off-field misconduct affect the stock price of sponsors of the athlete's team, stadium and league? No research on the impact of athlete off-field misconduct on indirect sponsors like team, stadium, or league sponsors exists. Research Methods: The paper employs quantitative analysis using an event study methodology. The paper performs an analysis of stock price data for 179 publicly traded firms sponsoring the National Football League (NFL), NFL teams, or NFL stadiums, based on 863 individual incidents of NFL player off-field misconduct over 2000–2017. Results and Findings: Off-field misconduct affects team sponsors, but not stadium or league sponsors. Cumulative average abnormal return for team sponsors amount to −0.3% ten trading days after events and more than −1.0% after the strengthening of the NFL personal conduct policy in 2014. The mean (median) impact of a misconduct incident on team sponsor market capitalization was −$157 million (−$44.7 million). Implications: Organizations considering sports sponsorship deals should understand that they assume a risk of negative effects of player off-field misconduct even if they sponsor teams and not individual athletes. Investors in firms that sponsor professional sports teams should realize that the price of their shares could decline if an athlete on a sponsored team violates laws or gets arrested. Sports leagues should recognize that changing personal conduct policies may have unintended consequences in terms of how the public, especially investors in firms sponsoring teams, react to violations of these policies.

Sport Sponsorship Announcement and Stock Returns: A Meta-Analytic Review

Purpose – Given the public availability of secondary data on investments in events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup and professional sports, event studies that measure stock market response to these investments have grown. Previous findings are mixed, however, with some studies suggesting that the announcement of sponsorship contracts is a positive event and others finding detrimental effects of the announcement on shareholder value. This study aims to analyze the mixed findings from event studies in sport sponsorship to determine if sponsorship announcements influence stock market response. Design/methodology/approach – The meta-analysis examines more than 20 years of research on event studies in sponsorship (34 studies). Findings – The overall results show a positive, but non-significant effect of partnership deal announcements on shareholder wealth. Further analysis considers the effects of sponsorship announcements by each type of event window to see the impact of the announcement relative to time (pre-announcement, announcement day, post-announcement and pre- to post-announcement). This closer examination of the event window shows that stock prices of sponsoring organizations increased in the pre-announcement window. Originality/value – Quantitative meta-analytic findings indicate that information about sponsorship deals appears to leak to share markets and positively influence share price. This finding suggests that sponsoring the sports and events found in these event studies is seen as value enhancing for sponsoring firms.

Consequences of event-sponsor fit in sport sponsorship: evidence from the Indian Premier League

This study investigates the sponsorship effectiveness in the context of the Indian Premier League (IPL). A conceptual model was developed with the event-sponsor fit as the independent variable and brand equity and purchase intention of the event sponsor as the dependent variables. Data were collected from 303 IPL fans using a questionnaire survey. Structural equation modelling was used. IBM SPSS 17 and AMOS 18 software were used for data analysis and hypotheses testing. The results showed that event-sponsor fit influences the attitude towards the sponsor and sponsorship as a whole. The attitudinal constructs influenced the brand equity and purchase intention of the sponsor brand. This is the first study that empirically tests the relationship between event-sponsor fit, attitudinal constructs, brand equity and purchase intention in the context of IPL. The findings of this study can help the brand marketers to make the best of the sponsorship deals.