No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Using latent growth modelling (LGM) to disentangle the static and dynamic components of brand affect and brand trust, this longitudinal study examines the impacts of consumer ethnocentrism, animosity, and cosmopolitanism on the effects of sponsorships on brand affect and brand trust. Design/Methodology An online panel of U.K. participants reported their perceptions of a French sponsor at three successive points (before, during, and at the end of the 2012 London Olympics). Of the 903 respondents at T1, 694 remained at T2 (76.8%) and 577 (63.9%) remained at T3. Another 302 respondents only at T3 controlled for potential mere measurement effects. The data were analysed using LGM techniques. Findings Due to sponsorship effects, brand affect and brand trust increased linearly over time. However, consumer ethnocentrism and animosity negatively moderated these increases. Cosmopolitanism enhanced brand affect but not brand trust. Research Implications As market globalisation exposes foreign firms to potential backlash from consumer nationalistic orientations toward their products, sponsorship strategies must consider the interplay between these nationalistic sentiments and sponsorship effects. While foreign sponsors are typically preoccupied with determining the fit between their brand and a local event, they must also consider individual-level nationalistic sentiments. The success of companies in foreign markets depends on creating favourable country-directed consumer attitudes. Originality/Value Beyond demonstrating the application of LGM to individual-level longitudinal analyses, this study extends sponsorship research by considering a previously unexplored area with key academic and managerial contributions, namely, the role of consumer nationalism in sponsorship effects. The strategic uses and outcomes of international sponsorship must be considered in conjunction with consumers' perceptions of foreign brands from a nationalistic perspective.

This research seeks to investigate how organizations can utilize sport sponsorship to build their corporate social responsibility (CSR) image effectively, by examining the attributes of a sport property that are most conducive to a sponsor gaining CSR image benefits. Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experimental design was employed, which simulated different sponsorship scenarios by varying community proximity (operationalized by property scope) and property engagement in community initiatives. Hypotheses were tested with a non-parametric bootstrapping-based procedure, using a panel sample of 400. Findings The results show that a sporting property's proactive community engagement is conducive to an enhanced CSR image for its sponsor, especially when the property operates on the national rather than grassroots level. Further analysis also demonstrates the critical contribution of altruistic motive attributions in the process. Originality/value This study advances knowledge on how organizations may build their CSR image while leveraging on the strong audience involvement and the mass appeal of sport sponsorship. It is the first to offer insights into the extent to which a sports property's proactive engagement in the community, rather than that of the sponsoring firm itself, enhances CSR image for the sponsor, particularly if the property's community proximity is low. Furthermore, our results provide an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms determining the benefits that sponsors can reap from a property's activities.

Brand sponsorship connects brands with large, passionate audiences. The sponsorship literature emphasizes the importance of brand sponsor–team congruence; however, prior research has largely focused on the relevance of the brand to the sport or geographic area. This article offers the first real-world empirical investigation of the effects of visual congruence through color matching on sponsorship performance. A wide-scale study of 703 Major League Baseball fans’ evaluations of their team’s sponsors, merged with real stadium signage data, offers evidence of the benefits of visual congruence. Two experiments in the contexts of product packaging and online advertising provide converging evidence of the positive effects of created visual congruence on attitudes toward the sponsorship, brand attitudes, and intentions. Brands without an inherent match to a team can enjoy enhanced sponsorship benefits with little additional costs simply by adopting the team’s colors in visual displays. However, the viewer’s motivation (fan status), opportunity (fan exposure), and ability (lack of color blindness) to process visual congruence moderates its effectiveness. By using the proposed framework, managers can maximize the value of their sponsorship rights.

PurposeSport events organizers have recently undertaken to disclose to the general public instances where firms have conspired to ambush the official sponsors. In doing so, they have sought to sensitise audiences to sponsors' valuable contribution. However, what is the effect of such disclosure on ambush marketers' brands? This study aims to answer this question, using an experimental approach.Design/methodology/approachTwo successive experiments were conducted. The first study used a student sample (n=120) and a fictitious brand. The second study used a before‐and‐after experiment with control groups (n=480), using four real brands and print disclosure articles. Data was collected from six French metropolitan areas and analysed using Repeated Measure ANOVA and MANOVA.FindingsAmbush marketing disclosure is associated with lower attitudes towards the ambusher's brand. Two variables moderate this effect: involvement in the event and attitude towards sponsorship, both of which worsen the negative influence of ambush disclosure on audiences' attitudes.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the empirical work reflects one national context and one specific sport event, these findings are the first to empirically support the notion that disclosure of ambush practices adversely impacts ambushers' brand.Practical implicationsThese results offer official sponsors and event organisers an effective alternative strategy to legal protection, with demonstrated effects on the core target audience of the event.Originality/valueThe literature has alluded to possible perverse effects of ambush marketing. This study is the first to draw an analogy with corrective advertising to test and demonstrate the impact of ambush disclosure on ambushers' brands.