Sports Sponsorship by John A. Fortunato

Author:John A. Fortunato
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

Activation In-Stadium/In-Arena

Many sponsors include in their activation programs an in-stadium or in-arena element. For sponsorship activation at the stadium or arena there needs to be coordination between the sponsor and the team. Jowdy and McDonald (2002) claim, “Sports properties/organizers are not only charged with producing unique products for consumers, they must offer unique marketing platforms that attract corporate sponsors” (p. 248). James, Kolbe, and Trail (2002) point out that “a team’s financial success is predicated, in large part, on the creation of an adequate income stream. This necessitates that sport teams attract, develop, and maintain a relationship with a substantial number of sports consumers” (p. 215). The term sports consumers can be applied in a general sense and includes fans and sponsors that make a significant contribution to the revenue stream of a sports team.

One of the prominent in-stadium or in-arena game day sponsorship activation promotions is fan giveaways. Miloch and Lambrecht (2006) found that companies that activated their sponsorship through providing a souvenir or product sampling received higher brand recall. In this endeavor a potential conflict could emerge with the team desiring to use the promotion to increase attendance, while the sponsor is, perhaps, hoping for a game that is guaranteed a strong attendance to boost brand exposure and connect with the fans by giving them an item or experience courtesy of the sponsor (Boyd & Krehbiel, 2003; Fortunato, 2006). In 2012, Major League Baseball teams had 767 giveaway dates, a four percent drop from 2011, but a two percent increase from 2010. The teams had an additional 1,505 non-giveaway promotions, such as fireworks, concerts, discounted parking, college nights, or discounted food, a decrease of twenty percent from 2011, but an increase of five percent from the 2010 season. Most, if not all, of these promotional dates have a sponsor attached. The New York Yankees had the most giveaway dates in 2011 with 44. Twenty six teams had bobblehead giveaways on 94 different dates and twenty two teams had fireworks nights on 186 different dates in 2012 (Broughton, 2012b).

Several sponsors’ promotions throughout Major League Baseball involve branding a specific night with an added value component. For example, in 2013, the Baltimore Orioles had every Tuesday home game as Ollie’s Bargain Night in which fans could purchase upper reserve seats for $9, courtesy of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. Every Friday Orioles home game was AT&T student night, in which any student presenting a valid school identification card could purchase left field, upper reserve tickets for $6.

Sponsors can be incorporated into ticket offerings in a way that has a purchase congruence element. During the 2012–13 season, for all Saturday and Sunday Miami Heat home games fans could purchase the Papa John’s Heat Family Meal Deal for $150. The deal included four upper-level tickets, a voucher for four small drinks and four Papa John’s arena pizzas, and a coupon for a free large Papa John’s pizza at one of its restaurant locations. In the NHL in the 2011–12 season, the New Jersey Devils

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