AUTHOR
Lantto, Anna; Wehlén, Mathilde

DATE
2003-02-18

DEPARTMENT
Business Administration and Social Sciences / Industrial marketing and e-commerce

SUMMARY
The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how and why firms in the brewing industry sponsor sports events. The thesis attempts to describe, explore and starts to explain the different objectives that brewing companies have with their brands’ sports sponsorship, the selection of what sports the brands should sponsor, the evaluation methods connected to the brewing brands’ sports sponsorship involvement, as well as the perceived advantages and disadvantages of sports sponsorship. To be able to reach the purpose of this thesis, qualitative case studies on two Swedish corporate brands and two Finnish product brands have been conducted, namely, Åbro and Herrljunga Cider, as well as Lapin Kulta and KOFF. The study shows that the most common objectives for brewing brands sponsoring sports are to build and support a positive brand image, position the brand, create or increase the visibility of the brand, as well as reach a specific target market. Moreover, results show that the possible image association potential is the most significant sports selection criterion, and that the evaluation of sports sponsorship is perceived as difficult and primarily conducted through media coverage measurements. Finally, the research reveals that the advantages of sports sponsorship are several, whereas only one major disadvantage, the risk for badwill, is perceived.

ISSN 1404-5508 / ISRN LTU-SHU-EX--03/037--SE / NR 2003:037