The influence of spectators' attitudes on sponsorship awareness: a study in three different leisure events

Abstract

Previous research has shown that event sponsorship effectiveness can be influenced by variables related to spectators' attitudes and beliefs towards the event. The objective of this study was to test the degree to which sponsorship awareness is influenced by three attitudinal constructs: spectators' attitude toward the event, spectators' involvement with the activity of the event, and spectators' beliefs about sponsorship. These variables were tested across three different leisure events: a snowboard exhibition, a basketball all-star game, and a folklore dancing festival. The results revealed: (a) the percentage of those who knew the sponsors of the events was significantly lower among the dancing festival spectators in comparison with the snowboard exhibition and the basketball all-star game spectators; (b) the mean scores in the attitudinal variables were higher among the dancing festival spectators than among the basketball and snowboard spectators; (c) respondents who knew the sponsors of the events across all the three samples had significantly higher mean scores than those who did not know the sponsors of the events in the ‘attitudes toward the event’ and ‘involvement’ dimensions. The marketing implications of these results are discussed.