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An introduction to sponsorships as a marketing communication is given. The factors underlying the growth of sponsorship are summarised and the changes currently taking place are outlined: the new type of sponsor; the changing patterns of sponsorship expenditure; the better range and quality of support services; the development of a global perspective. The future prospects are summarised. The nature of sponsorship is shown to be a versatile medium, fulfilling many of the basic functions performed by other elements of the marketing communications mix, although it may be perceived both by sponsors and recipients as not being a wholly legitimate process.

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, greater emphasis is being placed on brand image development as the basis for consumer discrimination. Advertising has a central role to play in developing brand image, whether at the corporate, retail or product level. It informs consumers of the functional capabilities of the brand while simultaneously imbuing the brand with symbolic values and meanings relevant to the consumer. These two functions of advertising closely parallel the informational and transformational schools of advertising effects and theories on the central and peripheral routes to consumer persuasion. Such dichotomous approaches to explanation are unlikely to represent the reality of consumer choice in that brand image is likely to be formed by the simultaneous absorption of advertising messages based on both the functional and expressive capabilities of brands.

A former professional handball player and Olympic medallist, Iñaki Urdangarín played with FC Barcelona and on the Spanish national handball team from 1986 to 2000. He also served as First Vice President for the Spanish Olympic Committee. In 2001 he was awarded the Real Orden al Mérito Deportivo, which recognises outstanding contribution to sport in Spain. In recent years he has worked as a consultant specialising in human resources. He co-founded the Nóos Institute, a scientific association whose mission is to promote research into the management of patronage, social responsibility and sponsorship activities, and was its president until April 2006. He has an impressive number of sporting achievements under his belt. During his time with FC Barcelona, his team won over 50 major competitions, including the Spanish league on 10 occasions and countless national and European trophies. He was picked for the Spanish team 172 times and took part in three Olympic Games, winning two bronze medals. He also has two silver medals and one bronze from the European Championships. Iñaki Urdangarín has a diploma in business sciences (specialising in human resources) from the Central University of Barcelona, a degree in business administration and management and an MBA from ESADE Business School, where he lectures in the Department of Corporate Policy.

To date, research on sponsorship in general, and sport sponsorship in particular, has focused on sponsorship effects (Business-to-Consumer) and the managerial uses of sponsorship. This paper addresses a gap in the sport sponsorship literature by examining sport sponsorship from a Business-to-Business (B2B) perspective, and the use of sport sponsorship as a Critical Sales Event to help the B2B sales force move customers through the relationship life cycle stages proposed by Dwyer, Shurr and Oh (1987). The authors propose and discuss a framework for implementing Critical Sales Events into the relationship marketing life cycle using sport sponsorship; discuss how sport sponsorship can impact buyer-seller relations at pertinent stages of the life cycle; and provide recommendations for future research.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify those corporate sales activities that lead to teams' higher rates of retention of corporate customers. Twenty-two of 29 National Basketball Association (NBA) teams participated. Teams were categorized based on their success at retaining corporate customers for the three-season period 1998-99 to 2000-01. Key conclusions that led to higher rates of customer retention were: 1) teams having total control over the sale of corporate inventory; 2) corporate sales staff training; and 3) teams understanding that customers needed assistance in the activation of sponsorship programs.