Sports & Entertainment Marketing

Student Note Taking Guide, 2020-21 School Year

Unit 8 Student Notes Guide:

Sponsorship & Endorsement

OVERVIEW

Unit eight explores the concept of sports and entertainment sponsorship and celebrity endorsement.
Throughout unit eight, students will begin to understand the significance of sponsorship and its
impact on the financial viability of sports, entertainment and event properties. Students will also gain
an understanding of why companies make the decision to engage in sponsorship as a promotional
opportunity for their business, as well as the decisions required to insure their sponsorship program
is a sound investment. In addition, unit eight provides a glimpse of several concepts important to the
sponsorship field, including cause marketing, ambush marketing and a brief background on
endorsements.

OBJECTIVES

1) Define and offer examples of sponsorship

2) List three ways a company might implement sponsorship programs
3) Identify three factors that have impacted the growth of sponsorship
4) Define and offer an example of cause marketing
5) Understand why a company would engage in sponsorship
6) Explain what criteria must be met for a sponsorship to be effective
7) Illustrate the concept of ambush marketing
8) Describe sponsorship inventory
9) Define endorsement

LESSONS

Lesson 8.1 Sponsorship

Lesson 8.2 Sponsorship Growth
Lesson 8.3 Sponsorship Decisions
Lesson 8.4 Ambush Marketing
Lesson 8.5 Pricing Sponsorships
Lesson 8.6 Endorsements

KEY TERMS

Ambush Marketing Cause Related Marketing Endorsement

Gross Impression Sponsorship

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Lesson 8.1
Sponsorship

Define sponsorship

A form of marketing in which companies attach their name, brand, or logo to an event for the
purpose of achieving future profits

How is sponsorship different from advertising?

1. sponsorship is not the same as advertising

2. sponsorships provide a natural partnership between two parties

Sponsorships provide a ________________________ between two parties

Sports and entertainment properties need sponsors to provide ________________ ,

________________________ and ________________________

For sponsorship to be effective, it must ____________________________________

Sponsorship examples could include:

1. NBA and YouTube

2. Visa and Olympics

3. NFL AND Tide

Sponsorship packages often include

1. right to use team or event marks, logos, names, or trademarks

2. Additional forms of company exposure and media time (billboards, commercials etc.)

Exclusivity provides:

1.

2.
3.

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4.

What makes sponsorship an effective promotional opportunity for a company?

Allows companies to reach consumers by appealing to their _______________________________

The marketer’s message is communicated more effectively when ___________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Can be particularly effective in sports because of the high levels of __________________________

Sponsorships often allow companies to reach segments they normally _______________________

Follow the outline from your textbook to describe the five common ways businesses implement
sponsorship programs in the spaces below.

1.

a.

b.

2.
a.

b.

c.

3.

a.

b.

c.

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 4. Internal sales and marketing tool

a. Helps companies to

1. Maintain an existing customer base

2. Attract new customers

3. Enhance employee relations and motivate/reward staff

5.

a.

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Lesson 8.2
Sponsorship Growth

Sponsorship spending in North America shows consistent growth over the past __________ years

Sponsorship is a primary source of ___________________________ for many major corporations

List five key factors influencing growth of sponsorship.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Define cause marketing

Research has indicated that consumers have a propensity to change brands if:

Cause marketing has proven to be extremely effective, and ____________________ provides a

valuable platform for cause marketing programs

Cause marketing has become one of the most popular _________________________ in sports and
entertainment marketing

Cause marketing is not:

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How can you tell if it is cause related marketing?

1.

2.

3.

Describe an example of cause marketing:

What differentiates sponsorship from traditional media, making it a unique promotional tool?

1.

2.

3.

4.

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Lesson 8.3
Sponsorship Decisions

List at least fifteen reasons why companies engage in sponsorship programs.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Deciding what to sponsor

Companies must filter through ______________________ to find which sponsorship opportunities

will present the best opportunities to effectively promote their brands

______________________ is now available to help filter those requests to determine which

proposals meet the needs of a company

Many companies invest in _______________________ deals to maximize the amount of exposure

gained through the sponsorship

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Criteria companies consider when deciding what to sponsor could include:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Criteria consistent with effective sponsorships:

Define gross impression

Leveraging/activating the sponsorship is the:

The most effective campaigns combine the sponsorship and events that activate them with

additional ________________________________________________

Most companies spend $________ per dollar spent on the sponsorship fee itself in
leverage/activation

Companies must engage in promotion of the event ________________________

Effective sponsorships also require careful ____________________________

Sponsorships are typically ineffective without company ____________________________

Organizations cannot afford to make the mistake of committing sponsorship dollars to a property

simply because the company president or CEO is a ______________________ of a particular sport,

entertainer or event

Communication between the _______________________ and ______________________ (event

provider, entertainer or property) is essential for success

A connection should take place between the fans (consumers) and the sponsor, without the feeling

of _____________________________________________________________________________

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Lesson 8.4
Ambush Marketing

Define ambush marketing

Ambush marketing is a ___________________________ tactic

It is often referred to as “__________________________” marketing

It is a strategy that has proven to be very __________________________

The technique presents many __________________________ for those hosting the event

Ambush marketing results in the perception that companies are affiliated with an event when they

actually are ___________________________________

Allows for penetration into events in which a competitor may have ______________________ rights

When does ambush marketing occur? Explain in the space provided below.

Follow the outline from your textbook to describe ambush marketing tactics in the spaces below.

1.

a. Some companies, such as Nike, will strategically sponsor individual teams and
individual athletes without sponsoring the event

1. This strategy allows the company to ______________________________

___________________________________________________________

b. The results of this form of sponsorship are often __________________ as effective

as sponsoring the event itself

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 2.

a. Effective because

3.

a. In 2012, a British company (Virgin Media whose interests include airlines and
broadband service) launched a multimillion dollar ad campaign featuring Jamaican
gold medal winner Usain Bolt sporting a silver goatee identical to that of company
founder Richard Branson. The campaign was promoting Virgin's "super fast"
broadband service, despite the fact that BT was the official broadband partner of the
2012 Olympic Games.

4.

a. Competitors use __________________________________ and additional

promotions to gain exposure for their company during the course of the event

b. Example

5. Create visibility without “official” affiliation with an event in non-traditional ways

a. Example

Impact of ambush marketing

Is ambush marketing an effective strategy?

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Ambush marketing has proven to be particularly successful in the shoe and apparel market. The
official footwear and apparel of the NBA is Adidas. However, many of their competitors have
individual NBA stars contracted to promote their respective brands (it should be noted that Adidas
has several individual players under contract as well, such as Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard).

1. Nike with ____________________________________________________

2. Reebok with __________________________________________________

3. Brand Jordan with __________________________________________

4. Under Armour with ______________________________________________

How does ambush marketing affect the organization responsible for hosting the event?

Ambush marketing threatens ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

How do companies and/or governing bodies combat ambush marketing?

Ambush marketing is a _______________________________ marketing strategy to combat

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Lesson 8.5
Pricing Sponsorships

What is inventory?

The first step to the sponsorship sales process is __________________________________

Inventory defines

An inventory sheet outlines:

Inventory could include many sponsorship elements, such as_______________________________,

____________________________________, _______________________________________, or

____________________________________

In some cases, sponsors seek ways to make signage stand out at venues to maximize exposure for
their brand, forcing sports and entertainment organizations to become a little more

______________________ in ways to expand their inventory

Pricing sponsorships

Pricing is complex because:

After determining what inventory is available,

Define rate card

Assigning value can be ________________________ because sponsorship as a medium is

generally considered to be intangible

Considerations when pricing sponsorships

1.

2.

3.

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4.

Lesson 8.6
Endorsements

Define endorsement

The celebrity agrees to ______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Endorsement examples

1.

2.

3.

What is the key difference between an athlete/celebrity endorsement and influencer marketing?

What celebrities appeal to marketers?

Sports and entertainment marketers seek a defined set of characteristics among celebrities to
determine which performer provides the best fit for their company. Typically, an organization will
evaluate the following:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

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Aligning the appropriate athlete or celebrity with the brand can be very challenging and doesn’t

come without ________________________.

Effective endorsement campaigns

To be successful, the campaign will feature:

Consumers must actually ____________________ the athlete or celebrity uses the product or
service otherwise the campaign’s credibility risks being undermined

Finalizing the selection process includes:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. Marketers can refer to a prospective endorsers ______________________ to determine the

individual celebrity’s marketing potential

6.

Endorsement effects on sales

Studies have shown that ____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

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