Sponsorship leverage and its effects on brand image - Theory and Practice in Hospitality and Tourism Research - page 148

6.4 Emotional connections with partners
Receiving an exposure is ineffective if a sponsor
did not establish emotional connections with their
partners and the event organizer. While sponsor-
ship is probably the fastest growing types of mar-
keting it may be under-utilized if it does not provide
some kind of added value to the event organizer
and co-sponsors. Skildum-Reid, Australian spon-
sorship guru and author of The Sponsor's Toolkit,
in an interview said “too many companies still
believe visibility is all”. She suggested that if only
sponsors opt to use a more “catalyst approach” by
“adding value to that sponsorship” can only the
sponsorship “add relevance, resonance and real
emotional weight to any or all of marketing activi-
ties” (Moore, 2008; Skildum-Reid, 2008). Take
the example of Wembley construction in London
where partners such as Npower and Microsoft are
both actively involved in providing the stadium
with its energy and IT infrastructure (Comperior
Research, 2006). Škoda Australia could practice
this by investing in developing the infrastructure of
Cancer Council (Tour Down Under charity part-
ner) or providing Škoda cars as the special trans-
portation to the event site.

“positive impact of CRM was found to be greater
when the association was presented as a local, as
opposed to a national” (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004).
Thus, Škoda could also sponsor a cycling academy
for the residents of Adelaide or Melbourne.

7 CONCLUSION

Intelligent marketing strategies, operations, back-
ground of the people within the organization and the
determination in exploring opportunities are among
the vital factors that are required to strengthen a
brand. It is indicative that a well devised plan espe-
cially in the area of promotion which includes public
relations and sponsorship is a requisite. Merely invest-
ing in sponsorship is just not enough. A corporation
image is highly depending on the level of activities it
involves in the market. The most important of spon-
sorship aspect is the leveraging. Whether it is sports,
arts, cultures, entertainment, education or food and
beverages, “the type of sponsorship selected may not
be as important strategically as how the sponsorship
is leveraged” (Sylvestre & Moutinho, 2008). There-
fore, active involvement in a sponsored event must
become a priority.
With the above mentioned information in mind,
there are still very scarce studies on the effect of
sponsorship leveraging activities on a corporation's
brand image and brand awareness. Most of prior
studies on sponsorship activities discussed facets
such as sponsoring sportsmen, sporting teams as
well as sporting events and other cultural and spe-
cial events, but omitting the theory of leveraging.
Furthermore, as the market for sponsorship itself
becomes intensely competitive and challenging,
sponsorship investments should be carefully man-
aged and the right measuring method should be
used to ensure their effectiveness.

6.5 Cause-related marketing
The aim of CRM or also could be known as Cor-
porate Social Responsibility (CSR) is to link the
brand with the communities; involves a non-profit
motivated giving and enables the firm to contribute
to a non-profit cause while tying the contributions
to sales (Grau & Folse, 2007). It is an increasingly
common form of promotion. As reported by IEG,
expenditures on this form of communicating with
customers are expected to surpass $828 million in
North America (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004). Insurance
brand Norwich Union for example was quick to
spot the potential link between its title sponsorship
of UK Athletics and the growing concern about
child obesity by responding to integrate a cause-
related marketing component into its overall spon-
sorship strategy based around health and education
(Comperior Research, 2006). It was found that
CRM had a positive impact on perceptions of the
sponsoring firm (Pracejus & Olsen, 2004), particu-
larly when the CRM is targeting consumers with a
greater level (Grau & Folse, 2007). Since Australian
are among the most wealthiest and steadiest in term
of economy (Reserve Bank of Australia, 2010) and
majority of them living along the coast (Depart-
ment of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2010), the pos-
sibility to involve in a non-profit cause related to
cycling event is likely to be higher. For example,
Škoda could involve in a non-profit cause with
Cancer Council. It has also been proven that the

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was made possible by the continuous
support from Universiti Teknologi MARA through
Research Incentive Grant (RIF). To Dr. Wan
Edura Wan Rashid, Head of Center for Intergrated
Information and Publication, Institue of Busi-
ness Excellence, Universiti Teknologi MARA, this
paper could never have been completed without the
motivation and unremitting effort from her.

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