What should sponsors look out for? : a study on brand equity, message strategy and product benefits on brand attitude.

• Main Authors: Tan, Angelyn Jia Li., He, Aizhen., Low, Daphne Lin Li.
• Other Authors: Lam Shun Yin
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51300
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Sponsorships have become increasingly important and prevalent in the field of marketing. Studies have generally focused on the level of fit between sponsors and events/causes and have largely concluded that congruent sponsorships result in favourable outcomes. However, this view may defeat the fundamental purpose of marketing and brand development, as most sponsorships may not naturally be congruent. In this study, the effects of the message type on the relationship between brand equity and attitude are measured. Transformational and informational message strategies were used in sponsorship advertisements of two sponsors, one of higher brand equity than the other. In addition, this study will also find out if the level of brand equity will influence the relationship between the sponsored product benefits and brand attitude. The findings of the report shows that brand equity is highly influential in affecting attitudes towards brands, regardless of benefits brought about by sponsored products. In addition, an informational message strategy resulted in a more positive improvement in brand attitude change as compared to transformational message strategy. Hence, it is imperative that marketing managers take these findings into consideration when making sponsorship decisions and implementation.