University of Macedonia



Call for Papers

Sponsorship Strategies in Marketing Brands:

Theory and Practice in Associating Sport, Arts,

and Charity Icons to Brands and Firms

Journal of Business Research Special Issue

Deadline: 30 November 2011

Sponsorship expenditures worldwide continue to increase— $2 billion in 1984 to about $48 billion in 2011 (IEG, 2011). Sponsoring is the fastest-growing marketing medium. Some of the major factors resulting in sponsorship growth include the decreasing efficiency of traditional media, changing social priorities and personal values, increasing need for interactive communication, higher consumer acceptance relatively to other communication means (e.g. solicitation and advertising), and knowledge of customers’ innate desire to associate with legends and icons. As a result, sponsorship-linked marketing has become a major topic of interest for academics and practitioners since the early 80’s. Researchers from various scientific fields (e.g. advertising, branding, organizational theories and strategy) have contributed to the development of a body of knowledge that is rather well-established, yet not complete.

Sponsorship research includes using theories that explain conscious and unconscious consumer responses to brand-icon attachments and specific and general sponsorship strategies by markers. Focusing only on cognitive processes and disregarding affective responses limits the ability to fully understand how sponsorship works and its effects (Bal, Quester, & Boucher, 2007). Investigating sponsorship effectiveness in terms of consumer’s emotional and implicit responses attracts attention (Bal, Quester, & Plewa, 2010; Christensen, 2006; Hansen, Halling, & Christensen, 2006). This stream of research proposes that consumers make only a limited use of cognitive resources (Trendel & Warlop, 2004) while affective processes needs consideration (Cornwell, Humphreys, Maguire, Weeks, & Tellegen, 2006). However, research on conscious and/or unconscious affective responses to sponsorship is scarce and needs further development. Sponsorship studies on the effect of sponsorship on consumers’ attachment, commitment, and engagement with the sponsor brand are necessary.

Sponsorship research is evolving into a strategic tool that assists in building sponsors’ image, increasing sponsor’s brand equity, and differentiating sponsors’ products. In order to leverage and activate their sponsorship investments, sponsors are developing new marketing mixes and strategies such as affinity marketing, special packaging, and co-branding with the sponsored property. For example, banks issue credits cards with the logo of the sponsored organization, companies of fast moving consumer goods develop packages of their brands depicting the image and logo of the sponsored property or businesses create joint products with the brands of both entities (the sponsor and the sponsored brand). The effectiveness of these practices and the role of the type of products (goods vs. services; convenient vs. fast moving consumer goods vs. specialty products) on sponsorship effectiveness has not attracted yet the interest of sponsorship research.

TOPICS of INTEREST

The special issue seeks papers that consolidate our understanding of sponsorship relative to constructs now in sue and papers providing unique aspects and contributions of sponsorship-linked marketing. Empirical papers using any approach including case studies are sought, as are truly ground-breaking conceptualizations of the future. The following topics are suggestions but not a limiting list of areas of interest.

▪ Ambushing and counter-ambushing in sponsorship

▪ Examination of sponsorship in creating psychological archetypes

▪ Linking sponsorship to branding strategies (e.g. co-branding, brand extensions)

▪ Affinity marketing

▪ The role of social media on sponsorship effectiveness

▪ Sponsorship and brand communities

▪ Sponsorship engagement

▪ Affective responses to sponsorship

▪ The role of endorsement

▪ Sponsorship effectiveness in goods vs. services

▪ Sponsorship strategies on various products types (convenient vs. fast moving consumer goods vs. specialty)

▪ Integrating sponsorship into the marketing mix

▪ Sponsorship in B-B marketing—what does it drive?

▪ Public policy concerns in sponsorship-linked marketing.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Guidelines for preparation of submissions are available on the JBR website. Papers should be submitted via email (in a word document) to both Guest Editors, T. Bettina Cornwell (tbc@uoregon.edu) and Rodoula H. Tsiotsou (rtsiotsou@uom.gr) by November 30, 2011. Direct questions about the special issue should be addressed to either of the guest editors.

 

JBR Special Issue Guest Editors:

T. Bettina Cornwell, Edwin E. & June Woldt Cone Professor of Marketing, Lundquist College of Business Lillis 432, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1208

Tel. (541) 346-8241 ( Email: tbc@uoregon.edu). Rodoula H. Tsiotsou, Assistant Professor of Services Marketing Department of Marketing & Operations Management, University of Macedonia, Agiou Dimitriou 49, Edessa TK 58200 Greece Tel. 003(0)23810-51765 Email: rtsiotsou@uom.gr

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