Sponsorship of mega-sports events continues to be one of the most popular forms of marketing. The international appeal and reach of the Olympic Games, in particular, is amongst the top advertising and sponsorship opportunities in the world for international branding. In turn, the marketing value provided by the Olympic Games has attracted the interest of multiple sponsors in various categories, leading to competitive hosting bids and ambush marketing. This study examined mega-sports event interest as a determinant of sponsorship and ambush marketing attitudes, as well as the purchase intention of affiliated properties during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. In total, 619 consumer surveys were collected from four different Canadian cities. Results showed that overall consumer interest was high, and that their purchase intention was strongly influenced by level of interest.
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