Sponsorship

American Express was one of the first companies that recognized the positive effects

■ Event sponsorship

■ Cause-related sponsorship

■ Broadcast sponsorship

After reading this chapter you will be able to:

■ Appreciate the nature of sponsorship and its role in the integrated

marketing communications mix

■ Understand why sponsorship plays an increasingly important role in the

IMC mix

■ Recognize the various types, target groups, and objectives of sponsorship

■ Understand how to select and manage a sponsorship event and/or cause

■ Assess how sponsorship works and how its effectiveness can be assessed

increased by 45 per cent and card usage by 28 per cent. In April 2001 American Express

created the Community Business Programme to help business owners gain access to the

resources they need to start or grow. Together with the Association for Enterprise

Opportunity and Count-me-in for Women’s Economic Independence, American Express

helps an underserved group of small businesses and entrepreneurs. The company

launched the Community Business Card, a credit card for small business owners, which

allocates 1 per cent of all cardholder spending to one of the micro-enterprise develop-

ment partners. American Express uses this money for entrepreneurs in need of small

loans and training. The company has already received recognition from consumers

and other stakeholders. As such, the cause-related sponsorship campaigns reinforce

American Express’s reputation and future business potential.