Abstract:
When detailed product information is not available to consumers inferences are made
using product cues to reduce uncertainty and to form perceptions of products.
Advertisers can make use of sport sponsorship and sport celebrity endorsement as
extrinsic cues to influence consumers’ pre-purchase attitudes. These cues are
expensive forms of advertising. Managers need to establish whether they provide a
satisfactory return on investment. This study explored consumers’ attitudes and the
effect of sport event sponsorship and sport celebrity endorsement on key
brand/manufacturer related variables such as brand quality, product uniqueness,
manufacturer esteem and corporate citizenship. A total number of 201 respondents
participated in the study. A non-probability sample was used. Results indicate that
sport event sponsorship was perceived by participants as a product uniqueness,
manufacturer esteem and corporate citizenship cue, significantly enhancing
responses on product related variables. The sport celebrity endorsement cue had a
significant effect on uniqueness and esteem, but did not significantly influence brand
quality. Using these results managers can substantiate the use of sport event
sponsorship to increase consumers’ pre-purchase attitudes of product uniqueness,
manufacturer esteem and corporate citizenship; and sport celebrity endorsement to
increase their pre-purchase attitudes of product uniqueness and manufacturer
esteem; thus positively affecting consumers’ pre-purchase attitudes that may
influence buyer behaviour.
