Quantifying the positive effects of sponsor level, length, prominence and relatedness on recall and residual recall rates over time

Abstract

This study is the first multi-year examination of the relative influence of the four main variables said to influence sponsorship recall. Sponsor recall data were collected from season ticket holders (STHs) of 10 professional sports teams, over periods ranging from 3 to 5 years per team. Across those teams and over that time, 309 sponsor–team relationships were examined, and sponsor recall data from over 117,000 individual STHs were collected. Sponsorship length and level were shown to have the strongest impact on recall, followed by relatedness and prominence. These variables affected both the recall of current sponsors and the decay rates of residual recall following the end of a sponsorship. The average rates of sponsor recall growth and decline have been derived from these data, giving managers a tool by which to benchmark sport sponsorship recall performance.

Keywords::

• sponsorship
• sport marketing
• recall
• awareness

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the assistance of Patrick Davis in preparing the data. This project was supported by funding from the Australian Research Council (LP1000222100).

Notes

^1.[email protected]

^2. As expected, the recall rates presented in this study are higher than those attained in other sponsor recall studies, due to respondents being solely team STHs, and likely to be highly engaged and involved with the team. Maximum major sponsor recall rates of 75% and 77% have been more common in studies collected post-event using event attendees (Nicholls, Roslow, and Dublish 1999) or the general public (Van Heerden, Kotze, and Bruwer 2004) as respondents.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Heath McDonald

Heath McDonald (PhD) is Professor and Head of Marketing at Swinburne University, Australia. His consulting and research work focuses on consumer behaviour and product management, working mainly with sports, arts and charity organisations.

Adam Karg

Adam J Karg (PhD) is a Lecturer in the School of Management and Marketing at Deakin University. His current research focuses on sponsorship and branding, sport consumer behaviour, sport media and organisational design.