The most common method of activation used by the sponsoring firms in the different events was its display of their company’s logos. There were also electronic advertisements placed on the scoreboards to enable the entire audience to see the companies when they look at the scores of games when ongoing. The strategic activation was to ensure that the audience got a glimpse of the sponsoring firms, and the companies achieved their goals of targeting their intended clients. The college football game had Nike allowing the players to use their attires in the game as an activation strategy that marketed their products.
The significant and notable differences in the games were the number of sponsorships. The USC college football and the basketball games of Pistons versus Nets only had two sponsors. This was probably due to the smaller audience it attracted and the possibility of the costs being low. Unlike the two games, the 2018 world cup and the Formula 1 Grand Prix race had numerous sponsors who partnered up with the sporting organizations. According to ( Dietl, Özdemir, & Schweizer, 2017), expensive events would require many firms to sponsor the game. World cup had the most massive audience and would have required a lot of funds to sponsor the event. Similarly, the formula 1 racing is often costly due to the cars used and the modifications of the racing tracks. It would have, therefore, been costly thereby requiring a lot of sponsoring firms to support the event.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Another notable similarity in almost all of the games was the players’ attires which were from Nike. The balls used in basketball and the world cup were from Adidas. In other words, Nike and Adidas had their presence in more than one game. However, Nike’s activation in the USC football game was more evident than in other games. This is because the attires on by the players were more apparent through the up-close camera shots. The different activation depended on the game. The USC football game had a larger audience where the stadium was packed full of fans. It was, therefore, crucial to make their sponsorship and presence known in the game. On the other hand, the basketball game of Pistons versus Nets had a smaller audience inside a closed court. Nike has also been known to sponsor basketball events from using the legendary basketballers in their logos. The activation was, therefore, not transparent and pronounced when compared to the college football game between USC and Colorado.
The companies sponsored the games due to their close affiliations with sports. For instance, Nike produces attires worn by athletes, while Mercedes AMG manufactures racing cars. This means that sponsoring firms partner up with sporting organizations to promote their products and services to the specific target market ( Slåtten, Svensson, Connolley, & Bexrud, 2017). According to Abril, Sanchez, and Recio (2018), firms partner up to sponsor games as a strategic plan to attract both potential clients and investors. Their sponsorships are a strong indication that they are financially stable to support large events. Investors will, in turn, want to invest in the firms and clients would want to use their products. Finally, firms sponsor huge events as part of their corporate social responsibility. Companies have a corporate social responsibility to the community and other stakeholders ( Slåtten, Svensson, Connolley, & Bexrud, 2017) . Sponsoring events is a way of creating entertainment for people and partnering up with sporting organizations is an indication that they are trusting and willing to get involved with the community.
References
Abril, C., Sanchez, J., & Recio, T. (2018). How Does Wall Street React To Global Sports Sponsorship Announcements?: An Analysis of the Effect On Sponsoring Companies' Stock Market Prices. Journal of Advertising Research , 58 (3), 297-310.
Dietl, H. M., Özdemir, A., & Schweizer, N. (2017). Outsourcing sports sponsorship activities: a multi-theoretical approach. Sport, Business, and Management: An International Journal .
Slåtten, T., Svensson, G., Connolley, S., & Bexrud, C. (2017). The sponsorship motive matrix (SMM): A framework for categorizing firms' motives for sponsoring sports events. European Journal of Tourism Research , 15 , 143.
