National sports organisations and sponsorship: an identification of best practices

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a list of critical best practices that could be used to advantage by other Canadian Amateur Sport Organisations in the future. Specifically, a marketing management audit collected all historical and current marketing abilities and was compared to the sponsorship literature. The audit was complemented by a series of field interviews of key executives. Results are presented in terms of: (a) the sponsor and its objectives; (b) leveraging activities; and (c) sponsorship evaluation. The resulting data revealed a number of very distinct best practices. Recommendations for further research are provided.