The Meaning of Sponsoring

A study on the motives behind sponsoring a sports team and the following

effects on brand awareness.

Bachelor Thesis within Business Administration

Authors: Salar Roshandel 841117

Fredrik Skovshoved 860110

Tutor: Börje Boers

Jönköping December, 2009

JÖ N K Ö P I N G I N T E R N A T I O N A L BU S I N E S S S C H O O L

JÖ N KÖ PIN G UN IVERSITY

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Acknowledgements

We want to take the opportunity to express our sincere gratitude towards the people who have

contributed to make this thesis possible:

Börje Boers - our tutor who has guided us in the right direction by constructive criticism.

Our fellow students - have given us a lot of useful and interesting feedback during

seminars.

Per-Ola Wennefors, Linda von Essen-Sylvén, Dan Nilhammer, Mats Westinius - the

interviewees at the investigated organizations who have all contributed with necessary

information.

The Respondents - we would also like to express our gratitude to the ones who have

taken their time and effort to answer our questionnaires.

___________________ ________________

Fredrik Skovshoved Salar Roshandel

Jönköping International Business School.

2009-12-09.

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Kandidatuppsats i Företagsekonomi

Titel: Sponsoring - A study on why to sponsor a sports team.

Ämne/kurs: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration (JBTC17)

Författare: Fredrik Skovshoved & Salar Roshandel

Handledare: Börje Boers

Nyckelord: Sponsring, Sport, Motiv, Effekt, Varumärke

Bakgrund: Sponsring är ett ämne som alltid har varit närvarande, fast än i olika

former. Nyligen har konceptet dock blivit mer populärt och företag idag

investerar mindre förmögenheter på att bli sponsorer av olika händelser,

individer och lag. Dock finns det ännu inte mycket forskning gjord inom

området, varför vi finner det intressant att undersöka vidare.

Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka, utifrån ett strategiskt

marknadsförings perspektiv, vad en sponsrande organisationen vill uppnå

genom att sponsra ett idrottslag och hur det påverkar

varumärkeskännedom.

Metod: För att studera vårt syfte har vi genomfört en fallstudie av HV71 och fyra

av dess sponsorer, med syfte att förstå varför de har valt att bli sponsorer,

och även att testa om och hur denna sponsring påverkar

varumärkeskännedomen bland tittarna. Denna information tillhandahölls

genom att samla in kvalitativa data för att kunna förstå motiven bakom

sponsring, liksom kvantitativa data där syftet var att testa

varumärkeskännedom och dess effekter. Den kvalitativa datan har samlats

in genom att utföra intervjuer med fyra olika sponsrande organisationer;

Kinnarps, Säkra Försäkringar, Elmia och M-Clean Papertech, medan

kvantitativa data samlats in med hjälp av frågeformulär som delats ut till

åskådare vid tre olika tillfällen.

Slutsats: Denna avhandling visar att det finns en gemensam nämnare bland

sponsorerna för HV71 till att ägna sig åt sponsring inom idrott, nämligen

behovet av medieexponering och möjligheten att få ut varumärket på

marknaden. Genom att inneha olika sponsringsrättigheter, kan varierande

resultat av varumärkesexponering och medvetenhet uppnås. Sponsring

siktar, inom strategisk marknadsföring på en mer långsiktig plan att öka

varumärkeskännedom.

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Bachelor Thesis within Business Administration

Title: The meaning of Sponsoring - A study on why to sponsor a sports team.

Course: Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration (JBTC17)

Auothors: Fredrik Skovshoved & Salar Roshandel

Tutor: Börje Boers

Key words: Sponsoring, Sport, Motives, Effects, Brand awareness

Background: Sponsoring is a topic that has always been present but in different forms.

Recently however, it has become even more popular and companies today

invest small fortunes on becoming sponsors of different events,

individuals and teams. However, there is still not much research done

within this field, hence we find it interesting to investigate further.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate, from a strategic marketing

perspective, what a sponsoring organization wants to accomplish by

sponsoring a sports team and how it affects brand awareness.

Method: In order to solve our purpose, we have conducted a case study concerning

HV71 and four of their sponsors, to understand why they have become

sponsors, and also to test whether this sponsorship affects brand awareness

amongst viewers. This information was gathered by collecting qualitative

data to be able to understand the motives behind sponsoring, as well as

quantitative data where the aim was to test brand awareness and its

affection. The qualitative data was gathered by conducting interviews with

four different sponsoring organizations; Kinnarps, Säkra Försäkringar,

Elmia and M-Clean Papertech, while the quantitative data was gathered by

the use of questionnaires which were handed out to viewers at three

different occasions.

Conclusion: This thesis shows that there is a common denominator in why to engage in

sponsorship within sports amongst the sponsors of HV71 namely, the need

for media exposure and getting the brand name out in the market. By

possessing various sponsorship rights, varying results of brand exposure

and awareness can be achieved. In strategic marketing sponsoring aims at

a more long term increase in Brand Awareness.

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Table of Contents 1. Background............................................................................................................................ 1

1.1 Problem Background ........................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................. 2

1.3 Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 4

1.4 Delimitations ....................................................................................................................... 4

2. Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................... 5

2.1 Sponsoring defined ............................................................................................................. 5

2.2 The role of Sponsoring within Strategic Marketing ............................................................ 6

2.3 Sponsorship Rights ............................................................................................................. 8

2.3.1 Categories of Sponsorship Rights and Structures ...................................................... 8

2.4 The motives behind Sponsoring – A-Eric model ................................................................ 9

2.4.1 Associations ............................................................................................................. 11

2.4.2 Exposure .................................................................................................................. 13

2.4.3 Relationships ........................................................................................................... 13

2.4.4 Integrated Communication ...................................................................................... 14

2.4.5 Model discussion ..................................................................................................... 15

2.4.6 Additional Motives .................................................................................................. 16

2.5 Creating Brand Awareness through Sponsoring and the following effects ...................... 17

2.5.1 Brand Awareness ..................................................................................................... 18

2.5.2 Sponsoring: Motives and effects on Brands ............................................................ 18

2.6 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 21

3. Method ................................................................................................................................. 22

3.1 Qualitative vs. Quantitative ............................................................................................... 22

3.1.1 Qualitative ............................................................................................................... 22

3.1.2 Quantitative ............................................................................................................. 23

3.2 Induction vs. Deduction .................................................................................................... 23

3.3 Case Study ......................................................................................................................... 24

3.4 Collection of Data ............................................................................................................. 25

3.4.1 Secondary data ......................................................................................................... 25

3.4.2 Primary data ............................................................................................................. 26

3.4.2.1 Data collection through interviews ....................................................................... 26

3.4.2.2 Data collection through Questionnaires ................................................................ 28

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3.4.3 Data analysis ............................................................................................................ 31

3.4 Validity & Reliability ........................................................................................................ 32

4. Empirical findings. .............................................................................................................. 34

4.1 Introducing the sponsoring organizations (from company homepages) ........................... 34

4.1.1 Kinnarps ................................................................................................................... 34

4.1.2 Säkra Försäkringar (Småland AB) .......................................................................... 34

4.1.3 Elmia ........................................................................................................................ 35

4.1.4 M-Clean Papertech AB ............................................................................................ 35

4.2 Sponsorship deals and packages offered by HV71 (from HV71 homepage and

information folders) .......................................................................................................... 35

4.2.1 Webpage and HVTV ............................................................................................... 35

4.2.2 Game Host Sponsoring ............................................................................................ 36

4.2.3 Exposure at Kinnarps Arena .................................................................................... 36

4.2.4 Sponsors ................................................................................................................... 36

4.2.4.1 1971 Klubben ........................................................................................................ 37

4.3 Interviews .......................................................................................................................... 37

4.3.1 Why to sponsor and in particular HV71 .................................................................. 37

4.3.2 Included rights and Exposures ................................................................................. 38

4.3.3 HV71‟s performance and its effects on the sponsorship ......................................... 39

4.3.4 How to maximize the sponsorship of HV71 ........................................................... 39

4.3.5 How successful the sponsorship is and how it affects the brand name ................... 40

4.3.6 The main motives behind sponsoring HV71 ........................................................... 40

4.4 Testing Brand awareness................................................................................................... 41

4.4.1 Before the game VS After the game ........................................................................ 41

4.4.2 Questionnaires Outside the arena vs. Inside arena. ................................................. 43

4.5 Sponsoring; affects brand perception? .............................................................................. 44

4.5.1 What affects the decision? ....................................................................................... 46

5. Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 47

5.1 Sponsorship rights and deals ............................................................................................. 47

5.2 Analyzing the motives behind sponsoring deals ............................................................... 48

5.2.1 Associations ............................................................................................................. 48

5.2.2 Exposure .................................................................................................................. 49

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5.2.3 Relationship ............................................................................................................. 51

5.2.4 Integrated Communication ...................................................................................... 52

5.2.5 Additional motives .................................................................................................. 53

5.3 Analyzing how to create brand awareness ........................................................................ 55

5.4 Internal motives behind sponsoring and effects on customers ......................................... 56

6. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 58

7. Discussion............................................................................................................................ 60

7.1 Further research ................................................................................................................. 60

References ................................................................................................................................ 62

Figures

Figure 1: A-Eric model (Edited by researchers) ........................................................................... 11

Figure 2: Company Motives and effects on brands ...................................................................... 19

Tables

Table 1: Interview table ................................................................................................................ 28

Table 2: Influences ........................................................................................................................ 45

Charts

Chart 1: Pre-game questionnaire ................................................................................................... 42

Chart 2: Post-game questionnaire ................................................................................................. 43

Chart 3: Outside the arena questionnaire ...................................................................................... 44

Appendices

Appendix 1. - Advertising statistics 2008 ..................................................................................... 66

Appendix 2 - Interview questions. ................................................................................................ 67

Appendix 3. - Questionnaires. ...................................................................................................... 68

Appendix 4 - Arena Exposure....................................................................................................... 69

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1. Background

This following section will act as the foundation of our work. The reader will be introduced to

the chosen topic and able to understand why we believe that this specific field of research is

interesting and necessary to investigate further.

1.1 Problem Background

Recently, Usain Bolt signed a sponsoring deal with the Chinese shoemaker Li Ning at an

astonishing amount of about 700 million Swedish kronor for the coming five years. The

sponsorship says that Bolt will only be able to wear shoes produced by the company when

competing at different events (Wennerholm, 2009). Having these huge figures in mind, one can

ask oneself if it really is plausible to believe that these contracts can be beneficial for the

sponsoring organizations. To be able to answer such a question, one must first understand the

concept of sponsorship, how it works and what benefits there is to gain.

Sponsoring is not a new phenomena, it can be traced back as long as to the roman emperors time

where artists and famous philosophers received money and other royalties for creating new

books and art. Famous people like Leonardo da Vinci and William Shakespeare would for

instance not been able achieve their accomplishments without the sponsoring which they

received. Although this kind of sponsoring differs a lot from what we see today, the fundamental

factors behind it are still the same - invest and you shall receive something back (Skinner &

Rukavina, 2003).

At a later stage, during 1910-1970 the art of sponsoring became revolutionized by organizations

that started to sponsor motor and golf tournaments but also individual participants. In the

beginning these sponsors where mainly tobacco, liqueur and motor companies seeking for new

ways to earn money and reputation (Skinner & Rukavina, 2003).

As one can see, sponsoring is something that has always been present but in different forms.

Recently however, it has become even more popular and companies today invest small fortunes

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on becoming sponsors of different events, individuals and teams. A research done by Meenaghan

(1991) describes five factors which helps to explain why sponsoring has become so popular;

The increasing prices of media advertising.

New opportunities derived from the increase in leisure activities.

The proof of success stories concerning sponsorship.

Increase in media awareness of sponsored events.

The infectivity of traditional marketing sources.

1.2 Problem Statement

As discussed above in section 1.1, sponsoring has become more important and nowadays attracts

more and more investments, organizations today are viewing sponsoring as a major marketing

tool, seeking their way from other marketing tools. Dolphin (2003) lists some benefits which the

sponsoring organizations can receive;

1. Creating greater reputation.

2. Creating brand awareness.

3. Stimulate sales.

However, Dolphin (2003) also states that the benefits which organizations receive from

sponsoring are very hard to know exactly. Olkkonen (1999) supports this statement by saying

that although the greater importance and money spent on sponsoring agreements, it is still very

hard to measure the effectiveness of its nature. It is for example very difficult to try to realize and

decide how much money the increase in brand awareness, goodwill and PR that sponsoring can

generate will be worth. It is also very difficult to evaluate how large proportion of the increase in

sales that comes from the increase in sponsorship.

Because of these drawbacks, one can start to wonder why it still attract so huge amounts of

money as mentioned in the case of Usain Bolt, section 1.1. The topic of sponsoring becomes

even more problematic and complex when an organization has no correlation with the sponsored

partner and what it deals with; such as a furniture selling company which supports an ice-hockey

team. However, many researchers are confident, that if an organization manages sponsoring in

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the right way, it can have significant results. Cliffe and Motion (2004) were two researchers

which investigated Vodafone‟s success on the New Zeeland mobile telephone market. This

research concluded that Vodafone was a company which mainly focused on sponsoring as their

most important marketing tool, by doing so they had gone from selling 150 000 to 1.2 million

mobile telephones in just five years (Cliffe & Motion, 2004). From this, one can see that

sponsoring indeed can work great as a marketing tool to create awareness and increase sales.

However, as the article mention, Vodafone does not only focus on sponsoring, they have other

marketing tools as well, so whether or not the entire success of Vodafone depends solely on

sponsoring cannot be answered.

Although this example shows that sponsoring, if managed properly can be crucial for a

company‟s success, it also shows the flaws of such a strategy. The authors Cornwell and Amis

sum up and describe the complexity of sponsoring by stating that although sponsoring has

proved to become more and more important, the fundamental question as well as problem still

exists; how to measure its effectiveness (Cornwell & Amis, 2005).

As one can see, there are many positive aspects and thoughts about sponsoring, and its

importance is stated by many researchers. However, as has been discussed, the effects are hard to

distinguish and measure. Because of its importance, potential benefits and the problems attached

to it, we want to examine why companies incline in sponsorship agreements; the motives behind

it, what the sponsoring organization wants or hopes to accomplish by it, but we also want to get

to know how sponsoring is seen from the viewer side, whether the organizations motives and

strategies are working.

These problems described, lead us to what we believe is the most interesting part of sponsoring,

and this is also the reason for why we chose to conduct a research concerning this field; i.e. why

certain actors chose to become sponsors and invest money on different teams when not knowing

exactly what and how much to gain; what are their motives, but we chose to examine whether

sponsoring a sports team affects brand awareness.

During recent years HV71, an ice-hockey team from Jönköping/Huskvarna, has positioned itself

as a top club in the highest league of ice-hockey in Sweden (Elitserien). Which has allows for

great opportunities of sponsoring for both the club and possible sponsoring organizations. The

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fact that HV71 is a team with outstanding success during recent years and their ability to turn

this success into sponsorship revenues became the reason for us to focus this thesis on

investigating further into this matter. Specifically we want to focus on the motives behind

sponsoring HV71 and what possible effects they might have on brand awareness. This leads us to

the following purpose which will act as guidance for the rest of our thesis.

1.3 Purpose

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate, from a strategic marketing

perspective, what the sponsoring organizations want to accomplish by

sponsoring the sports team HV71 and how it affects brand awareness.

1.4 Delimitations

This thesis aims at investigating the concept of sponsoring; the motives and reasons for why

organizations become sponsors, and how it affects brand awareness. It should however be

mentioned that this investigation will be limited to HV71 and its sponsors, an ice hockey team

playing in the highest division (Elitserien) in Sweden. Hence, this investigation will reflect a

team/organization which receives a great amount of exposure in media. Therefore, the results,

analysis and conclusion which this thesis derives at will ultimately reflect the named field of

investigation.

It should also be mentioned that this thesis focuses on the concept of sponsoring as a marketing

tool, having an organization as the sponsor and the sports team as the sponsored part. Hence,

sponsoring should be seen as business relationship between the organization which has some

gains which they want to receive, (in this thesis named motives) from this relationship, and the

sports team which receives compensation from being in this relationship, usually as monetary

compensation.

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2. Theoretical Framework

In this part of the thesis, the reader will be presented to the theories which we find most suited

for investigating our purpose and solving our research questions which are stated at the end of

this section.

In the theory section of this thesis we start off by explaining what sponsoring is, giving a

definition to guide as a base for the thesis. To incorporate sponsoring into a company‟s strategy

we discuss strategic marketing. Following is the concept of sponsorship and the many aspects

one tends to overlook, this is important in order to gain a full understanding of sponsoring. The

next section involves the A-ERIC model to find what motives that can lie behind the choice of

sponsoring. Later on the creation of Brand Awareness through sponsoring is explained, this gives

the reader information about brand awareness and explains how the motives from the A-ERIC

model can affect brand awareness. To help explain this, we use the model: Company motives

and Effects on Brand, which was created for this thesis by us, the authors.

2.1 Sponsoring defined

It is easy to read about Usain Bolt‟s and Vodafone‟s sponsorship agreements and not relate to the

statistics of the deals, to simply read about the figures and not correlate to the extensive research

and planning that has to be taken into account before constructing such deals. The concept of

sponsoring can be perceived as something obvious and something which is not in need for more

discussion and analyzing. However, there is no certain definition which researchers have agreed

upon; the definitions are widely spread among different authors who all contribute to the field

with their own definition of the topic. Therefore, we believe that a clarification of the definition

of sponsoring is needed, as a basis to guide our theoretical framework.

“Sponsorship is a mutually beneficial arrangement that consists of the provision of resources of

funds, goods and or services by an individual or body (the sponsor) to an individual or body

(rights owner) in return for a set of rights that can be used in communications activity, for the

achievement of objectives for commercial gain” (Masterman, 2007, p. 30).

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As mentioned in the introduction, sponsorship is not a new phenomenon and has been used

differently throughout time. Philanthropic and commercial sponsorship are the two types of

sponsorship and Calderon-Martinez, Mas-Ruiz and Nicolau-Gonzalbez (2005) define

philanthropic sponsorship as a tool for improving corporate image and social recognition in the

context of the community. Commercial sponsorship is defined as something that is used to

achieve business objectives such as increased awareness or sales. Masterman (2007) argues that

unless a donation is made by an organization anonymously it has some kind of commercial gain,

direct or indirect (sales, increased brand awareness, recognition and goodwill).

Thus only a two-dimensional cooperation with mutual benefit for the sponsor and sponsored

should be considered as sponsorship. A sponsoring part can consist of anyone who can gain

commercially; individuals, organizations and institutions, from sponsoring; events, individuals,

organizations, authorities, buildings etc. As well as the benefits can consist of; money

(sponsorship fees), equipment, resources (medical, legal, utilities, accommodation etc.) Various

types of deals are made to fit the needs of involved parties, but there is one common element, the

mutual benefit of the sponsorship.

By the use of their status, reputation and stardom athletes and teams put themselves in a position

to claim resources from sponsors for the “rights” which they possess. These “rights” are what

sponsors are aiming to use for endeavors affiliated to the sponsored. Entitling a sponsor to have

the right to use the name of a team in their business marketing is basically what today‟s

sponsoring is all about. A classic example would be Nike‟s sponsorship of Michael Jordan and

their Air Jordan brand range (Masterman, 2007).

2.2 The role of Sponsoring within Strategic Marketing

Our purpose states that we are going to investigate the concept of sponsoring and the motives

behind it; as for why it should be treated as a strategic marketing tool. We therefore need to

discuss and explain for why we, as many other researchers believe that sponsoring is best seen as

a part of an organizations marketing strategy and not an independent “fun” thing which they

support with money from time to time.

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Vignali (1997) as well as Roy and Cornwell (2003) states that even though sponsoring is the

fastest growing tool for marketing and that the benefits can be many if managed correctly; there

are still not much research conducted on how to implement sport sponsorship strategically as a

part of the organization. Sport sponsoring strategies has mostly of the time been an effect of

certain peoples “gut feeling” who has believed that by becoming a sponsor they will receive

some benefits, without really knowing how much money to invest, what benefits they will

receive and how sponsoring may affect the organization (Vignali, 1997). Vignali (1997) further

states that sponsoring should be dealt with at a more strategic level, evaluating the sponsorship

agreement, setting up objectives, motives and benefits as well as measuring them. This view of

sponsoring has been further motivated by Grönkvist (1999) who states that sport sponsoring

should be treated as a long term strategic approach, not as a standalone marketing tool as for

boosting sales during a shorter period of time. Hence sport sponsoring is by Grönkvist (1999)

believed to have a more strategic and long term role as a way of generating sales over a longer

period of time in the future. The role of the sponsor then becomes to find sports teams and events

which can be incorporated and go in line with the rest of the organizations corporate strategy.

As a result of this, we believe that as sponsoring is one of the fastest growing tools for marketing

which attracts more and more money (Appendix 1), more effort, and affects people‟s views of

the organization, the need for seeing sponsoring as a marketing tool which should be evaluated

before implementing is crucial. Hence it should be treated as a strategic marketing tool because

of its complexities and it should be incorporated into the organization as part of their long term

strategy. That the role of sponsoring has changed from being more of a charity kind to become

an important strategic marketing tool is further supported by the following statement:

“Sponsorship today is a well-integrated part of companies marketing strategies and it is no

longer a question of charity, but a case of give and take, in order to benefit both parties” (Jiffer

& Roos, 1999, p. 63).

This statement shows that the previous view if sponsoring; being more of the charity kind were

the main goal is to support a part that are in need, usually with monetary support, has changed

towards a view were organizations meet other sports organizations in order to come up with a

solution which benefits both parties. The sports organization receives some specific benefits such

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as monetary gains, while the sponsoring part benefits from the agreement by receiving exposure

in different arrangements for instance. Hence, one can conclude that the concept of sponsoring

has changed from being a “one man‟s job” which only benefits the sponsored part, to becoming a

win-win solution and an integrated part of organizations strategies. However, the reasons for

becoming sponsors will guide what strategic options organizations will or should take.

2.3 Sponsorship Rights

In order to understand the sponsorship market, benefits in assets and associations that rights

owners can sell, (Masterman, 2007), explanations will be given about what deals and packages

are usually used when it comes to sponsoring. Important factors to be included from the rights

owners are of course, negotiations with the buying parts, but even more important might be to

control that all the media exposure and coverage promised in the deals are corresponding to the

deals negotiated. From the buying part, the most important aspects are matching the right

package deals, sponsoring rights and program structure with the need for exposure and

commercial value of their company, as well as matching their budget requirements.

2.3.1 Categories of Sponsorship Rights and Structures

Sponsors have through different packages and sizes of deals become more important to their

partners and accordingly the titles have changed from a simple sponsor tag to the more exclusive

titles such as “official partner”, pillars, hosts, friends, corporate champions and principal

sponsors (Masterman, 2007). Even though there are many names and titles used today, five

categories are generally considered for sale (Masterman, 2007):

Title rights – maximizes the sponsor‟s corporate, product or brand names as media

exposure through the use of logos, event titles and graphics (Coca-Cola Olympics 2008)

Presenting rights – usually not included in graphics and are often presented next in line

considering titles and logs (The F.A Cup presented By E.ON)

Naming rights – association is generally made to physical structures e.g. arenas, galleries

and stadiums. Usually long-term agreements are made (Emirates stadium in London and

Kinnarps Arena in Jönköping)

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Sector rights – nowadays seen as a standard in sponsoring, the sector rights allow for

exclusiveness for a sponsor. Each trading sector of a market is represented by only one

exclusive sponsor, which facilitates their mission accomplishments for the specific

sponsorship (Gatorade exclusive Sports-drinks sponsor for NFL)

Supplier rights – usually supplier rights are included in sponsorship deals, meaning

services, people and products are either a part of the sponsorship along with fees, or they

are the sponsorship per se (Gatorade supplies NFL with drinks)

A rights owner must also care for not maximizing the number of sponsors in order to maximize

revenue, however appealing it might seem. When using program structures while selling

sponsorship rights, one can control both revenues and allow sponsors to keep some exclusivity

(Masterman, 2007). The sponsorship programs usually consist of:

Solus sponsorship - one sponsor possessing all the rights.

Tiered structured sponsorship – hierarchical rights and exclusivity (Gold, Silver etc.).

Flat structured sponsorship – several sponsors involved, exclusivity kept to a minimum.

2.4 The motives behind Sponsoring – A-Eric model

In order to understand sponsoring, why it can be as beneficial for different organizations as so

many researchers as well as existing organizations seems to believe, it is vital to investigate the

motives behind why so many organizations put effort in this certain field of marketing. The

reasons for using sponsoring of course differ from case to case, organization to organization.

However, although its complexities, there are some common motives and reasons for becoming a

sponsor, whether you are a giant multinational company or a one man firm. Therefore we believe

that it is necessary to get an understanding of the motives since this is the fundamental and basic

reason for why this subject exists today.

Jiffer and Roos are two well known researchers within the field of sponsoring who have come up

with a model called A-Eric. In this model, they outline what they believe are the four most

important motives and also describes how the different choices of sponsoring tools and motives

can be dealt with and how it can be used by organizations as a basis for a long term strategy.

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Depending on the structure, the motives and why organizations sign sponsorship agreements,

they are in need for structuring and focus on the most essential parts of their motives. This is

what is described in the A-Eric model; it organizes and narrows the topic of sponsoring motives

down to four different areas - Associations, Exposure, Relationships and Integrated

communication (Jiffer & Roos, 1999). The purpose of the model is to assist the sponsor when

organizing the sponsorship agreement, to be able to evaluate the effects which can come from

sponsoring, having these four specific topics in mind - it is a way for the sponsor to evaluate how

beneficial or negative the agreement will be as a tool for fulfilling the corresponding motives

behind sponsoring.

Before signing a sponsorship agreement it is necessary to understand and investigate what effects

and gains such an agreement may have. Although this model is great tool for companies to focus

on each and every one of these four categories, Jiffer and Roos (1999) states that an organization

should not think of these four categories as independent strategies, rather they should be seen as

supplementary to each other and a sponsor must have all of them in mind when valuating this

model.

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Figure 1: A-Eric model (Edited by researchers)

Sponsoring Association Exposure Relationships Integrated Communication

Media Emotions.

Values.

TV.

Magazines.

Events.

The event as a meeting place.

TV.

Radio.

Internet.

Printed media.

Activities Positive correlation.

Press conferences.

Arena commercial.

Logo typing.

Opening ceremonies.

Awards.

Invitations.

Participation.

VIP areas.

Advertising.

Sales promotion.

Sampling/Sales.

PR-activities.

“Point of sale” material.

Motives & Effects with Sponsoring

Change or increase image.

Create loyalty.

Brand exposure.

Introduction of new products.

Enhance product quality.

Media coverage.

Networking.

Staff activities.

New customers.

Special meeting points - entertain.

Enhance campaigns and deliver message.

Image creation.

Reaching new customers.

New “non commercial “channel.

Source: Jiffer & Roos (1999, p, 36.)

2.4.1 Associations

According to Jiffer and Roos (1999), association is the most important aspect of sponsoring. To

be seen and associated with a sports team can create a beneficial association with the positive

effects and emotions which the team arises towards viewers. This is also supported by Grönkvist

(2000) who states that association and image transferring is one of the main motives behind

sponsoring. By being viewed and seen together with a part that attracts a lot of positive publicity

in different circumstances, the sponsor will be able to take part of these positive effects. Sleight

(1989) states that this is the main motive behind becoming a sponsor, his definition of sponsoring

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states that a sponsor receives some specific rights such as tickets and VIP areas, but also the most

important part which they pay for; positive association which can be used for commercial

advantages. Kotler, Wong, Saunders & Armstrong (2005) discuss the role of image transferring

as a communication tool for creating a positive feeling towards the organizations brand, the most

important aspect of image transferring according to these researchers is the role of creating a

positive brand awareness and brand recognition. Therefore, the sponsoring organization often

strives to find a part which only attracts positive feelings, since the problem with image

transferring and association is that all the feelings which the sponsored object attracts will reflect

their feeling towards the sponsoring part, positive as well as negative effects.

However, Grönkvist (2000) argues for exposure as the single most important motive for

organizations to become sponsors and not associations. Jiffer and Roos (1999) on the other hand

argues that exposure indeed is a crucial part of sponsoring which has and should continue to have

a great impact when deciding if to become a sponsor. But, even more important according to the

researchers is associations, as it describes the how. Meaning that it describes how the exposure

will be reflected by the viewers. Just stating that the organization needs to create more exposure

is by their means not enough, the most important factor is how the exposure will reflect the

message which they want to convey (Jiffer & Roos, 1999).

As a strategic marketing approach, sponsors will take on the risk of sponsoring a team whose

popularity will depend on their results on the field; having the implication that the sponsor will

sometimes not only gain by positive association but also negative association in bad times. Jiffer

and Roos (1999) therefore argue that it is crucial for the sponsor to investigate in more detail

what results the sports team are likely to manage in the coming future and not only for the

existing season. Jiffer and Roos further stress the importance of being up to date and having a

deeper collaboration with the sponsored part for gathering information on what direction they are

going in; a positive or a negative trend. This is especially crucial when using sponsoring as a

long term strategic marketing tool, to be able to evaluate what benefits and effects the agreement

may generate (Jiffer & Roos, 1999).

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2.4.2 Exposure

Exposure can be understood as raising attention (Kotler et al., 2005). In this case, it can be in the

form of a logo on a team‟s shirt or anything which makes the organization visible together with

the sports team and its surrounding.

For a long time, this has been the most common motive for companies to become a sponsor

(Grönkvist, 2000). Meenhagan (1991) states that receiving exposure and publicity is the most

basic motive behind sponsoring; whether organizations claim that the motives is to be seen as a

good citizen, they are not able to do this without receiving some kind of exposure. Hence the

fundamental motive behind sponsoring is exposure. Jiffer and Roos (1999) agrees that this topic

is necessary and crucial for raising attention and to show that the brand exists, although, they

claim that a strategy which only focus on exposure will most certainly not fulfill the underlying

motives that the organizations wants to achieve since it must also convey a message. Therefore

does Jiffer and Roos (1999) mention that the sponsor must also look at how this exposure will

take place so that it conceives this message which they want to deliver.

As discussed by Grönkvist (2000), the amount of exposure may be measured in several different

ways, although the exact amount will mostly never be estimated since it is impossible to know

how many that sees the logo or how many that views the game. However, the impact of the

exposure is instead very difficult to measure. This is something which Grönkvist (2000) find as

very troublesome, but equally important as the amount of exposure a company receives.

2.4.3 Relationships

Jiffer and Roos (1999) concludes that sponsoring may be a great way of building and

maintaining strong relationships as they let the sponsor meet customers outside “working hours”.

By sponsoring a sports team many sponsors receives specific seats or VIP areas where they can

invite and meet their customers. Ford (2003) argues that this strategy mainly works for business-

to-business relationships. Jiffer and Roos (1999) however states that this kind of motive can act

as a strategy for creating bonds with the viewers who are not necessary only business customers.

The strategy can also be to maintain the internal relationships by giving out tickets to sponsored

events to employees as bonuses.

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According to Grönkvist (2000), this motive can be accomplished in two ways which will have

different effects; indirect and direct effects. The indirect effects come from the relationship that

exists with the crowd. By being exposed and seen in positive contexts, it can act as relationship

building since customers will tend to be loyal and remember the organization as something

positive. As mentioned, sponsoring is sometimes used for personal motives; the CEO who wants

to be famous and stand side by side with different athletes. However, Grönkvist (2000) describes

this as something which can have positive effects internally within the sponsoring organization.

By sponsoring a team or an event, employees can feel proud over the company and for working

there; hence it is a way for the organization to keep their employees motivated. The direct effects

come from such things as sponsored events, where representatives from the sponsor meet and

interact with other people and in such ways establish connections.

What relationships a sponsor want to establish or maintain from being part of sponsorship deal

may differ from case to case and so the type of sponsoring and strategy may also differ.

However, having these kinds of motives in mind, and seeing sponsoring as a relationship

building tool, one can conclude that it from this point of view could be categorized as a

relationship marketing tool. This has the implication that the sponsoring part must understand

what shareholder they want to target, understand them and their needs and to deliver a message

which they appreciates (Lagae, 2005).

One certain risk factor which Jiffer and Roos (1999) argue for is that the customers which are

invited to these events should have some kind of interest within the field. Therefore, the task for

the sponsor becomes to find and make sure that the segments which are their preferred customers

do want to attend this event; otherwise it may attract negative effects. Hence, an organization

should only sponsor a team if they are sure that it reaches out to the ones they are interested in

affecting.

2.4.4 Integrated Communication

Sponsoring can be used as a part in a mix of different marketing strategies and campaigns to

increase the value of the campaign and to create a coherent feeling though the entire campaign,

as a part in a larger puzzle. This is how Jiffer and Roos (1999) describe the topic of integrated

communication. By combining other types of marketing tools such as TV and radio commercial,

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magazine and bulletin advertisement together with sponsoring, the sponsor will be able to deliver

a coherent message to its target customers and raise greater awareness for the existing campaign

(Jiffer & Roos, 1999). This strategy is especially effective when launching new products,

penetrating new markets and raising awareness for specific campaigns/events (Gwinner, 1997).

Hence, from this point of view and with these kinds of motives sponsoring should be treated as a

short term strategy for raising awareness for the moment rather for the forthcoming future.

Organizations can then ask themselves why putting money and effort into becoming a sponsor

instead of just relying on other marketing tools? Roos & Algotsson (1996) states that while

marketing tools such as TV commercial is highly avoided by the viewers if possible, sponsoring

is something which can be seen as something positive instead and generate positive emotions. It

also possesses the benefit that it reaches out to the viewers, it cannot be turned away by changing

channel for instance, and hence the message will be delivered in a more effective way. As a

result, sponsoring can be very useful as to generate positive feeling towards a campaign, and the

positive effects from the sponsored event can be transferred over to the other advertisement and

commercials which in turn creates appositive feeling towards the entire campaign (Jiffer & Roos,

1999). This kind of strategy with sponsoring does often include a more deep going relationship

with the sponsored part as it demands something special, not just a logo on a sweater. However,

it is mainly used for campaigns and is more correlated to sponsoring of events which can be seen

as a short term strategy, rather than a strategic one.

2.4.5 Model discussion

From these aspects discussed in previous sections, one can find that these four aspects should not

be seen as independent motives with different strategies, they should rather be seen as

supplementary to each other as only focus on one of them will not generate the benefits which

they would do when matching them together. As Jiffer and Roos (1999) discusses further, some

of the aspects may not exist without the other. The strategy of associations will not be able to

become fulfilled without some kind of exposure. We do not however agree with Jiffer and Roos

(1999) when they state that associations are the single most important factor of sponsoring

strategies. Instead we claim as many other researchers such as Meenaghan, (1995), Grönkvist

(2000) and Gwinner (1997), who all state that exposure is the most crucial factor. This is because

without some kind of exposure the other strategies will not be able to exist. Exposure must

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therefore be seen as the most fundamental basis for strategy building when talking about

sponsoring. Since, how do sponsors get associated with a sports team if they do not attract any

attention which corresponds to the team? Therefore we argue that exposure should act as the

building block when developing with sponsoring strategies, to first decide and figure out in what

way they will be presented with the team, and at a later stage decide on how they will be

presented. However, the point which Jiffer and Roos (1999) argue for in this model is very

important to bear in mind for organizations when evaluating if to become a sponsor; that the

concept of sponsoring cannot be answered just by focusing on a specific aspect. The topic is

more complex than that and one must take all the different aspects into consideration when

putting up a long term strategic goal.

2.4.6 Additional Motives

Although the A-Eric model is well renowned and used by many researchers, we do find it

necessary to take use of other motives as we do not believe that this model captures and

describes all the different motives which organizations can have. Therefore, we have chosen to

include two other motives which are commonly used by researchers.

Good citizen and Social impact

The time when organizations could only look at their own interests and not care about their

surroundings is long gone. Organizations today are trying to act, or at least to be seen as good

citizens in the eyes of their shareholders. The pressure from the society in which the

organizations works has increased, to act locally by supporting different local organizations and

be seen as the “good guy” has become more important (Grönkvist, 2000). This is further

supported by Carroll (1991) who discuss the topic of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility); that

today some organizations implements certain divisions of people whose only task is to make sure

that the task performed by the other departments is seen as “good citizenship”. Hence,

sponsoring is a way for organizations to be seen as supportive and of this comes benefit such as

increasingly loyal customers. If the companies were only to look at their core business, and not

act as role models they would risk losing their support and respect from the community.

Therefore, sponsoring has become a useful tool and a way for organizations to prove their

responsibility and support towards the community in which they act. However, Grönkvist (2000)

mention that sometimes the pressure from the society makes companies react by sponsoring

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events and other organizations which they would not do otherwise. This can result in negative

effects for the sponsor since the events and organizations were not examined in detail.

Increase in Sales

This is probably the most common reason for encouraging sponsoring, since an increase in sales

is what all companies want. However important and essential an increase in sales from

sponsoring agreements may be, this is not a standalone motive for sponsoring, it should be seen

as the long term effect of some of the other motives, and just looking at the increase in sales may

lead to misdirected sponsoring (Jiffer & Roos, 1999). According to Grönkvist (2000), using

sponsoring as a tool for boosting sales under a limited period is rarely seen as he believes that

sponsoring concerns the long term strategies, rather than short term. Hence, the sponsor should

therefore search for events and teams which they can support over a longer period of time in

order to create an increase in sales in the future.

All these motives should not be seen as standalone motives for organizations to take part of

sponsorship deals. These different motives are correlated with each other and organizations

cannot, nor should they focus only on one single motive. Instead, they should focus on having all

these motives in mind, in different order of priorities to be able to attract as much positive

publicity as possible.

2.5 Creating Brand Awareness through Sponsoring and the

following effects With the development of media types such as Television and Internet during the 21

st century, the

coverage of sporting events has increased heavily and allows for people all over the world to take

part of sporting scenes from everywhere. Noticeable extensions have been made to the

Television channel range and games, events and ceremonies can be viewed online on a 24 hour

basis. This provides for a significant opportunity for companies to present their brands and

product-lines to not only the spectators but also the viewers sitting in remote places watching.

Keller states that “anything that causes the consumer to „experience‟ or be exposed to the brand

has the potential to increase familiarity and awareness” (Keller, 1993, p.10), if we consider his

words together with the fact that media coverage of sports has grown to today‟s level and is still

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growing, it is clear that companies can profit from this situation by maximizing the exposure of

their brand.

2.5.1 Brand Awareness

To be aware of a brand can be explained as being able to identify a brand within a category of

products and eventually be drawn to it to the extent of a purchase. Brand awareness does not

always imply the recognition of a brand name but can also be the response to a visual image

connected to the brand. According to Rossiter and Percy (1992), two types of brand awareness

are brand recognition and brand recall.

Brand recognition – the typical situation for brand recognition to occur would be in a shopping

mall or a retail store. For instance a consumer is out shopping for sweaters and does not have any

specific brand in mind, that is, until he/she discovers a section of the store or mall containing

sweaters of a specific brand which is immediately recognized and thus leads to a purchase.

Brand recall – on the other hand does not imply a walk around a store, but more a decision made

pre-hand. A situation involving brand recall could occur as follows; a consumer sets out to buy a

sweater and through memory recalls which store and brand to visit for a purchase, without

having to see the brand name or image in real life.

As described by the name, Brand Awareness, the success of this phenomenon lies with the

presence of a brand in a target‟s mind (Aaker 1996). Stronger presence gives stronger awareness

and since domination is sought for amongst other brands in order to succeed in having the

leading brand, repetitive advertising is a key issue. Thus sponsoring a sports team will indeed

lead to repeated “hits” on targeted consumers.

2.5.2 Sponsoring: Motives and effects on Brands

The following model has been developed from our own insights and knowledge that we have

gained from writing this thesis so far. The aim with this model is to show the relationship

between motives that companies may have for sponsoring within sports and the effects they

actually have on both targeted and untargeted consumers‟ view of the brand. We base the

accuracy of these effects on the research of well known marketing authors such as Aaker (2003,

Cheverton (2006) and Chernatony (2006).

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We will include the six motives mentioned in 2.4 as we feel that they will provide us with an

excellent base for this model.

Effects 1: A well-known brand will create loyalty amongst consumers and thus a higher price

can be charged Cheverton (2006), motivated by Chernatony (2006) who claims that the

consumers experience a lower risk and spend less time searching when buying a well-known and

familiar brand. Furthermore a certain societal status or identity can be achieved, or at least

perceived, through purchasing or using specific products or brands (Chernatony, 2006).

Example: Luis Vuitton, the French luxury brand, is a devoted sponsor of sailing and marine

sports as well as the yachting industry, due to the luxurious and prestigious surrounding. Indeed

this allows for extreme prices for their products and a certain essence around the Luis Vuitton

brand. Consumers know already before a purchase is made that they have a high quality product

with a top of the line brand name, which will help define their social status.

Effects 2: By establishing a wide base of customers and keeping emotional connections, loyalty

is created and thus efforts are made for a brighter future to be easier at hands (Gilmore, 1999). A

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brand should be linked to the company‟s vision according to Mårtensson (2009) and thus social

responsibility and good citizenship allows for a great opportunity to show a company‟s better

side.

Example: Adidas “impossible is nothing” campaign started in 2004 and consists of their biggest

athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Haile Gebrselassie and David Beckham. The various athletes

show the width of Adidas sporting goods and their involvement around many regions of the

world. This quote from Erich Stamminger, member of the Executive Board of adidas-Salomon

AG, responsible for Global Marketing and President of adidas America, clarifies and perfectly

exemplifies a sponsorship campaign matching given motives.

“Impossible is nothing” captures in one short phrase the essence of adidas as a brand and the

attitude that is known and shared by all athletes around the world, “Impossible is nothing” is the

concept behind our brand positioning “forever sport” that clearly and emotionally communicates

our passion for sport.” He added, “As an athlete you always strive to go further, break new

ground, and surpass your limits. So do we as a brand, to achieve our mission to be the leading

sports brand in the world.” (Adidas, 2004)

Effects 3: A brand can be established as or find a specific niche such as, a class brand, high

profile, modern, norm breaking or inventive brand, amongst many other descriptions. Consumers

tend to part a product from another by the name or brand instead of functions, which may or may

not be very similar (Aaker 2003). This will usually lead to increased or at least maintained sales

for these “front edge” brands. A brand name (immaterial) can often possess a larger economical

value than the company‟s real material assets. Mårtensson (2009) points out strong brands as

very beneficial for the pride and culture of the employees as it gives a confidence and pride

boost, which will in turn lead to better results and a better image shown to the “outside world”.

Riding the wave of success is easier then experiencing failure.

Example: Even though they might not be focusing on sponsorship within sports, Google

exemplifies this effect explicitly. To start of one can mention that before Google entered the

search engine market; there were numerous competitors in the market who were performing

well. But with extensive marketing in movies, television show and ads, the phrases “Google it”

and “to Google something” became synonym to searching for something on the Internet. Indeed

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Google‟s strategy became a huge success and even though other search engines offer an

equivalent service, nowadays people “Google” for information instead of searching for it. The

brand Google stands for innovation, norm breaking and of course modernity. The success of the

company transfers to the employees and their innovative ways of working and creating new

products has kept the success at the highest level and the brand Google is nowadays considered

as one of the most valuable in the world.

2.6 Research Questions

Having introduced and discussed the theories which we find most suited for this thesis; clarifying

the concepts of sponsoring and strategic marketing, and how they are related to each other,

describing the different kinds of sponsoring deals and their structure, the motives for sponsoring,

the importance of brand awareness and how it is created, the A-Eric model, and combining the

motives from a sponsors side, their strategies and the effects it has on costumers, we will now

describe the research questions which we believe will help solving our purpose.

In the quest for finding both proper and efficient research questions, one must keep in mind that

a research questions must identify the phenomenon that is studied, namely in this case,

sponsoring the HV71 hockey team. Our first research question is:

What are the motives behind sponsoring a sports team such as HV71?

This question is related to the motives behind sponsoring HV71, as mentioned in theoretical

framework, there are six major motives behind sponsorship, which we have included in our

model: Sponsoring: Motives and effects on Brands, section 2.5.2. We also strive to answer the

research question:

How will sponsoring HV71 affect brand awareness amongst supporters?

The question includes the base of our case study, sponsorship of HV71, as well as the main

motive for sponsorship, the increase of brand awareness. Since we will conduct our

questionnaire with the focus on supporters of HV71, we also included this aspect in the question.

This is due to being able to receive a clear answer to our question and avoid biased answers from

subjects who are not affected by neither HV71 nor their sponsors.

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3. Method

In this chapter, different aspects and topics within the field of research methods is presented and

discussed. Starting off by explaining what type of study we are making, followed by describing

the different theories in which one can conduct a research and motivating our choice. Our

choice of research techniques will also be motivated followed by describing how we will analyze

the data and at the end we will explain how we have assured reliability and validity.

3.1 Qualitative vs. Quantitative

The collection of data is made either through a Quantitative or a Qualitative approach.

Quantitative collection of data uses numbers and standardized data which are to be analyzed into

trends or patterns (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2007). Preferably quantitative data should be

collected in larger numbers suitable for the purpose of the project. On the other hand qualitative

data is considered by Bryman (2002) to emphasize an individual‟s perception of a situation and

information. The importance of large quantities is greatly reduced by the use of qualitative data,

but also leads to a greater possibility of receiving biased data than with the use of quantitative

data.

This thesis will include the use of both quantitative and qualitative data in order to match the

purpose. By the use of qualitative data from interviews with sponsoring parts of HV71 we will

try to get a deeper understanding of their motives to sponsor HV71 and what they aim to

accomplish by doing so. Questionnaires will also be handed out to supporters of HV71 at a home

game (before and after game) as well as at a pub where supporters have come to watch the game.

3.1.1 Qualitative

Interviews were conducted with people at high positions from chosen sponsors of HV71, the aim

was to include categories of sponsors with diverse rights specifically; presenting rights and

naming rights. The major purpose of the interviews was to investigate, accordingly with the

purpose of the thesis, what the main aim of a sponsorship involving HV71 is for the sponsors.

Whether a local connection and compassion for the regional sport clubs are enough or an

underlying economical ambition of future increased e.g. sales, brand awareness, goodwill etc. is

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present. Examples of questions are available in appendix 2. The collected information from the

mentioned interviews is to be analyzed with the intention of answering our research questions,

stated in 2.6.

3.1.2 Quantitative

A questionnaire was developed with the aim to investigate whether the intentions of the sponsors

really reached their objects and whether sponsoring creates brand awareness. We aimed to

include supporters of HV71 (present at the games and at local pubs) and residents of Jönköping

who were not considered as fans of HV71 (consideration was not given to the fact that HV71 is a

regional team and even though one might not be considered as a fan, ones sympathies might or

might not lie with the mentioned club). Furthermore, demographics was considered but limited

to diversify the subjects used for questionnaires by age and availability. No consideration was

given to any extreme cases, being diehard fans or uninterested objects.

According to Johns and Lee-Ross (1998), quantitative data should never be accepted as the truth,

the results simply depend on too many variables. For example; which organization that

conducted the research, which sponsors were active, interpretation of the conclusions, the way

the questions were posed as well as the reliability of chosen methods for measuring of the

results.

3.2 Induction vs. Deduction

When considering what approach to use for the research of this thesis, one must first explore the

differences between the two main types of approaches namely, Inductive and Deductive

approach. Starting with the deductive approach, Saunders et al. (2007), mention the use of data

in order to test existing theory. Usually a deductive approach is suitable when researching within

an area where extensive research already has been done and theories are available to confirm.

Accordingly an inductive approach includes the analysis of qualitative data in order to reach new

conclusions and thus form new theories. We intend to confirm motives behind sponsoring HV71,

by the use of shorter interviews with marketing managers from sponsoring companies, with help

of the theories mentioned in theoretical findings. Our research questions, which are based on the

presented theories, will be tested through a questionnaire given to supporters of HV71.

Consequently we will strive for a deductive research approach for this thesis. Albeit performing

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a case study on sponsorship of HV71, we do not strive for developing any new theories but

testing whether existing theories can be applied to this case.

3.3 Case Study

When research is conducted involving a specific phenomenon and compared to a real case

example through different methods, this is called a case study (Yin, 2003). The aim of a case

study is to gain deepened information and knowledge about a smaller amount of “cases” or even

a single “case”. Cases can be companies, co-operations, individuals or specific situations (Yin,

2003). Yin (1994) mentions two types of case studies, Holistic and Embedded, the latter

implying, in a single case study situation, that multiple units of analysis should be included to

find consistent patterns within a case. Furthermore Yin (1994) argues that collection of evidence

can be made in six ways:

1) Documents (letters, agendas, progress reports)

2) Archival records (Service records, organizational charts, budgets etc.)

3) Interviews (typically open-ended, but also focused, structured & surveys are

possible)

4) Direct observations (formal or casual)

5) Participant observation (getting an inside view of the events)

6) Physical artifacts

Since this thesis‟ purpose is to investigate what a sponsoring organization wants to accomplish

by sponsoring a sports team (HV71), the case of this study will be the phenomenon; of

sponsoring HV71 and the motives behind it. The units of analysis will consist of Kinnarps, Säkra

Försäkringar, Elmia and M-Clean, who were interviewed in order to find their motives behind

sponsoring HV71, that is, what they want to accomplish by the sponsorship. The reason for

choosing these sponsors is that they represent varied types of sponsors, which means that they

possess different sponsorship rights, acts in different markets and are of different sizes. Primary

data have been collected from the interviews with marketing managers at these companies as

well as secondary data through their web-pages and brochures. To test whether the goals of the

mentioned sponsors are successful or not, we also collected data from supporters of HV71 with

the intention of measuring the effects of their sponsorship.

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In addition to the included sponsors of this section, we have had contact with a major sponsor of

HV71, which name we chose not to include, who although being a sponsor of large scale and

during a long period does not have any clear strategy at all. At least not to the point to be able to

neither provide us with any helpful answers nor find the time to explain further. The reason

stated from this company was that a structural change within the company has lead to an

investigation whether sponsoring HV71 is of great importance or not and until this investigation

is completed no further information was available. Thus our original intention of including two

larger sponsors had to be replaced and we chose to focus on a variety of different sized sponsors.

3.4 Collection of Data

As our purpose is to investigate the concept of sponsoring from a sponsors point of view, the

way in which we gathered data was by combining a qualitative as well as a quantitative

approach, we believe that interviews was a great way to gain qualitative information, while

surveys was handed out to gain quantitative information. However, to support the interviews and

surveys, and get some background information as well as to fill the gaps where it was needed, we

also needed to take use of secondary data in order to collect all the material and information

needed.

3.4.1 Secondary data

For supporting this thesis and making it more credible, as well as to find other useful information

which we could not gather by ourselves we took make use of secondary data where we found it

necessary. Documentary secondary data (Saunders et al., 2007) was gathered in the following

way:

Through different organizational websites in the form of written materials such as

HV71s homepage to be able to find how they are organizing the different kind of

sponsors.

Information folders retrieved from HV71, where information about prices, sponsoring

deals and different exposure opportunities are stated.

The reasons for choosing secondary data are many. It is cost-effective since it lets the researchers

focus more on interpreting and analyzing the material rather than gathering it (Saunders et al.,

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2007). It can also increase the credibility of the researchers own studies since the founding‟s can

be compared and conclusions drawn from, to check whether the results you have come up with

are in line with previous studies. The third advantage is that it may not be able to find the

information needed without using secondary data, a comparable research may not be able to be

investigated as a specific event has already occurred.

However, a word of caution must be mentioned as the material gathered from these sources can

be biased by the authors, hence the information needs to be examined and references checked

properly to be able to use this information confidently. Another disadvantage with using

secondary data is that the information gathered may have been collected and interpreted for a

purpose which does not match our (Denscombe, 1998).

3.4.2 Primary data

Primary data collection can be divided into three groups; interviews, observations and surveys

(Saunders et al., 2007). As this research is based on a mix between a qualitative approach as well

as quantitative one, this research technique is best called mixed-methods (Tashakkori & Teddlie,

2003). They point out that only taking on a qualitative approach or a quantitative one does not

generate a satisfying result since by combining them the researcher will get a deeper

understanding and the researchers work will become more credible.

3.4.2.1 Data collection through interviews

The reason for why we have chosen to conduct interviews is because we want to be able to get a

more deep-going and descriptive understanding about why organizations becomes sponsors, and

to be able to get more descriptive answers and ask counter questions.

As this approach reflects the qualitative part of our thesis, we as well as King (2004), believe that

interviews are the best way to go around when the purpose of the research is to explore and

understand the reasons for why the respondents have taken some decisions and actions, in our

case; signing a sponsorship agreement.

The questions which we used for the interviews are found in Appendix 2. As one can see, they

are open-ended questions (Saunders et al., 2007) so that the interviewee was able to answer

freely on the questions and give us better descriptive answers. These kinds of interviews are

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referred to as semi structured interviews (Saunders et al., 2007), and has the advantage of letting

the researcher and interviewee ask counter questions which arises along the interview.

Due to the complexity of the concept sponsoring which we realized when talking with the

sponsoring organizations, they were not able to answer our questions before doing some research

on each and every one of our questions. Hence, we found it inconvenient to use traditional face-

to-face interviews since they would probably not give us as much information as we wanted.

Instead we chose a method which is referred to as Internet interviews (Saunders et al., 2007),

also called electronic interviews (Cassel & Symon, 2004). The reason for doing so is because it

lets the interviewee conduct a smaller research and perhaps talk to other people within the

organization to find answers on the questions before writing them down and answering them. It

also let us as researchers receive and read the answers and to investigate if we believe that some

parts are more interesting to investigate and ask further questions about. We also had the time to

formulate these questions in a greater way so that they were more easily to interpret. However,

this of course had the implication that they could take their time to come up with answers which

made them look good. Therefore, we had to be cautious when analyzing the gathered data and

not take everything which they said as “the real truth”, instead we choose to search for patterns

when combining and analyzing the interviews, in order to see if there were any common

statements which they stated.

Electronic interviews can be conducted in two different ways: synchronous (live) by chat or

asynchronous (offline) by email and internet forums (Saunders et al., 2007). In our case, we

believe that asynchronous interviews by email generate the best result taken the benefits of

letting the interviewee taking time to answer the questions into consideration. Another

convenient benefit by using electronic interviews is that the researcher does not have to use any

type of recording instruments when conducting the interviews. The interviews was conducted by

sending questions to the participants‟ emails: the ones that were in charge over sponsoring

questions at Kinnarps, Säkra Försäkring, Elmia and M-Clean Papertech, starting off by sending

some introducing questions followed up by other questions which we find interesting to

investigate.

The problem with interviews is how to analyze the gathered information, since it cannot be put

into figures and different scale measurements, and as it is often biased and derived partly from

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the researchers own thoughts, the credibility of the research can often be questioned. By using

electronic interviewees this hinder or obstacle will be easier dealt with as the result of the

interviews can be traced back and reviewed over and over again by the researchers to find new

ways in how to interpret the answers.

The interviews were conducted in Swedish as the research took place within the country, and

also because the interviewees have Swedish as their native language. Since the aim with these

interviews is to conduct a research which is of the qualitative and not quantitative one, we

believe that by having the interviews in Swedish will make the research easier and better because

the person we interview writes more descriptive and more relaxing. In this way, we believe that

we can gather more profound information which we otherwise would not.

In order to make it easier for the reader to follow our discussion and understand the information

which is presented in the empirical findings, we have chosen to present the interviewees in a

summarized interview table below. We would also like to stress the fact that this information has

been approved to be published by the interviewees, as supported by the ending question in the

questionnaire, see Appendix 2

Table 1: Interview table.

Name: Organization: Position: Date:

Linda von Essen-Sylvén Elmia Information Manager 2009-11-17

Mats Westinius M-Clean Papertech AB CEO 2009-11-18

Dan Nilhammer Säkra Försäkringar CEO 2009-11-20

Per-Ola Wennefors Kinnarps Publishing Director 2009-11-23

3.4.2.2 Data collection through Questionnaires

The reason for why we have chosen to conduct questionnaires in order to answer our research

question is because we strive for getting answers on a small number of questions and reaching

out to a larger amount of participants which reflects the viewers. As Saunders et al. (2007) states

that questionnaires has the advantage of being a method which is useful when striving for

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reaching out to a larger group of people and is easy to conduct, we feel confident that this is the

right method to chose. Jankowicz (2005) further states that questionnaires are the best way to go

about when correlated with interviews: having some information which you as a researcher want

to test by asking a wider group of people.

In order to receive answers on the research questions and be able to draw credible conclusions

from, the questionnaires contains standardized questions because they have the advantage of

being interpreted in the same way of all respondents (Robson, 2002). They were handed out to

each and every one of the participants and collected by the researchers at the same occasion.

These kinds of questionnaires are also referred to as self-administered questionnaires as well as

delivery and collection questionnaires (Saunders et al. (2007). The reason for choosing this

method of delivery is because it let us choose random people visiting the events and it also let us

deliver and gather the data at the same occasion. As we wanted a sample which we could draw

conclusions from, it was necessary to have a sample which could be believed to represent the

entire population which we want to draw conclusions from. We needed to make use of what is

called probability sampling, which means that each and every one of the viewers have the same

chance of participating. This was done by standing at the entrance of Kinnarps (HV71s arena)

picking people in the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the queue when walking into the

arena, not taking factors such as age, sex and personal feelings into consideration. For a sample

to be able to represent an entire population and to make inferences, the sample size must be no

lower than 50 cases to be credible (Henry, 1990). Therefore, we included 50 cases at each

occasion which represented the population, in our case the viewers at the event.

In order to see whether the questions which we were to ask could be interpret in different ways

and see whether there were questions that should be changed, we had to test the questionnaire

before handing it out. Therefore, we let different people in our surrounding which did not know

anything about the organizations we had investigated to answer and give feedback on the

questionnaires. This is referred to as pilot testing. The importance by testing the questionnaire in

this way before implementing them is expressed by the following statement: “however pressed

for time you are, do your best to give the questionnaire a trial run” (Bell, 2005, p. 147). After

having let the pilot group answer the questionnaires, we asked them if they had any feedback to

give us. This resulted in some questions being reformulated or deleted from the questionnaire.

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As mentioned, the questionnaires were handed out at three occasions, at all times the same

questionnaire was be used. Below is summarized where and when the research took place.

Before the game, at the entrance of Kinnarps Arena - 2009-11-26.

After the game, at the entrance of Kinnarps Arena - 2009-11-26.

At a local sports bar in Jönköping where the game was showed - 2009-11-26.

The reason for dealing out questionnaires before and after the game was because it would

generate some interesting results which we could draw some conclusions from; by doing so we

were able to find an answer on the research question. We also made an investigation at a pub

where a game was showed in the town of Jönköping, we did this to be able to see if the answers

differed depending on if you watch the game at the arena or not.

The questionnaire can be found in Appendix 3. The questions consist of closed-questions

(Dillman, 2000) where the respondents only have certain options to choose from. This together

with listing- and ranking questions helped us gather the information needed to find answers on

our questions. The reason for choosing different kind of questions is because the research would

reflect different aspects, where different categories must be investigated by taking on different

questions.

The positive thing with questionnaires is that it is a method that is easy to put into figures. This

means that the information you collect from surveys questionnaires are easy to analyze since

they can easily be measured and ranked, which generates numbers that are comparable and the

analyze becomes uncomplicated and easy to follow.

Another advantage with questionnaires is the fact of time. They are very quick to hand out and

collect. You are also able to target many people with this method since it just takes a couple of

minutes to finish it.

The negative aspects with questionnaires are people‟s honesty. Questionnaires are often handed

out in large groups such as classrooms, restaurants and working places, in our case an arena and

a pub. The researchers can never see if the answers are really true and reflect the person‟s

thoughts, because if the participants feel insecure it is natural that he/she looks at their friend or

the person that is sitting next to them. Since we were present when the participants answered the

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questions, we believe that the answers reflected peoples own thoughts as we could judge if they

took help from someone else to solve the questions.

3.4.3 Data analysis As we conducted interviews in order to receive a greater understanding behind the motives to

sponsor a sports team, we had to structure the gathered information as well as analyze it to come

up with some conclusions and answer our purpose. Miles and Huberman (1994) states that the

aim with analyzing data gathered from interviews is to answer the research questions. Miles and

Huberman (1994) also discuss that analyzing qualitative data is done by interpreting words and

not numbers or figures. Yin (2003) states that a common mistake is to start gathering data before

knowing how to analyze it, implicating that there is a lack of correlation between the interviews

and the purpose. Hence, Yin (2003) states that the researchers should implement a strategy for

how to analyze the results before conducting the interviews.

The strategy which we followed when analyzing the information is derived from Miles and

Huberman (1994). As this research is based on a mix between a quantitative and a qualitative

method, the analysis also consists of quantitative measurements which are discussed in

correlation together with the qualitative result. This is done by analyzing the motives behind

sponsoring by qualitative information and check how sponsoring affects brand awareness by a

quantitative approach.

Miles and Huberman (1994) describe three different activities in which the data should be

analyzed:

Data reduction. The main goal with data reduction is to narrow, sharpen, focus and

organize the information gathered from the data collection.

Data display. This is when the researcher displays the reduced data which derives from

the previous data reduction. This is done in order to more easily draw conclusions from

the information.

Conclusion drawing. The last activity is to draw conclusions from the data which were

gathered, presented and analyzed. This is where the researchers answers the research

questions as well as the purpose.

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3.4 Validity & Reliability

To assure that the result and conclusion which this thesis derives at will be credible and

trustworthy, one must take into consideration the topics of reliability and validity.

Reliability can be defined as “the extent to which your data collection techniques or analysis

procedures will yield consistent findings” (Saunders et al., 2007, p. 149). This has the

implication that we as researchers must think about how we conduct our research and also how

we interpret and analyze the gathered information, so it become as reliable as possible. In order

to assure this reliability, we have taken some questions into consideration which Easterby-Smith,

Thorpe and Lowe (2002, p. 53) has formulated:

1. Will the measures yield the same results on other occasions?

2. Will similar observations be reached by other observers?

3. Is there transparency in how sense was made from the raw data?

By asking these questions to ourselves as researchers before choosing how the research will be

conducted and the material being analyzed we believe that this has helped us approach the

concept of sponsoring in a way which has assured this thesis to be as reliable as possible. We do

believe that the quantitative as well as the qualitative part of our information gathering would

yield the same measured results at other occasions. Although the response rates are quite low

from the questionnaires, we can still see from the different researches done that there exists a

pattern and that the same organizations are mentioned. As the organizations which we have

interviewed will probably have the same answers to our questions in the forthcoming future, and

since we, by support from Henry (1990) has chosen a sample size of 50 people at three different

occasions where each and every one of the participants were chosen randomly we believe that

this has assured the credibility of the thesis. One must also take reliability into consideration

when formulating the questionnaires, by not stating leading questions and be as natural and

objective as possible when presenting the questions. Question 3 concerns how the material which

we have gathered was analyzed and whether the reader can understand the analysis which we

have made. In the analysis, we have tried to understand and interpret the gathered information in

the light of the theoretical framework. This of course has some implications that it is somewhat

biased, but as long as we assure that we show the reader our way of thoughts and show

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transparency by not withhold any information we believe that this thesis will be credible. A

problem which can occur is when gathering information in Swedish and translating it into

English. There may be some translating errors when interpreting the answers from the

interviews. By conducting these interviews by e-mail, we believe that this has increased the

reliability as the questions and answers has been reviewed at different occasions by us as

researchers in order to make sure that the translations is correct and the interpretation as well.

Validity is “concerned with whether the findings are really about what they appear to be about”

(Saunders et al., 2007, p. 150). The topic of validity is necessary for researchers to bear in mind

since it makes us evaluate and ask the question whether there is a causal relationship between the

topics we evaluate. This has the implication that the researchers have to make sure that there is a

fit between the purpose and the questions asked and which they want to find answers on.

Yin (2003) states that this is especially important when conducting this kind of study when it is

used to measure the relationship between variables; usually in numbers and figures, and since we

are conducting a research where we mix a qualitative with a quantitative approach, we have to be

cautious when drawing conclusions from our questionnaire, especially when we are seeking to

describe correlations between organizational motives which are gathered as qualitative

information together with quantitative information based on questionnaires.

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4. Empirical findings.

In this following section, the reader will be presented with the findings of our research. As an

introduction we will present the sponsors and their agreements. Continuing with presenting the

most important results which came from the interviews and at a later stage what answers the

questionnaires generated.

4.1 Introducing the sponsoring organizations (from

company homepages)

To be able to understand what motives the different organizations have and the reasons for why

these can differ from organization to organization, we believe it is essential to present the

different organizations, what size, markets they are in and what kind of sponsor they are. This is

because we as researchers want to see if these aspects will have any impact on the strategies and

motives which they have chosen as sponsors. The following information is gathered from the

organizations webpage‟s.

4.1.1 Kinnarps

Kinnarps is a company which mainly focuses on selling interior design for offices and public

environments. Kinnarps head office is located in Kinnarps, about 50 kilometers northwest of

Jönköping but has one of their largest offices located in Huskvarna so there is a strong

correlation between Kinnarps and the region of Jönköping. With an annual turnover of 3,943

billion Swedish kronor and about 2 200 employees they have chosen to become Gold sponsor for

HV71; the most valuable category of HV71s sponsors (Kinnarps, 2009). Kinnarps has chosen to

sponsor HV71 by lending money for building the new arena which then got the name Kinnarps

Arena (www.kinnarps.se).

4.1.2 Säkra Försäkringar (Småland AB)

Säkra is an insurance company which consists of 60 different local offices who all work

individually but under the same logo. The office which we focus on is the one in Jönköping;

Säkra Småland AB which today posses 20 employees. Säkra is also a Gold sponsor but has

bought the rights to have their logo on the helmets of HV71 (www.sakra.se).

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4.1.3 Elmia

Elmia is an organization which offers all kind of exhibitions, fairs and meetings for different

kind of customers; both companies and individuals. With an organization containing 10

employees it is a rather small organization but still they act as Gold sponsor for HV71. They are

getting exposed by having their logo placed on one of the side boards (www.elmia.se).

4.1.4 M-Clean Papertech AB

M-Clean Papertech AB is a global industry leader within the field of high-pressure water

cleaning equipment for machine clothing and rolls in the paper industry and has their head

quarter in Huskvarna. M-clean is represented as a Gold sponsor and attracts a lot of exposure

since their logo is placed on the trousers on HV71s dress. With 19 employees and a turnover of

11 million Euros it is the smallest one of the investigated organizations (www.m-clean.se).

4.2 Sponsorship deals and packages offered by HV71 (from

HV71 homepage and information folders)

The following data is collected from HV71‟s official webpage www.hv71.se where information

is available concerning various packages and deals offered by HV71 to sponsors. Kinnarps

Arena, where HV71 plays their home-games allows for many opportunities for brand exposure

and even acts as a conference center where companies can have customer and employee

meetings. All of these activities can be combined with the brand of HV71 and their societal

status.

4.2.1 Webpage and HVTV

HV71‟s webpage is one of the most visited amongst the clubs of Elitserien with 422.273 visitors

in October and their own web-based television channel HVTV had 89.344 viewers during

October, which is more than double the amount of the nearest club of Elitserien. This allows for

great opportunities of exposure and marketing for sponsors of the club as these media are

controlled by the club itself and tailor-made deals and solutions are offered.

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4.2.2 Game Host Sponsoring

There are numerous types of sponsoring offered from HV71 and one to mention is the Game

Hosting, which as implies is offered for one game at a time and might be perfect for sponsors

looking for exposure during just a certain occasion. The Game Host sponsorship deal includes

for 25 persons (www.hv71.se):

VIP lounge

Dinner

Media exposure in the game folder, media cube and local press

The right to hand out “give-aways” and use the arena lobby for presenting products and

one‟s company

Furthermore, exposure is made possible through the right of presenting the “player of the game”

award to both teams. Together these rights ensure that the message sought for by the sponsor is

able to be presented during a game night.

4.2.3 Exposure at Kinnarps Arena

The possibilities of exposure towards both media and fans are many at Kinnarps Arena and they

range from the team jerseys and the media cube all the way to the walls and stairs. One can even

choose to have their message shown on the ice-machine, usually referred to as Zamboni machine

(Excellent example of a brand becoming synonym to a product). For further enquiries concerning

exposure at Kinnarps Arena, see Appendix 4.

4.2.4 Sponsors

Due to their nowadays in Swedish hockey extremely strong brand-name, HV71 has very

appealing sponsorship opportunities both for the club itself and sponsors. Sponsors of HV71 are

called partners and reach between:

Gold partners,

Silver partners

Bronze partners

Club partners

Company partners.

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The partnerships follow a hierarchical pattern, starting obviously with gold and ending with

company partners. Indeed, the rights that follow the sponsorships differ and follow the same

hierarchical pattern as the sponsor types. Rights that can be considered very important for a

sponsoring company are the exposure at games, on webpage and HVTV, as well as the

possibility of using HV71 players at company events and the HV71 brand. These rights are only

included Gold and Silver partnerships and thus the pricing differs significantly from the other

partnerships.

4.2.4.1 1971 Klubben

“1971 klubben” is a smaller sponsorship program for businesses that might not have large

enough sponsoring capital to be able to become a partner, but still want to support the club and

receive some exposure. 1971 is the year of when Husqvarna Idrotts Förening and Vätterstad

Idrotts Klubb merged and became HV71 (Husqvarna Vätterstad 71) and also the amount of SEK

which is the fee for this sponsorship. The program includes a HV71 patch, 2 tickets for a home

game and company name exposure on the HV71 webpage.

4.3 Interviews

In this section, we will present the empirical data we have found through the interviews we have

conducted with 4 sponsors of HV71. We believe that the sponsors we have interviewed have

different roles of sponsoring HV71 and thus they will give a broad view of the motives behind

sponsoring and how to sponsor HV71. We will present our data following the order of the

questions asked in the interviews and we strive to present the data as a more general view of the

sponsors, that is, not all of the sponsors‟ motives and views will be presented in detail. The

interviews we have conducted are available in the appendices for more detailed information if

required by the readers. When considered as a special motive or when a sponsor‟s opinion differs

extensively from the others, we will include it as a quote from this sponsor or mention the

sponsor by name.

4.3.1 Why to sponsor and in particular HV71

There is a common denominator in why to engage in sponsorship within sports amongst the

sponsors namely, the need for media exposure and getting the brand name out in the market. The

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sponsors all claim that the opportunity to use the HV71 logo, brand and representatives is

essential as motivation to sponsor a team. The sponsors all have important client meetings at

Kinnarps Arena and they feel that when being visited by HV71‟s representatives before games

give them an extra edge. Although at Mclean they elaborate that, sponsoring is also a way to

support sports, especially the youth sections:

“To support sports. We also sponsor floorball youth teams in Stockholm and Huskvarna. I myself

find sports very interesting and have been engaged in it during my whole life. It is very important

for us to give young people the chance to be active” (Nilhammer).

The fact that HV71 is a local team and the success that they have had during the recent years are

two major aspects of the sponsors‟ reasoning to sponsor HV71. Since ice-hockey is the biggest

sport in the region, there are many fans working in regional companies. The sponsors are no

exception; they are fans and state HV71 as their favorite team and also state that this is an

important reason on why to sponsor this team in particular.

””HV71 is the team in my heart; I love ice-hockey, I love HV. I have a company in Huskvarna,

so it was an easy choice” (Westinius).

At Kinnarps they mention the walking distance from their exhibition center and regional office to

Kinnarps Arena as an important factor when deciding to sponsor HV71, as it allows for easy

connection for their customer meetings and their business. They further explain that their main

market is in the Jönköping, Kinnarps and Skillingaryd areas, which makes HV71 a great

opportunity to strengthen their brand name within the region.

4.3.2 Included rights and Exposures

The most sought for rights are the use of the HV71 logo and their brand name in different

company activities; meetings, marketing and presentations. But there are rights that accompany a

sponsorship, for example Mclean has its company name on HV71‟s game jerseys and Elmia has

a well exposed piece of the rink-sideboard at their exposal. The sponsors state that the V.I.P

rooms at Kinnarps Arena are much appreciated by their employees as well as costumers and of

course they are an included right for sponsors. Of course, a very important right belongs to

Kinnarps, who possesses the arena naming right, Kinnarps Arena, and thus becoming integrated

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with not only the brand name of HV71 but also the whole experience of watching a ice-hockey

game in Jönköping. Kinnarps also see the included tickets to the home games of HV71 as a

possibility to strengthen their “employer branding” by an internal lottery system.

“For example we possess 25 seats to every home game which we, in a democratic way, raffle out

to all the employees in the regional units” (Wennefors)

4.3.3 HV71’s performance and its effects on the sponsorship

When sponsoring a sports team one must consider many aspects of importance such as; their

results, possible misconducts and scandals, to mention a few. The sponsors acknowledge this and

they all concur that when a sponsored team performs at their top level, the sponsorship reaches

its ultimate goals as well. Since sponsoring a sports team implies the use of their brand name, a

company would always seek to be recognized with a winning and popular team. This being said,

the sponsors also state that their sponsorship is not dependant on the performance of HV71 in a

short run and will not be ended because of some bad results during a period.

“Basically, our co-operation with HV71 will not end because of a bad season, as long as HV

plays in Elitserien we will continue to sponsor them, in one way or another” (Essen-Sylvén).

At Kinnarps they see the connection to sports and entertainment as an important aspect of

sponsoring.

“If one Googles Kinnarps Arena, you will probably get a lot of hits” (Wennefors).

4.3.4 How to maximize the sponsorship of HV71

Even though sponsoring a sports team involves quite high costs for companies, a well planned

strategy does not seem to exist amongst the sponsors. Säkra tries to integrate the HV71 brand in

their customer programs, but since their sponsorship is relatively new, a clear strategy does not

prevail even though a concept is being developed. M-clean papertech for instance sell more than

95% of their products abroad and see the sponsorship of HV71 as more of an interest/hobby.

Kinnarps does not conduct any research on finding the results of the sponsorship neither do they

use it to more than customer and employee meetings.

“We do not use this sponsorship in any way in our marketing” (Nilhammer).

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4.3.5 How successful the sponsorship is and how it affects the

brand name

The sponsors mention the success of HV71 as a ice-hockey team to be one of their ways to

measure the success of their sponsorship. All in all, to measure the success of a sponsorship has

proved to be very hard and only Säkra mentions that:

“By compiling which revenues that come from connections generated through this project”

(Westinius).

When considering the sponsorship of HV71 and how it affects the sponsors‟ brand name they all

agree that it is not essential for their survival as a brand. The sponsors all believe that their brand

is strong enough on its own, but the sponsorship has its perks.

“We consider our brand name as strong, even without the sponsorship of HV71, but it does not

harm to be seen together with the pride of the city. We definitely experience positive signals

considering our co-operation with HV71” (Essen-Sylvén).

At M-clean they mention another aspect, the fact that since they mainly operate abroad,

spectators of HV71 in general do not know what their company does and this gives them a

chance to introduce their company to the regional population. Even though it might not lead to

new customers and purchases, at M-clean they feel proud of showing that they give something

back to the community.

4.3.6 The main motives behind sponsoring HV71

There are many motives behind why to sponsor a sports team; the sponsors all feel that HV71‟s

strong brand and recent success provides for excellent opportunities to connect their own brand

to HV71. Elmia mentions the importance of building strong connections to their customers by

attending games and having representatives from HV71 present at meetings and presentations.

Furthermore Elmia experience the media exposure from games and in television as a tool to

build a stronger brand name.

At Säkra they have a more broad view where they mention; HV71 being a local team, reaching

other companies, strengthening their brand name and creating sales opportunities. Since they

strictly work with companies they do not feel that the supporters are a priority target for their

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sponsorship, but they do mention that the supporters need to work in some company and thus

these companies are also reached even if not directly.

M-clean are more specific, since as mentioned they act almost exclusively abroad. The

importance lies with the possibility to support the regional sporting community and to show that

they act responsibly and give something back to the region.

Kinnarps mention the pride of sponsoring a regional team and giving back to the community as a

vital part of their sponsorship. Since Kinnarps is a successful regional company they decided to

support HV71 by helping to finance the building of Kinnarps Arena, the home arena of HV71.

Kinnarps see this as a sort of supporting loan to HV71. Of course, an underlying interest of

media exposure prevails in order to strengthen the Kinnarps brand name not only within the

region but also nationally through the massive exposure they receive from their naming rights of

HV71‟s home arena.

4.4 Testing Brand awareness

Many of the researchers as we have mentioned, has stated that exposure is one of the most

important motives behind becoming a sponsor. As brand awareness and exposure are indeed

related with each other we wanted to test which sponsors that the viewers were most familiar

with and correlated to HV71. By doing the research at three different occasions we also wanted

to test if there was a difference depending on the place and occasion.

4.4.1 Before the game VS After the game

By handing out the questionnaires before the game and after the game we will be able to

compare whether there will be any differences in the answers given, and if so; what were the

differences and why were there any differences.

The results from the pre-game investigation are stated in Chart 1. As we chose to include 50

answers in this research, we continued on until we had received these 50 participants‟ who were

all to state 3 sponsors of HV71. In order to receive 50 participants, we had to ask 68 different

people, generating a response rate of about 74%. When stating the different sponsors, we

received 136 out of 150 possible answers.

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0

10

20

30

40

50

Chart 1 - Pre-game questionnaire.

As one can see, Husqvarna and Kinnarps are the two most well-known sponsors of HV71. These

two organizations both have a long history of being sponsors for HV71 as well as great impact

and influence in the organization by their commitment and size of their agreement; Husqvarna

acting as the Main sponsor, receiving a lot of exposure on the jerseys for example (HV71.se) and

Kinnarps having the rights to the arena name (Kinnarps Arena). The third most well recognized

sponsor is Bauer who acts as a sponsor for equipment (gloves, helmets, and skates), hence their

logo is seen a lot and their sponsoring can be referred as supplier rights (Masterman, 2007).

Other organizations that were stated; Intersport, Säkra and Sydtotal are all companies which

attracts a lot of attention by having their logos on the dresses. Know it on the other hand is an

organization which is represented on HV71s homepage and in the arena at different places. By

others sponsors we have gathered the ones which received one or two answers. One remarkable

aspect is that such a high number as eight organizations which has been sponsors previous years

was still stated. From this, one can draw the conclusion that the effects of sponsoring are not just

finite; they do not stop to exist immediately just because you stop being a sponsor, it remains for

a while.

In Chart 2, the responses from the past-game research are stated. At this occasion, we received

50 answers from 74 asked participants; a response rate of about 68%. Out of 150 possible

answers we received 132.

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05

1015202530354045

Chart 2 - Past-game Questionnaires.

Comparing the results from the pre-game (Chart 1) versus the past-game questionnaires (Chart

2). One can see that there is not such a remarkable difference in the answers on what

organizations are the most recognized. However, it seems like Husqvarna are receiving more

exposure at the games then does Kinnarps. However, an essential difference is that Lidab which

has not been mentioned in any of the previous answers, were now mentioned in as many cases as

six. The reason for this increase is due to the fact that Lidab Sweden AB acted as a game sponsor

which means that they are receiving attention at different scenarios during the game.

4.4.2 Questionnaires Outside the arena vs. Inside arena.

The reason for gathering information outside the arena is because we wanted to see if there was a

considerable difference in what organizations and types of sponsoring which generates exposure

outside the arena by watching the game at a pub, versus watching the game at the arena. An

obvious result which can be seen is that we received considerable less answers on what

organizations acted as sponsors. Hence people inside the arena were more exposed towards

sponsors than people watching the game at the pub. Husqvarna and Kinnarps were once again

the two organizations which received the greatest amount of answers. One interesting aspect is

that Know it which received answers when asking in the arena, did not receive as many outside

the arena. As mentioned in section 4.4.1, Know it is an organization which are receiving a lot of

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

exposure inside the arena and hence do not attract as much exposure outside. Another interesting

aspect is that the case of the game sponsor did not get any attention when asking at the pub.

In chart 3, the answers which we gathered at the local sport bar in Jönköping is presented. At this

investigation we had to ask 89 people in order to receive 50 participants, a response rate of 56%.

From 150 possible answers 114 was stated.

Chart 3 - Outside the arena questionnaires.

4.5 Sponsoring; affects brand perception?

In the second part of the questionnaire, we wanted to test and find out whether sponsoring a

sports team could affect people‟s perception of the sponsoring brand; to prefer the chosen

sponsoring brand before other alternatives, and if so, what factors that contributes to this

preferable choice. In this section, we did not consider the occasion which we gathered the

information since we did not find and particular differences which could be of interest.

These figures below in Chart 4, represents the answers from the question: are you getting

influenced by the fact that these organizations are sponsors of HV71 when buying

products/services related to their organization, to the point that you prefer these brands before

other similar ones? Where 1 stands for no affection what so ever and 5 stands for strong. Out of

150 participants, we received 150 answers on this question. In this section, we did not make any

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5

Respondents

Affection

Strong affection

No affection

difference depending on the occasion the questions were asked. Hence the response rate was

about 65%.

Chart 4 - Sponsoring; affects on brand perception

As one can see, most of the respondents stated that they were not affected that much from the

fact that the organizations sponsored the team which they watched either live at the arena or at

screens. As many as 45 out of 150 respondents stated that they were not affected what so ever.

There were also some diehard fans (8) which stated that if they were to choose between

products/services from different organizations, they would certainly be affected in a strong way

which would lead them to choose the sponsoring organization. About 15% have answered a four

or a five which means that they are affected in a rather strong way by the organizations being

sponsors.

This research states that the majority believe that they are not affected that much whether the

organizations are sponsors or not when making a buying decision. However, the accuracy of the

answers collected in this questionnaire cold be questioned, as marketing and its effects are often

hidden within feelings and attitudes, which are usually hard for the respondent to realize.

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4.5.1 What affects the decision?

From the previous question; whether sponsoring affects consumer behavior and brand

perception, we also found it necessary to investigate what influenced them the most when

choosing a sponsoring brand before the other one.

In Chart 5, the answers from the last question are presented in a frequency table, where the

respondents where to choose a maximum of three different aspects which they believes affects

and influences them when buying a product/service, to choose a sponsors instead of a similar one

from other organizations. Out of a maximum of 450 possible answers, we received 284 answers.

In this result, we do not differentiate on what occasions the answers were gathered, hence the

response rate was about 65%.

Table 5 - Influences

Loyalty towards the organization. 72

Relationship to the organization. 23

The organization’s status. 37

Support for the organization’s vision. 7

The organization’s Niche. 3

Personal feelings towards the organization. 83

The organization’s successful culture. 14 The organization has showed social responsibility. 39

The organization’s growth. 6

From this chart, one can see that the respondents believed that loyalty to the sponsoring

organization as well as the personal feeling that the respondent has towards the organization is

the two factors which affects the choice the most. Followed by the organizations status and that

the organization has showed social responsibility. By the ones that did not affect that much, we

found that the organizations niche did only receive 3 votes.

These results will be analyzed in further detail in the analysis part of this thesis. It should

however be mentioned that we only received 284 answers out of 450 possible. The reason for

this low score is because some of the respondents did not find that anything influenced them

when taking such decisions, while other ones only found one or two aspects to influence them.

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5. Analysis

In this section of the thesis the researchers will analyze the information gathered from the

investigations.. This will be done by analyzing and discussing the findings of our research taking

the previous mentioned theories into consideration.

5.1 Sponsorship rights and deals

HV71 can nowadays offer a wide selection of sponsorship deals to fit basically any type of

sponsor in the Swedish market from the range of large corporations to individual businesses with

hardly any sponsoring budget. In the theory section we mentioned sponsorship rights and the

difficulty of offering the optimal deal to possible sponsors. At HV71 they mostly offer tailored

packages in order to maximize both their and the sponsors‟ commercial and capital gain. For

smaller organizations and businesses there are fixed packages available that do not diverge in

neither rights nor levels of sponsorship, which means that they are flat structured (1971-Klubben

and the lower levels of partnerships).

If one strives for a more exclusive deal, there are many offers ready from the club such as; higher

levels of partnerships and possessing Sector and Supplier Rights (Bauer). But for sponsors

seeking for the ultimate exclusiveness and exposure, numerous tailored deals can be offered from

HV71. Kinnarps possesses the Naming Right of HV71‟s home arena, Kinnarps Arena, which

they have experienced as a very successful co-operation for both parties. Furthermore one can

mention the ability to host a home game and thus becoming an exclusive rights holder for an

evening, referred to as Presenting Rights. This allows for ultimate exposure of logos, use of

lobbies, hallways, having meetings and receiving tickets for the game and more. Säkra

Försäkringar found their way into sponsoring HV71 through some successful game hosting

events. As mentioned, the main sponsors of HV71 are called partners and this program follows

a tiered structure with gold partners at the top and company partners at the bottom. This enables

an easier way for pricing their rights and is also a faster way of sealing a sponsorship deal.

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5.2 Analyzing the motives behind sponsoring deals

In order to make it easier for the reader to follow our discussion and analysis we choose to take

use of the A-Eric model to be able to divide the different motives into different sections, which

will be followed by a section where we discuss the additional motives which we have found.

5.2.1 Associations

The first motive which the authors Jiffer and Roos (1999) discusses and also believes to be the

most important is the one of associations. This means that the main motive behind becoming a

sponsor should be to take use of the positive feelings which are generated by a sports team. So

according to Jiffer and Roos (1999), the findings from the interviews which we have conducted

with four different sponsoring organizations should be that they all want to be exposed together

with HV71 in different circumstances as the most important motive.

The fact that the sponsors see associations and the role of image transferring as something

positive is best described by Linda von Essen, who states that they at Emlia consider their brand

name as strong, even without the sponsorship of HV71, however it do not harm to be seen with

what they call the pride of the city. She further states that they receive positive signals

considering their co-operation with HV71. We believe that this is a very interesting answer as it

describes what we have previously discussed; instead of immediately state that it is a good and

important aspect to being exposed and correlated with HV71, they first state that it is not

necessary, but it does not harm to be seen together and that they attract a lot of positive feedback

from being sponsors. As researchers such as Sleight (1989) states that the most important aspect

of sponsoring and the benefits which sponsors receives from sponsorship agreements is to

receive positive association which can be used for commercial advantages. Hence, we do believe

that the organizations should see this as an important opportunity to increase not only their brand

awareness, but also to deliver a message towards the viewers that they support their team and

their competitors do not.

However, as none of the organizations states that the most important and the number one motive

behind sponsoring HV71 is to be associated and to take part of the positive feelings which HV71

generates, the question whether it really is the single most important motive behind sponsoring

deals arises. Although the organizations do not state it explicitly, they still say that HV71‟s

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strong brand and recent success provides for good opportunities to connect their own brand to

HV71 when asking them how HV71s‟ results affects them. Hence, we believe that the

organizations believes the role of association and image transferring is of great importance and

one of the underlying motives for becoming a sponsor, even though it is not the first thing which

crosses their mind when speaking of sponsoring, it is clearly something which they have giving

thoughts about. The reason for why the organizations do not state immediately that association is

the main motive behind sponsoring, is according to us as well as Grönkvist (2000) because the

first concern for organizations is to be seen together with the sports team, hence, instead motives

such as exposure is common as it is the basis for other motives. Taking part of the positive

feelings which are generated from associations and image transferring is not possible without

getting exposed together. Therefore, the first strategic perspective which organizations look at is

where and how they will get exposed, and as an underlying motive behind wanting to receive

exposure come the concept of associations. As a result of this, we believe that these topics should

not be seen as two totally different motives but rather complementing to each other, where the

association can be the answer on what the organization wants to achieve and the exposure is the

answer on how this will be achieved.

Associations, however is not only about being part and seen together with HV71, it is not the

immediate effects of HV71‟s results which are of interest, instead we believe that by being

viewed together with HV71 the organization‟s prove to the viewers that they support the team

which they all like. In a sense, it can be seen as relationship building with the crowd as it shows

them that they support and cheer for the same team. However, it should be said that we believe

that this is a strategy which works best for an organization that has some kind of connections

with the town or region where the sports team originates, or for an organization who wish to

expand in the region.

5.2.2 Exposure

Many researchers such as Meenaghan (1995), Grönkvist (2000) and Gwinner (1997) states that

exposure is the main motive for organizations when signing a sponsorship agreement since

creating and raising brand awareness is the most essential strategy with most of marketing tools.

The importance of exposure can also be seen from investigating the results which we received

from the interviews. All of the organizations stated sometime during the interviews that one of

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the reasons for why to become sponsors is the need for media exposure and getting the brand

name out on the market. From the results we can see that these organizations have chosen

different strategies for receiving this exposure, Mclean has its company name on HV71‟s game

jerseys, Säkra has their logo on the helmet, Elmia has a well exposed piece of the rink-sideboard

with their name on it and Kinnarps are the owners of the arena name; Kinnarps Arena. As one

can see, all these organizations are very conscious on where their logo or name is getting

exposed and pays a lot of money for having exactly the spot which they have. This is best

supported and described by Wennefors who states that if one were to go onto Google and search

for Kinnarps arena one will receive a lot of hits. From this, one can see that they have a clear

strategy with buying the rights to the arena name and the sponsorship deal; they want to attract

and receive as much exposure as possible. As Kinnarps is also the largest company of the ones

which we have investigated, it is a strategy which corresponds with their motives of reaching out

to as many as possible. They further support this by stating that by support HV71 they see it as a

great opportunity to strengthen their brand name within the region. Elmia as well states that the

media exposure from games and in television as a tool to build a stronger brand name.

Although these organizations states that receiving exposure as an essential and one of the most

important motives behind becoming a sponsor, there are researchers which states that exposure

should not be the only motive for sponsoring. Jiffer and Roos (1999) claims that a sponsoring

strategy which only focuses on receiving as much as exposure as possible will most probably

miss the most vital benefits which can be generated. They, as well as we believe that it is vital to

look not only on exposure as an isolated topic; it is also about what message which they want to

convey by being exposed. However, this is something which we believe that the organizations

manage in a good way. Kinnarps for instance states that by having the naming rights to Kinnarps

Arena, they are becoming integrated with not only the brand name of HV71 but also the whole

experience of watching an ice-hockey game in Jönköping. This clearly shows what Jiffer and

Roos (1999) claims when they say that exposure should not be seen as a standalone motive. It

shows the links that are between associations and exposure when they state that the name

Kinnarps Arena becomes a part if the experience, which hopefully and usually are associated

with positive feelings.

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5.2.3 Relationship

When it comes to use sponsoring as a way to build relationships, it can be done both internally

and externally as Jiffer and Roos (1999) concludes. This means that an organization can use

sponsoring as a tool for coming in contact with new customers or maintaining old ones

(externally), as well as using it to maintain and cheer up the people working within their own

organization (internally). From the interviews we found out that in the sponsorship deals, the

sponsoring organizations received either tickets, special seats our certain VIP areas where they

could take their employees or their business partners in order to build relationships. The

interviews also show that the employees find this as something positive which increases the

motivation. Wennefors explains this by saying they Kinnarps posses 25 seats for every game

which they deal out to their employees in a democratic way.

As the organizations which we have investigated are mainly working and dealing with business-

to-business relationships, this is one of the most stated motives for becoming sponsors. Ford

(2003) argues that using sponsoring as a relationship marketing tool is especially effective when

dealing with business-to-business relationships. We also believe that this is an important motive,

especially when dealing with the above named relationships, as business-to-business

relationships deals more with long-term relationships which needs to be managed properly and

with care in order to build long-lasting relationships. This is explained in the results where it is

said that all the sponsors have important client meetings at Kinnarps Arena and they feel that

when being visited by HV71‟s representatives before games gives them an extra edge. Then it

could be a great way of maintaining these relationships by meeting outside working hours and to

get to know each other in a better way. However, we do not believe that this motive is the reason

for becoming why these organizations have become Gold sponsors as it costs quite a lot of

money. It may be cheaper to just by tickets to each game and hire different loges each time they

want to have a business meeting. Therefore, we believe that there has to be some other motives

which are the main motive, although the organizations like the benefits which they receive with

tickets and VIP areas.

According to Grönkvist (2000) however, relationship building is not only concerned with invite

people to watch games in different circumstances. It can also be indirect relationship building as

by being exposed together with the sports team, they will build indirect relationships with the

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crowd and in that way create loyalty amongst supporters. As one can see, this motive is

correlated with the one of association and exposure. By being exposed together with a sports

team which generates positive feelings and attitudes it can be relationship building as it creates a

feeling of loyalty together with the viewers.

Lagae (2005) emphasizes a good point when he describes the need for viewing sponsoring as a

relationship marketing tool, meaning that the sponsoring part must understand what shareholder

they want to target, understand them and their needs and to deliver a message which they

appreciates. This means that the sponsoring organizations should have customers or employees

which are in somehow interested in watching ice-hockey so they find it positive and not only

something which they have to do. This is a risk which we believe that the organizations should

consider. It is easy for the sponsor to invite people and believe that everyone enjoys watching

ice-hockey just because they do. So by using this as the only way of giving the customer

something special and maintaining relationships should not be enough; there is a need for

diversify and target different customers with different marketing tools ad sponsoring should only

be used in times when it matches the shareholders.

5.2.4 Integrated Communication

Jiffer and Roos (1999) describe the importance of using sponsoring as a piece in a greater puzzle

of marketing tools in campaigns, in order to support and “attack” the customer from different

angles and influence them in more than just one way. From the interviews, we could not however

find this motive in any of the organizations. This could of course be due to the fact that they

mainly focus on business-to-business relationships and by that mean they do not have different

campaigns where the motive is to attract new customers or increase sales; as Jiffer and Roos

(1999) states is the main reason for this motive. However, Säkra which is the sponsor who focus

the most on private customers, do mention that they use sponsoring in order to reach other

customers, strengthening their brand name and creating sales opportunities. We believe that by

thinking broader as Säkra does, not only having one single motive in mind but instead combining

them, the organizations will be able to use the sponsorship agreement in different ways which

can generate more benefits than just focusing on one aspect.

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We do not believe this motive to be as related to the specific organizations which we have

investigated as the other ones and hence we cannot state that this is a general motive for

supporting HV71.

After having investigated the different motives which we have found from conducting the

interviews, we do not believe that the A-Eric model invented by Jiffer and Roos (1999) captures

all the different motives and corresponding strategies which an organization can have when

becoming a sponsor. We believe that the A-Eric model indeed has some positive aspects which

are really good to take into consideration; as it lets the organizations narrows the motives into

four different categories and see the different strategies and corresponding effects which would

be generated. However, we believe that the concept of sponsoring and its motives are more

complex than that and can consist of more motives which does not automatically fall under any

of these four categories. Because of that we do find it necessary to discuss some other certain

motives which we have found from our research.

5.2.5 Additional motives

A motive which we found to very common and which Grönkvist (2000) mention as one of the

most important ones; is that of good citizen and social responsibility. Grönkvist (2000) with

support from Carroll (1991) state that the environment in which organizations works today

demands more of the organizations to act as role models and behave as good citizens. By

choosing to become a sponsor, organizations will be able to show that they support a team and in

that sense show that that they are indeed role models who supports the community in which they

act. During the interviews we found out that the organizations which we have investigated has

some connection to the community and region surrounding Huskvarna, and because of this they

believe that it is essential that they support the HV71 as it is the pride of the city. Kinnarps for

instance, mention that the pride of sponsoring a regional team and giving back to the community

is a vital part of their sponsoring. M-Clean also states that being seen as a good citizen and

showing proof of social responsibility is one of the main motives for being sponsors. Since M-

Clean almost exclusively act abroad and 95% of their sales comes from outside of Sweden, it is

obvious that they do not sponsor in order to meet new customers and by that means increase

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sales. Rather, they would like to show the surrounding that they exist and that they support the

community in which they act. Or as Westinius states; the importance with sponsoring is the

possibility to support a regional sports team and give something back to the region.

To sum up, one can say that the motives for sponsoring a sports team differs from case to case,

but that it follows certain patterns and although the main motive may differ, it still contains some

of the other mentioned motives as they are related to each other. As Jiffer and Roos (1999)

discusses; these motives mentioned should not be seen as standalone motives. This can certainly

be seen by the results from our research; exposure, association and relationships are highly

correlated. However, the motive of being viewed as a good citizen should be added to these

motives.

What we have found from this part of the research is that the motives for becoming a sponsor

usually consist of the following motives, ranked depending of importance:

1. Exposure - Stated by the most of the organizations to be the fundamental reason

behind sponsoring agreements, in order to raise attention and increase brand

awareness. We also believe this to be the cornerstone of sponsoring motives, in

order to benefit from associations, good citizenship and in somehow relationships,

the organization must receive exposure.

2. Associations - Indirect the sponsors state that it is important that the organization

is viewed together with sports team since they generate positive feelings which

can be transferred to the sponsoring organization.

3. Relationships - As the organizations which we have investigated mainly have

business customers and since they state that they use the rights to tickets and VIP

areas which gives them great feedback, we believe this to be more important that

acting as a good citizen in this case.

4. Good citizenship - Being viewed as the good guy and giving something back to

the community was stated by all sponsors so it is indeed a positive aspect of being

a sponsor. However, as the benefits from just being seen as a good citizen when

working with business customers, especially not regional customers, are close to

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zero. Hence it should not be seen as the only motive for being a sponsor, in the

case if M-Clean, we believe that it is rather a personal motive since the CEO

states that he loves the game and especially HV71.

5.3 Analyzing how to create brand awareness

When looking at the theory section one can combine the mentioned authors‟ views of brand

awareness as; the creation of brand awareness is achieved through, showing a targeted subject a

brand enough times and relating it to something/someone impressing and success is at hands. But

in reality the factor of being overrun by other messages and brands exposed to your targeted

subject is always present and creates room for using strategy in order succeed. In the theory part

we mentioned Aaker (1996) stating that the success of Brand Awareness lies with the presence

of a brand in a target‟s mind. The meaning of this is relatively easy to understand; a successful

marketer needs to keep their brand name in a targets mind in order to benefit from this in a future

purchasing opportunity.

When testing whether the sponsors of HV71 actually can apply Aaker‟s theory to reality and

benefit from exposing their brand repeatedly to supporters the results varied from sponsor to

sponsor. Surprisingly, we found that two out of our four chosen sponsors (Elmia and M-Clean)

did not reach as many subjects (supporters) as we had anticipated. But even though these two

sponsors reached fewer supporters during our tests, Säkra Försäkringar and Kinnarps reached

about as much as we, with our unqualified guesses, anticipated. The reason for this we believe is

the nature of their sponsorship, the four sponsors all have different exposure positions and

exposure amounts. Kinnarps, who performed best (1st and 2

nd all three tests), possesses the most

valuable right between these four and thus receives the most exposure towards their targeted

subjects. Indeed, Säkra Försäkringar (scoring between 5-10 hits in all three tests) has less

exposure that Kinnarps, but due to their exposure on the team‟s helmets they position themselves

better than an adjacent sponsor such as neighboring Elmia. This shows us that a logo positioned

on a player helmet is more valuable, considering brand awareness amongst supporters of HV71,

than the rink-sideboard that Elmia possesses. Interestingly M-Clean, who possesses the right to

put their logo on HV71‟s team jersey, only is mentioned a few times (included in others together

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with Elmia in the three charts). This can be explained by the company having the majority of

their market abroad and almost no contact with the Swedish public.

At every home game HV71 has a specific game host who can act as a presenting rights holder

during the evening and we found that Keller‟s (1993) theory about getting the consumer to

experience or to be exposed to a brand increases familiarity and brand awareness is applicable to

this phenomenon. When we, in our questionnaire, asked supporters before the game to mention

three sponsors of HV71, there were no supporters who mentioned Lidab as a sponsor. When we

asked the same question after the game was over, Lidab was mentioned considerably more times.

This shows us that in real life, when supporters experience or are exposed to a brand at a team‟s

arena, their brand awareness is indeed increased and thus affected.

5.4 Internal motives behind sponsoring and effects on

customers

During the development of the theory part of this thesis, we felt the need to create our own

model in order to explain how a sponsor‟s internal motives affect customers‟ brand awareness.

The model tries to show the relationship between an internal motive from a sponsor, such as

showing good citizenship can create effects on how a customer experiences the company brand.

We tested this model in our questionnaire first by asking; are you influenced by the fact that

these organizations are sponsors of HV71 when buying products/services related to their

organization, to the point that you prefer these brands before other similar ones?

The number of strongly affected was disappointingly lower than we had desired, but still some

supporters felt that they were affected by the sponsorships enough to purchase their products.

Even though, as stated in the empirical findings 4.5, the accuracy of the collected answers might

not reveal the whole truth, due to hidden attitudes and feelings.

The following question was; which three of the nine stated influences were the strongest, where

four influences made a greater impact than the others:

1. personal feelings towards the organization

2. loyalty towards the organization

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3. the organization has showed social responsibility

4. the organization’s status

What we learned from these answers was that internal motives such as Exposure and Publicity

have a great impact on customers, accordingly with the theories of the authors we have included

in the thesis. But also that Good citizenship towards the community and Building relationships

with customers creates great opportunities for companies to show their targeted consumers that

they are important and that the companies want to give back to the community. Even though the

supporters claimed not to be affected to the extent of purchase, they still show that by supporting

the community (sponsoring sports teams) and building a relationship to the supporters (Kinnarps

Arena), a company gains a lot of exposure and thus a lot of brand awareness.

Our interviews with Kinnarps, Säkra Försäkringar, M-Clean and Elmia provided us with their

main motives behind sponsoring HV71. Their top motives, as stated in 5.2 were; Exposure,

Associations, Relationships and Good Citizenship. The correlation to the Sponsoring: Motives

and Effects on Brands model, which we tested by asking which influences were strongest in our

questionnaire, was quite strong. This tells us that the internal motives of these sponsors are

actually fairly accurate in achieving the sought for effects on their brand name, all in accordance

to the Motives and Effects model.

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6. Conclusion

Within this section, we will draw conclusions from the researches we have done and answering

our research questions. By doing so, we will hereby solve our purpose.

We set out to answer two research questions in order to solving our purpose for this thesis

namely; to investigate, from a strategic marketing perspective, what a sponsoring organization

wants to accomplish by sponsoring a sports team and how it affects brand awareness. The

research questions and their answers are listed below:

What are the motives behind sponsoring a sports team such as HV71?

There is a common denominator in why to engage in sponsorship within sports amongst the

sponsors of HV71 namely, the need for media exposure and getting the brand name out in the

market. Our interviews with Kinnarps, Säkra Försäkringar, M-Clean and Elmia provided us with

their main motives behind sponsoring HV71. Their top motives, as stated in 5.2 were; Exposure,

Associations, Relationships and Good Citizenship. The correlation to the Sponsoring: Motives

and Effects on Brands model, which we tested by asking which influences were strongest in our

questionnaire, was quite strong. This tells us that the internal motives of these sponsors are

actually fairly accurate in achieving the sought for effects on their brand name, all in accordance

to the Motives and Effects model.

How will sponsoring HV71 affect brand awareness amongst supporters?‟

Our tests showed us that the more exposure a company can get out of their sponsorship of a

sports team, the more they will increase their brand awareness. Furthermore we saw that

possessing various sponsorship rights gives varying results of brand exposure and awareness,

Kinnarps (Naming Rights) and Säkra (Helmet Logo) being the most successful companies when

considering creating brand awareness through sponsoring. We also found that exposure of logos

and brand names at Kinnarps Arena are of more importance than first considered. Very high fees

are charged for the “best” spots around the arena and since there are a lot of media available to

follow the action in the rink, these logos and brand experience tremendous amounts of exposure

and in turn definitely effect the brand awareness of these companies and products.

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The sponsors all agreed that direct sales and effects are not what they seek from this sponsorship

and thus their strategic marketing lies at a more long term increase in Brand Awareness that will

finally lead to increased sales.

Finally we found that the A-ERIC model has some flaws, there are not enough motives included

in the model and including more motives would make the model more accurate and in terms

more useful for research within sponsoring.

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7. Discussion

The purpose with this section is to discuss our research, whether we chose the rights methods

and whether our methods fitted with the purpose. We will also discuss what we as researchers

found out to be interesting for fur further researches within this field.

In our research we found that sponsoring a sports team can have a more long term effect on

brand awareness than just during the sponsorship period. A remarkable aspect we found is that

such a high number as eight organizations which have been sponsors previous years were still

stated. From this, one can draw the conclusion that the effects of sponsoring are not just finite;

they do not stop to exist immediately just because you stop being a sponsor, they remain for as

long as they are present in the targets mind.

Motivation of theory

When we started to consider what subject to write our thesis about, sports and sponsorship came

quite naturally to our minds since we have a sincere interest when it comes to both subjects.

Although we possessed some fundamental knowledge about the subjects, in all honesty we

couldn‟t imagine all the different aspects included in sponsorship and different types of deals and

arrangements. Thus we felt that it was essential to include some of these aspects to allow the

readers of this thesis to understand the complexity of sponsorship and to show that it does not

consist of only paying someone money and they will use your shoes, clothes, products and so on.

To make a sponsorship successful there are numerous decisions to be made and extensive

planning and budgeting precedes an actual sponsorship agreement.

Critique of Method

Looking back at the data gathered and information found, HV71 should have been contacted and

interviewed in order to find whether they possess any valuable information about their

sponsorship program, their sponsors and other information that we could not find by ourselves.

7.1 Further research For further research on this topic, we suggest that one would look further into the subjects in our

questionnaire who can be considered as true fans of HV71 (visiting several games per week) and

their influences of HV71‟s sponsors. Whether there are any differences in preference or

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influence from sponsors. We did not include this part in our thesis due to lack of time and the

fact that it would become too deep for a bachelor thesis if this part was included as well.

More research can be conducted on how the sponsors of HV71 should act to increase their

effects of sponsoring HV71. Finding out what the companies actually get in return from the

sponsorship and how they can maximize their returns.

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Appendix 1. - Advertising statistics 2008

(Previous year‟s figures in parenthesis.)

Source: IRM (Institutet för Reklam- och Mediehistorik). (2009). Stora Reklamkakan 2008.

Retrieved 2009-11-21 from: http://www.irm-

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Appendix 2 - Interview questions.

• We know that XXXX is the main sponsors for the HV71, but why HV? Are there any

requirements on your part to become sponsored by XXXX?

• How long have you sponsored HV71? Have there been any changes over time?

• Has there for some time been more / less collaboration, more active / less active collaboration

than right now?

• As part of your collaboration, what do you offer HV71 and what rights you get back? (No

details, but: Capital? Products? Lodges? Construction of Kinnarps? Etc.?) Follow-up question,

how the contract you made this? Packages from HV71 or bid?

• How do you think HV71's sporting performance affects XXXX as a sponsor?

• Would it make any difference to you if a major competitor desires to sponsor a local team?

(Blocking their sponsorship of exclusivity)

• How do you use this sponsorship? Active? (Campaigns, logos, event) Follow-up question, do

you have someone who has the duty to maximize the publicity / marketing?

• Do you measure the results of your sponsorship? If so, what methods do you use?

• How do you think the XXXX brand is affected by the sponsorship of the HV71?

• What would you say is the main purpose of sponsoring HV71? (Local team, to reach

supporters, other businesses, strengthen the brand, generate sales opportunities for your

products, etc. ..?)

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Appendix 3. - Questionnaires.

Questionnaire on HV71 and Sponsoring

How often do you watch HV71 play? No matter if it is at the arena, television, computer or at the

pub. (Please mark the most fitting answer)

Several times per week. Several times per month Several times per season Few times per season Never .

Can you mention three of HV71‟s sponsors?

1. ______________________________

2. ______________________________

3. ______________________________

Are you influenced by the fact that these organizations are sponsors of HV71 when buying

products/services related to their organization, to the point that you prefer these brands before

other similar ones?

No influence at all. I prefer these companies‟ products.

(Please mark the most fitting answer)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

If you are influenced, what affects you the most? (Please mark three choices)

Loyalty towards the organization. Support for the organization‟s vision.

The organization‟s successful culture. Relationship to the organization.

The organization‟s Niche. The organization has showed social responsibility.

The organization‟s status. Personal feelings towards the organization.

The organization‟s growth.

Thank you for your attention!!

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Appendix 4 - Arena Exposure

Source: Marketing Folder HV71. Retrieved 2009-10-10, from

http://hv71.se/upload/pdf/marknadsfolder0910.pdf