Sponsorship effects on brand image: The role of exposure and activity involvement ¬リニ

a r t i c l e i n f o Sponsorships capture a significant proportion of marketing budgets. In firm evaluations of the effectiveness of sponsorship engagements, image improvements represent the most important company objective. This study develops and tests a framework for explaining how exposure and activity involvement moderate the effects of event image, event–sponsor fit, and event commercialization on sponsor image. Using empirical data collected at a large sporting event with multiple sponsors, the authors show that increased sponsorship exposure reduces sponsor image if respondents perceive a low fit between the event and sponsor or high levels of event commer-cialization. Involvement in the sponsored activity improves the sponsor's image, in that the effect of event com-mercialization is positive for highly involved persons. This paper concludes with some reasons for the findings, implications for the choice and design of sponsorships, and further areas for research. The humble beginnings of sponsorship as a marketing communication tool in the 1970s led to a period of rapid growth in the 1980s and throughout the 1990s (e.g., Meenaghan, 2001). Increased sponsorship activities and expenditures paralleled a deepened understanding of what sponsorships could and could not achieve. This growing body of knowledge fostered a shift in sponsorship objectives; modern sponsor-ships are particularly successful in changing or strengthening con-sumers' perceptions and brand images, because of their credibility (Balasubramanian, 1994), ability to create goodwill toward the sponsor When companies support specific activities, the image of the sponsored event can transfer to the sponsor and benefit the image of that sponsoring company (Gwinner, 1997; IEG, 2003). Consequently, managers rank the promotion of corporate and brand image as their most im-Existing research confirms that sponsor image is a function of the image of the sponsored activity and the fit between the event and the sponsor (e.g., Gwinner & Eaton, 1999), though the role of event commercialization is less clear. Lee, Sandler, and Shani (1997) suggest that increased commercialization might harm sponsor image, but McDaniel and Mason (1999) cannot find empirical evidence of this proposition. Confusion also remains about the role of two important components of consumer responses to sponsorship; exposure to the sponsorship and involvement in the sponsored activity. This study aims to clarify the (moderating) role of sponsorship exposure and activity involvement in the sponsor image formation process. No prior research investigates the moderated relationships of event image, event–sponsor fit, event commercialization, sponsorship exposure , and …