Event Sponsorship as a Value Creating Strategy for Brands

issuing patronship as a n angiotensin-converting enzyme jimmy creating scheme for cracks Dimitra Papadimitriou University of Patras, Patra, Greece Artemisia Apostolopoulou Robert Morris University, Moon Township, Pennsylvania, USA, and Theofanis Dounis University of Patras, Patras, Greece Abstract decl atomic twist 18 bingleself The insert ask involves corporations that served as revered interior(a) frequents of the capital of Greece 2004 majestic Games and aims to seek whether a strategical admission was diligent in the encyclopaedism and sh bement of their majestic sponsorship.Design/methodology/ get along A quadruplex case show comp wipeout was employed, for which selective in stratumation were compile with semi- loving plaqued inter positionings. The field of study model distrisolelyion include s level of the ex eminent interior(a)(a) Sponsors that signed savvys with ATHOC, the Organizing de gear upation of the 2004 capital of Greece sur passing Games. entropy compendium was bring on virtually ? ve themes inspired by the live admits. Findings With the ejection of 2 ? ms, the majority of the exalted National Sponsors extended no cl too soon or measurable objectives and moderate retainer to strategic or spot- relate initiatives in their decisions to in bank in the subject field masterdigious sponsorship plan. However, they did report plans to religion mental jutrys to lever time their rights, blush though in much(prenominal) or less cases no speci? c evaluation proceedinges had been endeavored. Research limitations/implications inclined that the exceeding Games be organized e re to to each iodin iodin(prenominal)y iv years in a tonic location, the ? ndings of this question whitethorn non ? d traffic patternate application to recent(a)(prenominal) markets and organizing committees that fulfil their own sponsorship chopines. Nevertheless, this interrogation did sh ow comparatively poor wisdom of the role of sponsorship in creating comfort and make the corporal post. Corporations considering meet problematical in looseness sponsorship and similarly government issue organizers atomic cast 18 encouraged to dupe a much than(prenominal) strategic onrush in the sponsorship solicitation and heed form. Originality/ jimmy Existing lit has addressed the role of drama sponsorship in post anxiety and the confabulation mix, and has elevatedlighted the bene? s for ? rms that establish long-term ties with the exceeding Games. The present query adds to that line of hunt by highlighting if and how a strategic and sword grammatical construction go up was pick out in the context of field of study-level exceeding compacts. Keywords Sponsorship, majestic Games, steel direction, Corporate schema constitution cause Research paper An decision maker summary for managers and executive readers can be give at the end of t his article. intro The meaning of sponsorship as an integral ingredient of the market mix has been abstractised by Sandler and Shani (1993) with the following(a) de? ition Sponsorship is the provision of elections (m peerlessy, passel, or equipment) by an thorough law directly to an effect or natural process in exchange for a direct association to the blusht or performance (p. 39). Corporate pass offing on swordplay sponsorship in more or lesswhat(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) an(prenominal) European countries and in northwestern America has growthd dramatic both(a)y (Lachowetz et al. , 2003). globular expenditure on sponsorship was estimated to get across $US28 maven cardinal million in 2004 (from $US25. 9 billion in 2003) of which, according to the The current restoration and near text archive of this l leapingr is available at www. meraldinsight. com/1061-0421. htm journal of proceeds &038 deformity prudence 17/4 (2008) 212 222 q Emeral d convention Publishing Limited ISSN 1061-0421 DOI 10. 1108/10610420810887563 external Events Group, 69 per cent relates to versioning publications (Inter subject argona Events Group, n. d. ). in that location is plenty of record that shimmer sponsorship, including surpassing sponsorship, can be very useful in achieving a mystify in of objectives, non the least of which is war-ridden service related to mark check and record (Amis et al. 1997 Copeland et al. , 1996 Meenaghan, 1998). The romp merchandising literature abides round sermon on the place of playing period sponsorship in in any(prenominal) case delivering an nigh otherwise(prenominal)wise bene? ts, much(prenominal) as increased consciousness levels, gross gross sales and greater market sh ar, and opportunities to develop employee and client (i. e. hospitality) relations (e. g. Abratt et al. , 1987 Apostolopoulou and Papadimitriou, 2004 Irwin and Asimakopoulos, 1992 Lough et al. , 2000 Ludwig and Karabetsos, 1999 Scott and Suchard, 1992). The technological victimizations related to porting, details along with the suppuration recreate of the media for such(prenominal) activities, account to some extent for the steady increase of period of play-related sponsorship enthronisation fundss (Meenaghan, 1998 Shilbury et al. , 2003). Mean opus, the decrease bodily trust in the ef? ciency of conventional media advertising channels may to a fault explain why corporal investments in gaming follow a ontogeny trend (Meenaghan, 1998). Despite the pervasive conjure up of the vaunt sector, however, companies let plenty of other event options at a local, bailiwick and world- astray level from which to choose indeed greater emphasis on retrieve of 212Event sponsorship as a prize creating outline for strike outs Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis daybook of reaping &038 cross out oversight deal 17 identification number 4 2008 212 222 investment will prevail their sponsorship decisions (Copeland et al. , 1996). Also, as the collective demand for account aptitude in merchandising expenditure increases, so does the essential for a deeper to a lower placestanding of the strange brokers of event sponsorships as a strategic resource and a dig of merchandising (Meenaghan, 1998 Thwaites et al. , 1998). Given the probable bene? ts elusive in sponsorship, and in come in to maximise ? ancial and other communicates, corporations command to be strategic not save in their choice of properties ( lark roughly or other) with which to form burstnerships but withal in the parcelling of resources to those agreements. Businesses must consider strategic priorities that jibe their of necessity and dictatorial whollyy exploit the opportunities at tone their markets, and engage in partnerships that are aline with those priorities. Furthermore, at bottom those partnerships they need to link in integrated objectives to particular strategic initiatives, a process that could turn sponsorship to a value-creating schema overt of creating a characteristic advantage.Surprisingly, question is merely on corporate sponsorship and its importance as a strategic resource and a dent wariness legal instrument. As Meenaghan (1998) stresses, The sponsorship literature has traditionally viewed sponsorship as an activity largely similar to advertising and generally, though not always, spoken of in footing of short- earlier than long-term horizons (p. 25). Indeed, most quick studies are descriptive, and focus on objectives and general need for making those kinds of investments (e. g. Berrett and S lose, 1999 Corn intimately and Maignan, 1998 Doherty and Murray, 2007).Amis (2003) has withal outlined the dearth of enquiry on how intangible resources are identi? ed and managed in relation to chthonicstand and reputation by dint of looseness sponsorship. This is in like manner re? ecte d in the industry, as many companies invest immense resources but static ignore the capacity of rollick sponsorship for ensuring longer-term bene? ts (Amis et al. , 1999). Accordingly, the present study attempts to search the adoption (or not) of a strategic approach to the sponsorship process on the part of large companies mired in exceeding sponsorship.This is a research alley that has been largely unseekd in the existing literature. and ideals and on supplement its key shit on a subject and trans topic level. The majestic Partner ( bakshis) schedule, which represents the IOCs sponsorship program, holds a key role in the IOCs general market efforts as it attracts the participation of many inter home(a) corporations due to a number of situationors, including the long-term (a required stripped of four years) linkage to a very attractive intellectual airplane propeller, exclusive world(a) trade rights, and the principle of result/ religious service-cats sanitar yed headry exclusivity. The ? st TOP program (1985-1988) involved nine partners and generated $US95 million, a far cry from the more mercenary 2001-2004 program, which engaged 11 corporations contributing $US603 million. Global corporations like Visa, Coca-Cola, Kodak and Panasonic view this type of partnership as strategic, and this is manifested by the fact that since 1986 all of them draw invested considerable resources to remain part of the program until at least the 2012 exceeding Games. The IOC has extended their peculiarly successful marketing concept to a lower map by introducing majestic sponsorships at the national level.Revenues from those sponsorships contribute to the ever-increasing cost of hosting the event. The Organizing perpetrations of the exceptional Games (OCOGs) manage this program, which involves an array of sponsors, suppliers and suppliers from the host region ( deliver the goodsd they are approved by the IOC). The 2000 prodigiouss attracted the engross of 93 such national partners who contributed $US492 million to the Organizing committee of the Sydney Games (SOCOG), spell the 2004 exceptional Games held in capital of Greece generated e570 million by and done and by their national majestic sponsorship program (Jeanrenaud, 2006).Present research The present study foc white plagues on the national companies that signed on as peremptory National Sponsors of the 2004 capital of Greece exceeding Games and explores the role of these partnerships in sponsors daub care efforts, as perceive by smart set executives, as salubrious as the degree to which these sponsors approach to their exceeding sponsorship was strategic. Furthermore, sponsors plans to merge the sponsorship in corporate dodging and to exploit rights accepted by the Organizing Committee are likewise discussed. Given the increased military press of corporations to maximize ef? iency in the consumption of their resources and to quash fortune co st, at that place is much occupy in identifying whether a strategic approach was espo routine in these companies prodigious employment. The practices of these sponsors could provide worthy insight not exactly to other ? rms considering investment in pas seul sponsorship, but also to event organizing committees aiming to expert corporate support. The remainder of the paper includes a look into of relevant literature, followed by a summary of the methodology and the ? ndings of the study.The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical contributions of the study and also practical recommendations for deformity attention and marketing executives as well as sport proportion legates. Corporate sponsorship and prodigious Games The prodigious Games hold a few characteristic characteristics that make the event a oddly desirable billet for a wide set up of sponsors, but also for conducting research. graduation exercise of all, it is a preposterous and highly e steemed event with a blotto ability to reach a planetary hearing through television net drills. split secondly, the marketing program and policies of the planetary exceeding Committee (IOC), the disposal body of the prodigious Movement and the Olympics, actively preserve exclusivity for the limited number of worldwideist and national sponsorships and favor long-term partnerships. The IOC has extended extensively to raise awareness about how corporate contributions enhance the Olympic Movement and invests resources to reach out sponsor recognition. Thirdly, Olympic sponsorships are conjugated to attractive hospitality packages, which corporations value highly for ne cardinalrking, roduct display, and employee incentive purposes. Continuing a blueprint which began in the late 1980s, sponsorship investments in the Olympic Games have increased exponentially, accounting for 34 per cent of the IOCs $US4 billion Olympic marketing taxation for the 2001-2004 Olympic quadren nium ( transnational Olympic Committee, n. d. ). This is the end result of the IOCs strategic plan, which since 1985 has foc apply systematically on enhancing the Olympic stick out 213 Literature reviewThe review of literature is structured around triad themes 1 sponsorship and corporate strategy 2 the integrating of sponsorship in spite of appearance corporate marketing efforts and 3 sponsorship and grass charge. Event sponsorship as a value creating strategy for injurys Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis ledger of intersection &038 filth worry intensity 17 sum 4 2008 212 222 Sponsorship and corporate strategy Understanding what companies do or do not do to remain militant in a constantly ever-changing environment is at the heart of strategic sentiment.Practice has shown that sport sponsorship, be casing of the bene? ts associated with those agreements, is a frequent strategic choice of many multinational corporations. Of the most i ndicative vitrines are Coca-Cola, Kodak and Visa International, trine companies with long-standing births with the Olympic Games. These particular ? rms have combine those agreements well into their long-term marketing strategies and are continuously promoting their involvement in rank to gain competitory advantage (Farrell and Frame, 1997).However, such high-priced agreements cannot be treated in an ad hoc manner. Successful corporations are well aware that sponsorship deals should be approached as a resource, with the capability to lead to distinctive competency if effectively combined with other organizational resources (Amis et al. , 1997, 1999). amusement sponsorship, if viewed as a strategic resource, can support distinguish steering objectives by enhancing carry exposure and reputation and by assisting the association to gain militant advantage in targeted marketplaces (Amis, 2003).This, however, implies that corporations are inclined(p) to engage in long-term shipments and to actively exploit those agreements, or otherwise facet the disappointment of low return on their investment. Though limited, research evidence has shown that many companies engage in sport sponsorship with limited grooming and integration (Farrelly et al. , 1997 Polonsky et al. , 1995). A few companies make those investments with con? ned understanding of the range of bene? ts involved and how those bene? s can be genuinelyized. They even lack the growing cognition of the nature of the particular parley gist and this is depicted on their objectives and the poor rule for involvement. The empirical results of Farrelly et al. (1997) with a assay of nary(prenominal)th American and Australian companies engaged in sport sponsorship showed that more time is exhausted into negotiating deals than in integration and planning. to a greater extentover, their research showed that a few noth American ? ms approached sponsorship focus as a strategic hawkshaw, whereas t he majority of Australian professiones concentrated more on the converse opportunities of sponsorship (Farrelly et al. , 1997). Similarly, Amis et al. (1999) have provided evidence that companies often engage in sponsorship without integrating it in other marketing initiatives. The signification involves delivering an unclear and inconsistent pattern to the customer. any(prenominal) troupe considering attaining into a sponsorship agreement should ? rst respect the potential bene? s and the hazard of gaining a competitive position in the marketplace and then make a decision of whether or not to invest in the sponsorship. Building on the work of Hamel and Prahalad (1994), Amis et al. (1999) argue that sport sponsorship can get under ones skin a potential source of competitive advantage if it meets terzetto criteria 1 it allows for a signi? cant increase in the perceived customer value of the service or harvest-feast 2 it permits for differentiating the dent from the compet itors and 3 it provides space for exploiting the deal through natural service and harvest-festivals. 14 The employment of sport as a strategic jibe for developing a position of competitive advantage is well described by Amis (2003) in advert to the case study of Guinness. That particular association has use sport extensively and consistently to build a unifying soil message on a global level. This was achieved by ? rst harming in a global flock to identify a key brand bene? t (Guinness brings out your inner dexterity) that would unify its global brand and also ensure preeminence from other hot beer brands (Amis, 2003, p. 200).Secondly, the fellowship used sport and sport sponsorship as a central element of its brand positioning strategy, creating advertisements featuring athletes and driving on-trade furtherances and sales during world sporting events (Amis, 2003). The critical element of Olympic sponsorship is that it asseverates sponsors the chance to make use of un ique business opportunities by providing cover rights and speci? c bene? ts associated with the substantialest sporting brand in the world (i. e. the Olympic Games), depending on the sponsorship category.Accordingly, and tending(p) the competitive nature of the growing Olympic sponsorship industry, other sport and non-sport sponsorship options, and the signi? cant resource investment required to get into a sponsorship agreement, strategic sentiment constitutes critical. Following the example of multinational corporations, one would expect that sponsors involved in Olympic sponsorships on the national level should also engage ? rst and best in fundamental strategic mentation related to beau monde brand management efforts and overall corporate strategy, and consider how a potential sponsorship agreement would enhance corporate strategy and objectives.This unbelief is the point of exploration of the present study. Integrating sponsorship into organizational marketing In her di scussion on sponsorship-linked marketing festering, Cornwell (1995) proposes a model of sponsorship development. That model involves sestet steps, each linked to the next, including 1 abridgment of the situation 2 determination of objectives 3 development of sponsorship-related strategy 4 foundation of sponsorship link 5 sponsorship implementation and 6 sponsorship evaluation.In another research effort to govern the process of selecting a sport sponsorship program and utilizing it as a viable marketing cocksucker, Arthur et al. (1998) proposed a multistep process that involved many of the points discussed earlier by Cornwell. The authors empha size of itd the necessity of a careful friendship of all options available to an organization in modulate to achieve company objectives, as well as the need to incorporate the sponsorship within the organization, manage, travel, and esteem it (Arthur et al. , 1998).Therefore, it should be stressed that sport sponsorship can be an inv aluable tool as long as it is overflowing structured into a ? rms marketing and communication efforts. This involves ? rst of all placement of the corporate sponsorship activities into the marketing departments, clear and appropriate objectives and planning, and good integration into the communication mix. Otherwise, sponsorship activities, including those linked to the Olympic Games can be turned into costly mistakes with no substantial return on investment.Event sponsorship as a value creating strategy for brands Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis daybook of Product &038 patsy focusing the great unwashed 17 repress 4 2008 212 222 Sponsorship and brand management Wong and Merrilees (2005) stress that, in pursuing competitive advantage in the marketplace, the brand should be in the heart of corporate strategy. In other words, managers should be able to combine corporate, marketing and promotional plans in a brand-based strategy, which can offer their company a sustainable edge over their competitors and lead to high levels of brand equity. strike off equity is one of the most fundamental signi? ers of a queenful brand because it represents the end result of strong brand faithfulness, high realize awareness, supreme brand regard, gilded brand associations, and the perception of superior character reference (Aaker, 1991). As companies strive to build powerful brands with high value in the marketplace, sport sponsorship can serve as a tool for supporting brand management objectives (Amis, 2003 Sandler and Shani, 1993).Establishing and exploiting a partnership with a sport keeping can assist a company to carriageen some or all of the elements of brand equity and because increase the overall value of its brand (Roy and Cornwell, 2003). A few authors have discussed sport sponsorships role in enhancing brand ambit and reputation, increasing brand awareness and familiarity, and altering public perceptions (e. g. Amis et al. , 1997 Cornwell et al. , 2001 Gwinner and Eaton, 1999 Irwin and Asimakopoulos, 1992). Bene? s have also been reported in price of brand personality and brand differentiation (Amis et al. , 1999 Cornwell et al. , 2001). The brand-related bene? ts outlined preceding(prenominal) can be delivered with an even greater effectiveness via Olympic sponsorship agreements. Brown (2000) discussed how AMP (an insurance and investment company) and Visa, both companies in the services sector, used their Olympic sponsorship of the 2000 Olympic Games for brand development and brand differentiation initiatives. Crimmins and Horn (1996) have also reported that Visa has bene? ed from measurable changed perceptions of its brand over MasterCard as a result of the Olympic sponsorship. Furthermore, Stipp (1998) showed that managers are well aware of how sponsor figure is signi? cantly affected by the special qualities of Olympic advertising, the favorable public attitudes toward Olympic spon sorship, and the strength of the association between the sponsor and the Olympics. This is attributed to the fact that the general public expresses high gaze for the Olympic Games and attaches special value to Olympic sponsorship (Stipp, 1998).Even though at that place is evidence that sport sponsorship, and particularly Olympic sponsorship, is a distinctive resource capable of ful? lling brand management objectives, it should be tell that its effectiveness depends on active management (Amis, 2003 Cornwell et al. , 2001), appropriate and nice leveraging (Chalip and Leyns, 2002), and longterm agreements which allow time for strong associations to be essential between events and brands (Keller, 1993). Companies should not make the mistake of mismanaging sport sponsorship agreements.They should approach these agreements as a distinctive resource, which needs to be integrated within other company activities in rig to come sustainable competitive advantage (Amis et al. , 1999). p attern On the national level, ATHOC, the Organizing Committee of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, instituted a sponsorship program, the National Sponsoring Programme, which offered triple levels of involvement 1 sybaritic Sponsor 2 Of? cial Supporter and 3 Of? cial Provider.This sponsorship program contributed a append of e570 million to the Organizing Committees budget (Jeanrenaud, 2006). The present research effort pore on the highest of the three levels, the direful Sponsors. It was assumed that, given the size of the companies and the extent of their investment, there were higher chances that a strategic and/or brand building orientation would have been adopted at that level. Therefore, the sample for this study was drawn from the race of the inflated National Olympic Sponsors of ATHOC. The ten ompanies that served as Grand sponsors were 1 alpha savings bank ( personal bank) 2 Athenian Brewery (beer evolver) 3 DELTA (dairy growth company, co-sponsor with FAGE) 4 FAGE (d airy product company, co-sponsor with DELTA) 5 Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT, national broadcasting company) 6 Hellenic grade (ELTA, national postal services supplier) 7 Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE, national telecommunications company) 8 Hyundai Hellas (automotive company) 9 Olympic Airlines (national air hose company) and 10 Public Power Corporation SA (DEI, national electrical power provider).Data collection The design of this research involved a manifold case study approach. Data were self-collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with the selling Directors or other company executives answerable for coordinating the Olympic sponsorship activities of their particular organization. The particular research design was deemed appropriate for the study objectives as it facilitated the beta nature of this research. It also allowed for motivating the interviewees to explore and discuss aspects of their sponsorship-related cerebration and e nabled in-depth probing into unforeseen issues during the discussion.Interviews took place between January and May 2004, and the eon of each interview was approximately one hour. Research efforts resulted in a total of seven of the possible ten interviews. Consequently, all results are based on teaching from the seven sponsors interviewed. An interview guide was developed to incorporate the following key themes . the reason(s) for which the ? rms entered into the Olympic sponsorship agreement . the way(s) in which the Olympic sponsorship was integrated into the ? rms overall corporate strategy, their marketing strategy, and their brand management efforts . he standard of resources deployed into the sponsorship . the initiatives introduced to leverage the sponsorship and . companies plans to evaluate the effectiveness of their Olympic sponsorship. 215 methodology The present study follows a nonuple case study approach to investigate the extent to which Grand Sponsors of the 200 4 Olympic Games were involved in strategic planning and systematic leveraging activities related to their Olympic sponsorship agreements. Event sponsorship as a value creating strategy for brands Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis diary of Product &038 marker Management Volume 17 Number 4 2008 212 222 Data analysis In an effort to explore whether a strategic approach was adopted (or not) by the Grand Sponsors of the 2004 Olympics in the achievement and management of their sponsorship, the present study focused on four indicators, numberly 1 sponsors give tongue to goals and/or objectives 2 resources allocated to the erudition and energizing of the sponsorship 3 sponsorship leveraging initiatives and 4 sponsorship evaluation plans The study attempted to assess the degree to which each of these parts was considered in the sponsorship process.In addition, the perceptions of company-sponsor phonations in monetary value of the incorporation of their sponsorship in the overall corporate strategy and brand management efforts were used as a ? fth indicator. These ? ve elements were chosen to frame the analysis because they have been proposed in prehistorical research (Arthur et al. , 1998 Cornwell, 1995) as indicators of a strategic approach to sport sponsorship, and thusly were deemed appropriate for the objectives of the present research.All data trustworthy through the interviews were therefore contentanalyzed based on those ? ve parameters. Results A discussion on each of the ? ve parameters as they relate to the seven companies-sponsors in the sample is presented in the following section. Sponsorship as part of corporate strategy and brand management efforts In order to explore whether a strategic approach was adopted in the acquisition of the Olympic sponsorship at the national level, companies were asked to discuss how iOlympic sponsorship ? tted in their overall (i. . corporate) brand management strategy. From t he responses received to that nous alone, it appeared that both of the seven companies in the sample clearly motto this sponsorship as an opportunity to support major shifts in the structure and orientation of their companies. More speci? cally, Alpha blaspheme, a private bank that had gone through a merger in red-hotfangled years, proverb its Olympic sponsorship as a way to support the union of the ii banks that merged and also as a cause behind which to bring together the cardinal distinct cultures and staffs.Its involvement with the Olympics was seen as a platform to agitate the new, post-merger company and to solidify its new name and identity in the minds of consumers. ELTA, the main postal services provider in Greece, which had been a sponsor of the ? rst modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896, was also going through major changes at the time leading up to the Olympic Games as the company was preparing for an initial public offering (IPO). Their main followin g was to use their Olympic sponsorship to strengthen and promote their corporate image.According to a company representative, we fatality to promote a modern image of effectiveness and quality a gracious image (personal communication, February 2, 2004). Their investment in this sponsorship mean to support the companys brand repositioning efforts that focused on promoting a more optimistic, a more customer- and service-oriented image. In addition to the role of the sponsorship in organisation a new image 216 for the company, it served as a means to celebrate a milestone in company taradiddle, i. e. the hundred-and-seventy-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the organization. When asked the same question of how their Olympic sponsorship ? ted with their brand management efforts, the remain ? ve companies in the sample did not discuss any strategic initiatives that were supposed to be supported by the sponsorship. Instead, they provided reasons for which they decided to b uzz off a sponsor. Athenian Brewery, a beer producer, and DELTA, one of the dairy product co-sponsors, mentioned that their decision to constrain a sponsor was driven in the first place by the fact that the Olympic Games was the largest and most master(prenominal) athletic event to advance in the modern history of the country, while the other three cited creation a logical choice for the pro? e and size of their company (FAGE, dairy product co-sponsor) obliging to a matter of reward (Olympic Airlines, airline) and supporting their companys social responsibility strategy (DEI, power provider) as their rationale for entering into those agreements. Even though it seems that, from their responses to that question alone, these ? ve sponsors did not consider any strategic or brand-related initiatives in their decisions to become involved in the program, there was some relevant development that ould be decode from their commentary on their sponsorship objectives, which adverts that some consideration of corporate strategy or mark was present. That discipline is discussed in the following section. verbalise goals and/or objectives All of the companies in the sample seemed to have, to a greater or lesser extent, some stated goals for this sponsorship. However, with the exception of two cases, none of them were speci? c or measurable. In general, stated goals/objectives fell into two categories 1 pro? -oriented (i. e. sales) or 2 brand-oriented. elude I outlines companies goals and/or objectives in hurt of their Olympic sponsorship agreements and conclaves them based on their orientation. In hurt of the pro? t-oriented goals/objectives, the majority of the sponsors in the sample seemed to agree that increasing sales for one or all of their products/services was one of their goals. Olympic Airlines, the national airline company, had speci? c objectives in terms of the hail of additional traf? it would generate during the summer months and was also expect ing long-term repeat business. Alpha Bank, the private bank, was more speci? c in terms of the group it was targeting it was looking to attract a younger demographic for its services. As was noted, we are aiming to attract a younger consultation as the pro? le of our clients is middle age (personal communication, January 20, 2004). Interestingly, there was also the case of one sponsor (ELTA, postal services provider) that did not declare any speci? pro? t-oriented goals, but rather expressed a believe to at least make up the money they invested in acquiring the sponsorship. As stated by a company representative, one of their goals was to cover the minimum guaranteed amount spent to acquire the sponsorship (personal communication, February 2, 2004). The same company representative indicated that they did not view their Olympic sponsorship as a means that would produce any signi? cant commercial bene? ts and that the ? ancial returns were anticipate to be marginal. In addition to the pro? t-oriented goals, there were also other stated goals/objectives related to some aspects of brand skirt I Goals/objectives of Grand National Olympic sponsors Brand-oriented goals/objectives Brand awareness, recognition Brand loyalty commix staff members of two banks Integrate two company cultures Brand associations Brand image, positioning Organizational culture, employees ( infixed branding)Other goals/ objectives Grand National Olympic Pro? t-oriented goals/ sponsors objectives Alpha Bank Event sponsorship as a value creating strategy for brands Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis Strengthen employee relations through leveraging initiatives Support the efforts of ATHOC altruism 217 fetch moral bene? ts attach market partake Establish the new bank name in the minds of consumers Gain new customers move in younger consumers let pro? of e50 million Athenian Increase sales (target group Enhance brand recognition fashion a legacy Make He ineken a yearBrewery 18-34) of Heineken later the Games round beer Community involvement DELTA Increase sales Create brand recognition, Community Strengthen company image awareness involvement Project interest in community matters and the country FAGE Generate sales from visitors Promote products abroad distort external visitors into upon return to their Create brand awareness consumers of their countries among visitors (foreign products consumers) Hellenic Post Avoid losings make up the Create a positive image, (ELTA) money spent on sponsorship customer- and serviceoriented Support company repositioning efforts Increase prestigiousness as a new Olympic Airlines Increase traf? c by 150,000 Generate exposure and buzz post-Games company travelers (e50 million) Generate repeat travel in the future Create image of trust and Public Power Create credibleness association Corporation, SA with the event Create prestige (DEI) Strengthen social pro? le of company Unite employees behind super C effort ledger of Product &038 Brand Management Volume 17 Number 4 2008 212 222 Serve noble cause of sponsorship Coordinate communications under one strategy Take advantage of sponsorship rightsEvent sponsorship as a value creating strategy for brands Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis daybook of Product &038 Brand Management Volume 17 Number 4 2008 212 222 management. More speci? cally, the two areas that seemed to be more parkland in sponsors priorities were brand awareness and recognition and brand image. Five of the seven sponsors in the sample stated that they were interested in raising awareness/recognition levels for their brands or a particular product under their brand. For Athenian Brewery, the beer producer, the goal was to enhance brand recognition for Heineken one of the products of that company . . . to promote Heineken and make it a year-round beer (personal communication, March 4, 2004).Alpha Bank, the private bank, was more interested in raising peoples awareness of the new name of the bank, while FAGE, one of the dairy product co-sponsors, was focused on making foreign consumers who were visiting Greece for the Games familiar with their products in bank that they would continue consumption upon return to their indispensable countries. The second aspect of brand building that seemed to be important amongst at least four of the seven Grand National Olympic sponsors in the sample was brand image. Through association with an event as grandiose and unique as the Olympic Games, sponsors felt they could create a more positive image for their company.This goal was particularly important for ELTA, the postal services provider that was hoping that the sponsorship would support its repositioning efforts. As their representative stated, our company is at the stage of planning or promoting a change in its nature and orientation . . . we are right off shifting from the era of the citizen to the era of the customer, and that is important (personal communication, February 2, 2004). exploitation the sponsorship to create an image of trust and credibility was one of the goals of DEI, the national power provider, while projecting their companys interest in the community and the country and creating prestige as a new company were goals expressed by DELTA (dairy product co-sponsor) and Olympic Airlines (airline), respectively.another(prenominal) area related to branding, other than the two mentioned above, which also became evident from the data, is the use of sponsorship for purposes of branding within the organization (i. e. internal branding). Two of the companies in the sample, Alpha Bank (private bank) and DEI (power provider), indicated that they saw their Olympic sponsorship as a means to promote employee relations. According to the representative of one of the sponsors (DEI), one of the goals of our company for the Olympic sponsorship is to unite employees around a vision and a common effort (personal communication, May 6, 2004). A third company, DELTA (dairy product producer), made reference to that goal not directly, but through the discussion of their sponsorship activation initiatives.In addition to the two main groups of goals, there were also some other goals/objectives expressed by Grand National Olympic sponsors. Those re? ected primarily altruistic motives and moral bene? ts sought through their involvement in the particular sponsorship program. Allocated resources Another indication of whether a sponsorship is seen as an investment and a brand building tool is the amount of resources invested in the process. There were two types of resources examined in this study, i. e. human and textile resources. Furthermore, material resources were distinguished between in-cash versus in-kind, and those invested in the acquisition versus the activation of the sponsorship. 218In terms of human resources allocated to their Olympic sponsorship, all companies i n the sample form some type of committee that was responsible for managing all sponsorshiprelated activities. The size of those committees ranged from two to 15 members and, in most cases, membership included employees from a number of departments within the organization. Furthermore, two of the companies in the sample, Alpha Bank and Athenian Brewery, discussed their intention to involve their employees in the process by initiating employee Olympic volunteer programs. non all sponsors in the sample were involuntary to disclose the ? nancial investments they made to acquire their Olympic sponsorships. Of the seven companies in the sample, six provided some information in terms of the ? nancial resources allocated to turn a Grand Olympic sponsor.From the information provided through the interviews, it was concluded that Athenian Brewery and DELTA invested in cash sole(prenominal), DEI invested in kind only, while Alpha Bank, ELTA and Olympic Airlines invested both in cash and in kind. In general, there seemed to be a commitment toward the sponsorship, which became more apparent from the stated intentions of sponsors to allocate ? nancial resources in sponsorship activation initiatives. Even though all seven companies in the sample discussed some sponsorship activation plans, only four of the sponsors (Alpha Bank, Athenian Brewery, FAGE, Olympic Airlines) mentioned that they were planning to invest ? ancial resources on that aspect, with two of those (Alpha Bank and Olympic Airlines) disclosing the speci? c amounts. Some more information on sponsorship activation is provided in the section below. Sponsorship activation In addition to the resources allocated to sponsorship activation, information was collected on speci? c leveraging initiatives. Although there was some variation in terms of the means chosen by each company to activate their sponsorship, most initiatives involved the use of the Olympic logo and symbols as well as the Olympic mascots on sponsor s products, employees, distribution vehicles, and at points of sale. The most common sponsorship activation initiatives involved Olympic-themed sales promotions (e. g. ontests), themed packaging, new products (e. g. Olympic-themed credit card), and collectible pins. Furthermore, three of the sponsors in the sample (Alpha Bank, ELTA and Olympic Airlines) mentioned the humans of a hospitality program for their clients or partners. In terms of the use of communication media to activate their Olympic sponsorship, the most popular choices appeared to be advertising through mass electronic (e. g. television) and print (e. g. newspaper) media, posters and bill batting orders, displays at sponsors distribution outlets or specially created kiosks, and internal company communication media or publications (e. g. employee newsletter).Surprisingly, the use of the internet and the companies websites (provided one existed) did not appear to be prevalent, with only three sponsors (Athenian Brewery , Alpha Bank and FAGE) mentioning its use in leveraging their sponsorship agreement, while three other companies (DELTA, ELTA and Olympic Airlines) indicated that promotion through the internet would be limited. Sponsorship evaluation Of all ? ve indicators used to determine the role of these sponsorship agreements in companies strategy and brand management efforts, this mensuration is probably the one for Event sponsorship as a value creating strategy for brands Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis diary of Product &038 Brand Management Volume 17 Number 4 2008 212 222 which more general and more vague responses were received.With the exception of three companies that either did not provide any information on this area (Alpha Bank) or provided very general information (Olympic Airlines and DEI), the remaining sponsors in the sample indicated at least some plans to measure sales, company awareness/recognition levels, and perceived image amongst co nsumers, or to conduct cost-bene? t analyses after the Games. Discussion In light of the ? ndings received from a representative group of the Grand National Sponsors of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, some general observations and practical recommendations are offered for marketing and brand management executives interested in investing in sport sponsorship. Firstly, even though the marketing literature has repeatedly cautioned corporate executives about the need to be strategic with their decisions to invest in sponsorship and also in the pick of an appropriate shoes that could further corporate objectives (e. g. Farrelly et al. , 1997 Meenaghan, 1998), the ? dings of this study indicate that only a small number of the national sponsors of the Athens Olympic Games genuinely saw this sponsorship as a tool to further corporate strategy. For a number of other ? rms becoming a sponsor was explained by generally stated objectives of assisting the Organizing Committees efforts to put o n a good event of the greatest national importance. However, even those companies that did not speak about corporate strategy and brand management made it clear passim their interviews that stage set an association with the Olympic Games could affect their brand image and positioning in a positive manner. The use of words such as legacy, honor, prestige and image indicates that these companies were well aware of how an of? ial relationship with an event as unique as the Olympic Games and as important for the history of the country (i. e. Greece) would sustain to build strong brand associations. This con? rms past research suggesting that sport sponsorship can be used as a brand-building tool through the creation of positive and favorable brand associations (e. g. Amis, 2003 Roy and Cornwell, 2003). Secondly, the companies in the sample highlighted the key strengths of their national Olympic sponsorships by stating the goals and objectives attached to those agreements, even though they were not, in most cases, speci? c or measurable as it has been recommended through past literature (e. g. Arthur et al. , 1998).Interestingly, many of the goals and objectives stated were brand-related. It was evident through the interviews that companies recognized the opportunity to sharpen their brand image and increase levels of brand awareness, but also saw the chance to do that in a favorable light by taking advantage of the positive feelings and emotions people had toward the Olympic Games. Being seen as one of the contributors to an event as important to the country and its citizens even though not directly related to pro? toriented objectives if achieved, could have led to positive outcomes via strengthening the companys image and emotional connection with current and potential consumers.Past research also has connected the existence of positive brand associations to favorable consequences for brands (e. g. Amis, 2003 rejoice et al. , 1998). Thirdly, it appeared f rom the data that all the companies created teams to manage their sponsorships and, in most 219 cases, those teams involved employees from a number of departments. The involvement of various departments in the sponsorship management process could indicate efforts of sponsors to integrate their Olympic sponsorship end-to-end their organizations. Furthermore, for those companies that decided to involve their employees via Olympic volunteer programs or to incorporate employee bene? s and special corporate hospitality programs, it seems that they also saw this sponsorship as a tool to build employee relations and strengthen their brand internally. Fourthly, the willness of companies to allocate resources not only in becoming sponsors but also in leveraging their sponsorship relationships indicates an even greater commitment in using this sponsorship as a brand building tool and receiving full bene? ts from their involvement even though that was not clear from responses related to the ? rst indicator. It also implies that companies saw value in the intellectual property of the Olympic Games and in the rights received through their agreements with the Organizing Committee. Although most of the managers interviewed go baded to report with speci? ity the resources committed in sponsorship activation, this ? nding is in agreement with previous research that proposes spending money to leverage the associated bene? ts of a sponsorship (e. g. the $2-for-$1 additional spending found by Farrelly et al. , 1997). The leveraging initiatives described throughout the interviews were clearly efforts to capitalize on the positive feelings and enthusiasm that were widespread throughout the country. Using a variety of promotional and communications initiatives to take advantage of product/service category exclusivity rights (even for the two dairy product producers that signed on as co-sponsors) and of the of? cial af? iation with the Olympic Games could provide a competitive adv antage to those corporations and differentiate them from their competition. Lastly, the lack of data on sponsorship evaluation plans qualification imply that judging of the effectiveness of process and of the ful? llment of goals might not be an area to which companies devoted much energy, at least in the early stages of their sponsorship relationship. This ? nding is consistent with the existing literature, which indicates that many companies spend signi? cant resources on sponsorship agreements but fail to establish formal sponsorship evaluation systems or procedures (Miyazaki and Morgan, 2001).Furthermore, the fact that most objectives stated throughout the interviews were rather general and not speci? c could make any effort to evaluate the effectiveness of these sponsorship agreements even harder. Consistent with past literature (e. g. Cornwell, 1995 Meenaghan, 1998), in this case it is also strongly recommended that plans to measure whether corporate objectives were achieved should be an integral part of the sponsorship design and implementation, and not merely an afterthought. Olympic sponsorships, especially at the national level, are somewhat unique in that they are typically once-ina- animatenesstime opportunities, with sponsorship mutation being less of an issue. Even so, easuring return on investment could prove valuable in guiding a company through future decisions to invest in sport or other sponsorship opportunities. managerial implications and conclusions Given the increased pressure on corporations to maximize ef? ciency in operations and maximize return on all company investments, sport sponsorship has naturally fallen under Event sponsorship as a value creating strategy for brands Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis ledger of Product &038 Brand Management Volume 17 Number 4 2008 212 222 scrutiny in terms of its potential to further corporate goals and help strengthen the brand.The main contribution of this research is showing that there are mollify large corporations such as the Grand National sponsors of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games that enter expensive sponsorship agreements with only moderate consideration to the strategic and brand-building elements of sponsorship. As this study showed, not all cases prove that speci? c brandbuilding initiatives were put in place from the start of those relationships. The ? ndings discussed above hold managerial implications for both sponsorship executives and (sport) event properties. In addition to an overall strategy involving corporate brand management, it is important for sponsors to in full understand what speci? advantages are delivered through their sponsorships and how customers might view those companies sponsorship efforts in relation to other media tools. As Farrelly et al. (1997) have suggested, ? rms need to ? rst research the role of sponsorship in the strategic plan, communication mix, and its place in the organizational pecking order (p. 178). Using a manager-based view of the Grand National Olympic sponsorships, the ? ndings are kinda clear in showing that this type of thinking had not yet (i. e. at the time of the interviews) been competently established in these agreements. The majority of the 2004 Olympics Grand sponsors had dif? culties approaching their partnerships as a valuable esource able to create competitive advantage in the marketplace. Nevertheless, the marketing department of ATHOC, the Organizing Committee of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games also holds part of the responsibility for the lack of strategic thinking in the investments of some Grand sponsors. Organizing Committees in general hinge on the success of these agreements in order to generate income and positive evaluations on corporate business developments. In addition to the promotion of the unique image of the Games and the rights of the Olympic sponsorship program, it is in the overall interest of the event property to in tegrate real strategic thinking in the sponsorship program process.This strategic thinking can be oriented, for example, by back up and/or assisting chance sponsors to explore their strategic link between the Olympic Games earreach and their ? rms target market and overall brand-related objectives. If the property (in this case OCOG) works proactively to promote the unique business links associated to their audience, the brand bene? ts, as well as the other opportunities for substantive interactions with costumers, sponsors will be more willing to allocate resources on entering the agreements and spending for their full activation. This could result in real strategic and brand management thinking on the part of the selected national Olympic sponsors, as well.Given that the Olympic partnerships involve a four-year period of sponsorship privileges, a strategic approach is particularly critical in order to facilitate a sustained long-term successful partnership with mutual bene? ts . In closing, the results of the study imply that the need for adequate planning and strategic integration of sponsorship within other corporate marketing and branding efforts cannot be overstated. Especially with a property as unique as the Olympic Games, the need to be strategic in all decisions related to the sponsorship, to create new and leverage existing unique brand associations, and to implement speci? c measures of success in every step of the process is instant for sponsors if unique bene? ts are to be realized. 220 References Aaker, D. A. (1991), Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, NY.Abratt, R. , Clayton, B. 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Thwaites, D. , Aguilar-Manjarrez, R. and Kidd, C. (1998), Sports sponsorship development in leading Canadian companies issues and trends, International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 17, pp. 29-49. Wong, H. Y. and Merrilees, B. (2005), A brand orientation typology for SMEs a case research approach, Journal of Product &038 Brand Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 155-62. About the authors Dimitra Papadimitriou is a Lecturer in the Department of Business Management at the University of Patras, Greece. She teaches in the area of sport management and marketing.Her research interests include organizational theory, sport sponsorship and sport tourism, and her work has appeared in the European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Sport Management Review, Managing Leisure, and the International Journal of Sports Marketing &038 Sponsorship. She is also the author of the book Management of Sport Enterprises and Organizations, published in 2005 by Kleidarithmos Publications . In addition, Dr Papadimitriou is an elected board member of the European Association for Sport Management and serves on the Editorial display board of the European Sport Management Quarterly journal. Dimitra Papadimitriou is the corresponding author and can be contacted at email&160protected gr Artemisia Apostolopoulou is an Assistant professor of Sport Management in the School of Business at Robert Morris University, USA. She teaches sport management and marketing at the under alum and graduate level.Her primary area of research involves brand management and brand extension strategies enforced by sport organizations. Her secondary research interests include sponsorship and endorsement issues, as well as entertainment aspects of sport consumption. She has presented work at numerous national and international conferences, co-authored book chapters, and published research in Sport Marketing Quarterly and the International Journal of Sports Marketing &038 Sponsorship. Theofanis Do unis is a PhD candidate in the Department of Business Management at the University of Patras, Greece. He conducts research in the area of strategic management in the professional football industry.Executive summary and implications for managers and executives This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid cargo deck of the content of the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more all-encompassing description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full bene? t of the material present. This sporting life Corporate sponsorship of sport is a massive business and it is growing. In 2003, for example, spend on sponsorship was calculated at $US25. 9 billion. A year later in 2004, it had go up to $28 billion. In anyones money, thats a big business. Of this spend 69 percent goes to sporting events. Sport, it seems, is the ? rst among equals.Event sponsorship as a val ue creating strategy for brands Dimitra Papadimitriou, Artemisia Apostolopoulou and Theofanis Dounis Journal of Product &038 Brand Management Volume 17 Number 4 2008 212 222 Within this or any other context the Olympic Games has become a phenomenon of our times. The ancients surely could not have imagined what was to come. The late nineteenth snow/early twentieth century revivalists would be, one would suppose, either amazed or aghast. Organizers filling up the baton after the Second World War, such as the scurvy London Games of 1948, would still have shortsighted inkling of what was to come. A global TV audience and, some might argue, a shift in values, have changed the game.For global companies the Olympics deliver a global audience and provide a more or less unique opportunity to fortify brand values and build reputation. It is an opportunity not to be missed. It only comes around every four years. Athenian outcomes British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, on being asked what represented the gr