HSG study on the effectiveness of sponsoring
The Center for Customer Insight at the University of St. Gallen (FCI-HSG) has conducted a comprehensive study on the effectiveness of sponsorship for the second time, commissioned by IG Sponsoring.
The study "Relevance of sponsoring" comes to two key conclusions: 1. sponsoring is the second highest budget item in the communication budget of Swiss companies. 2. if sponsorship activities are implemented professionally, their impact is very high.
Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Torsten Tomczak and Dr. Silke Mühlmeier, the "360-degree" study of the Swiss sponsorship market follows on from the first empirical study from 2006/2007 with current data. Between September 2009 and March 2010, 105 sponsorship managers, 186 consumers and 61 sales managers throughout Switzerland were surveyed on the subject of sponsorship.
Effect and prerequisites
The Swiss sponsorship market is very dynamic, says Dr. Daniel E. Gundelfin-ger, President of IG Sponsoring. It is also one of the most important instruments for Swiss companies to achieve their corporate and communication goals, as Torsten Tomczak confirms. Sponsorship is generally very well received and is perceived as appealing. Consumers tend to feel more attracted by sponsorship than by traditional advertising. It has a positive effect on the brand image, customer loyalty and the financial success of a company. And: consumers believe that sponsorship is positive for society. It also supports sales activities and thus has a sales-promoting effect.
Key prerequisites for the success of sponsoring are the share of the sponsoring budget in the communication budget, an organizationally independent sponsoring department, strong networking with other communication instruments (internal communication, event marketing, traditional advertising, public relations/PR, sales promotion, etc.) and extremely professional sponsoring management. The results of the study show a direct positive correlation between sponsorship performance and the financial success of a company. Sponsorship performance describes the perception of a company's sponsorship activities among the various stakeholder groups.
Sponsorship share of the communication budget
With an average share of 15 percent of the communication budget, sponsorship is the second highest budget share for Swiss companies after traditional advertising (28 percent), according to the study.
The Swiss sponsorship market can be estimated at around 700 million francs. Sports sponsorship accounts for the largest budget. As the study also shows, the focus is on football - also in the wake of the European Football Championships in Switzerland and Austria and in the run-up to this year's World Cup in South Africa - ice hockey and popular running sports. In addition, the social and environmental sectors are becoming increasingly important for sponsorship commitments.
The 10 key findings of the study:
1 In 2009/2010, sponsorship accounted for the second highest budget share for companies in Switzerland after traditional advertising.
2. consumers' positive attitude towards sponsorship has not changed significantly over the past three years.
3. the sales department values sponsorship as a useful and effective sales support tool.
4. sales tend to feel even better informed about the company's sponsorship objectives and sponsorship activities.
5 The stronger the integration of sponsorship with other communication instruments, the higher the sponsorship performance.
6 The results confirm that companies with a higher sponsorship budget share and their own sponsorship team are characterized by a higher sponsorship performance.
7 The high impact of "professional" sponsorship management on sponsorship performance was confirmed.
8 The analyses of the current survey confirm that sponsorship has a highly significant positive effect on financial success.
9. an "objectification" of the measure of success (from the customer's perspective) shows a positive influence of sponsorship performance on customer loyalty and brand image.
10 The results confirm that even with low product involvement, sponsorship has a positive effect on brand image.
Under the direction of Prof. Dr. Torsten Tomczak and Dr. Silke Mühlmeier, the "360-degree" study of the Swiss sponsorship market follows on from the first empirical study from 2006/2007 with current data. Between September 2009 and March 2010, 105 sponsorship managers, 186 consumers and 61 sales managers throughout Switzerland were surveyed on the subject of sponsorship.
Effect and prerequisites
The Swiss sponsorship market is very dynamic, says Dr. Daniel E. Gundelfin-ger, President of IG Sponsoring. It is also one of the most important instruments for Swiss companies to achieve their corporate and communication goals, as Torsten Tomczak confirms. Sponsorship is generally very well received and is perceived as appealing. Consumers tend to feel more attracted by sponsorship than by traditional advertising. It has a positive effect on the brand image, customer loyalty and the financial success of a company. And: consumers believe that sponsorship is positive for society. It also supports sales activities and thus has a sales-promoting effect.
Key prerequisites for the success of sponsoring are the share of the sponsoring budget in the communication budget, an organizationally independent sponsoring department, strong networking with other communication instruments (internal communication, event marketing, traditional advertising, public relations/PR, sales promotion, etc.) and extremely professional sponsoring management. The results of the study show a direct positive correlation between sponsorship performance and the financial success of a company. Sponsorship performance describes the perception of a company's sponsorship activities among the various stakeholder groups.
Sponsorship share of the communication budget
With an average share of 15 percent of the communication budget, sponsorship is the second highest budget share for Swiss companies after traditional advertising (28 percent), according to the study.
The Swiss sponsorship market can be estimated at around 700 million francs. Sports sponsorship accounts for the largest budget. As the study also shows, the focus is on football - also in the wake of the European Football Championships in Switzerland and Austria and in the run-up to this year's World Cup in South Africa - ice hockey and popular running sports. In addition, the social and environmental sectors are becoming increasingly important for sponsorship commitments.
The 10 key findings of the study:
1 In 2009/2010, sponsorship accounted for the second highest budget share for companies in Switzerland after traditional advertising.
2. consumers' positive attitude towards sponsorship has not changed significantly over the past three years.
3. the sales department values sponsorship as a useful and effective sales support tool.
4. sales tend to feel even better informed about the company's sponsorship objectives and sponsorship activities.
5 The stronger the integration of sponsorship with other communication instruments, the higher the sponsorship performance.
6 The results confirm that companies with a higher sponsorship budget share and their own sponsorship team are characterized by a higher sponsorship performance.
7 The high impact of "professional" sponsorship management on sponsorship performance was confirmed.
8 The analyses of the current survey confirm that sponsorship has a highly significant positive effect on financial success.
9. an "objectification" of the measure of success (from the customer's perspective) shows a positive influence of sponsorship performance on customer loyalty and brand image.
10 The results confirm that even with low product involvement, sponsorship has a positive effect on brand image.
