SURVEY GOALS
This
survey aims to provide information that will assist corporate sports
sponsors in better aligning themselves with sports personalities and
organizations. It is also intended to assist sports personalities
and sports organizations to identify those at tributes that make them
potentially more valuable to a sponsor.
SURVEY OBJECTIVES
- Rank
the most desired characteristics and attributes preferred by sponsors
- Determine
the process used to select personalities and teams for sponsorship
purposes
- Determine
the current level of satisfaction and any problems associated with
sponsorship activities
- Determine
the types of sports and endorsers used for sponsorship purposes
- Determine
the level of sponsorship activity and future trends
- Profile
the type of companies using sports sponsorship as a marketing tool
SURVEY AUDIENCE
The
Survey was completed in early 1997 and targeted US corporate sports
sponsors and sports marketing/management agencies.
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RESULT HIGHLIGHTS
- Less
than half (47%) of sponsors who responded to the 1997 Sports Sponsorship
Survey had moral clauses in their contracts with endorsers. Forty
percent had none, and 13% weren't sure if their contracts had such
clauses.
- More
than a quarter of sponsors (27.5%) have no predefined goals for
their sponsorship program. "This lends more credence to the widely
held opinion that companies often get involved in sports marketing
primarily because of an intense interest in a pa rticular sport
by the senior most decision-maker or the person who allocates how
marketing dollars are spent," says Kathleen Hessert, president of
Sports Media Challenge.
- Only
25% of sponsors tied an endorser's payment to results. 72.5% didn't,
while 2% didn't answer.
- There
weren't overwhelming preferences for major-league professional athletes
as endorsers. While 52% of sponsors favored such pros, 47% gave
the nod to Olympic athletes, colleges and pro minor leagues.
- Sponsors
primary concerns when selecting an endorser: image, good representation,
positive outcome, return-on-investment and mutual respect.
- Most
important attributes sponsor's look for in an endorser: name recognition
(68%), current popularity (56%), overall image (53%) and character
(51%). Moderately important attributes: speaking skills (45%) and
general appearance (45%). Least import ant attributes: education
(64%) and controversial image (53%).
Not surprisingly,
"image" was a common denominator between what concerned sponsors and
what attributes they considered most important in an endorser. Though
sponsors gave mixed rankings to the importance of media skills and
said speaking skills and gen eral appearance were moderately important
– all three are critical to image. "An image is formed entirely by
the media if the personality doesn't take an active role in defining
and exposing the image he or she wants, " Hessert says.
WHY A SPORTS SPONSORSHIP SURVEY?
Using
sports to sell products or companies is nothing new. But what is new
— and dramatic — since the early 80's is the heavy flow of dollars
into this form of marketing, something not expected to abate anytime
soon, according to The 1997 Sports Sponsorsh ip Survey.
Between
1988 and 1993, sponsorship of sports events grew at an annual rate
of 15%. By 1995, North American firms were spending $3 billion on
such sponsorships. In 1996, US companies put more than $1 billion
into the pockets of an estimated 2,000 athletes for endorsement deals
and licensing — a 10-fold increase from a decade ago. With such phenomenal
growth in sports marketing, the need of athletes, teams and leagues
to differentiate themselves has become critical.
Conversely,
sports-marketing agents and corporations have a lot riding on who
they select as endorsers. Sponsors must stay apprised of inherent
risks associated with certain sports or athletes. Hertz, for example,
entrusted its good name to the care of sp okesperson, O. J. Simpson.
Hertz has since terminated that relationship.
So,
what are sports-marketing agents and corporations looking for in who
they select as endorsers? What endorser attributes do they seek? What
is their current level of satisfaction with their sponsorship activities?
What is the process used to select spo nsorship personalities? Are
individuals, teams or leagues the most common choice for an endorser?
How do agents and corporations differ on endorsement factors? What
is the current level of sponsorship activity and future trends? These
are some of the que stions that corporate sports sponsors and athletes
want answered.
Associating
with an athlete or team for sponsorship purposes has never been an
exact science. Since there isn’t a clear understanding in the market
of what defines sports sponsorship success, Sports Media Challenge
commissioned its first ever Sports Spon sorship Survey.
The
University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Professional Application
MBA Team completed the survey in early 1997.
