Perceptions of the effectiveness of corporate sponsorship of the performing arts in South Africa
Date
2011-03-22
Authors
Berning, Paul H.
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Abstract
The Purpose of this research was to identify aspects of alignment between
Absa, a sponsor of theatre in South Africa, and Packed House Productions, the
producer and rights holder of theatre products sponsored by Absa, in terms of
criteria that were identified as possible requirements for sponsorship
effectiveness, and to measure the impact of sponsorship on consumer
perceptions in terms of those criteria.
During the course of the research four main criteria arose as strong common
themes in the literature and were established as requirements to be met to
ensure sponsorship effectiveness, they being: sponsorship objectives,
communication presence, leveraging the opportunity and return on investment.
A mixed method approach was utilised: Qualitative interviews were directed
towards determining aspects of alignment between Absa and Packed House
Productions with the criteria, and a quantitative survey using a questionnaire
with answers based on a seven point Likert scale was directed towards
determining the impact of sponsorship on the theatre consumer.
The study concluded that Absa and Packed House Productions are almost
completely aligned in their recognition of the importance of the criteria required
for effective sponsorship. Two of the criteria were being met in full: sponsorship
objectives and communication presence, it was found, however, that Absa did
not leverage the sponsorship opportunity and that no effective tools were shown
to be used to adequately determine return on investment. The third and fourth
criteria were therefore not being met.
The study revealed that the impact of sponsorship on the theatre consumer has
been largely successful in terms of increased brand awareness and the
generation of goodwill in the mind of the consumer towards Absa as an
organisation. It was recommended that a greater focus on leveraging the
sponsorship opportunity and the establishment of appropriate tools to measure
sponsorship return on investment could increase sponsorship effectiveness.
Description
MBA - WBS
Keywords
Corporate sponsorship, Performing arts