Awareness of Sponsorship and Corporate Image: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract Abstract Corporate sponsorship is growing in importance as an element of the communications mix. The number of companies participating in sponsorship, as well as corporate expenditures for sponsoring events, is on the rise as organizations seek new ways to reach audiences and enhance their image. The importance of corporate sponsorship is now generally acknowledged, but little research has been done to understand its value and effectiveness. An exploratory study was conducted to examine the relationship between sponsorship and corporate image. The results suggest that corporate sponsorship can improve corporate image, but its effects differ among companies. Moreover, sponsorship is only one of the information sources consumers use to form their impressions of an organization. Under certain circumstances, corporate sponsorship can damage, rather than enhance, the image of a company.