ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to sports sponsorship, a marketing tool which has seen rapid growth in recent years. In this chapter, I argue that one of sponsorship’s main strengths has been its ability to provide a platform upon which to integrate marketing communications. In addition, sponsorship provides sponsors with targeted audiences, increased credibility over advertising, and a format resistant to advertising avoidance. To distinguish sponsorship from advertising, I conceive of sports sponsorship as a gift economy, although the gift is not always welcome by consumers. Lastly, I introduce the sponsorship funnel, a marketing funnel adapted to sponsorship, which provides a framework for analysis sponsorship effectiveness.
