The effectiveness of sponsorship in relation to customer-based brand equity : an action sport event application

Abstract

Background: Customer-based brand equity (CBBE) is the differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumers’ response to that brand’s marketing. This research seeks to apply CBBE to action sports sponsorship in a South African context. CBBE was used to investigate the following; • The impact of sponsorship intervention on CBBE<br> • How multiple CBBE objectives can be achieved through sponsorship<br> • The differential effect of sponsorship leveraging activities on CBBE<br> • The influence of interest and involvement in an event on CBBE <br> Results: A quasi experiment, using interrupted time series analysis, found that only brand awareness was raised owing to sponsorship intervention. Sponsors were not very successful at achieving multiple objectives, while some did manage to achieve their primary objective. It was found that the impact of leveraging activities, according to type of brand, had a differential impact on CBBE. Very little association was found between the level of interest and involvement and CBBE. Conclusion: A framework for sponsors to manage CBBE objectives, sponsorship activities and evaluation was presented. New marketing and leveraging techniques are continuously needed to maintain and raise CBBE perceptions. These techniques should leverage interest and involvement in the event to create goodwill and brand loyalty. Copyright