The purpose of this study was to assess the marketing communication activations of a professional tennis tournament. Results indicate that respondents were satisfied with the marketing communications activations chosen by managers and marketers of the event. For example, most spectators (77%) learned of the event from television, which was their preferred media for becoming aware of the tournament. In addition, most spectators (94.6%) believed that it was good for companies, and specifically those based in Houston or Texas, to sponsor the tournament. The spectators also indicated that such support for the tournament was important in shaping their attitudes toward the sponsoring organization (61.7%) and their purchase decisions of sponsors’ goods and services (54.9%). The post-tournament questionnaire also revealed that sponsorship recognition was high, as the least recognized sponsor was correctly identified by 65.4% of the respondents. Most spectators (78.4%) indicated that they intended to attend the tournament in 2004.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BennettR. (1999). Sport sponsorship, spectator recall, and false consensus. European Journal of Marketing, 33, 291–313.
2.
BennettG., HensonR., & ZhangJ. (2002). Action sport sponsorship recognition. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 11(3), 185–196.
3.
BrownM. (2003). An analysis of online marketing in the sport industry: User activity, communication objectives, and perceived benefits. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 12(1), 48–55.
4.
BrownS., & StaymanD. (1992). Attitudes and consequences of attitude toward the ad: A meta-analysis. Journal of Consumer Research, 19(1), 34–51.
5.
CrimmonsJ., & HornM. (1996). Sponsorship: From management ego trip to marketing success. Journal of Advertising Research, 11–21.
6.
CromptonJ. (2004). Conceptualization and alternative operationalizations of the measurement of sponsorship effectiveness in sport. Leisure Studies, 23(3), 267–281.
7.
CuneenJ., & HannanM. (1993). Intermediate measures and recognition testing of sponsorship advertising at an LPGA tournament. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 2(1), 47–56.
8.
CunninghamG. B., & KwonH. (2003). The theory of planned behavior and intentions to attend a sport event. Sport Management Review, 6, 127–145.
9.
DanielsJ. D., & RadebaughL.H. (1998). International business: Environments and operations. (8th edition). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
10.
EastonS., & MackieP. (1998). When football came home: A case history of the sponsorship activity at Euro ‘96. International Journal of Advertising, 17, 99–114.
11.
EilanderG. (1992, December 2-4). Improving the media performance by using sponsorship on top of other media. In proceedings of the Sponsorship ‘92 Conference, Monte Carlo, organized by Expconsult, Holland (pp. 260–270).
12.
Events and Sponsorships (July 15, 2004). Marketing News, 38(12), 18.
13.
GazianoC., & McGrathK. (1986). Measuring the concept of credibility. Journalism Quarterly, 63, 451–462.
14.
GenzaleJ. (Ed.). (2003). Sports Business Journal by the Numbers-2003.
15.
GreyserS. (1972). Advertising attacks and counters. Harvard Business Review, 50(2), 22–28, 141-146.
16.
HitchenA. (1998, March). Who does sponsorship persuade most? Paper presented at IEG Sponsorship Conference “Meta-Sponsorship”, Chicago, IL.
17.
IEG (International Event Group). (2000). Annual estimates of sponsorship expenditure. IEG Sponsorship Report. Chicago, IL.
18.
IEG (International Event Group). (2004). IEG Sponsorship Report. Chicago, IL.
19.
JoharG. V., & PhamM. T. (1999). Relatedness, prominence, and constructive sponsor identification. Journal of Marketing Research, 36, 299–312.
20.
KellerK. (2001). Mastering the marketing communications mix: Micro and macro perspectives on integrated marketing communication programs. Journal of Marketing Management, 17, 819–847.
21.
KingK., ReidL., TinkhamS., & PokrywczynskiJ. (1987). The perceived informativeness of national and retail advertising. Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 10, 173–197.
22.
KraackE., & OliverA. J. (1997, April). Sponsorship effectiveness. Paper presented at ESOMAR 1997 Seminar on Advertising, Sponsorship, Promotions, New Ways for Optimizing Integrated Communication, Paris.
23.
KohlF., & OtkerT. (1985, November) Sponsorship-Some practical experiences in Phillips Consumer Electronics. In proceedings of the ESOMAR seminar on below-the-line and sponsoring: The use of promotion and sponsorship in the marketing mix, Milan, Italy.
24.
KrejcieR. V., & MorganD. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research initiatives. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607–610.
25.
LardinoitT., & DerbaixC. (2001). Sponsorship and recall of sponsors. Psychology & Marketing, 18(2), 167–190.
26.
LarkinE. (1979). Consumer perceptions of the media and their advertising content. Journal of Advertising, 8(2), 5–7.
27.
LeeM., SandlerD., & ShaniD. (1997). Attitudinal constructs towards sponsorship: Scale development using three global sporting events. International Marketing Review, 14(3), 159–69.
28.
LutzR. (1985). Affective and cognitive antecedents of attitude toward the ad: A conceptual framework. In Psychology processes and advertising effects theory, research, and applications. (LindaAlwitt and AndrewMitchell, Eds.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 45–63.
29.
MackenzieS., & LutzR. (1989). An empirical examination of attitude toward ad in an advertising pretest context. Journal of Marketing, 53(2), 48–65.
30.
MackenzieS., LutzR., & BelchG. (1986). The role of attitude toward the ad as a mediator of advertising effectiveness: A test of competing explanations. Journal of Marketing Research, 23(2), 130–43.
31.
MadrigalR. (2001). Social identity effects in a belief-attitude-intentions hierarchy: Implications for corporate sponsorship. Psychology & Marketing, 18(2), 145–165.
32.
MeenaghanT. (1996). Ambush marketing: A threat to corporate sponsorship. Sloan Management Review, 38, 103–113.
33.
MeenaghanT. (1991). The role of sponsorship in the marketing communications mix. International Journal of Advertising, 10(1), 35–47.
34.
MeenaghanT. (2001). Understanding sponsorship effects. Psychology and Marketing, 18(2), 95–122.
35.
MehtaA. (2000). Advertising attitudes and advertising effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research, 67–72.
NichollsJ. A. F., RoslowS., & LaskeyH. (1994). Sports event sponsorship and brand promotion. Journal of Applied Business Research, 10(4), 35–40.
38.
O'KeefeG., NashK., & LiuJ. (1981). The perceived utility of advertising. Journalism Quarterly, 58, 535–542.
39.
OtkerT., & HayesP. (1987, November). Judging the efficiency of sponsorship, experiences from the 1986 Soccer World Cup. In Proceedings of the 40th ESOMAR Marketing Research Congress, General Sessions, Montreaux, Switzerland, (pp. 563–593).
40.
ParkerK. (1991). Sponsorship-The research contribution. European Journal of Marketing, 25, 22–30.
41.
PasadeosY. (1990). Perceived informativeness of and satisfaction with local advertising. Journalism Quarterly, 67, 35–39.
42.
PasadeosY., KeyG., HallS., & MorvilloC. (1987). Information content of newspaper advertisements. Newspaper Research Journal, 9(3), 1–9.
43.
PittsB. (1998). An analysis of sponsorship recall during Gay Games IV. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 7(4), 11–18.
44.
QuesterP. (1997). Awareness as a measure of sponsorship effectiveness: The Adelaide Formula One Grand Prix and evidence of incidental ambush effects. Journal of Marketing Communications, 3, 1–20.
45.
ReidL. N., & SoleyL. C. (1982). Generalized and personalized attitudes toward advertising's social and economic effects. Journal of Advertising, 11, 3–7.
46.
SandlerD., & ShaniD. (1993). Sponsorship and the Olympic Games: The consumer perspective. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 2(3), 38–43.
ShanklinW. L., & KuzmaJ. R. (1992). Buying that sporting image. Marketing Management, Spring, 59–65.
49.
ShimpT. (1981). Attitude toward the ad as a mediator of consumer brand choice. Journal of Advertising, 10(2), 9–15.
50.
SoleyL., & ReidL. (1983). Satisfaction with the informational value of magazine and television advertising. Journal of Advertising, 12(3), 27–31.
51.
StotlarD., & JohnsonD. (1989). Assessing the impact and effectiveness of stadium advertising on sport spectators at Division 1 institutions. Journal of Sport Management, 3, 90–102.
52.
StotlarD. (1993). Sponsorship and the Olympic Winter Games. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 2(3), 35–43.
53.
VakratsasD., & AmblerT. (1999). How advertising works: What do we really know?Journal of Marketing, 63, 26–43.
54.
WellsW. (2000). Recognition, recall, and rating scales: Measuring the sales effects of advertisements. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(6), 14–20.
