Building contemporary brands: a sponsorship-based strategy

Sponsorship offers unique opportunities for operationalizing brand strategy. Yet, despite the increasing volume of sponsorship research, marketing researchers are only just beginning to understand its full range of effects (Meenaghan, T., 2001a). Increasingly, in service-based economies, consumer experience is playing a greater role in molding brand perceptions (Berry, L., 2000). Sponsorship offers another avenue for marketers to create and deliver value-added customer experiences. A qualitative case study of a strongly branded New Zealand service provider was conducted to examine the role of sponsorship in brand strategy. The findings indicated that sponsorship can be used as a central driver of brand strategy to create an extended experience for customers and to add value to the brand through leveraging functional and nonfunctional brand values. The authors conceptualize how sponsorship can aid brand strategy for varying brand objectives.