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As sports sponsorship is a common marketing tool among commercial organisations, there had been a large number of studies examining the effectiveness of sponsorship. The aim of this study is to examine whether colour affects sponsorship effectiveness on printed advertisements of sports events. This is an area that has received less research interest.

In total, 85 participants were randomly assigned to a control group and three experimental groups. In each of the groups, the participants viewed an advertisement of a sports event on a computer linked to an eye tracker. In the control group, the logos of sponsors were in their original colours. In each of the three experimental groups, the logos were manipulated and featured greyscale, blue or red backgrounds.

The study found that sponsor recall and recognition rates were highest for the control group. Visual attention was also the highest in the control group.

The findings suggest that manipulating colours of the sponsors' logos can negatively affect attention and sponsorship effectiveness.

While there exist studies that focus on the effects of colour in sponsorship, they are typically conducted with regard to physically attending the event itself. However, sponsorship involves other marketing collaterals such as printed advertisements on the event. In such mediums, colour contrast is also important in print advertisements as it affects readability and legibility. As such, the examination of effect of colour on such marketing collaterals provides additional empirical support to the phenomenon.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating effect of brand exposure time and exposure frequency in image transfer. In study 1, H1 and H2 assumed the bidirectional image transfer (i.e. from an event to a brand, from a brand to an event). H3 and H4 were set to examine the moderating effect of brand exposure time and exposure frequency in image transfer upon spreading activation theory, mere exposure effect and three-hit theory.

According to study 1, the result indicated that the amount of image transfer varied based on the exposure time. However, brand exposure frequency did not show statistically significant interactions. Study 2 was performed to complement the H4 of the study 1. In study 2, apart from the number of exposures on a screen (group 1=four times; group 2=eight times), the perceived number of exposures were separately measured (group 1=2.67; group 2=3.96) to see if the number of perceived exposures moderated the amount of image transfer.

The results indicated that there was no group difference in the amount of image transfer. Based on the result of the study, a sponsor brand must be exposed for enough time duration in order to maximize the return on investment regardless of how frequently it is exposed.

The current study examined the image transfer in sport sponsorship. Although previous studies empirically examined the image transfer phenomenon in sport sponsorship, they failed to establish theoretical ground. Thus, this study incorporated the three theories in advertising and examined how we can apply the theories to sport sponsorship. In addition, we examine the image transfer based on video clip which is mainly how people are exposed to sport sponsorship. Next, we examined the moderating effects of exposure duration and exposure frequency, which has never been studied in sport sponsorship context.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of exposure-related and consumer-related factors on the return of sponsorship investment through their influence on viewers’ attention for sponsor signage.

Data were collected through an experimental study (n=92) involving eye-tracking and a questionnaire, and were analyzed using regression analysis.

The results show that viewers’ attention for sponsor signage is affected by the signage color of concurrent sponsors, as well as viewers’ brand familiarity, and sport involvement. In particular, the findings reveal that viewers’ attention for sponsor signage increases with greater color contrast between concurrently visible sponsor signage. Further, signage receives more attention if viewers are familiar with the brand and less involved with the sponsored event. Given that attention is an important prerequisite for further processing of sponsorship information, these findings have important implications for managers seeking to evaluate the return on their sponsorship investment.

When assessing the return on a sponsorship investment, marketers should consider the characteristics of surrounding sponsor signage and the audience with regard to their impact on viewers’ attention for their own signage. Ideally, marketers should attempt to create a greater color contrast between their own signage and its surroundings in order to maximize viewer attention.

This paper provides valuable information on the importance of concurrently visible sponsor signage and audience characteristics for the return on investment of sponsorships through their impact on viewers’ attention.

The majority of sponsorship studies were conducted on sports events of a long duration. Given that sponsor recall is affected by duration of exposure, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether sponsorship of an event of a shorter duration can be equally effective.

In total, 241 respondents were randomly distributed to one control group and three experimental groups. In all groups, respondents were tasked to watch a video clip of a swimming event lasting less than ten minutes.

In the control group (n=74), the mean number of correctly recalled brands was 2.26 (SD=1.31). This was comparable to the mean number of recalled brands in earlier studies on sports events of longer duration. In experimental group 1 (n=37), respondents watched a video clip without the logos of the sponsors along the length of the pool. The findings suggest that signages along the competition arena may have limited effect on the recall rate and that brand prominence affects the recall rate. In experimental group 2 (n=68), respondents were tasked to watch a swimming event with longer duration. In this case, the longer duration of exposure led to a significantly higher number of brands recalled (M=2.94, SD=1.36) as compared to the control group. In experimental group 3 (n=62), respondents were tasked to focus on the swimming event. When spectators were more involved in the swimming event, there was a significant decrease in the number of brands recalled (M=1.87, SD=1.35) when compared to the control group. The results from experimental groups 2 and 3 suggest that duration of exposure and spectator involvement affects the recall rate of sponsors.

The findings suggest that sponsorship of sports events with a short duration can be as effective as longer events although this is dependent on the prominence of the sponsor, duration of the event and spectator involvement.

Given that many sports events are now broadcasted on YouTube and other social media where the duration is typically short, it suggests that sponsors may also benefit from sports events that are broadcasted on these platforms.

The paper provides useful information on sponsor recall and its relationship to duration of exposure.

The purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical conceptualisation that led to the communication improvements needed for water polo in Greece. The paper also studies the implementation process. The proposed improvements were: (a) arrangement of symbols on the Players' caps; (b) addition of team logo and name on players' caps; (c) redesign of players' caps; (d) addition of colour to players' caps; and (e) introduction of a full-body swimsuit. The result was that all but one (e) of the proposed modifications was implemented and adopted during the 1996-2000 National League periods of the Greek men's water polo Division A1.

The complementarity factor stipulates that a sponsorship leveraging strategy can lead to suboptimal consumer responses unless advertising complements, rather than reinforces, the nature of the event-sponsor relationship. Study 1 showed that the best strategy when the sponsor is an official product provider for the event is to leverage the sponsorship through advertisements that emphasise its overall image and value as opposed to its products. However, the reverse is true when the sponsor is an official event partner, where a product-oriented sponsorship leveraging yields the best outcomes. Study 2 replicated the complementarity factor effect using a different event and different set of stimulus brands. It showed that consumer attributions, with respect to the sponsor's motivations, are the key mediating psychological mechanism.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the relative performance of TV sponsorships with the industry standard 30‐second TV spot advertising on achieving common communication goals.

The two media are tested with an experiment using realistic stimuli and target market representative samples and employing six brands as both TV sponsors and TV advertisers.

Ten seconds of TV sponsoring works almost equally as well as 30‐second spots across all measures and brands. While the outright performance differs by type of brand (i.e. high fit versus lower fit, known versus unknown), the relative performance between media does not vary.

The stimuli only gave subjects a brief exposure to each medium. The six stimuli brands, four effect measures, and the Norwegian sample may also not be representative for all types of TV sponsoring/advertising contexts.

Marketing managers can use the results to better allocate their communication spending between TV spot advertising and TV sponsorships, by determining which medium offers better value in achieving communication goals.

To the authors' knowledge, the comparison is the most realistic and controlled experiment in this area, with high levels of internal and external validity.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate occurrences of confirmation bias existing for sponsors whose brand is congruent to a sport. More specifically, this research investigates: if confirmation biases for congruent brands occur in the absence of exposure, the impact audience segmentation has on sponsorship evaluations by comparing highly identified fans to non-fans, and if congruent sponsors are recalled more often than incongruent sponsors after exposure.

An experiment was conducted to measure how exposure, type of sponsor, and fan identification impacts recognition, attitude, and purchase intention.

The results confirm sport-congruent brands are more likely to be falsely recognized as a sponsor than non-congruent sponsors in the absence of sponsorship participation. Sport consumers’ confirmation biases yield positive attitudes and purchase intentions for congruent brands even in the absence of immediate exposure. Lastly, exposure has no impact on recall or sponsor outcomes, suggesting the need for articulating the brand’s connection prior to the event to build stronger memory traces.

Congruent brands should carefully consider investment costs and expected return on investment, noting benefits of participation might be marginal as a result of confirmation biases. Potential sponsors should also understand cognitive benefits begin before exposure to the sponsorship occurs, and therefore need to articulate a connection to the event prior to exposure by consumers.

The findings suggest the importance of confirmation biases when attempting to reach sport consumers. Some brands may be able to increase recall and recognition even in the absence of exposure, thus helping decision makers when managing budgets.

Corporate sponsorship of sporting and cultural events has emerged as a critical component of global promotion strategy. Global sponsorship by multinationals could be made more cost‐effective with similar and generally consistent taxation legislation worldwide. International environmental and quality management standards such as ISO 14000 and ISO 9000 are examples of global standards that have emerged due to the increasingly international nature of commerce. Describes the tax implications of corporate sponsorship utilizing the USA and Ireland as illustrative examples, provides general guidelines for other nations including the UK, and suggests that sponsorship regulations be made more consistent globally.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of field sponsorship through sponsor recall and recognition across two environments that differ on the degree of felt presence they trigger among viewers: on-site and television. A series of research hypotheses concerning the interaction effects of viewing environment, event – sponsor congruence and arousal intensity were developed.

To test the effect of the viewing environment, a field experiment was conducted where 44 ice hockey fans attended a professional ice hockey game in the local team’s arena, whereas 44 others saw the same game, at the same time, on television. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the two game viewing conditions.

A higher level of arousal was detrimental to sponsor identification in a manner consistent with the intensity of the processing principle according to which arousal polarizes attention resources on the arousing stimulus (the event) while diverting resources away from the peripheral stimuli (the sponsors). In addition, because the event congruent sponsors are more superficially processed in comparison with the incongruent ones, this negative impact was more pronounced in the former group. This was qualified by a three-way interaction with the type of environment; the on-site, direct, audience was less affected by the processing intensity principle and exhibited better recall and recognition than the television audience as arousal and congruency increased, whereas, at lower levels of arousal, higher event – sponsor congruence hampered on-site sponsor identification in comparison with television.

The findings were obtained in the context of a single sports event; additional studies need to be conducted using different sports. In addition, the comparison of on-site audience with other types of media audiences (e.g. on-line broadcasting) is warranted.

Arousal intensity results from the game’s drama, which is a function of game importance and game outcome uncertainty. Hence, except for low-stakes games (e.g. pre-season matches, exhibitions), initiatives that promote a leveled playing field such as salary cap, financial fair play and open leagues are likely to jeopardize sponsor identification, particularly for congruent sponsors. With respect to the impact of the viewing environment, congruent sponsors should reap superior benefits from the television audience when the stakes are low. However, when the stakes are high, their benefits will accrue to a greater extent from on-site spectators.

This is the first study to offer a rigorous comparison of sponsorship’s impact on direct (on-site) versus indirect (television) audiences through a field experiment. This is also the first research to provide a framework based on the processing intensity principle that encompasses predictions related to arousal and its interaction with event – sponsor congruence and the viewing environment. Within this perspective, the degree of sponsor integration in the viewing environment is instrumental in predicting sponsorship outcomes.