Maximising sponsorship opportunities: a brand model approach

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify the key elements that maximise sponsorship opportunities and that enable a successful relationship between a sponsor and a sponsored party. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on a review of the literature and takes a case study approach. The paper first identifies the classic aspects of sponsor relationships and then explores new criteria to propose a brand model approach. Practical examples are taken out of the sailing team Alinghi who raced the America's Cup. Findings -The paper suggests that the key success factor for a sponsored party is to act as a brand. This brand should have four strong pillars to build its brand essence: its own identity, a clear offer for a value creation process, an organisation to support this offer in line with strategic alliances of the sponsor and identified targets or consumers. Originality/value -Sponsorship is part of the daily life of any business and can take many forms. Moreover, the large number of sponsorship opportunities does not help entities looking for financial support to stand out easily. However, few opportunities meet all criteria to build an effective sponsor relationship. The authors believe that a brand model approach is the best way to achieve such goal. Alinghi (America's Cup 2003 and 2007 winner) is a perfect example of this new approach.

Sport sponsorship alliances: relationship management for shared value

“…Indeed, it is now recognised that for sponsorship to function effectively, a sponsor and sport property need to have a productive B2B relationship (Davies, Daellenbach, and Ashill, 2008). Crucially, therefore, scholars are now referring to sponsorship as a co-marketing alliance (Farrelly, 2010;Farrelly and Quester, 2005b;Renard and Sitz, 2011).…”

“…Inter-organisational relationship management within a sport sponsorship arrangement has been examined using a relationship marketing perspective (Farrelly et al, 2003;Ryan and Fahy, 2003). In a theoretical analysis of sponsorship arrangements, Renard and Sitz (2011) emphasised the importance of a strong B2B relationship between sponsor and sport property for deriving brand-related value from the partnership. Notably, Kahuni et al (2009) found that productive sponsor-sport property relationships minimise the impact of degenerative episodes that may arise within the sport context.…”

“…Contemporary sponsorship has recently been recognised as a 'co-marketing alliance' or 'strategic partnership' between two organisations (Farrelly, 2010;Renard and Sitz, 2011). It has been argued that the most successful sport sponsorships are based on a productive relationship between the sport property and sponsor organisations (Nufer and Bühler, 2010), characterised by ongoing dyadic interaction and cooperation (Dolphin, 2003).…”

Alianças estratégicas intersetoriais no esporte: Enfoque na sua avaliação

“…As investigações que exploram o tema alianças intersetoriais centram-se, em estudos sobre parcerias público-privadas 4,33,34 , responsabilidade e empreendedorismo social 52,54 , criação de valor 61,62 , alianças sociais 2,65 , sustentabilidade 48,75, dificuldades e desafios nas relações intersetoriais 12,69 , gestão de organizações sem fins lucrativos 6,77 , análise de casos de alianças estratégicas intersetoriais 8,79 , entre outros. No esporte, as investigações estão associadas ao estudo do patrocínio 64,76 , da responsabilidade e empreendedorismo social 31,43,79 , dos desafios da aliança intersetorial 12 e estudos de casos de parcerias 13,60 .…”

Brand Management Throughout Professional Athletes' Careers

“…Recently, academics have started to emphasize the athlete's perspective and have focused on how to develop athlete brands (Arai, Ko, & Kaplanidou, 2013). This is triggered by two phenomena: (1) the growing importance of sponsorships and endorsements as an income source for professional athletes (Renard & Sitz, 2011); and (2) the acknowledgement by professional athletes or their management that active athlete brand management is crucial for an increase in athletes' commercial revenues (Wilson & Liu, 2012). Arai et al (2013) particularly investigate the brand image of professional athletes.…”