ABSTRACT
Historically, sponsorship contracts have focused on the brand over the property, but more and more properties are seeking commitment to activation at events, in traditional marketing, and in new media, from brands to help build their offering as well. Through field surveys and experimental work, we have learned that the previous sponsor may be spontaneously recovered from memory even after a new sponsor has held the sponsorship for years. The spontaneous recovery phenomenon also suggests that sponsorship managers should not simply rebadge existing activation strategies with their corporate colors and logo. In an early longitudinal study of sponsorship management, the development of brand equity was linked to active management involvement. In this study, the researchers developed a management index consisting of points for: an established corporate policy, formalized sponsorship evaluation method, active over passive evaluation methods, sponsor-initiated over sponsee-initiated relationships, and extent of the sponsorship portfolio. The first studies to examine the ending of sponsorship relationships were conducted in Finland.
