Sport Commercialism and its Impact on Sponsorship Strategy

Abstract

Sport commercialism has increased tremendously over the past twenty years. Major sporting events and organizations are at the point where most cannot survive without outside sponsor-ship revenue. This study on American attitudes towards sport sponsorships analyzes the increased sport commercialism's impact on sport fans. Previous studies on sport sponsorship and commercialism showed that increased sport commercial-ism leads to a negative purchase intent although a younger fan may be resistant to the negative influence of over-commercial-ism. This study builds upon such research by comparing gen-der, age, type of sport (professional versus amateur) and fan-avidity. Perhaps paradoxically, this research suggests there is no correlation between over-commercialism and sport interest across numerous demographic categories. This data of corpo-rate influence on sport commercialism may provide insights for sport sponsors as they best position their brands to the sport avid consumer.