Event Sponsorship and Brand Loyalty: Mediating Role of Attitude Toward Sponsored Events and Sponsoring Brand
Main Article Content
Abstract
This research is to investigate the impact of event sponsorship on consumers’ brand loyalty through attitudes toward sponsoring brand and sponsored event. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was conducted to test hypotheses with the survey data of 282 Vietnamese youth who have ever watched and followed the Rap Viet 2020 event. The findings indicated that congruity between event image and sponsoring brand image, self-congruity with sponsoring brand image, and attitude towards sponsored event had a significant positive effect on attitude towards sponsoring brand. Attitude towards sponsoring brand, self-congruity with sponsoring brand image, and self-congruity with event image had a significant positive effect on brand loyalty. Congruity between event image and sponsoring brand image, self-congruity with sponsoring brand image, and self-congruity with event image had a significant positive effect on sponsored event attitude. The congruity between event image and sponsoring brand image, self-congruity with sponsoring brand image influence sponsoring brand loyalty by mediating the effects of event attitude and sponsoring brand attitude. Self-congruity with event image influenced sponsoring brand loyalty by mediating event attitude and sponsoring brand attitude. Based on the research’s empirical analysis, some implications were proposed to help sponsor and sponsee managers on how to improve the effectiveness of sponsorship activities.
Keywords:
Brand loyalty, attitude towards sponsoring brand, attitude towards sponsored event, congruity between event image and sponsoring brand image.
References
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[2] Meenaghan, J.A., “Commercial sponsorship,” European Journal of Marketing, 17 (7) (1983) 5-73.
[3] Hastings, G.B., “Sponsorship works differently from advertising,” International Journal of Advertising, 3 (2) (1984) 171-176.
[4] Zafer Erdogan, B. and P.J. Kitchen, “Managerial mindsets and the symbiotic relationship between sponsorship and advertising,” Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 16 (6) (1998) 369-374.
[5] Mihalik, B.J., “Sponsored recreation,” Public Relations Journal, 40 (6) (1984) 22-25.
[6] Mohd Sah, N.F., et al., “Event sponsorship factors towards purchasing intention,” Journal of International Business, Economics and Entrepreneurship, 5 (2) (2020) 73-79.
[7] Sirgy, M.J., et al., “Effect of self-congruity with sponsorship on brand loyalty,” Journal of Business Research, 61 (10) (2008) 1091-1097.
[8] Gwinner, K.P., B.V. Larson, and S.R. Swanson, “Image transfer in corporate event sponsorship: Assessing the impact of team identification and event-sponsor fit,” International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 2 (1) (2009) 1-15.
[9] Lardinoit, T. and C. Derbaix, “Sponsorship and recall of sponsors,” Psychology and Marketing, 18 (2) (2001) 167-190.
[10] Aaker, D.A., Managing Brand Equity: Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand Name, Simon and Schuster Press, New York, USA, 1991
[11] Cornwell, T.B., “Less “sponsorship as advertising” and more sponsorship-linked marketing as authentic engagement,” Journal of Advertising, 48 (1) (2019) 49-60.
[12] Cornwell, T.B., D.P. Roy, and D.P. Roy, “Exploring managers' perceptions of the impact of sponsorship on brand equity,” Journal of Advertising, 30 (2) (2001) 41-51.
[13] Hsiao, C.H., K.Y. Tang, and Y.S. Su, “An Empirical Exploration of Sports Sponsorship: Activation of Experiential Marketing, Sponsorship Satisfaction, Brand Equity, and Purchase Intention,” Frontiers in Psychology, 12 (2021) 1-13.
[14] Pan, P.L. and J. Phua, “Connecting sponsor brands through sports competitions: an identity approach to brand trust and brand loyalty,” Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal, 11 (2) (2020) 164-184.
[15] Shin, H., H. Lee, and R.R. Perdue, “The congruity effects of commercial brand sponsorship in a regional event,” Tourism Management, 67 (2018) 168-179.
[16] Boronczyk, F. and C. Breuer, “The company you keep: Brand image transfer in concurrent event sponsorship,” Journal of Business Research, 124 (2019) 739-747.
[17] Jagre, E., J.J. Watson, and J.G. Watson, “Sponsorship and congruity theory: A theoretical framework for explaining consumer attitude and recall of event sponsorship,” in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 28, eds. Mary C. Gilly and Joan Meyers-Levy, Valdosta, 2001, GA: Association for Consumer Research. p. 439-445.
[18] Solomon, M.R., et al., Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10), Engelwood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, New York, 2014.
[19] Osgood, C.E. and P.H. Tannenbaum, “The principle of congruity in the prediction of attitude change,” Psychological Review, 62 (1) (1955) 42.
[20] Rokeach, M. and G. Rothman, “The principle of belief congruence and the congruity principle as models of cognitive interaction,” Psychological Review, 72 (2) (1965) 128-142.
[21] annenbaum, P.H., “The congruity principle revisited: Studies in the reduction, induction, and generalization of persuasion,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology Volume 3. 1967, Elsevier. p. 271-320.
[22] Cornwell, T.B. and I. Maignan, “An international review of sponsorship research,” Journal of Advertising, 27 (1) (1998) 1-21.
[23] Fleck, N.D. and P. Quester, “Birds of a feather flock together… definition, role and measure of congruence: An application to sponsorship,” Psychology & Marketing, 24 (11) (2007) 975-1000.
[24] Chen, K.K. and J.J. Zhang, “Examining consumer attributes associated with collegiate athletic facility naming rights sponsorship: Development of a theoretical framework,” Sport Management Review, 14 (2) (2001) 103-116.
[25] Ajzen, I., “The theory of planned behavior,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50 (2) (1991) 179-211.
[26] Ajzen, I., “Nature and operation of attitudes,” Annual Review of Psychology, 52 (1) (2001) 27-58.
[27] Eagly, A.H. and S. Chaiken, The Psychology of Attitudes, Harcourt brace Jovanovich College, USA, 1993.
[28] Albarracin, D., B.T. Johnson, and M.P. Zanna, The Handbook of Attitudes, Psychology Press, New York, 2014.
[29] Fishbein, M. and I. Ajzen, Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research, Addison-Wesley, New York, 1975.
[30] Keller, K.L., “Brand synthesis: The multidimensionality of brand knowledge,” Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (4) (2003) 595-600.
[31] Meenaghan, T., “Understanding sponsorship effects,” Psychology & Marketing, 18 (2) (2001) 95-122.
[32] Papadimitriou, D., K.K. Kaplanidou, and N. Papacharalampous, “Sport event-sponsor fit and its effects on sponsor purchase intentions: A non-consumer perspective among athletes, volunteers and spectators,” Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 32 (2) (2016) 247-259.
[33] Akhoondnejad, A., “Tourist loyalty to a local cultural event: The case of Turkmen handicrafts festival,” Tourism Management, 52 (2016) 468-477.
[34] Tsiotsou, R. and K. Alexandris, “Delineating the outcomes of sponsorship: sponsor image, word of mouth, and purchase intentions,” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 37 (4) (2009) 358-369.
[35] Gwinner, K. and G. Bennett, “The impact of brand cohesiveness and sport identification on brand fit in a sponsorship context,” Journal of Sport Management, 22 (4) (2008) 410-426.
[36] Hutabarat, P. and G. Gayatri, “The Influence of Sponsor-event Congruence in Sponsorship of Music Festival,” The South East Asian Journal of Management, 8 (1) (2014) 47-64.
[37] Kim, J.J. and I. Kim, “Entrepreneurial marketing and airline-cause sponsorship congruence: Passenger sponsorship response to US-based full-service airlines,” Sustainability, 10 (7) (2018) 2359-2378.
[38] Kressmann, F., et al., “Direct and indirect effects of self-image congruence on brand loyalty,” Journal of Business Research, 59 (9) (2006) 955-964.
[39] Gwinner, K., “A model of image creation and image transfer in event sponsorship,” International Marketing Review, 14 (3) (1997) 145-158.
[40] Gwinner, K.P. and J. Eaton, “Building brand image through event sponsorship: The role of image transfer,” Journal of Advertising, 28 (4) (1999) 47-57.
[41] Martensen, A., et al., “Application of a model for the effectiveness of event marketing,” Journal of Advertising Research, 47 (3) (2007) 283.
[42] Anderson, J.R., “A spreading activation theory of memory,” Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 22 (3) (1983) 261-295.
[43] McLean, G., et al., “How live chat assistants drive travel consumers’ attitudes, trust and purchase intentions: The role of human touch,” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32 (5) (2020) 1795-1812.
[44] Smith, G., “Brand image transfer through sponsorship: A consumer learning perspective,” Journal of Marketing Management, 20 (3-4) (2004) 457-474.
[45] Sirgy, M.J., “Using self-congruity and ideal congruity to predict purchase motivation,” Journal of Business Research, 13 (3) (1985) 195-206.
[46] Rifon, N.J., et al., “Congruence effects in sponsorship: The mediating role of sponsor credibility and consumer attributions of sponsor motive,” Journal of Advertising, 33 (1) (2004) 30-42.
[47] Ogba, I.E. and Z. Tan, “Exploring the impact of brand image on customer loyalty and commitment in China,” Journal of Technology Management in China, 2 (4) (2009) 132-144.
[48] Mazodier, M. and D. Merunka, “Achieving brand loyalty through sponsorship: The role of fit and self-congruity,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 40 (6) (2012) 807-820.
[49] Woisetschläger, D.M. and M. Michaelis, “Sponsorship congruence and brand image: A pre-post event analysis,” European Journal of Marketing, 46 (3/4) (2012) 509-523.
[50] Bruner, G., P. Hensel, and K. James, Marketing scales handbook, Volume IV: Consumer behavior (marketing scales series). GCBII Productions: Carbondale, IL, 2005.
[51] Anderson, J.C. and D.W. Gerbing, “Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach,” Psychological Bulletin, 103 (3) (1998) 411-423.
[52] Baron, R.M. and D.A. Kenny, “The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51 (6) (1986) 1173.