The Impact of Luxury Brand Sponsoring Activity on Customers Brand Perspective Sample Essay
The concept of luxury brand positioning is not a new one, but one that has gained momentum in the recent past. The history of sports sponsorship dates back to over 25,000 years ago (Grimaldi, 2014). Organizations’ desire to promote and improve their market position has seen them invest their finances by sponsoring local and international sports events. According to Meenaghan (1991), organizations have realized the value of the investments they make in sponsoring various sporting activities. Through engagement in these events and activities, companies are able to draw the attention of the fans which helps improve their brands as market leaders in a very competitive world (Meenaghan, 2001). These objectives explain why companies like Toyota among others have spent endless figures in sporting activities like VPF and V-League. The Impact of Luxury Brand Sponsoring Activity on Customers Brand Perspective Sample Essay
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Drawing the attention of customers to a brand has never been a simple exercise for the marketing department. Studies have shown that in order to build on customer loyalty, and create a close connection to the brands, companies must use strategies that interest target consumers (Grimaldi, 2014). As such, companies have taken every step to improve their brand positions through sporting activities that have gained the attention of many people worldwide. Over the years, sponsorship deals have emerged as the salient advertising and promotional mechanisms marketers are using to shape and influence the consumer behaviors (Cornwell, & Isabelle, 1998). With all these justifications, it is no doubt that luxury brand sponsoring activities are perfect tools to improve, and influence customer perspectives on brands.The Impact of Luxury Brand Sponsoring Activity on Customers Brand Perspective Sample Essay
The Rationale of the Study
Although there has been more literature on sponsorship deals, the information has not been concrete on how luxury brand sponsoring activities impact on the customers brand perspectives. Much of the previous studies have narrowly expounded on this aspect, which has left most of the companies unsure about the value of luxury brand sponsorship activities on customer perspective on brands. Notably, Aaker (1991), Meenaghan (1991), Aaker (1996), and Grimaldi (2014) have all concentrated on evaluating the success of brand sponsorship activities, and reasons behind their failures. This has created room and a gap that needs to be addressed to actually realize the value these sponsorship deals have on customer’s perspectives on brands that sponsor these events.
Worryingly, this gap has continued with the current researches. Brooks (2017) focused on “citizen attitudes towards the restriction of alcohol sponsorship in sport”; Radicchi (2014) narrowed on “Sports Sponsorship evolution in the economic recession: analytical evidence from empirical cases”; Tsordia, Papadimitriou, & Parganas, (2018) focused on “The influence of sport sponsorship on brand equity and purchase behavior”; and Akwensivie, Narteh, & Iden (2014) on “The impact of sponsorship activities on consumer-based brand equity behaviors.” Other studies have concentrated on how sponsorship activities improve the firm’s competitiveness. A look at all these recent studies justifies the need to dig deep to understand how the luxury brand sponsorship activities may impact on the customers’ brand perception. The study is as well justifiable as it will add valuable findings on the few studies that have centered on establishing how sponsoring activities may impact the brand image of the sponsor in the hands of the consumers.The Impact of Luxury Brand Sponsoring Activity on Customers Brand Perspective Sample Essay
Aim of the Research
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The sole objective of this research is to succinctly analyze the impact of luxury brand sponsoring activity on customers brand perspective. Luxury brand sponsoring is a heavy, and capital intensive exercise that a company may undertake with the intention of improving its market position (Sephapo, 2017). These activities are primarily undertaken by an organization targeting its primary markets as well as increasing its market share through the acquisition of new customers. The success of this investment, however, needs specific metrics for a company to be sure that the value of money invested will be recouped. Through such support evidence, companies would take any chance to commit to sponsoring activities. In this light, this study intends to assess the extent to which luxury brand sponsoring will influence the customer perception on the brand of the company sponsoring different events. Businesses highly rely on the perception customers hold for their brands as the drive to purchasing the product. The findings of this research will, thus bring out the impact of a company’s engagement in sponsoring activities on a customer’s brand perspective.
Objectives of Study
- To find out the factors in a sponsored event that influence brand recognition.
- To find out the influence of the identified factors in shaping the purchasers’ decisions.
- To determine the extent to which customers would respond to brands involved in luxury brand sponsoring activities.
Literature Review
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Purchasers buying behaviors are shaped by different factors; sponsorship of sporting activities is one of them. In their work, Smith, Graetz, & Westerbeek (2008), demonstrated how purchase decisions are largely shaped by liking a brand that supports the customer’s preferred sport. Smith, Graetz, & Westerbeek (2008) concluded that sponsorship has direct effects on the sales a company would make. This is explained by how sponsoring events help customers relate the products with their favored sporting activities. Sponsored activities largely influence future purchasing decisions as even after completion of sponsorship deals, customers continue to retain the picture of the brand directly involved in sponsoring the events.
The manner in which potential customers are involved in a sponsored event helps determine how their perception of brands is influenced. The difference in which involved fans show the willingness to purchase a product from those not directly involved explains why brand sponsorship can shape a customer perception on a brand (Hansen, & Scotwin, 1995). Fans to a sponsored event remain connected with the engaged brand for a longer time (Hansen, & Scotwin, 1995). These fans will always rank, and show a high preference for the brand anytime they wish to purchase a commodity that fulfills the needs met by the sponsoring brand. The Impact of Luxury Brand Sponsoring Activity on Customers Brand Perspective Sample Essay
Organizations have always shown interest in determining how successful their sponsorship activities will be in influencing the customers purchasing decisions. In their study, Cornwell and Isabelle (1998) were specific in outlining the essence of companies making efforts to ensure they target potential customers who reserve them a friendly reception. When consumers hold a bad attitude towards a sponsor, they would not show any interest in the brand that features in the sponsorship deals (Hansen, & Scotwin, 1995). As such, companies must keenly select the activities to sponsor in close alignment with the attitudes potential consumers hold for them. It is all the same with selecting sporting activities that garner the attention of the target group of customers. Speed and Thompson (2000) challenged organizations that the only way to influence customer brand perspectives through sponsorship programs is by selecting events that are of interest to a large pool of potential customers. Different organizations have failed due to the wrong choice of sponsorship events that have proved to be of no interest to targeted consumers.
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Owing to the high capital investment, firms are so much concerned about the value the sponsorship deals bring to the firm. The value a firm derives from sponsorship activities manifests itself from improvement in brand loyalty from customers, referral and repeat purchases (Abratt et al, 1987). As such, it is increasingly important that firms tailor their sponsorship activities in a way that draws the interest of potential consumers.The Impact of Luxury Brand Sponsoring Activity on Customers Brand Perspective Sample Essay
Existing literature has also put a lot of emphasis on companies to seek a perfect match between their products, and the events they are about to sponsor. Consumers are more influenced if they can relate the product to what it does to the parties and activities involved in the sponsored events (Becker-Olsen, & Simmons, 2002). Such calls for a perfect match between the company sponsoring the event, and the event sponsored. This helps create positive emotions towards the product, which is a key aspect in consumer’s perspective on the brand.
Research Methodology
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The research methodology will be descriptive in nature. The researcher goes by this approach as more detailed explanations will be required to keenly understand how luxury brand sponsorship affects the customers’ perspective on the brand (Creswell, 2013). Since more of the responses are based on psychological emotions that would drive a customer to either like or dislike the product, descriptive research is the best option. Getting to understand how the sponsorship of activities influences the customer’s perspective on a brand remains the core of this research.
The data will be collected using open and close-ended questionnaires. Well-structured questionnaires have over time proved as one of the best data collection methods. These questionnaires will be administered at the most convenient time for comprehensive responses. The respondents will be 200, selected randomly during any sponsored event, and offered the questionnaires to fill at their own convenient time. The questionnaires will be collected at the end of the specified date. The respondents will be of any gender, but their age must be above 20 years. The age is considered the best since, at this age, fans of different sporting activities can make their own purchasing decisions.
The researcher will take into consideration different ethical issues. The researcher will seek informed consent from the respondents before the questionnaire is administered (Jenn, 2006). This will be beneficial to the findings as they will likely be truthful and reliable. As some of the respondents are expected to be employees of various firms engaged in sponsorship deals, the research findings will only be used to achieve the objectives of this research, and will not be maliciously used at the expense of these companies in any way. The researcher commits to keep it confidential, and commit to privacy and anonymity terms in ensuring that no sensitive information is leaked to third parties who may use it at the expense of others (Qamar, 2018). The research upholds in high rank the need to remain within the ethical considerations as this will boost the outcomes of the study.
References
Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity: Capitalizing on the value of a brand name. New York: Free Press.
Aaker, D. A. (1996). Measuring brand equity across products and markets. California Management Review, 38(3), 102-120. https://doi.org/10.2307/41165845
Abratt, R., et al. (1987): Corporate Objectives in Sports Sponsorship, in: International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 6, pp. 299-311
Akwensivie, D. M., Narteh, B., & Iden, W. K. (2014). The impact of sponsorship activities on consumer based brand equity behaviors: Evidence from the mobile telecommunication industry in Ghana. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(10), 107-120.
Becker-Olsen, K., & Carolyn, J. S. (2002). When Do Social Sponsorships Enhance or Dilute Equity? Fit, Mes- sage Source, and the Persistence of Effects. Consumer Research, 29, 287-288.
Brooks, L. (2017). Citizen attitudes towards the restriction of alcohol sponsorship in sport (Doctoral dissertation, Auckland University of Technology).
Cornwell, & Isabelle, M. (1998). An International Review of Sponsorship Research. Journal of Advertising, 27(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.1998.10673539
Grimaldi, M. (2014). The effect of sport sponsorship on brand awareness, corporate image and brand association (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin Business School).
Hansen, F., & Scotwin, L. (1995). An Experimental Enquiry into Sponsoring: What Effects can be Measured? Marketing and Research Today, 173-181
Jenn, N. C. (2006). Common ethical issues in research and publication. Malaysian family physician: the official journal of the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia, 1(2-3), 74.
Meenaghan, T. (1991). The Role of Sponsorship in the marketing Communication mix. International Journal of Adverstising, 10(1), 35-47.
Meenaghan, T. (2001). Understanding sponsorship effects. Psychology & Marketing, 18(2), 95-122.
Qamar, B. K. (2018). Research ethics. Pakistan Armed Forces Medical Journal, 68(6), 1503-54.
Radicchi, E. (2014). Sports Sponsorship evolution in the economic recession: analytical evidence from empirical cases. Physical culture and sport. Studies and research, 61(1), 51-64.
Sephapo, C. M. (2017). Sponsorship investments: do they deliver brand awareness for all sponsors?. Management & Marketing, 12(1), 103-123.
Smith, A., Graetz, B., & Westerbeek. H. (2008). Sports sponsorship, team support and purchase intentions. Journal of SportsMarketing Communications, 14(5), 387-404. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527260701852557
Speed, R., & Thompson P., (2000). Determinants of Sports Sponsorship Response. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(2), 226-238. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070300282004
Tsordia, C., Papadimitriou, D., & Parganas, P. (2018). The influence of sport sponsorship on brand equity and purchase behavior. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 26(1), 85-105.
The Impact of Luxury Brand Sponsoring Activity on Customers Brand Perspective Sample Essay
