In Depth
Consumer Study: As Economy Shrinks, So Does Sponsorship Halo
Decline In Positive Feelings About Sponsorship
: A national consumer survey conducted by Performance Research yields a host of insights for sponsors and properties struggling to determine the appropriate actions to take in the current economic environment.
Perhaps most salient is the finding that much of the goodwill generated by sponsorships has evaporated as the global financial crisis has deepened.
While this diminished halo effect is strongest for companies in the most troubled industries, it also exists for stable companies, and extends to sponsorship of causes and community events, as well as sports.
For example, when survey respondents were given a list of sponsorship examples and asked to describe their feelings about the association between marketer and property a year ago and today, the percentage who said they felt positively declined significantly during that time span in every single case (see table).
While a sharp decline may have been predictable for examples such as Wachovia and its title of a PGA Tour event or AIG’s relationship with Manchester United, the fact that only 43 percent of the public feels positively about Campbell Soup’s sponsorship of the American Heart Assn.–compared to 56 percent a year ago–indicates the widespread impact of consumers’ overall negative feelings about corporations in the wake of the economic collapse.
Indeed, 69 percent of respondents said they had a lower opinion of U.S. companies than they did a year ago.
The upshot for sponsors and their property partners appears to be a need to redouble their efforts to educate consumers about the benefits of sponsorship through relevant activation platforms and effective communications.
While savvy practitioners have never assumed goodwill would automatically accrue without such proactive initiatives, additional work may be required to overcome the hurdle of consumer inclination to judge corporate actions negatively, at least for the near term.
The survey did not paint a completely bleak picture of consumer response to sponsorship. In contrast to respondents’ feelings about specific deals, they were generally in favor of healthy companies continuing to sponsor at the same or higher levels.
Seventy-seven percent said they would like to see stable and profitable companies spend the same or more on sponsorship of their favorite sports, while 79 percent would like to see the same or more spent on their favorite arts or cultural property and 84 percent would like to see steady or increased spending on their favorite cause (see Chart 1).
NASCAR Fans Live Up To Reputation, Cause Participants, Art Museum Attendees And Classical Music Buffs Not Far Behind
Conventional wisdom says stock car racing fans have nothing in common with art museum and symphony aficionados, but those groups–along with those who participate in cause fundraising events–share a more positive attitude to sponsors than consumers who have other favorite activities.
For example, 85 percent of NASCAR fans said they were somewhat or very interested in knowing who the sponsors of the sport were, 82 percent of cause participants said the same for their favorite activity, 75 percent of those who love going to art museums felt similarly, and 69 percent of classical music fans agreed, compared to the overall survey average of 62 percent (see Chart 2).
Followers of other sports scored lower than the survey average, with MLB fans bringing up the rear with just 53 percent somewhat or very interested in knowing the sport’s sponsors.
Classical music fans consistently demonstrated interest in sponsorship. Forty percent said stable and profitable companies should spend more on classical music sponsorships, the highest response of any group in the survey.
The same percentage said they would raise their opinion of corporate America if it spent more on classical music–double the average for overall arts and cultural followers (see Chart 3).
The 40 percent figure was a close second to cause event participants, 41 percent of whom said increased sponsorship of their favorite cause would raise their opinion.
Only 22 percent of NASCAR fans said greater dollars going to their favorite sport would make them think more highly of corporations. The survey average was 13 percent across all respondents.
Performance Research conducted the study among a national random sample of consumers age 18 to 65 the week of February 22. A total of 1,005 respondents were included; the margin of error for this sample is no more than plus or minus three percent.
Additional information from the survey is available at
www.PerformanceResearch.com.
Sources
Performance Research, Tel: 401/848-0111