Sports Marketing

Self interested but also important

    Sponsorship tends to be associated with money, advertising and publicity rather than altruism. On the other hand, the study conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia shows that sponsoring is important and beneficial for both the sponsor and the sponsored.

    According to the research, 83% of the respondents consider sponsorship important. Three quarters of people questioned claim that sponsorship is the most popular with companies who want to improve their publicity. In addition, practically the same number of respondents believe that sponsorship actually does improve the publicity and brand recognition.

    Over half the number of respondents have a better opinion of companies involved in sponsorship in comparison with those that do not incorporate such forms of publicity campaign. Every third Pole claims he would prefer to buy the product of a sponsorship involved brand and 50% of people believe that others also choose to buy such products; this tendency is confirmed by specialists.

    The publicity of companies involved in sponsorship is also dependent on the particular destination of this sponsorship. In the case of sports marketing, companies are generally believed to be wealthy, famous, and to incorporate modern marketing techniques.Self interested but also important



    The research was conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia Company in cooperation with the Polish Sponsorship Forum and carried out between 18-30 November 2000. The respondents were chosen from people living in towns with population larger than 10,000 inhabitants, between 25-50 years old, with at least secondary education or attending secondary school at that time.

    ”The effectiveness of typical forms of advertising is becoming very limited in Poland nowadays. Hence the increasing of an advertising budget is not necessarily followed by measurable growth of sale. That is why companies tend to seek alternative methods of promotion and effective advertising. Consequently, sponsorship becomes an increasingly popular and appreciated form of publicity campaign. On the basis of surveys conducted over the past two years we can say that it is a form of advertising that has the highest acceptance among customers.
    People tend to appreciate a marketing policy that is not only focused on customer's benefit but can also be profitable for their favourite sports, arts or cultural events. Obviously this is not the only reason why companies become involved in sponsorship. During the last decade companies have been focusing on the efficient introduction of their brands and their recognition on the market. Nowadays, what has become the major objective of advertising is brand positioning and care for the customer's loyalty and thus sponsorship should be recognized as a crucial element of any publicity campaign”.

Dr Adam Czarnecki, ARC Rynek i Opinia

    Over the past few years, an increasing number of companies and institutions has become interested in placing their logo on a sports car. Earlier, it was only the companies most closely related to the automotive industry that advertised in motorsport. Today the range of brands involved in rallying sponsorship is constantly increasing. In Europe, together with brewery and tobacco brands that are known to be long-time motorsport sponsors, there are many new sponsors whose brands have little or no association with motorsport or the automotive industry, for example:
    Financial institutions: NORIS BANK, MASTER CARD
    Insurance companies: ALLIANZ
    Leasing companies: MULTILEASE
    Clothing industry: BENETTON, HUGO BOSS
    Food industry: TIC TAC, COCA-COLA, McDONALD'S, CRUNCHIPS, RED-BULL
    Delivery service: TNT, DEUTSCHE POST, DHL, FEDEX
    Electronic industry: DELL, COMPAQ, SIEMENS, SONY PLYSTATION
    Communications: TELEFONICA, VODAFONE, T-D1

    Each of these companies is well aware of the fact that their brand recognition depends on proper positioning which can be effectively achieved through association with progress, dynamism, courage, agility and high technology that are all deeply incorporated into the image of motorsport.

    An example of endorsement advertising associated with motorsport is the T-D1 company, benefitting from the popularity of Mika Hakkinen and his wife in a TV campaign. This is a perfect example of a campaign based upon transfer of positive emotions. Mika Hakkinen, just like Krzysztof Hołowczyc, embodies a rare kind of successful sportsman, who managed to remain modest and kind, and who has a perfect family life.

    The successful Frito Lay TV advertising campaign with Hołowczyc (presented also abroad on MTV Networks), accompanied by an outdoor campaign in many European cities, inspired CrunChips to introduce a similar campaign onto the German market where they hired Nick Heidfeld, a Formula 1 race driver.