Sponsorship and the Olympic Winter Games

Abstract

World-wide Olympic and amateur sport organizations have become dependent upon corporate sponsors for financial viability since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of consumers in the United States to identify sponsors of the 1992 Winter Olympics and to differentiate among types of involvement. Specific research questions were posed regarding the rate at which consumers would be able to recall and recognize Olympic sponsors and whether consumers would be able to differentiate among the types of involvement of current IOC andUSOC sponsors. Generally, consumers were not able to differentiate among the types of involvement of current IOC and USOC sponsors. Additional analyses did not show any significant variance by age, gender, or income.