ABSTRACT
For many companies, it is major international sporting events in particular, for example the Olympics or the Football World Cup and European Championships that constitute the ideal platform for the integration of their target group-specific communications into an attractive sports environment. Sports event organisers therefore sell exclusive marketing rights for their events to sponsors. In return, official sponsors acquire exclusive options to utilise the event for their own advertising purposes. Ambush marketing, on the other hand, is the method used by companies that do not actually hold legal marketing rights to an event, but still use their marketing communications activities to create the impression of an association with this event to their audience.
