UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS

MASTER’S THESIS

EFFECT OF ATHLETE SPONSORSHIP ON BRAND EQUITY:

A CASE OF SLOVENIA

Ljubljana, January 2018 ANJA PUC

AUTHORSHIP STATEMENT
The undersigned Anja Puc, a student at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics, (hereafter: FELU), author
of this written final work of studies with the title Effect of Athlete Sponsorship on Brand Equity: a Case of Athlete
Sponsorship in Slovenia, prepared under supervision of Gregor Pfajfar, PhD,

DECLARE

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………..……………...…………………………1

1 BRANDING………………….……………….……...………...…...…………………………..2
1.1 Overview and History…………………...……...……..…..……………………………….2
1.2 Brand Definition……...………...……………...…………………………………………..3
1.3 Brand Personality and Consumer’s Self- Concept Connection with the Brand....….……..5
1.4 Brand Equity.………...………………………………………………………...…………..5
1.4.1 Constitutes of Brand Equity……..…………………………………….…...…...…….5
1.4.2 Brand Awareness...………………………………………………………...………….7
1.4.3 Brand Image…..………………………………………………….…...…...………….8
1.5 Brands and Business Performance……...………………………………………...………..8
1.5.1 Effect of Brands on Business Performance……...…………………………...…….....8
1.5.2 From Brand Awareness to Financial Value..………………………………...…….....9
1.5.3 How to Build a Strong Brand Equity……....………………………………...……...10
1.6 Why to Connect Brand with an Athlete…....……………………………………...……...11
1.7 Athlete’s Role Applied to Consumer Funnel and Consumer Model..……………...…….12

2 ATHLETE SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING………………...….…...……………..14

2.1 Presence of Athlete Sponsorship in Advertising…..…..………..…..……..…….……..…14
2.2 Athlete sponsorship……………..……………………………..…..………..…….………15
2.2.1 Definition…………………………………………………………………………….15
2.2.2 Building Brand Through Sponsorship……..……………………………...…………16
2.2.3 Sponsorship Activation……...….…………………………………………...………17
2.3 Sponsored Athlete…………………...……………..……..…………………….…..….…18
2.3.1 Checkpoints for Selecting Sponsored Athlete…………..…………………………...18
2.3.2 Authenticity…………………………..…………………………………….…..……19
2.3.3 Audience……………..………….………………………………………….…..……20
2.3.4 Gender...……………..………….………………………………………….…..……20
2.4 Social Media Effect on Athlete Sponsorship....…………..……………………...…….…21
2.5 Risk Management Techniques in Athlete Sponsorship…......…………………...…….…22

3 EVALUATION OF ATHLETE SPONSORSHIP……....….…...…...……………………..24

3.1 Chalenges of Athlete Sponsorship Evaluation…….…..………………...………………..24
3.2 Halo Effect in Sponsorship……..………………..….....………………...……………….25
3.3 Steps for Successful and Effective Sponsorship……....………………..………………...25
3.4 Measuring Sponsorship Effect…….………………..…..…………………….…………..27

4 EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS……………...…………….….…...…...………………………….29
4.1 Description of the Problem……...………………..…....……….……………...…………29
4.2 Purpuse of the Study...…...……...………………..…....……….……………...…………29
4.3 Hypothesis Development……...………………………………………………………….30
4.4 Methodology………….……………………………………………………….………….32
4.4.1 Used Methods………….....…………..…………..………………………………….32
4.4.2 Interviews………………...…………..…………..………………………………….32
4.4.3 Survey………………….………..………………...…………………………………32
4.5 Limitations, Validity and Reliability……....……..…....…………………………………33

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5 RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS…....…………….….…...…...………………………….34
5.1 Interviews Results......…...…..…....………………………………………………………34
5.1.1 Main Findings…………….…………..…………..………………………………….34
5.1.2 Other Findings...………….…………..…………..………………………………….35
5.2 Survey Results......…….……..…....………………………………………………………35
5.2.1 General Statistics (Age, Gender, Education, etc.)….…….………………………….35
5.2.2 General Perception about the Sponsorship…...…..………………………………….36
5.2.3 Survey Results: Athlete without a Sponsor….…...………………………………….38
5.2.4 Survey Results: Athlete with a Sponsor …………….…………..………….……….38
5.3 Hypothesis Analyses.....……..…....………………………………………………………40
5.3.1 Hypothesis 1……...…………..…………..………………………………………….40
5.3.2 Hypothesis 2…………...………..………………...…………………………………42
5.3.3 Hypothesis 3…………...………..………………...…………………………………43
5.3.4 Hypothesis 4…………...………..………………...…………………………………44
5.3.5 Hypothesis 5…………...………..………………...…………………………………46
5.4 Implications for Managers…..…....………………………………………………………47
5.3 Implications for Further Research...………………………………………………………49

CONCLUSION…………………………...…………….….…...…...………………………….50

POVZETEK….…………………………...…………….….…...…...………………………….53

REFERENCE LIST…………………...…………….….…...…...……………………………..57

APPENDIXES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Top Brands in 1923, 1997 and 2015…...……………..………...……………………....10

Table 2. Opinions of Athletes About the Sponsorship…….……………………...………....…..38
Table 3. One Sample Statistics (Hypothesis 1)…….......….…...……………..….……………....41
Table 4. One-Sample Test (Hypothesis 1)………..…………...…………………………...….....41
Table 5. Descriptive Statistics (Hypothesis 2)……………………………………………..…….42
Table 6. Ranks (Hypothesis 2)………………………………...…………………………....……43
Table 7. Test statistics (Hypothesis 2)………………………..….………………………....……43
Table 8. Correlations (Hypothesis 3)…………………………...………………………...….…..44
Table 9. Descriptive Statistics (Hypothesis 4)…………………...……………..………..…..…..45
Table 10. Kruskal-Wallis Test (Hypothesis 4)………………..…...………………..…...….…...45
Table 11. Test statistics (Hypothesis 4)…………………………...……………………...….…..46
Table 12. Correlations (Hypothesis 5)……………………………...……………………...….…47

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Aaker's Brand Equity Model……………………………...…………………………….7

Figure 2. Keller’s Brand Equity Model……………………………...………………………....…7
Figure 3. How Brand Affects Business Performance……….………...……..………………...….8
Figure 4. From Awareness to Financial Value……….………………...……………………...….9
Figure 5. The Purchase Funnel & the Consumer Decision Journey………....…………………..13
Figure 6. Sponsorship as a Brand Builder……..…………………………...……………………16
Figure 7. Seven Keys to Effective Sponsorship………….………………...……………………26
Figure 8: Survey Answers: Effect of Athlete Sponsorship on the Constitutes of Brand Equity...37
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Figure 9: Survey Answers on How Much Respondents Agree with Asked Statements…...…....40

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INTRODUCTION
I believe I was inspired to write a master thesis with the topic of issues of athlete sponsorship in
Slovenia and how can athlete actually contribute to the company already long time ago. In my
teenage years and early 20s I was a successful athlete, a runner. I am coming from middle class
family, so my parents quickly realized they will not be able to give me sufficient amount of money
I would need for all the training camps, sports equipment, etc. Consequently, they tried to find
another source of money that would cover for all the expenses my sport endeavor devoted and
were lucky enough to quickly find the right company. I could continue following chasing my
running dreams and got a certain amount of money every month. In my teenage mindset, it seemed
quite impossible that this was really happening to me. It was so easy, monthly support seemed like
a “free money”. All I had to do in return for all the money was to sew the patch with firm’s logo
and name on the club’s track suit and competition uniform. However, at the time I was young
enough not to understand that I had a donorship, not a sponsorship contract signed. This explains
no obligations I had in return for the money I received monthly.

Anyways, as I am still staying in the sport spheres today and most of my friends are, anyhow,
connected with sport being either professional athletes, successful personal trainers or amateur
athletes, I realized that athlete sponsorship in Slovenia is too many times not being managed
properly. Not only that it is not being managed properly, the public opinion and general perception
about it is already wrong. If an athlete is trying to find a sponsor for his or her sport endeavor, he
or she too many times run into a closed door. Companies support their behaviour with stating they
did not have additional source of money for sponsoring an athlete and are barely supporting
themselves. The other very much possible scenario is that the company signs a contract with the
athlete but this is where it all ends. Athlete receives money, has no or few obligations in return and
the link between the two parties is pretty much concluded.

The current situation in Slovenia is not prosperous; if properly managed, sports sponsorship is
absolutely a win-win strategy. Sport is expensive activity and a full-time job, and with sponsorship,
athlete can continue with his or her sporting activities. Additionally, companies, can on the other
hand gain even more. It doesn’t matter if the talk is about the big company supporting a national
or even international athlete celebrity, like Tina Maze or Filip Flisar, or we are talking about the
small company who is supporting a local athlete who is not necessarily being popular on the
national scale. With sport sponsorship, companies get involved with the public, do something for
welfare of community and, if they properly manage sport sponsorship, indirectly interact with the
public. These all can lead to the greater brand awareness and positive brand association what
absolutely leads to a higher sale. But in order for athlete sponsorship becoming more spread in
Slovenia, the general public opinion about it needs to change first.

Sport sponsorship in Slovenia needs to do a step forward, if we want to continue building

outstanding sport celebrities. Here, it is not referred only to the sponsoring already nationally or
internationally known stars. If we are careful, it is easy to find an article in the media about the
professional athlete who got just a little media exposure and is just starting his or her career at the
biggest competitions, but is already concluding his or her sports profession because of the money
issues, lack of source of the income. Looking at the system broader, there are even more local stars
and young talented athletes who did not experience media exposure yet, but are already switching
their bright sport future for either schooling or working, because their families simply cannot
afford for them to continue sport career. If the sport sponsoring in Slovenia does not change, if the

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companies do not see the positive contribution of the athlete, we will, ourselves, work toward
losing our greatest national proud and trademark, outstanding athletes.

This is why my purpose is to research if athlete sponsorship can have impact on brand equity and
later to provide general information on branding and guidelines on athlete sponsorship that can be
beneficial for Slovenian companies. Companies allocate some of their yearly budget to marketing
anyways, so why would they not market their products and services through athlete sponsorship.
And if companies then decide for sponsorship, they need to carefully prepare for it and understand
where the gains of linking with the athlete are hidden. They need to be aware of how sponsorship
will affect them, what are their responsibilities and duties and set the goal for the sponsorship.
Only then, the sponsorship is not a “thrown away money’. So, my goal is to research and
understand the main issues of athlete sponsorship in Slovenia, find the level our athlete
sponsorship is at and perception companies and professional athletes have about sponsorship. I
will also research where are still possible and potential improvements of athlete sponsorship in
Slovenia.

Research begins with the overview of branding in general and of brand equity. First part provides
information on brand that are crucial for understanding link between the brand and athlete
sponsorship described later in the research. Research continues with the part about the athlete
sponsorship and advertising. It defines what athlete sponsorship is and provides information on
how to build brand through it, how to pick the right athlete, social media effect on it and risk
management techniques that can be applied to it. Next part talks about evaluation of athlete
sponsorship, hallo effect in athlete sponsorship, steps for successful sponsorship and measuring
techniques of sponsorship effect. Following is the part about the research itself, research problem,
purpose of the study, hypothesis development, description of methodology and, lastly, limitations
I encountered through the study. Next chapter are my own survey results and implications.
Separately, I introduce findings deriving from the conducted interviews and the ones from the
online survey. Interviews’ findings let me into forming three different types of sponsorships, while
under the survey results demographic characteristics, general perception about the sponsorship and
statistical testing are presented. Part continues with results and discussion of five hypotheses. In
the end, implications for managers and implications for future research are suggested.

1 BRANDING

1.1 Overview and History

To fully understand how athlete celebrities can contribute to the positive association when the
specific brand is connected to them through sponsorship, one first needs to understand the general
terms of branding, brand and brand equity, etc. The nature of the word “brand” lies in the North
Germanic language, Old Norse. Old Norse’s world “brandr” means “to burn”, signaling that the
owners of livestock made mark in their cattle’s hide for the same reason brands are in use today,
for identification (Keller, 2003). Branding is actually a strategy for a particular trademark which
public associates exclusively with a business entity (Arai, Ko, & Ross, 2014). It is like the
statement of ownership which distinguish the good of one producer from those of another one
(Keller, 2003). History of branding goes back to the Ancient Greek Times, back to 7th century
before Christ. It was a way how tradesmen protected themselves and buyers of their wine and olive
oil from inferior imitations by placing a trademark on their Greek pots (Crainer & Dearlove, 2003).
It was also an act of building reputation in the eyes of their buyers (Kapferer, 2008).

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Until Industrial revolution, majority of trade was primarily dealt on the local scale, by local
craftsmen, who usually knew their customers. Soon after, the efficiency of manufacturing and
shipping improved dramatically allowing products to be sold further away from where they were
actually produced. At that time, brands grew for the same purposes as already in Ancient Greek
times, to build and retain trust of the products, when the relationship between the manufacturer
and a consumer was no longer personal one. Wertime (2012) states that this brought about a shift
from commodities (unbranded goods) and custom ware to the branded goods. With increased
trade, growth of the image creation business also appeared.

But, the real concept of branding is actually a recent phenomenon (Wertime, 2002). The period
after World War I acted as a birthplace for brands (Crainer & Dearlove, 2003). Advertisement
became prevailing and while companies were working on perfecting their assembly lines, new
branches of industries grew as well to create and spread mass message that would support the
assembly line’s products. Brands and the image creation business are therefore connected ever
since, as by-products of the consumer society (Wertime, 2012). Consequently, from then on people
wanted Ford and not any other motor car anymore as acquisition of brands became a sign of
success and development (Crainer & Dearlove, 2003). With the spread of the brands after the
World War I, small locally available products spread to a national and international extend. Low-
quality, regionally distributed products were replaced by the high-quality mass market (Crainer &
Dearlove, 2003). It was then when brand management became accepted practice acting as an
addition to sales and marketing departments. The over-abundance of products and brands,
development of shopping centers and emergence of television advertising happened pretty much
over the night in time of 50s economic boom. People never had so much before and brand
management acted as a hope that would reduce confusion introduced with emergence of
prosperity. By 1967, 84 percent of a large consumer packaged goods manufactories in the United
States already had their own brand managers (Crainer & Dearlove, 2003).

Brand management system still prevails today. But branding got a whole new meaning in the
recent years. It is a key marketing mix element to obtain sustainable competitive advantage and to
fully utilize available resources (Su & Tong, 2015). It consists of properly managing brand’s name,
term, sign, symbol, design or combination of couple of them, and not just managing the product
itself, like it did in the past. The aim is staying the same: to identify the good and service of one
seller, and differentiate them from those of competition. On one side, for consumers, brands must
convey trust and certitude. They are time and risk reducers as consumers know what to expect and
are in return for quality and functionality prepared to pay premium price (Kapferer, 2008). But on
the other hand, for many managers, brands are much more than just a source of information and
identification. What information brand provides is different from market to market, and from time
to time. Products can provide information about their user’s lifestyle, wealth, fashion (examples:
cars, clothes and accessories), while others stress the reliability or familiarity (Wertime, 2012).

1.2 Brand definition

“Brand is a set of mental associations, held by consumer, which add to the perceived value of a
product or service. These associations should be unique, strong and positive.” (Kapferer, 2008)

Today the potential for brands became limitless as it seems that with a great content behind,
anything can be branded. It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, branding is always important
and provides a competitive advantage (Crainer & Dearlove, 2003). Companies today brand
everything, from food, to clothes, shoes, electronics, cigarettes, etc. But with its high presence in
everyday life, it is first important to understand what brand actually is (Keller, 2003). Well-
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accounted marketing academic, Phillip Kotler, defined a product as anything that could be offered
to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a need or want.
However, brand goes a step beyond (Keller, 2003). It is everything that makes a product much
more than just a product (Kapferer, 2008).

A branded product is having tangible as well as intangible attributes. Its intangible assets are the
ones that bring additional advantage to the company (Kapferer, 2008). They add dimensions that
differentiate branded product from some other, non-branded product that actually satisfies the
same consumers’ needs (Keller, 2003). Consumers today do not just buy the brand’s name; they
buy branded products or service that promise tangible and intangible benefits created by the
company. Brands cannot exist without their support. Product or service that carry the brand
becomes an embodiment of the brand, through which brand becomes real (Kapferer, 2008).

There are many definitions of a brand. Some recognize importance of brand’s rational and tangible
assets, related to product’s performance of the brand. And the others stress more on the symbolic,
emotional and intangible assets that relate to what brand represents (Keller, 2003). Internationally
agreed legal definition of brand is: “A sign or set of signs certifying the origin of a product or
service and differentiating it from the competition.” (Kapferer, 2008). But nowadays it seems that
more appropriate definitions would address intangible assets that influence buyers (Kapferer,
2008). Bennett (n.d.) provided two examples of such definitions. First on is: “The intangible sum
of a product’s attributes: its name, packaging and price, its history, its reputation, and the way it is
advertised”. The second definition stresses similar attributes of the nowadays brand: “A person’s
gut feeling about a product, service, or company… It’s a person’s gut feeling, because in the end
the brand is defined by individuals, not by companies, markets, or the so-called general public.
Each person creates his or her own version of it.” So, brands are driven by and created in the minds
of consumers. They are about their hearts. This is exactly what is stressed above with the second
and the third definition. Brands are physical as well as psychological. Brands today became a
promise and they have to deliver this promise. Selling actually became believing, because the seller
has to strongly believe in his selling product. Moreover, people buy the products they believe in
and trust will satisfy their needs. So, branding only works, because consumer belief in brand is
selling the product (Wertime, 2012). In other words, branding is about getting into people’s mind
and about what impresses them (Majgaard, 2016).

Expressing the brand is much more than just communication with the consumers and flagging
logos and slogans (Majgaard, 2016). Consumer decides on the brand in a millisecond.
Consequently, it is on brand management to play on the right attributes of the brand. Even though
the primary goal of branding is high conscious awareness, the decision for purchase is not made
in consciousness. We are rational beings, so when deciding, we seek for a brand that will satisfy
our goals, emotional needs, maximize reward and minimize risk, cost and efforts. At the end, we
make a brand influenced decision (Valvis, 2012). So, branding starts when all the needs of
consumers are covered, and only afterwards, consumers develop an impression about a particular
brand (Majgaard, 2016). With branding, visual and verbal identity of the brand need to be covered.
Visual identity such as logo, style and color should be visible on the product, website, selling stand,
etc. However, explanation of who company/brand is, what it does, what it wants to achieve and
what it is good at are necessary for verbal identity (Majgaard, 2016).

Companies, for example Coca- Cola or McDonalds, work incredibly hard to implement customer’s
association in their mind through the above mentioned visible and verbal ways of association. For
example, McDonalds wants their customers to think of their restaurant as a fun place to be, yellow
and red color, McDonalds clown, and their slogan, “I am loving it”. These are all association
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McDonalds worked hard for, for many years, in order to place its brand among the top ten strongest
brands (Rankings). Adamson stated that branding is about signals – the signals people use to
determine what brand stands for since these signals later create associations (Bennett, n.d.).

Daily we encounter numerous brands, but keep in mind only the ones that sum all four pillars:

• Uniqueness. Brands are different from the other.

• Relevance. Brands give what consumer expects. Brands shouldn’t overpromise and then under
deliver.
• Esteem. Brands are trustworthy.
• Knowledge. Brands provide all necessary information to consumers.

Consequently, we remember only the brands we love and few brands that possess characteristics
mentioned above (Speisser, 2012).

1.3 Brand Personality and Consumer’s Self-Concept Connection with the

Brand

According to Aaker, brand personality is a powerful component of a brand. It indicates consumer’s

perception of brand’s characteristics and also contributes towards meaningful consumer – brand
relationship. Similarly, consumer’s self-concept connection with a brand is a dimension expressing
relationship between customer and brand that indicates level at which brand contributes to
consumer's values, goals and identity (Swaminathan, Page, & Gurhan-Canli, 2007). Consumers
form strong relationships and loyalty with brands that have the same values and personal
associations as they do. So, brands that are congruent with consumers' self-identity and self-
concept and have similar personality, lead to favorable brand images, increased sales and enhanced
value of brand equity (Su & Tong, 2015).

Benefit of having a strong consumer-brand relationship is mostly seen when brand perception and
image are being challenged by a negative information. If, at the turbulent time, when brand is
exposed to negative circumstances, consumer is still able to keep brand attitudes and association
that were created by personal experience before, his or her relationship with a brand is strong.
Relationship strengths can vary a lot and is dependent on the change of consumer's attitude towards
the brand, so beliefs and meanings (Swaminathan et al., 2007.). For any company having a brand,
it is always important to think about what are their targeted customers actually like and what do
they want. Great example of this is what former Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, said when he was asked
what market research Apple did before undertaking Ipad. Jobs answered that the best was always
to think like a consumer. He stated that no research could be that powerful because it was not
consumers' job to know what they want (Valvis, 2012).

1.4 Brand Equity

1.4.1 Constitutes of Brand Equity

In the past companies valued their business in terms of tangible assets (plant, equipment). But
recently they came to realization that the real power and value lies outside, in the mind of
consumers, in company’s brand. This measure is so called brand equity (Kapferer, 2008). Brand
equity is actually the value of the brand. The official marketing science definition of the brand
equity is “the set of associations and behavior on the part of a brand’s customers, channel members
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and parents’ corporation that permits the brand to earn greater volume or greater margins than it
could without the brand name” (Gill & Dawra, 2010).

Gill and Dawra (2010) found out that many researches define the brand differently. Aaker, for
example, defines brand equity as “a set of assets (and liabilities) linked to a brand’s name and
symbol that adds to (or subtracts from) the value provided by a product or service to a firm and/or
that firm’s customers”. Contrastingly, Keller defines a brand equity as “the differential effect of
the brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand”

From company’s point of view, brand equity is about the value brand generates and about the
financial worth of it, such as, greater profit, more cash flow and greater market share, etc. From
consumer’s point of view brand equity reflects brand attitudes based on beliefs about positive
product attributes and favorable consequences (Peter & Olson, 2002). It is highly related to how
customers see the brand as it talks about their view. These attitudes are based on beliefs and
meanings and are easily activated in the memory. They build foundation for the consumer-brand
relationship which is core of brand equity and one of the most important assets company can own
(Peter & Olson, 2002). More of this was already described in section 1.3. However, brand equity
also refers to customers’ recognition of brand name, mental and emotional association patent,
trademarks and channel relationships (Kotler, 2001).

Building brand equity is important part of brand building, because strong brand equity delivers a
firm competitive advantage like high brand-name recognition, high awareness, high perceived
brand quality, image, strong mental association, consideration, and others (Kotler, 2001). High
brand equity levels lead to high consumer preferences, their brand purchase intentions and brand
choice behavior. Firms with strong brand (equity) also enjoy better product-market outcomes like
brand extensibility and price flexibility (Su & Tong, 2015).

According to Kotler (2001), once companies establish strong brand equity they enjoy:

• Lower marketing costs because of the higher brand awareness and loyalty.
• Higher leverage in bargaining with distributors and retailers.
• Premium price because of the high perceived quality.
• Easier launching of extension because of high credibility.
• Defense against price competition.

Branding is strongly associated with the brand equity, as it is working towards its development,
building, managing and measuring. There are many brands for which people have high degree of
brand awareness. Bellow those are brands with high degree of brand acceptability, and brands
enjoying high degree of brand preference. Only after them are brands that enjoy high level of brand
loyalty (Kotler, 2001). So, when one is talking about the brand awareness, brand loyalty,
perceived quality and brand association, he or she refers to the brand equity (Arai et al., 2014).
This are all sources of brand equity and attributes customer gains through the consumer decision
journey. Aaker, for instance, asserted above mentioned attributes together with the other
proprietary assets as the five factors influencing brand equity (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1. Aaker's Brand Equity Model

BRAND EQUITY

OTHER
BRAND BRAND PERCEIVED BRAND
PROPRIETARY
LOYALTY AWARENESS QUALITY ASSOCIATIONS
ASSETS

Source: adapted after D. Aaker and E. Joachimsthaler, Brand Leadership, 2000.

On the other hand, Keller stated constitutes of brand equity differently than Aaker. According to
him, brand equity constitutes of brand awareness and brand image depicted in Figure 2 (Gill &
Dawra, 2010).

Figure 2. Keller's Brand Equity Model

BRAND
EQUITY

BRAND BRAND
AWARENESS IMAGE

BRAND BRAND
RECOGNITION RECALL

Source: adapted after K.L. Keller, Strategic Brand Management, 2003.

1.4.2 Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is general communication goal for all promotional strategies as not knowing the
product, consumer cannot buy it (Peter & Olson, 2002). Brand awareness is often undervalued
asset. Marketers need to understand that people like and will buy what is familiar to them (Aaker
& Joachimsthaler, 2008). Keller stated that brand awareness consisted of brand recognition
performance, consumer's ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand when exposed to a brand
as a cue, and of brand recall performance, consumer's ability to retrieve the brand from memory
when exposed to certain product category, needs fulfilled by that category or usage situation
(Keller, 2003). For example, a person has to actively seek the brand and retrieve it from the
memory, for instance, Alpsko mleko, when he or she is thinking of the milk category, of what to
enjoy for breakfast

To build awareness, it is often desirable that company creates a slogan, logos, and symbols.
Characters and packaging can help with the brand recognition as well. So, brand awareness is
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built through increasing the familiarity of the brand through constant exposure and strong
associations with appropriate product category (Keller, 2003).

1.4.3 Brand Image

Brand image is a “perception about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in
memory”. To build a strong brand image, companies have to thoroughly think how their marketing
strategies can form a strong, favorable and unique association to the brand in the memory of
consumers (Keller, 2003). Brand association can be anything that links customers and brand
together (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). When using athlete in advertising, associations are
influenced when brand becomes linked with an athlete through sponsorship or endorsement
(Honglei, Kyung, Yung, Sang, & Siqing, 2015). Whether associations are linked strong enough to
the brand depends on consumers' experiences of the brand. The more in depth person think about
the product information, like slogan, the stronger his or her association with the brand is (Keller,
2003). Furthermore, if a company is able to put its value proposition and stress its competitive
advantage in its slogan, it is well of, because it associates unique and meaningful points of
differentiation from the competitor brands. With value proposition in slogan, brand tells consumers
why they should buy it and builds strong brand associations (Majgaard, 2016).

Since brand associations are dependent on the brand attributes and benefits, the strongest
associations are made with the personal experience of the brand, or through referrals, word of
mouth. Interestingly, as a source of information, company forms the weakest associations through
advertising (Keller, 2003). So, it is always important to focus on the needs and wishes of
consumers in order to make them satisfied with the product or service.

1.5 Brands and Business Performance

1.5.1 Effect of Brands on Business Performance

As already stated, brands help people decide among constantly increasing choices of products. For
example, the number of brands in supermarkets have tripled since 1990, from 15.000 to 45.000.
Having its own brand, companies want to make sure that its products or services are the preferred
choice in the mind of the targeted audience (Bennett, n.d.).

Figure 3. How Brand Affects Business Performance

Source: A.G. Bennett, The essentials of branding from The Big Book of Marketing McGraw-Hill, 2010, n.d.

Business performance always depends on the act of customers, whether they buy the product or
service, or not. This is where the brand comes into account. Customer’s decision whether to buy a
particular product or service is based on their own perception of the brand. Brand will help them
differentiate the product or service from the other ones in the category and will determine how
relevant product or service actually is to them. Brand perception derives from the customer
8
experience, and experience from the brand idea. So, companies have to figure out what customers
want, need, value, etc., and create a brand its idea reflects and recaps all of it (see Figure 3). Brand
idea should always state what brand states for and its promises. If brand idea is indistinctive to
customers, and their interaction with and perception of the brand are irrelevant, the possibilities
that customer’s behavior will work towards reflecting positive business performance are low.
Consequently, companies have to be careful creating, defining, managing and, later, valuing their
brand as it all indirectly affects their bottom line (Bennett, n.d.).

1.5.2 From Brand Awareness to Financial Value

Brands are not founded but are instead created over a time. They have financial value because,
over time, brands create assets in mind and hearts of customers. These assets have a profit potential
and are mediated by the market strengths.

Brand assets are traits that influence brand's relationship with consumers. They are learnt mental
associations affecting customers who get them from direct or vicarious interaction with the brand.
Brand strength is evaluation of the current status of the brand. It is brand outcome at a specific
point in time, within a specific market and competitive environment. Reflection of brand strength
is mostly behavioral, like market share, growth rate, price premium, etc. However, it is brand value
what, at the end, firms are interested in. Brand value is projection into the future and ability of
brand to deliver profits. Brands have to produce economic value added to have value.

It is seen in Figure 4 that assets, strength and value are conditional consequences, not a direct one.
For example, the same brand assets can deliver different brand strengths over time as the market
is competitive and is constantly changing. Established assets also have no value for company if
firm's commerce is not able to establish sufficient market share and price premium (Kapferer,
2008).

Figure 4. From Awareness to Financial Value

BRAND ASSETS BRAND STRENGTH BRAND VALUE

• Brand awareness
• Brand reputation • Market share
(attributes, benefits, • Market leadership
Net discounted cash flow
competence, know-how, • Market penetration
attributable to the brand after
etc.) • Share of requirements
paying the cost of capital
• Perceived brand personality • Growth rate
invested to produce and un
• Perceived brand values • Loyalty rate
the business and the cost of
• Price premium
• Reflected customer imagery marketing
• Percentage of products the
• Brand preference or
trade cannot delist
attachment
• Patent and rights

Source: adapted after J.N. Kapferer, The new strategic brand management, 2008.

9
1.5.3 How to Build a Strong Brand Equity?

Brands are a powerful weapon and among the great icons of the twentieth century. Every
marketing activity works toward building, managing and exploiting brand equity (Su &Tong,
2015). Its real value is in the ability to generate cash flow. However, it takes time to build a really
strong brand. Most of the brands first started because their founders simply just wanted to create
a business. After some time, the name of the product or service became a brand and attention
moved from the products or service’s tangible assets towards its intangible assets. Slowly the
values of the products were becoming important and became associated with imagery, intangible
benefits and brand personality. Buyers started paying premium prices for branded products and
services and with this they actually started purchasing positions in the mind of potential
consumers. Brand awareness, image, trust and reputation are all built over years. Either way they
are the best guarantee for future profits (Kapferer, 2008).

Any company owning a brand today is for sure working hard toward properly managing its brand
equity. Rewards for it are clear, customer loyalty and company profitability (Keller, 2000). Most
of the strongest and iconic brands today are American. One of the reason for it lies in geography.
American companies had to primarily deal with a big homogenous market, compared to, for
instance, European firms, having to deal with spread heterogeneous market (Crainer & Dearlove,
2003). But geography is not the fact supporting American dominance. Only few managers are
actually able to assess their brand’s strength and weaknesses; many times, they cannot find all the
factors they should be considering and can name only few areas they need to work on. If we take
a close look at the Table 1, that presents how the strongest three brands in several categories
changed from 1923 to 1997 and then to 2015, we quickly realize that only few brands are listed in
all three columns.

Table 1. Top Brands in 1923, 1997 and 2015

CATEGORY 1923 LEADERS 1997 LEADERS 2015 LEADERS
Cigarettes Camel Marlboro Marlboro
Fatima Winston Newport
Pall Mall Newport Camel
Chewing gum Wrigley Wrigley’s Trident
Adams Bubble Yum Orbit
Bubblicious Stride
Motorcycles Indian Harley – Davidson Kawasaki
Harley –Davidson Honda BMW
Kawasaki Ducati
Peanut butter Beech –Nut Jif Jif
Heinz Skippy Skippy
Peter Pan Peter Pan
Razors Gillette Gillette Gillette
Gem Bic Schick
Ever Ready Schick
Soft Drinks Coca-Cola Coca- Cola Coca- Cola
Cliquot Club Pepsi Pepsi
Bevo Dr. Pepper/ Cadbury Red Bull
Candy Huyler’s Hershey Mars
Loft M&M/ Mars Mindelez International
Page & Shaw Nestle Ferrero
Shoes Douglas Nike Nike
Walkover Reebok Adidas
Rebook
Source: adapted after K.L. Keller, Strategic brand management, 2003.; Ranking, Interbrand, n.d.
10
Many of these brands barely resemble what they originally stood for as they made many changes
and were evolving over time. But these are the brands that survived. Contrastingly, the other firms
that disappeared from the list lost their market leadership and some even existence. This is not
surprising, because leading brands are always more likely to lose their leadership position than
retain it. Brands that disappeared from top three in their category did not listen to their customers’
needs and were managed by inappropriate actions of their marketers (Keller, 2003).

Referring to all above, one could easily say that branding, or brand management, is, actually, like
a science fiction: “Mysterious and subtle art” (Crainer & Dearlove, 2003). It is a very sensitive
thing as it needs to be finely balanced between the past and the future. Although the brand can be
manipulated for the short run sales results, it still needs to be periodically refreshed. This change
has to be small enough to keep its vitality and to still alienate with the loyal customers (Crainer &
Dearlove, 2003).

In his article Keller (2000) stated ten managerial actions that can make any brand strong:

• Brand managers understand what the brand means to consumers.

• Brand is able to deliver promises and benefits customers desire.
• Brand stays relevant over the time.
• Brand makes use of and coordinates various marketing activities to build brand equity.
• Company monitors sources of brand equity.
• The brand is given proper support and this support is sustained over the long run.
• The pricing strategy is based on consumer’s perception of value.
• The brand is consistent.
• Brand is properly positioned.
• Brand portfolio and hierarchy make sense.

For company’s success, brands have to keep trying to understand customers and give them what
they need (Speisser, 2012). As a brand manager, you always have to listen to your customers, he
or she tells you everything, he or she is the king (Majgaard, 2016).

1.6 Why to Connect Brand with an Athlete

Celebrity endorsement, no matter if star is a singer, athlete, actor or a model, sells products. This
is not a new idea in marketing anymore as 14 percent of advertisements in the United States of
America (hereinafter: USA) already features celebrities (Carrillat & Astous, 2011). Celebrities are
being idolized, so when people see them in advertisements promoting new product, they are
encouraged to buy that product (Olenski, 2016). Sponsorship being the largest segment of
spending on sport enhances brand image and increases brand loyalty (Honglei et al., 2015).
Consequently, athlete celebrities have become a driving vehicles for marketing. Successful
branding campaign with athlete influences the probability of buying a brand choice. It also results
in consumers being willing to pay premium price, marketing effectiveness and positive world of
mouth promotion (Arai et al., 2014).

In the USA, Germany and United Kingdom (hereinafter: UK) one of the preferred methods of
advertising is celebrity endorsing a product. In these countries, the focus is on the celebrity him or
herself, what reflects one of the five Geert Hofstede cultural dimensions, individualism. USA,
Germany and UK are high individualistic societies, opposed to Slovenia being considered as a
collectivistic nation (Geert Hofstede, n.d.) This collectivistic attribute is noticed in Slovenia’s
11
advertisements featuring celebrities as well. In collectivist societies, if celebrities are involved,
they rarely address the audience explicitly. They play more symbolic role with a purpose of their
association with the product and not direct endorsement (Arnould, Price, & Zinkhan, 2004). This
is exactly how celebrity advertising in Slovenia works; at the end of the commercial you see a star,
but he or she doesn’t address the audience explicitly. Recent example of this was advertisement
for company Veriga k.f., d.o.o., which was depicting ski star Ilka Štuhec under the Christmas tree
wrapping presents. However, with Americanization in Slovenia getting stronger, the role of the
athletes in advertising will get more powerful in the future as well. They won’t act only as a symbol
anymore. They will more and more address the audience directly. This is also because it is a
common practice for firms to leverage their brands by linking them to the famous athletes in order
to improve their image, awareness, attitude or reputation (Carrillat & Astous, 2011).

Athlete celebrities promoting products or services have become important part of building brand
awareness and credibility. Study shows that today we are overexposed to marketing and on average
see around 3.000 advertisements across all media per day. The strongest idol attachments are
having young people. Consequently, they may repeatedly buy their idol's product because they
identify themselves with him or her. People possess motivation to incorporate idols in their self-
concept. The more the idol is included in person's identity, the closer the emotional bond (Huang,
Lin, & Phau, 2015). Advertisements using celebrity about whom general public already has
positive feelings, grabs attention easier than standard ads (Hanks, n.d.). It works just the same as
to how brands form relationship with the user and are included in their »self-concept« (topic was
explained in section 1.3).

Brand can associate itself with unique personality, someone who brings their own attractiveness
and possesses the brand’s values. Brand personality here is again important because we form
relationships with people, not products. Prototypes of this practice are basketball legend Michael
Jordan and golfer Tiger Woods. Where would Nike be today without them (Kapferer, 2008)?
Sponsored athletes have influence on the purchase decision of their supporters. In the past,
athletes’ fans would buy T-shirts, flags, caps and other clothing that would feature their idol and
their team. Today, with the emergence of brand ambassadors and athlete sponsorships, athletes
can, through previously explained expansion of product awareness, also impact the selling of
products outside of the team structure. Examples are food, clothes, perfumes, etc. (Hanks, n.d.).

When company forms bond between its brand and popular name in sport, there is a high possibility
the sales will boost dramatically. The effect is even bigger, if people believe athlete celebrity uses
branded product or service him or herself (Bradič, 2015). According to the Marketwatch, just one
athlete endorsement can result in immediate four percent sale increase. So, it would be foolish for
any, small or large, firm not to promote its brand through athlete celebrity influencers (Olenski,
2016). “Celebrity athletes can also help to generate a positive impact on a company’s stock return
due to the positive perception that the company investment activities in their advertisements
generates among investors.” (Hughes & Shank, 2005). As soon as the news is made public, brands
that link with an athlete can see their stock rise up to 0.25. The rise happens even though the
products does not change at all. It is because in the eyes of consumers, being linked with the adored
athlete product enjoys higher perceived legitimacy (Hughes & Shank, 2005).

1.7 Athlete’s Role Applied to Consumer Funnel and Consumer Model

It is true that different practices work in different cultures, but survey made by market researcher
Mintel have found that 22 percent of French people are more likely to sample a product if it is
endorsed by a celebrity (Crainer & Dearlove, 2003). Slovenia is very sporty nation. Athletes are
12
our national pride and we seem to be attracted by anything having to do with sport. Consequently,
linkage with athlete can only positively contributes to the brand.

Positive brand equity is developed when customers have high levels of awareness and familiarity
with the brand. Here athlete celebrities can have a major culprit, as their link with the company
applies to exactly first two steps in the purchase funnel process depicted in Figure 5. Recently,
especially online social networks are seen as a benefit for the audience, helping them make
important social connections, share information and raise personal self-esteem (Hambrick,
Simmons, Greenhalgh, & Greenwell, 2010).

Figure 5. The Purchase Funnel and the Consumer Decision Journey

Source: D. Court, S. Mudler, O.L. Vetvik, The Consumer Decision Model, 2009.

To gain customer loyalty, awareness and familiarity are the first two needs brand needs to satisfy
in order for consumer to proceed further down the purchase funnel. For example, basketball star
Lebron James is having signed contract with Nike which develops Lebron Nike shoes. His fans
would be more aware of the brand Nike when buying for the new shoes, because they would be
aware of the Lebron- Nike connection and would recall Lebron Nike shoes as their idol is wearing
them. Traditionally, consumer would start the purchasing funnel metaphor with awareness of the
set of potential brands and methodically reduce that number to make a purchase (Court et al.,
2009). However, when there is a link between an athlete and a brand, step of awareness and
familiarity are pretty much just skipped. Potential customer starts the purchasing decision what
would normally be step three, consideration of buying the product.

Through each stage of the funnel, company's marketers are toughed to »push« their products
toward consumers. But last few years, consumers are changing the way they research and buy
products. Consumers today contribute to creation of the product; they are actively involved and
»pull« information helpful to them. The conversation between company and consumer is,
consequently, rather a two-way process what results in the whole decision journey becoming
cyclical. As initial consideration of the product is now the first step of purchase decision, marketers
need to find new ways to include their brands in that process (Court et al., 2009). Getting potential
customers' attention through athletes has become a successful practice. People make their
decisions to buy a product related to their initial set of considered products. The more accumulated
impressions, exposures to the brand through advertisements, conversation, reports, TV or friends,
the greater the chances person will narrow to the product (Court et al., 2009). The more often
consumers see, for example, Nike ambassadors, the more willing they will be to reach for a brand
Nike when buying for sport shoes. This way, consumers hold strong, positive and unique brand
association in the memory.

13
2 ATHLETE SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING

2.1 Presence of Athlete Sponsorship in Advertising

Companies today are not satisfied with large numbers of impressions their advertisements and
content provided by athlete delivers. Their aim is on higher brand awareness, affinity and
influenced actions (Weber, n.d.). “Advertisers actually pay for people, they pay for audience, they
pay for eyeballs, they pay for attention, they pay for trust, they pay for influence.” (Skid & Hall,
2015). When company sponsors an athlete, success can only happen when the athlete - brand
relationship is authentic and reaches targeted audience with the effective message (Weber, n.d.).
Impact of sport starts on prospective customers can be extremely effective or extremely
ineffective. Today, marketing is becoming more materialistic; firms are turning to celebrities
because they need ambassadors (Meden, 2015).

Athletes are not superheroes; they are normal human beings who in the eyes of consumers seem
to be more accessible and realistic than some celebrity singers or actors. Since the targeted
audience identifies with athletes easier, athletes are also interesting for the marketers. Audience’s
identification with the athlete is actually primary goal of any sponsor and leads to higher brand
awareness and recall (Meden, 2016). Furthermore, different interests, habits, backgrounds or any
other qualities not being connected with sport but athletes possess additionally affects fans’
attention. Conditionally, it also either make or doesn’t make the audience attractive for the brand
(Weber, n.d.). The reason why so many companies today get involved in sponsorship lies in the
fact they want to have the public see and remember their name. Companies want to use resources
wisely since many times sponsorship is smaller expense than the regular type of advertising. Also,
firms want targeted audience and general public to think of them as a caring business (Pitts &
Stotlar, 2007). We live in the world where everyone wants to know about the greater good being
created. Social perspective playing a central role, brands need to choose partners that make sense
also from philanthropic perspective and not only from content and creative perspective. So,
athlete-brand partnership or so called sponsorship has to demonstrate the power of doing well by
doing good, which is a mantra of Millennial consumers (Sommer, 2016).

There is no surprise anymore that sport industry has become a big business with projection of
further growth. The reason for continuing growth derives from media rights deals, gate revenues,
sponsorships and merchandise. Sport business report made in October 2015 by the
PricewaterhouseCoopers actually revealed that only in North America sport market would be
already worth 73,5 billion dollars by 2019. Roughly 25 percent of these revenues will be coming
from sport sponsorship (Heitner, 2015). Also, sport sponsorship is a multi-dollar growing industry
and since there are thousands of athletes looking for sponsorship, opportunities for companies are
countless (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007).

Despite all the opportunities waiting, sponsorship is in the near future projected to benefit
especially from the longer-term deals, higher renewal rates and enhanced inventory yields
(Heitner, 2015). Athlete sponsorship has recently not become only more widespread, but also more
intense. It became a base for the whole marketing strategy. “Sponsorship-linked marketing” is
complementary to sponsor’s own positioning by associating with the athlete (Fahy, Farrelly, &
Quester, 2004). With sport popularity and above projections of growth, many companies decide
to get involved in athlete sponsorship. But as athlete sponsorship market is more and more
saturated, sponsorship investment has to also be carefully managed in order for competitive
advantage and sponsorship effectiveness to be achieved (Fahy et al., 2004).
14
2.2 Athlete Sponsorship

2.2.1 Definition

Athlete sponsorship is a strategic activity with ability to generate sustainable competitive

advantage for sponsor in the marketplace (Fahy et al., 2004). Sponsorship could be explained as
an exchange of something for something (Carrillat &Astous, 2011). It is a direct attempt by
companies to position their brand with the sponsored athlete by having him or her testify on behalf
of the company’s product or service. By associating with the brand through various channels of
mass media and word of mouth marketing, sponsored athlete becomes a brand ambassador (Pitts
& Stotlar, 2007). It concerns individuals whose athletic abilities are recognized, or are having a
potential to be recognized in the future, and who get support from a company to pursue their
athletic goals.

In its simplest form, sponsorship occurs when a company financially supports the other party, in
our case athlete (Carrillat & Astous, 2011). Sponsored athlete receives either financial or in kind
compensations to associate his or her image with the brand. This is true for the professional and
world class athletes. Some ambassadors are also personal trainers or non-elite runners who do not
get paid. On the other side of this partnership are companies that pay for intellectual rights of
outstanding athletes. Once the athlete’s rights are obtained, sponsoring firm can relate to the
athlete. As a result, its product, service or brand enjoys advertising benefits and publicity (Carrillat
& Astous, 2011). Athletes are expected to help their sponsoring companies obtaining their
marketing goals of capturing attention, changing or reinforcing brand image, increasing brand
loyalty and attractiveness of the product, etc. (Hughes & Shank, 2005). They also contribute
towards attaining business objective of increased sales and goodwill of a sponsor (Fortunato,
2013). They do it by putting sponsors logo on their competition uniform, mentioning company in
media, etc. (Cosper, n.d.). So, goal of any athlete sponsorship should be mutual, to reach the
targeted audience, create exposure for the brand and develop associations by forwarding marketing
messages (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007).

It seems to be a misconception that athlete sponsorship is only the point of consideration for big
corporations with already reputable brands. This generalization is wrong as company of any size
can benefit from having an athlete ambassador. Corporations with big marketing budgets can
pursue faster exposure by sponsoring athlete, while small firms with limited budgets can save on
marketing costs and labor when being linked to athlete ambassador. In both cases, companies are
addressing the audience to make a purchase of their product or service (Cosper, n.d.).

However, with sports popularity and the spread of social media, the word “sponsorship” might not
be the right one to use anymore when referring to the connection between the athlete and the brand.
Sponsorship evokes a feeling of flatness. Mentioning sponsorship, people think of traditional
logos, slogans and exchange of money for impressions. But today sponsorship is much more
(Sommer, 2016). With wisely thought strategy, the audience starts to identify themselves with the
sponsored athlete and, consequently, to the business’s brand. A good brand-athlete partnership
coupled with the creative story telling through activation is the way to consumer’s hearts, and
wallets (Sommer, 2016).

15
2.2.2 Building Brand Through Sponsorship

Athlete sponsorship has the potential to contribute to the brand building what is further seen in
Figure 6. By mobilizing the organization for brand building, employees, business partners and also
customers receive benefits deriving from the pride of being associated with that sponsorship. Pride
also comes from the link between the sponsorship and their values and lifestyle (Aaker &
Joachimsthaler, 2000). For example, people working at company Ljubljanske mlekarne felt more
excited when their sponsored athlete Ilka Štuhec won downhill race at the 2017 world ski
championship.

Taking business customers to the sporting event of the company’s sponsored athlete provide
customers with additional experience and unique opportunity to develop bond between them,
brand and organization. If that sporting event occurs yearly, it is also an incentive for customers
to nurture their relationship with the brand and encourages them towards brand loyalty.

Figure 6. Sponsorship as a Brand Builder

1. Mobilize
the
organization
6. Become
part of
athlete- 2. Provide
experience
customer
bond
How
sponsorship
builds
brand
3.
5. Develop Demonstrate
brand new
associations product/tech
nologies
4. Create
brand
exposure

Source: adapted after D. Aaker and E. Joachimsthaler, Brand Leadership, 2000.

Sponsorship can also contribute to building brand of a new products or technologies. Most
commonly companies introduce their newly invention through publicity. Sponsorship can further
elevate the value of the published news, since sponsored athlete can demonstrate usage of new
product/technology more interestingly and vividly than it is expressed in publicity.

Furthermore, as already mentioned, through sponsored athlete companies achieve brand exposure
and develop brand associations what are both dimensions of building a brand. Last but not least,
any athlete has a group of their heavy fans. Fans strongly refer themselves with an athlete whose
career is part of their lives. Fans’ emotions can be an important driver linking them with the athlete.
If the audience like the athlete, their positive feelings may get transferred to the brand and vice
versa (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). This is how positive image of an athlete, gets transferred
to the sponsoring brand and company. Consumer’s involvement in sport and athletes absolutely
contributes to the brand building and is positively related with sponsorship awareness. The more
16
the audience is involved in a particular sport and athletes, the more likely they will be exposed to
sponsor’s messages what will most probably result in higher sponsorship awareness (Walraven,
Bijmolt, & Koning, 2014).

Sponsorships today are long-term investments demanding time and effort of sponsor to achieve
consumer awareness, recognize and reap its benefits. There is a positive relation between
sponsorship duration and sponsorship awareness (Walraven et al., 2014). Sponsorship contract
that will be 3 -5 years long will strengthen the brand equity. Often they are expected to be renewed
a number of times so that the sponsors can fully enjoy the benefits from a long-term association
of athlete and the brand (Fahy et al., 2004). Consumer’s brand knowledge is built over a time and
this is why brand recall improves after a year, while awareness is measured to be the highest on
the second year of sponsorship. In two years, sponsorship awareness reaches basic buildup point
that approaches maximum potential. After basic buildup is created, firm can still improve brand’s
awareness by leveraging the sponsorship and forming higher quality of media exposure (Walraven
et al., 2014).

Frequency of company sponsoring an athlete can also effect the brand knowledge. But study found
that there is no notable difference in recall levels for sponsors who constantly sponsor an athlete
and those that sponsor him or her less frequently. Actually, for repeat sponsors, brand recall levels
do not necessary improve and can, in some instances, even decline. However, long-term sponsors
seem to be associated with an athlete even after the contract already ends (Walraven et al., 2014).
For example, if Žito’s tea 1000 Cvet stops sponsoring winter sports, people will still associate it
with skiers and ski jumpers. Moreover, study also found that brand awareness improves during the
season. For instance, when Tina Maze was still a professional skier, more people associated her
with chocolate Milka later in the season it came.

2.2.3 Sponsorship Activation

Activation is a fuel of sponsorship marketing. Successfully negotiated sponsorship contract is only

the beginning of cooperation. Activation is a key for successful sponsoring partnership. Activation
adds value to the sponsorship contract and the level of its investment determines success of a
sponsorship. Since companies file sponsorship as an expense, goal of any sponsorship is
reimbursement of the initial investment. But to receive reimbursement, sponsors have to further
invest in activation to gain the full impact. Unfortunately, most of the sponsors are not aware of
this (Koščak, 2014). Solely sponsorship is only acquiring the rights to be a sponsor and to use the
name and image of an athlete while activation uses these acquired rights and integrates them into
brand marketing communication strategy (Roy, 2016).

Creativity and imagination of sponsors are the only things that can limit activation. Sponsors
receive certain rights from the sponsorship but it is their decision if they will create marketing
programs aiming to connect target markets to a sponsorship (Roy, 2016). Possibilities for
activation are countless, from sales promotions, additional brand exposure, stadium giveaways,
fan experiences at the athlete's competition, online or digital fan interactions, fan contests, in store-
displays, tickets giveaway, tickets from athlete's competition used for discounts, appearances with
athlete, product sampling, corporate social responsibility endeavor, ticket discounts for sponsor's
employee, etc. (Fortunato, 2013). Sponsors can also activate athletes through promotions,
packaging and some special events (Roy, 2016). For good activation, ideas need to be developed
in the early stage of the sponsorship negotiation. Activation should already be part of the
sponsorship negotiations. Sponsors should already have a vision of how they want to use athletes

17
to achieve their business goals and not just sign a contract and only then formulate an activation
plan (Fortunato, 2013).

However, unfortunately, only few sponsoring companies grasp the full potential of activation.
Many do not realize its potential impact. Study interviewing personnel of corporate sponsorship
found out that 24 percent of sponsors had no additional money for activation after signing the
sponsorship contract (Fortunato, 2013). This is a wrong approach. Sponsorship will not go a long
way without activation as this articulates association with the athlete. Sponsorship is purely just a
right. It is just like one don’t buy a car to have it sit in a garage. He or she would drive with it to
enjoy its benefits. This is what activation does, it allows sponsors to enjoy the fruits of sponsorship
benefits.

So, spending more on activation than on the rights makes sense. Still, the highest fraction, 58
percent of the sponsors spent only 25 percent of the sponsorship value on the activation (Fortunato,
2013). Consequently, they cannot see the results and their sponsorship goals remain unattained.
Without additional money for activation, companies should not undertake the sponsorship
investment at first place. Or, they should go for less known and, consequently, cheaper athlete
what would leave them money for activation.

There are many opinions about the optimal activation spent. One of its measure is leverage ratio.
It is comparison of a dollar spent on a sponsorship marketing to the rights fees paid. On average
companies spent 1.5 dollar towards activating the sponsorship for every dollar spent on the right
fees (Fortunato, 2013). Haxthausen (2010) finds at least three possible scenarios for why activation
spent is in general relatively low. One is that companies want to sponsor big sport names and spend
most of their budget on rights. The other is that they do not measure activation’s return on
investment (hereinafter: ROI) and since they do not know what activation does for them, they
spent little. The last one is that sponsors adjust their activation levels for optimal sponsorship ROI
given the sponsorship objective. The last option is the only one where it makes sense not to spend
a lot as activation objective is not on gaining associations, but, for example, on getting partners
excited about doing business with the brand by having them interact with the athlete.
Unfortunately, this is the case in few scenarios. Too many times low activation spend is driven by
budget constraints and inability to measure activation effects. Additionally, studies show that 70
to 80 percent of sponsors don’t have specific budget for sponsorship research and 25 to 40 percent
don’t spent anything on measuring sponsorship effects (Haxthausen, 2010). The last number being
so high, it is not surprising that sponsors are unwilling to spend a lot on activation as they don’t
even know how to measure the value it creates. It would be interesting to see how much Slovenian
companies invest for sponsorship research and measuring, but studies like this have not yet been
made.

2.3 Sponsored Athlete

2.3.1 Checkpoints for Selecting Sponsored Athlete

In order to reach their marketing goal, firms all around the world see the appeal of athlete and try
to establish associations with them (Hughes & Shank, 2005). The key for brand success seem to
lie in the decision to connect with the right athlete who later endorses the product or service,
somebody that will act as an opinion leader. Appropriate fit between the image of the product and
the image of the athlete can significantly increase the positive evaluation of the sponsorship (Pitts
& Stotlar, 2007), enhances brand loyalty and customer equity (Honglei et al., 2015). Companies
may look for athletes with particular characteristics like their physical appearance, intellectual
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capabilities or overall lifestyle, but it is more important that they find an athlete who will be able
to establish the credibility and trustworthiness of the brand (Bradič, 2015). Relatedness between
sponsor and athlete significantly influences attitude towards sponsoring brand and purchase
intentions of public. Studies proved that relatedness transfers from athlete to sponsor, sponsor
recall, positive consumer attitude toward the sponsor and stronger propensity to purchase the
advertised product or service (Honglei et al., 2015).

In section 1.2 is stated that people remember the brand if it is unique, relevant, trustworthy and
knowledgeable. Athlete representing the brand has to pretty much possess the same qualities. So,
marketers have to carefully study athlete’s characteristics to find the right match that will form
impressive influence for their brand campaign. Any campaign that will improve the relationship
between athlete and his or her fans is also an opportunity for the brand to rise in the eyes of fans
(Ways to get more out of sponsored athlete, n.d). But before deciding to get engaged in any athlete
sponsorship, marketers need to do a market research with consumers and assess the image of the
product, measure the image factors associated with variety of sport activities and only then decide
for the athlete that most closely matches the image of the product (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007).

2.3.2 Authenticity

As they enjoy higher levels of trust with people, athletes are way more effective influencers and
communicators than brand is (Ways to get more out of sponsored athlete, n.d). No matter star of
what level sponsored athlete is, the crucial thing to consider is a natural fit of the athlete with the
brand (Weber, n.d.). For a successful partnership, athlete needs to align with the values of the
brand. These values which are then shared between company, brand and an athlete are key
advantage for building esteem of the company. Study found that opinion leaders, in our case
athletes, are most effective when consumers and targeted audience share the same values and
attitude (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007). The higher the synergy between the brand and an athlete, the better
the results and the greater recall of the brand with the athlete’s exposure.

Companies can also look at the values of the nation as a whole. Slovenians are big sport fans and
patriots, so there is no such thing that would connect the brand with its origin better than the home
athlete. Furthermore, the more authentic the relationship is, the more likely the athlete will agree
to be part of the campaign. Even athletes confirm they work with the brands they feel aligned to.
They are aware that with sponsorship they become ambassadors of that brand and are taking
responsibility to present it in the best possible way. This is only possible if the relationship is not
fake (Weber, n.d).

Authenticity is definitely the most important characteristics to consider. But when selecting
sponsored athlete, companies should also care that he or she will be promoting something his or
her fans have interest in. Even a big star cannot help, if he or she cares nothing about a certain
product and then once from the sudden makes unauthentic statement about that product: “Go buy
this.” (Skid & Hall, 2015). That just would not work. If through promotion athlete's fame and
adorability are not used accurately towards the potential users, the sponsorship will not bring
success. For example, already mentioned basketball star Lebron James would not promote make
up, but instead does Nike sporting goods. The same, Slovenian Peter Prevc would hardly promote
Zlatarna Celje, but female star, Tina Maze, can much easier. So, for example, if the new Nova
KBM’s brand, Sveta vladar, is targeting young population, and encourages goal reaching,
independency, and taking responsibilities for your life and money, then free skier Filip Flisar is
the right pick for them. Flisar greatly possesses these values with his youth and relaxed energy.
Yet, he is still having responsible view on the world (Kruhar Gaberšček, 2015).
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2.3.3 Audience

Targeted consumers are always the focus of the campaigns, as they will be the one deciding
whether to buy a product or service or not. Consequently, companies should not target just
everyone with their brands. They should first identify their targeted audience and only then find
the athlete that will deliver them a message. Picked athlete must connect with the targeted audience
and be recognized by them as well (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007).

Knowing the brand’s audience, it is wise to look at the additional characteristics of the athletes
and not just at his or her values, interests, etc. Sponsor can look at the geography as well. High
percentage of sport star’s audience typically lives either near athlete’s current home city, past city
or current team’s city (Weber, n.d.). Consequently, companies should focus on the audience that
falls in the above three categories. However, since Slovenia is so small, geography is not a big
influence as it seems that, especially, professional athletes are followed and trusted by the whole
nation. It is true that internationally known stars, like Tina Maze, do have fans all around the globe,
but large part of her fan base still resides in Črna na Koroškem, where she grew up, and Slovenia
in general. Because of its smallness, Slovenia is not a case for the above three rules when sponsored
athlete is already experiencing media exposure. But when he or she is a local star or a young talent
it still does pertain. Small or medium sized local company that sponsor young prospect will start
gaining respect of village residents. Since in Slovenian villages news spread around fast,
sponsoring news would quickly reach its inhabitants. If local sponsored athlete’s competitions are
on local rank, company and brand will get even higher local exposure. Residents will know that
company is doing something for welfare of their community, will be aware of the company or
brand and will create a positive association about it in their minds.

Similarly, geography is a matter of fact also if sponsor is present in foreign market. There you
want to have their local athlete as an ambassador. Exemplary company of good practice is
Slovenian Elan. Elan believes that the right pick of sponsoring athlete for a particular region and
its targeted audience can have greater effect toward goal reaching. They rather use local athlete
than someone who enjoys higher media exposure and is, consequently, even more expensive.
Therefore, Elan picks different sponsoring athletes separately for each of their 40 individual
representative offices. Sponsorships are tied more to the local goals and through the local Elan
branch, while the international team of ambassadors is led by Slovenian headquarter (Kruhar
Gaberšček, 2015). This is why their ambassadors are ski legend Ingemar Stenmark, Davo
Karničar, Glen Plake, etc., while sponsored athletes are from Filip Flisar, Bine Žalohar, etc. for
Slovenia to Jules Bonnaire for France and Ben Brosseau for USA (Elan, n.d.).

2.3.4 Gender

Sponsoring company should definitely also consider gender of the athlete and if coincides with the
product. However, days of making the difference between male and female athlete
accomplishments are over. The difference is in its viewership and media coverage; men’s sport
has higher viewership, which for sponsors means more brand exposure, and also increased
following on social media (Oh, 2017). For example, if a brand were to sponsor ski jumper Ema
Klinec, they would not receive the same amount of exposure as if they sponsor her male
counterpart Peter Prevc. More spectators and better media coverage also explains why male
athletes still earn much more then female athletes (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007).

Even though there is a gender pay gap between male and female athlete sponsorship, marketing
focus has recently turned toward female athletes (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007). Brands now try to leverage
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comparative advantage deriving from sponsoring female athletes compared to male athletes (Oh,
2017). Female athletes spend more time with fans and actually sign autographs what makes them
more accessible and personable with consumers. They are also less prone to make negative
publicity what means less risk for the sponsor (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007).

What is more, they are gaining advertisers interests because of their strong purchasing power.
Female present 70 - 80 percent of consumer purchases (Oh, 2017). Study also found that they
could be especially effective when targeting products that relate to their gender. So, it is not
surprising that seven out of eight currently sponsored athletes by chocolate Milka are female
(Milka, n.d.). This coincides with the product; female are more known to have sweet teeth than
men and are more prone to purchase chocolate. Another example pertaining Slovenian company
is Zlatarna Celje’s partnership with Tina Maze.

So, before singing contract with any athlete, sponsors should think if their primary reason for
sponsorship is higher brand exposure (viewership) or brand equity (potent purchasing power of
female) (Oh, 2017).

2.4 Social Media Effect on Athlete Sponsorship

Social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc., have become a popular
way for professional athletes to connect with their fans. At the same time, these networks act as
the most effective way for brands to interact with their audience as well. So, both parties enjoy the
best benefits, if they combine their partnership to leverage for greater audience’s attention
(Hambrick et al., 2005).

Until recently, with traditional media, such as TV, radio and print, interactions between sponsored
athletes and customers were limited; brands and athletes communicated with fans but they could
not communicate back. Contrastingly, digital tools changed the dynamics as now brands,
sponsored athlete and the audience can all engage in communication. Social media is particularly
effective for younger generation as this is their way of interaction. They interact through social
media with friends, family, and read about the news, brands and also athletes, etc. Studies shows
that interactivity is the reason for people to use social network. This is how they form ties
(Hambrick et al., 2005). Consequently, to maximize positive effect of athlete on the brand,
sponsoring companies should help athletes creating meaningful content and connections that will
grab audience’s attention. Social networks can actually help users increase their personal self-
esteem and develop their personal identity (Hambrick et al., 2005). This is what strong brands are
actually all about: forming strong values that coincides with the audience. If a fan is following and
interacting with a particular athlete on social network to achieve values/goals he or she shares with
that athlete, fan will be more prone to use brand’s values in his or her personality building as well.

Successful athletes started seeing social media as a way to nurture their relationship with fans.
Sponsors should see this as an opportunity to build their brand. For instance, professional biker
Lance Armstrong once posted a message asking fans to join him for a bike ride at the specific
location and time what resulted in more than 1.000 cyclists showing up to take part at it (Hambrick
et al., 2005). Sponsors should use athlete-fan relationship and include their brand in it. The
response on Armstrong's post was so high because athlete's posts on social media have very high
reach (Kruhar Gaberšček, 2015).

Many influencers are reaching as many people, if not even more, as traditional publishers do every
single day (Skid & Hall, 2015). For example, football star, Christiano Ronaldo, has more Twitter
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followers than Canada has inhabitants (Ways to Get More Out Of Sponsored Athlete Investment,
n.d.). Their reach is so high because they provide information to customers through the original
content (Skid & Hall, 2015). With great content and story behind, athlete can develop loyalty for
the brand, provide fan’s post-purchase behaviour, make recommendations for the other
complementary products and discuss in what extend has a product improved his or her
performance or lifestyle (Ways to get more out of sponsored athlete, n.d). So, company’s focus
when sponsoring athlete should be on the powerful content marketing which can reign the audience
loyalty supreme (Skid & Hall, 2015).

Before signing a sponsorship with an athlete, firms should analyze in what way athlete
communicates with fans on the social media. If his or her posts are not intrusive and present brands
of already existing sponsors in interactive way, that athlete is a good pick. Sponsoring athletes that
are active on social media him or herself and post about sport or private life in combination with
the brand will be the most attractive in the future. Posts by sponsored athletes are the most
effective, if they are pure and spontaneous. They instantly loss their effect on brand, if company
forces athletes to endorse the product or business. Companies want from athletes to present actions
that add to brand attractiveness and exposure.

But no matter how much athlete is active on social media, companies have to engage in promoting
the brand and athlete on social media themselves. They can repost athletes post on their channels,
tag athletes, give prizes among followers, etc. They have to promote athlete and brand in a good
manner. They can also arrange with the athlete that he or she does not post picture, screen from
competition or training on his or her social media profile, but instead send it to company who later
post it itself. This is how company delivers added value to its followers and take care of audience
engagement. This is a method that resulted particularity well for brand Alpsko mleko (Koščak
2014).

2.5 Risk Management Techniques in Athlete Sponsorship

Fans form special attachment with their adored athletes. They see athletes and the brands they
represent as two different entities, even though the company always work hard that customers
would see them as one. However, in some circumstances it is better that they don’t (Ways to Get
More Out Of Sponsored Athlete Investment, n.d.). When athlete is at his or her top form, wins a
championship or breaks a record any product associated with him or her enjoys instant visibility.
Sponsor of well-performing athlete or team might be more recalled simply because fans focus their
attention during the broadcast on the athlete and are, consequently, also more able to identify
sponsor’s logo on athlete’s competition uniform (Walraven et al., 2014).

Sponsoring partners are always happy if athlete is performing well as it contributes to higher brand
awareness. However, there is always a risk. Whenever a scandal erupts around the athlete, he or
she gets injured, acts unethically or is tested positive on the banned drugs, corporate brand suffers
negative impact as well (Avoiding the Perils in Sport Sponsorship, n.d.). Firm’s financial
performance is negatively affected, measured by stock market return, when an athlete is involved
in such undesirable event. Stock price drops as a reflection of negative perception of the future
profits and growth. Negative cost appearance also comes from revenue loss, personnel costs (firing
and hiring new staff), loss of sponsorship and consumer avoidance of product or service.

In case of negative publicity in sport sponsorship there are couple actions that sponsors can take
to protect themselves. Depending on the perceived level of harm scandal may cause to the brand,
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sponsors can decide on their own whether to drop the sponsorship completely, retain the
sponsorship and publicly show support, or retain the sponsorship and distance themselves and
brand from the scandalous athlete (Avoiding the Perils in Sport Sponsorship, n.d.). Either way,
negative publicity has such a strong influence on consumers that it is definitely wise for sponsors
to rethink severing their ties or failing renewing the contract (Hughes & Shank, 2005).

Sponsors today react to the athlete’s scandal immediately as they do not want to be linked to the
athlete with negative publicity (O’Reilly, 2016). This is because the lower the evaluation of
sponsoring athlete, the lower the evaluation of brand by consumers will become. Timing of the
release of negative information is important as well. Negative endorser’s information prior to the
brand-athlete pairing has a greater effect on the corporation and brand itself than if the negative
athlete information comes to public after the pairing (Ways to Get More Out Of Sponsored Athlete
Investment, n.d.). This is supported by the study that shows consumers have relatively short term
memory when it comes to companies responsible for the inappropriate actions of an athlete
endorser. Public tends to be quite forgiving of companies that sponsor athletes incurring negative
publicity (Avoiding the Perils of Sport Sponsorship, n.d.). Consequently, companies should check
the background of the athletes before they decide to sponsor them.

There is always a risk connecting with the third party and risk management techniques have to be
done upfront. To reduce the possibility of potentially damaging publicity, firms should develop
some kind of hiring and recruiting measures that emphasize the background and characteristics of
athlete before proceeding to sponsorship negotiations. This way firm proactively protect its brand
and organization from signing a contract with athletes that are more prone to engage in future
activity resulting in scandal. With precaution, unanticipated event can still occur, but chances are
significantly smaller (Avoiding the Perils of Sport Sponsorship, n.d.).

Sponsorship contracts can have special clauses to cover instances in which athlete is involved in
scandal (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007). One of them is moral clause. It is provision in the sponsorship
contract allowing sponsors to terminate the relationship with the athlete, if he or she tarnish his or
her image and, consequently, the image of the company and the brand. So, sponsors always have
to think a step ahead and be prepared on any scenario. An example of a typical moral clause would
be: “If an athlete/team commits any act that tends to bring him or her into public dispute, contempt,
scandal or ridicule, or tends to shock, insult or offend any class or group of people, …” (Avoiding
the Perils of Sport Sponsorship, n.d.).

However, in the worst scenario, if the scandal with sponsoring athlete does occur, organization is
best off hiring/employing an experienced representative to deal with the media during the
occurrence of scandal. With effective risk management techniques, corporation can effectively
manage and potentially mitigate the impact of disgrace on organization. Some recent examples of
the sponsoring athletes’ unethical behavior are golfer Tiger Woods and tennis star Maria
Sharapova. In 2009 media announced Wood’s sex scandals. Immediately after many of his
sponsors broke contract with him for the purpose of having fear for negative image on the products
tied with him (Hanks, n.d.). Two companies that retained agreement with him, Nike and EA Sports,
suffered from the greatest cumulative stock loss, 5.55 percent. So, they were worse of at the
eruption of scandal then companies that drop their ties with Woods. But as consumers tend to be
forgetful they recovered from those initial losses soon after (Avoiding the Perils of Sport
Sponsorship, n.d.). At the beginning of 2016 negative publicity of a failed drug test by Maria
Sharapova came to public. Her sponsor Nike was the first one to suspend its deal which was worth
at least $12,5 million a year (O’Reilly, 2016).

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Not only scandal, athlete’s injury or bad performance can have negative impact on sponsor as well.
ROI of the sponsorship in this case is limited because the season ends sooner than expected. This
means shorter publicity period and, consequently, fewer associations sponsor can gain through the
athlete (Avoiding the Perils of Sport Sponsorship, n.d.).

But, even if the times are bad, company can always twist their strategy around so at the end they
still benefit from the athlete sponsorship and endorsement. Company just needs to be flexible and
respond immediately. Good example of this is partnership between Adidas and American
basketball star Derrick Rose. Rose was Adidas spokesperson and key player of his team. When he
got injured in 2012 just two month after signing the contract, his team, Chicago Bulls, could not
proceed to further championship and Adidas was not able to use his basketball court success to
further generate sales of new basketball shoes. However, Adidas marketers did not cry over their
bad luck but instead put their heads together and decided to use Rose’s recovery as a way to keep
interest for the brand. They created a series of YouTube videos inviting fans to be part of Rose’s
emotional recovery progress. The series enjoyed an instant interest; it generated more than 6.5
million views, 68 000 subscribers, 39.000 likes, 12.00 favorites and 7.500 comments on the Adidas
basketball channel. Fans response was dramatic and Adidas twisted their campaign in the way they
still received brand exposure. At the end, they benefited even more. Adidas could later use each
comment, favorite, like and subscription for further engagement with fans (Ways to Get More Out
Of Sponsored Athlete Investment, n.d.). It is true that it would be difficult to turn athlete’s doping
scandal in company’s advantage, but if sponsored athlete is having a bad season or he or she gets
injured, company just has to be creative to keep the targeted audience attached. So, sport
sponsorship can generate great benefits but companies have to recognize the potential risk that
comes with it as well. Financial rewards can be high, as long as risk is managed appropriately
(Avoiding the Perils of Sport Sponsorhip, n.d.).

3 EVALUATION OF ATHLETE SPONSORSHIP

3.1 Challenges of Athlete Sponsorship Evaluation

Although sponsorship is a pervasive marketing activity and its global spending continue to rise,
there is a lack of credible methods to measure and compare sponsorship outcomes. Challenges for
sponsorship performance are primarily created due to the different objectives for which athlete
sponsorship is undertaken. Because of the different objectives, just one universal way of
measurement cannot be used. For example, company that sponsors professional athlete aims for
achieving brand awareness, while company sponsoring local young talent works toward fostering
community goodwill and enhancing brand image. These are two completely different goals for
which’s achieving different measurement tactics are needed (Vance, Raciti, & Lawley, 2016).

Brand value added by celebrity is immediate and palpable (Olenski, 2016), but sponsorship
marketing frequently still delivers less than optimal result for marketer. To increase marketing
value of the brand, sponsors should look beyond the typical objective of reach and affinity.
Sponsorship should be evaluated also on its role of activating and motivating consumer behavior.
People’s passions have endless possibilities for engagement, content, value and sharing. Only
capturing them builds successful brand and business (Rosen & Minsky, 2011).

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3.2 Halo Effect in Sponsorship

Not many people would think but studies have already found that sponsorship also creates and can
benefit from halo effect. Halo effect is an opportunity for sponsors to increase customer traffic and
the pricing, which are both the main sources of revenue growth (Halo Effect, n.d.b). In general,
halo effect is defined as a “tendency for consumer’s beliefs about one dominant brand association
to influence their other belief about a brand.” (Vance et al., 2016). It is a concept driven by the
brand equity (Halo Effect, n.d.b). For example, if a person likes the appearance of the product, he
or she then with the halo effect transfers these positive feelings to the other product characteristics,
like usage, performance, taste, etc. (Halo Effect, n.d.a).

In sponsorship, halo effect is created through consumer awareness and goodwill for sponsor’s
support of their favored athlete. If a person likes an athlete, he or she will transfer positive feelings
to the brand as well. Consequently, his or her impression of the brand is strengthened. Halo effect
will help putting out the rest, people just need to have one positive association about the
relationship between the brand and an athlete. If halo effect causes transfer of positive feelings
from athlete to the product/service of sponsoring brand, these positive feelings can also then
transfer from a sponsoring product/service to the other product by the same company (Halo effect,
n.d.b). This is also why marketers say halo effect is a foundation of the modern concept of brands
(Frederiksen, 2016). It is true that significantly higher brand awareness is created by more
commercial sponsoring of a professional athlete then it is by community oriented sponsorship if
supporting local talents. However, the later creates the higher halo effect because when engaged
with the local community more positive impact on sponsor’s brand attributes is created (Vance et
al., 2016).

3.3 Steps for Successful and Effective Sponsorship

Success for sponsorship program will to large extend depends on how it is implemented, to its
activation (Fortunato, 2013). In 80 percent of athlete-sponsor relationships people remember the
celebrity, but forget about the brand (Avoiding the Perils of Sport Sponsorship). Consequently,
content of the activation has to be carefully thought because sponsorship is successful in a way
that sponsors can see the return of their investment, if consumers can connect the brand to the
sponsored athlete. According to Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000), there are seven key factors that
determine the effectiveness of sponsorship experience. Seven factors are presented in Figure 7.

Sponsors should:

• Have clear communication objectives for the brand

There are three different objectives firms can work towards achieving that are important driver of
sponsorship strategy: visibility/awareness, association development and relationship development
(Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). Sponsors should claim what current goals and objectives can
athlete sponsorship help them achieve. They should also consider if they can create new goals and
strategies for them (Rosen & Minsky, 2011). These objectives should be then reflected in the
communication strategy of the brand. However, clear communication objectives start with
understanding brand’s value proposition and brand’s core identity. Knowing the goal of
sponsorship and associations that are needed for this goal should drive the sponsorship (Aaker &
Joachimsthaler, 2000).

25
• Be proactive

Sponsors should be proactive and develop a list of criteria for the ideal athlete sponsorship. They
should not go just for what is being offered to them. The biggest global companies get thousands
of sponsorships requests each year (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). Red Bull, as an example,
sponsors around 500 athletes (Carrillat & Astous, 2014). But these firms do not just accept every
offer. Instead, they are proactive. They know that proactivity will increase their likelihood of
original sponsorship that will stand out of today’s numerous athlete-brand relationships. For
effective sponsorship, companies should also obtain and evaluate target audience and associations
of the potential sponsorship (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000).

Figure 7. Seven Keys to Effective Sponsorship

1. Have clear
communicati
on objectives

7. Actively
manage the 2. Be
proactive
sponsorship

Effective
sponsorship
6. Consider [Link] for
multiple an
sponsorship exceptional
payoffs fit

5. Look for 4. Own

publicity sponsorships
opportunities if possible

Source: adapted after D. Aaker and E. Joachimsthaler, Brand Leadership, 2000.

• Look for an exceptional fit

Sponsors should never agree partnering with an athlete who doesn’t align with the brand. Athlete
should be able to reach brands target audience and communicate over what the brand stands for
(More in section 2.3.3) (Rosen & Minsky, 2011). Sign of a great fit is the fact that the product can
be demonstrated in a way that is integral to the core principle of the sponsorship. Exceptional fit
between the athlete and the brand is a jumpstart for athlete sponsorship, while lack of fit, or its
force are significant handicap (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). Sponsors should notify the right
fitted athlete with the values and advantages sponsorship will bring to them. Sponsors should also
negotiate the opportunities, otherwise, they will overpay for obtaining the athlete’s rights (Rosen
& Minsky, 2011).

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• Own sponsorship

Main goal of any sponsorship is to connect the brand to the associations public has about the
athlete. When brand and athlete are inseparable, achieving also other goals becomes much easier
and more cost-effective. The real success is when the associations are made also after the
sponsorship contract is done or after the athlete finishes the season. For example, the real success
for Milka was when people on their summer vacations were reading news about Tina Maze
preparing for the new skiing season and at the same time recalled Milka chocolate in their mind.
To achieve it, it is better for companies to focus on few sponsorships than forming loose
associations with many athletes. Also, sponsors should aim for long-term contracts and be aware
that if the athlete will perform well, and their sponsorship will work out great, competitor firms
might try to move into their place (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000).

• Look for publicity opportunities

Publicity contributes to effective and efficient brand building. Activation of the sponsorship is the
one that will actually connect the brand to the athlete and fully exploit athlete’s potential (Aaker
& Joachimsthaler, 2000).

• Consider multiple sponsorship payoffs

Knowing all ways audience moves towards buying the product or service, sponsors can utilize the
sponsorship to create value and drive key behavior. Sponsors should engage their sales force,
retailers, distributors, internal departments, etc. to gain the wished ROI (Rosen & Minsky, 2011).
Sponsorship can build brand by interjecting the brand into the athlete-fans relationship by
providing experience at the athlete’s competition and by demonstrating the new product (Aaker &
Joachimsthaler, 2000).

• Actively manage the sponsorship

For effective sponsorship, its goals need to be set, strategy formulated and its results measured
(Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). Data collection, constant measurement and optimization
sponsors can quantify and improve ROI of athlete sponsorship (Rosen & Minsky, 2011).

3.4 Measuring Sponsorship Effect

Corporations have to ask themselves how much value they actually generate from sponsoring an
athlete and for these reasons measure and evaluate their sponsorship. Analysis by Association of
national advertisers uncovered that 65 percent of marketers do not consistently measure the impact
and effectiveness of their sponsorship activities and, consequently, do not know impact of their
expenditure (Association of National Advertisers, 2013). Marketers should know where their
money goes and what is created with it. Therefore, as part of the sponsorship, marketers need to
create a complete marketing ROI program with fundamentals in five metrics (Jacobs, Jain, &
Surana, 2014). These five metrics are discussed below.

• Cost per reach

Cost per reach describes the number of people exposed to the sponsorship live or through media
like TV, radio or printed advertisements. It should be evaluated quarterly and should include the
27
costs of right fees and activation costs and advertising. Also, reach calculations should be made
on the exposure to the target demographic group over total numbers (Jacobs et al., 2014).

Outcomes of cost per reach will be different from sponsorship to sponsorship, as some
sponsorships are going to have high costs (with premier athlete) while the others will deliver low
reach (local athlete). However, with cost per reach any company can evaluate and if necessary
relocate its sponsorship money.

• Unaided awareness per reach

Unaided awareness per reach reflects missed opportunity to magnify a sponsorship impact on sales
or awareness by allocating financial resources wrongly. Many corporations spend a lot to acquire
athlete sponsorship rights or offering big money for signing ambassador rights but very little for
activation. Companies that will spend more for activation will enjoy higher unaided awareness and
higher brand recall (Jacobs et al., 2014).

• Sales/margin per dollar spent

There are two approaches that help directly linking sales to sponsorship. First approach connects
sponsorship spending to the main marketing measures such as unaided awareness, propensity to
buy and willingness to consider. Later it tracks effect of each of these measures on the short and
long term sales. By collecting such data, companies will be able to identify sponsorship that really
drives people’s willingness to consider the company’s product and links it to the final sales.

The second approach bases on econometrics and uses data on sponsorship reach and spending over
a certain period to form connections between sponsorship and sales. This approach also isolates
the impact of sponsorship on sales from impact on sales from other activities like marketing
(Jacobs et al., 2014).

• Long term brand attributes

Sponsorship has all the potentials to establish long term sales that strengthens brand identity. Brand
strength actually contributes 60 to 80 percent to overall sales and is therefore crucial for long term
sales growth. So, in order to assess attitudes deriving from sponsorship, marketers are using
qualitative analysis to find out which sponsorships are reinforcing a common brand theme. With
surveys, entities determine what athlete’s images are aligned with brand attributes. Some of athlete
sponsorships deals actually do not carry the message around and result in a negative ROI (Jacobs
et al., 2014).

• Indirect benefit

Companies often tent to neglect or overestimate revenues coming from indirect benefits when
calculating ROI. Indirect benefits come, for example, from indirect sales when sponsor takes part
at the athlete’s competition. Another example are covered organizational costs of particular event
such as charity golf tournament sponsor is organizing. Just athlete’s presence at the event can result
in cost covering (Jacobs et al., 2014).

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4 EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

4.1 Description of the Problem

The problem this study focus on is the lack of companies’ awareness of how athlete can contribute
to successful promotional campaign and can add value to the sponsoring company and promoted
brand. Nowadays, marketing has become a big business. Spending on a paid media in 2016 was
projected to reach 606,90 billion dollars worldwide what was 6,5 percent more than in 2015 (Total
media ad spending growth slows). Outstanding athletes have a great influence on the purchasing
decision of their supporters. Fans always want to relate to their favorite athlete and are, therefore,
an excellent target for advertiser that uses athlete celebrity to endorse the product (Hanks, n.d.).

Building a strong brand has always been any companies' goal as it leads to high product awareness
and, later, loyalty. The presence of athletes in advertising and their sponsoring is lately becoming
a worldwide trend which is popular also in Slovenia. Roots go back to early 90s. In the time of
action “Podarim dobim” (ang: Give and get) strong link was built between Žito’s brand 1001 Cvet
(Eng: 1001 Flower) and winter sports. Winter is high season for drinking tea and this is how a
strong emotional link and association was built between skiers, ski jumpers and their supporters
on the other side. Skiers and ski jumpers have become “heroes” of the 1001 Cvet’s Mountain tea.
Today we would simply call them ambassadors (Kruhar Gaberšček, 2015). Trend continued in
2000s with wholesaler Spar sponsoring runner Jolanda Čeplak but is becoming even more and
more present in recent years. Companies of all sizes are sponsoring athletes of any range, from
worldwide stars like Peter Prevc and Tina Maze, nationally known athletes like Filip Flisar, Ilka
Štuhec, Tim Gajser, Maja Mihalinec, to local stars, amateurs and even personal trainers.

This is where the problem arises. Not many companies who invest in sport and athletes hire
specialist and have knowledge of sport industry and sport marketing. They are not aware of what
sponsoring an athlete can actually bring to their business. They simply follow the trend that it is a
popular thing to sponsor an athlete or a personal trainer. Also, I believe there are many more
companies that were considering athlete sponsorship but decided not to as they were simply
unaware of the impact it can have on their organization. Many times, sponsorship contract between
athlete and the company is signed but, afterwards, there is no or little activation, no measurement
of returns and no evaluation of returns which are actually keys to successful sales partnering.
Problem of athlete sponsorship in Slovenia is the general perception that this is help and not
investment which, as any other, requires its nurturing through activation.

4.2 Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study is to provide general information and guidelines for Slovenian companies
that already sponsor athletes and for those that are considering to do so in the future. Study wants
to give firms knowledge of what can they gain from the link with the athlete, how to appropriately
consider the right athlete and promotional strategy to have a positive impact on the strength and
awareness of the brand, and, consequently, the levels of sales. The goal is also to research and
understand what is the main issue in Slovenia regarding athlete sponsorship: on what level athlete
sponsorship is in Slovenia, what more can be done, do companies constantly cooperate and are in
touch with the sponsoring athlete, etc.

In order to get broader scope of the above problem, I let the investigation develop by itself, while
researching. It was difficult to predict the outcomes due to the uniqueness of the study’s problem.
29
So far, no research like this has been developed in Slovenia yet. However, I believe that the
conducted interviews and questionnaire lead me to the preferred direction which is also supported
with the literature at the beginning of the study.

4.3 Hypothesis Development

Brands are driven by and created in the minds of consumers (Wertime, 2012). Majgaard also
stresses that when marketers brand a product or service, they do it to push the product into people’s
mind, to impress them (Majgaard, 2016). The more mindful consumers are going to be about the
brand, the greater the chance they are going to know about brand’s philosophy, its values and
goals. And, once they possess the same values and associations as brand does, they form a strong
self-concept connection with the brand which leads to high loyalty and increased sales
(Swaminathan et al., 2007). Nowadays, marketers are trying to find new ways how to move their
brands closer to consumers. They found out that stars have always gained people’s attention. So,
they started market their brand through idols, singers, actors and, also, sport icons as people
identify themselves with them (Olenski, 2016). When companies form bonds between their brand
and popular name in sport, there is a high possibility the sales will boost dramatically (Bradič,
2015). Once audience identifies with sponsored athlete, which is primary goal of any sponsor,
higher brand awareness and recall can be expected (Meden, 2016). Therefore:

H1a: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on awareness of sponsoring
company.
H1b: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on brand awareness.
H1c: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on customer loyalty toward the
brand.

The simplest form of sponsorship occurs when a company financially supports picked athlete.
Sponsorship is an exchange of something for something. Athlete’s return for financial support is
primarily in advertising benefits sponsors possess. Sponsors try to position their brand with the
sponsored athlete by having him or her testify on behalf of the company’s product or service. But
this is already marketing activity, sponsorship activation, which leads to sponsorship’s success
(Roy, 2016). Activation is the activity that adds value to the sponsorship. Level of money invested
in it determines investment’s success. Solely sponsorship is only acquiring rights to use athletes
name, picture, etc. (Koščak, 2014). But without further activation, sponsorship investment cannot
be returned.

After conducting interview with an Olympian, well- known personal trainer and a company that
currently sponsors Slovenian mountain climber and other sport clubs I realized Slovenian
companies often do not invest in further activation. But if they do, they rarely discuss it with the
athlete. This way sponsors cannot enjoy all the fruits of the athlete sponsorship. Therefore,

H2: Based on the frequency of the activation discussion among sponsor and sponsored athlete,
there is a statistically significant difference in athlete’s awareness of the goals and in sponsor’s
measurement of sponsorship and goal reaching.

As already stated, companies around the globe, also in Slovenia, see the appeal of athletes and try
to establish associations with them to reach their marketing goals (Hughes & Shank, 2005). If fit
between sponsored athlete and the brand (product/service) is congruent this can increase the
positive evaluation of sponsorship in the eyes of consumers (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007). For example,
30
companies should first identify their brand’s target audience and only then find athlete who will
deliver them a message. If fans of picked athlete fall into the category of brand’s targeted group,
this is a big plus for the company. Brand will get more exposure and its awareness among the
target group will increase (Weber, n.d.).

Also, if sponsored athlete’s endorsements on social media are pure, spontaneous and not forced,
they reach the highest amount of audience. It is very important for companies to find an athlete
who will be able to establish the credibility and trustworthiness of the brand (Bradič, 2015).
Therefore,

H3: There is statistically significant positive correlation between congruent athlete-brand

relationship on one side, and idol attachment and brand loyalty on the other side.

For a successful partnership, athlete needs to align with the values of the brand (Weber, n.d.). The
key for brand success seem to lie in the decision to connect with the right athlete who later endorses
the product or service (Bradič, 2015). Through the interview with personal trainer I found out that
her current sponsoring firm was looking for an ambassador and decided on her, simply, because
they knew her partner. Similarly, interviewed athlete confessed she knew of athletes that got
sponsorship because of their personal ties. What is more, interviewed business to business
(hereinafter: B2B) company who sponsors athletes confessed the reason for some of their
sponsorships lied in the nature of their business and not their interest into the athletes/sport itself.
This again proves that to get a sponsor in Slovenia it is more important who you know than who
you are (your values, philosophy, beliefs). Constrastingly, the other interviewed company did not
mention anything about importance of athlete’s personal ties inside their company for sponsorship
pursuing. They claimed they have the same regulations for all and a special committee that gets
through each sponsorship request. Therefore,

H4: Among the methods of pursuing sponsorship there is statistically significant difference in
athletes’ opinions whether companies decide on the sponsored athletes based on their personal
ties, networks and connections.

Talking with Slovenian professional athlete and personal trainer I realized they both feel
responsible to present their brand in the nicest and positive way. They feel it is their obligation and
they like doing it. Athlete’s posts have very high reach. So, for success sponsors should use this
athlete-fan relationship and include their brand in it (Kruhar Gaberšček, 2015). Similarly, in
interviewed company Petrol do not force sponsored athletes to expose them in media. Authenticity
is the most important characteristics to consider (Skid & Hall, 2015). At Petrol, they prefer
authentic and unique occasional posts which sponsored athlete wishes to make him or herself over
posts under contstraint. In their words, if athlete felt good about the sponsoring company and made
genuine brand/company exposure in the media, customers could sense his or her authenticity what
had indirectly positive effect on the success of sponsorship. Therefore,

H5: There is a statistically significant positive correlation between athlete’s inner feeling of
obligation presenting sponsoring brand and athlete’s good feeling/mood when presenting the
brand.

31
4.4 Methodology

4.4.1 Used Methods

To conduct the study, I used primary and secondary data. Secondary data is data that has already
been collected by some other parties. These are books, electronic journals and articles used in the
study. In the research, I used it to validate the primary data that I collected myself. Since secondary
data did not provide sufficient information needed to answer hypothesis and material for
theoretical facts, I collected primary data as well. I used two commonly used methods:

• Interviews
• Questionnaire

Both methods combined lead me to hypothesis results and, also, some additional findings. I
discussed implications for these findings and provided final conclusion of the research together
with the recap of recommendations for managers and recommendations for further analysis of the
problem.

4.4.2 Interviews

To get the full understanding of the problem and the sponsorship situation of athletes in Slovenia
I, in total, conducted four semi-structured interviews. One interview was made with professional
athlete who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympic games and is being sponsored by few
companies. The other interview was performed with a well-known personal trainer who is
ambassador for retailer of sporting clothes. Lately, personal trainers have become more and more
involved in sponsorship as companies sees them as people’s motivators for healthier lifestyle.
Interview was also made with a leading Slovenian B2B who is currently sponsoring athletes. The
last, fourth, interview was made with the marketing director of Slovenian company Petrol who has
a strong presence in sport industry sponsoring over 30 athletes from different sports.

I believe with these interviews I gained broad understanding of the topic from all the parties that
are involved in athlete sponsorship. Gained information first helped me to develop hypothesis and
later served as a valuable source of information when forming questionnaire and deriving
conclusion statements.

4.4.3 Survey

Questionnaire was developed only for athletes who have sponsor, or had it in the past, and athletes
that are on the high enough level that are trying to get the sponsor but had no luck. In order to
achieve the most relevant information from both groups, survey was designed differently for
athletes having sponsors than for those that tried getting them but were not successful
(consequently, do not have sponsor). You always get the clearest understanding of the
topic/problem if you look at it through the different prospective, and since I want this master thesis
to be a guideline for companies considering sponsorship, athletes are “the other side” of the
sponsoring partnership and can give me the greatest insight into the problem. I wanted the survey
to reach athletes from different sports, winter and summers sports, individual and team sports, just
so that no generalization will be made.

32
Survey consisted of three different parts. Focus was put on the part designed for athletes who have
or had a sponsor. They provided me with their personal insights and experiences regarding
sponsorship. Their answers gave me clear picture of what is currently being made for athletes and
how they perceive sponsorship, if they are proud and feel obligated to promote the brand, if they
know the values brand stands for, if these values are congruent with their personal beliefs, etc. The
second part was designed for athletes that tried getting a sponsor but were not successful. This part
was short and researched the barriers and reasons for their turndown by the companies. However,
in final part both groups of above mentioned athletes were asked general sponsorship questions
and about their perception towards sponsorship. Consequently, recommendations and finding
derive from responses of both groups.

Through above mentioned topics, survey will try to justify the theoretical part of building the
strong brand through sport involvement. All tests and analysis of the survey’s data were made in
SPSS software.

4.5 Limitations, Validity and Reliability

When distributing the survey, one of the obstacles was finding athletes who would fall into the
survey’s target group. Relatively few athletes are on such high level that they have or had a sponsor
or tried to get one. Before distribution I already knew the final representative sample was going to
be small. I got myself a goal of getting over 80 surveys solved what I achieved. The survey was
solved by 97 professional athletes of which 44 have or had sponsor in the past. I did my best to get
in touch with Slovenian professional athletes from different sports but most of them were busy,
what contributed to the fact that not all of them responded my request. Survey was active in
December 2016 and early January 2017. I, for example, tried to get in touch with skiers,
snowboarders and ski jumpers but as they were all busy in the middle of competing season I was
not lucky. I also got a smaller response from athletes (track and field) as I predicted. I am assuming
this is because in December they are preparing for the indoor season which starts right after New
Year’s in training camps either in Spain, Portugal or South Africa.

The other limitation emerged even before that when I was still developing questionnaire. I tried to
find marketing scales regarding sport sponsorship in different books, but all without luck. I looked
for scales under promotions, fans, sport, sport sponsorship, brand name, brand awareness, etc. At
the end, I found two questions suitable for my topic. I also helped myself with some other questions
and twisted them around so they suit my topic.

However, due to the nature of distributing questionnaire my sample is not random. Respondents
were reached by me, my friends, acquaintances, sport physiotherapist and coaches, so, I believe
the representative sample is valuable and reliable. Survey was solved by athletes from 17 different
sports what I count as a big accomplishment. Athletes come from indoor and outdoor sports, sports
who get media attention and those that don’t, individual and team sports, winter and summer
sports. Moreover, I can confirm it was solved by World Cup/Championship holders, by more than
five Slovenian Olympians, and even one Olympic medal holder what gives the results higher
significance.

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5. RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS

5.1 Interviews Results

5.1.1 Main Findings

In total, I conducted four semi/structured in-depth interviews. With gained information, I

recognized repeating patterns and characteristics that lead me to formatting three types of
sponsorships emerging in Slovenia, based on how sponsors execute it. Observed three types of
sponsorship with their main characteristics are described below. I also stated some other general
interview findings, while the full scripts of interviews can be found in the appendix.

• Sponsorship type 1: “Athlete is the king/queen”

This kind of sponsorship is enjoyed by top Slovenian athletes. For them it is relatively easy to get
sponsorship. They only need to proclaim some self-motivation for sponsorship pursuing. Many
times, sponsorship is arranged by athlete’s managers. Sponsors are big firms like Petrol,
Ljubljanske mlekarne, Amicus, etc. They do sponsorship seriously as they want their money to be
invested wisely and want to see return on it. Those firms sometimes also hire sport marketing
agencies. Sponsorship contracts are toughly executed and well developed (activation is included,
athlete’s obligations are mutually agreed and clearly stated). Sponsors are aware of importance of
fit between them and the athlete. Also, they do not put a lot of pressure on athlete in terms of
promoting the brand and posting on social media. Those companies are understandable and let
athletes know sport is their main focus. Promoting and obligations towards the company comes
only after sport. Sponsors wish that when sponsored athlete exposes their company on social media
this is authentic. The athlete needs to feel the urge for it. Furthermore, when athlete is present at
the company’s events, his presence should not interrupt his or her training, competition or recovery
session. If athlete is pressured and would be in bad mood at the event, sponsor rather see them not
taking part.

• Sponsorship type 2: “Go with the flow”

Professional athletes who are not among top ones on international level or are still seeking for their
performance break through and additional media exposure many times struggle to get a sponsor.
When they do, they usually find themselves in the second type of sponsorship.

For athletes, to get sponsorship, personal ties and connections can usually be the matter of
sponsorship’s request success. Without personal connections with someone inside of a wished
athlete’s sponsor, athlete needs to be very active and write many requests addressing companies.
Usually, it goes for small or medium sized companies that are not very involved in the sponsorship
and activation. They do sponsorship themselves and do not hire agencies, no matter the level of
their sport industry knowledge. Typically, athletes do not know their obligations as they are not
stated. It happens that companies even do not expect anything from the athlete in return.
Companies are often not aware of potential benefits sponsorship could bring them. Also, they do
not think of importance of congruence in values between them and the athlete. Companies that
sponsor athletes and fall into this category are the least in touch with athlete. Because of lack of
communication, athlete’s feeling of belonging and owing to the company develops only with
athlete’s self-motivation. The tie between the athlete and sponsor is usually not strong.

34
• Sponsorship type 3: “Work hard, get nothing”

The kind of sponsorship is performed by small firms and newcomers on Slovenian market. Many
times, their product/ service is somehow related to the sport industry. Consequently, their interest
for being connected with the athlete is very high. Examples of such are companies whose products
are sporting clothes, compression socks, food supplements, recovery drinks, etc. Sponsorship
contract is not thoroughly though, sometimes athletes also only have oral agreement with the
company. Activation can be stated in the contract or not at all. Many times, athletes need to put
pressure back on the company so that things get done. For example, interviewed personal trainer
had to constantly remind sponsor about the contract singing and ask about her obligations.
Similarly, interviewed athlete had to prepare activation plan herself as one of her sponsors did not
know what and how to do it.

In sponsor’s wish for exposure, which probably grows out from wish for their business to survive
and grow, they either put too much pressure on athlete, or, in excess of work, do not give athlete
any obligations leaving them lost. So, some companies expect from athletes too much and tell
them the required number of social media posts athlete cannot meet. Contrastingly, the other
companies do not state activation and do not agree on athlete’s obligations leaving them wonder
what should they be doing in return (again, divergence from focus from sport). However, in both
occasions athletes are not familiar with company’s values, unless through own research, as
companies do not put importance on fit between the athlete and their brand.

5.1.2 Other Findings

When conducting interviews, I come across some other interesting findings. In some occasions,
especially for top athletes, managers arrange all formal obligations before sponsorship signing
instead of the athlete.

Even though athlete sponsorship in Slovenia has only become more popular in the last few years
and many companies still avoid it as a marketing tool, marketing director of Petrol d.d., Rok
Cuderman said there were great differences between companies in Slovenia and the sport
sponsorship knowledge level of their employees. Many companies avoid athlete sponsorship just
because of the lack of knowledge. But Cudermand said: “Whoever wants to do things seriously
and professionally, he or she can do it. Each company can work with sport agencies. We worked
for years with agency Sport Element and occasionally with Sport Media Focus.” There are of
course also other sport marketing agencies that can cooperate with sponsoring firm. Some of
Slovenian companies that do cooperate with sport marketing agencies are Mercator, Garmin,
Spar, Petrol, Telemach, Diners, Kompas, Generali, Sberbank, Hervis, Tilia, Triglav, Omv, Uni
CreditBank, SKB, Telekom Slovenije, etc.

5.2 Survey Findings

5.2.1 General Statistics (Age, Gender, Education, etc.)

Survey was constructed in online portal [Link] and was active from 26. December 2016 until
13. January 2017. Survey was partially finished by 652 people and completely finished by 97
persons which was the number taken into the further analysis. Out of 97 respondents, 44 have or
had a sponsor in the past.

35
Survey was fully completed by 97 respondents out of whom,
• 60 percent were male and 40 percent were female.
• The most represented age group of respondents, 36 percent, was 25 – 29,9 years and the
second most represented with 24 percent of respondents was age group 20 – 24,9 years.
• The majority of respondents – 50 percent have completed undergraduate education, 10
percent had master degree and 1 percent even PhD.
• Occupation of respondents: 36 percent- students, 31 percent – full-time employed, 22
percent – self-employed, 8 percent – unemployed, 1 percent – half-time employed
• Respondents came from 17 different sports: winter and summer sports, individual and team
sports. Additionally, five of respondents were also personal coaches.
• Sports: Athletics, Tennis, Table tennis, Judo, Karate, Triathlon, Flatwater kayak racing, Ski
boarding, Cycling, Football, Volleyball, Handball, Hockey, Mountain climbing, Sport
climbing, Kitting, Roller Derby.

5.2.2 General Perception about the Sponsorship

All respondents were asked to describe in their own words how they see and perceive sponsorship
themselves. Out of all the answers I could identify two major opinions athletes have. Both major
opinions are possessed by the approximately the same sized group of athletes.

Athletes either see sponsorship as a help for athlete, or as a mutual and reciprocal agreement
between two parties. Athletes in whose eyes sponsorship is only one-way benefit stated
sponsorship was help for covering expenses of sport equipment, entry fees, hotels, travelling,
training camps, help for achieving goals, etc. This group of athletes did not state any obligations
towards sponsor they might have in the definition.

Some of the definitions of sponsorship that falls under this group are:
• “Help offered perspective athlete for achieving outstanding performances, or relieving
financial burden athlete has so he or she can be completely focused only on training and
competing.”
• “Momentum for talented athlete.”
• “Help for athlete so he or she can focus on his or her sport career and not think about getting
another job just so he or she will be able to deal with financial burden.”
• “Help for activity of talented team or individual, so it is easier for them to achieve their goals.”
• “Sponsor’s care for athlete, in financial and media sense.”

The other strong opinion is that sponsorship is a mutual benefit and cooperation between the
brand and sponsored athlete. Respondents stated that in return for support, he or she promotes
the brand and company.

Respondents from this opinion group see sponsorship as a:

• “Business partnership.”
• “Non-refundable means (money, products or service) which company gives to athlete who, in
return, wears their logo on his or her clothing.”
• “Win-win situation from which both parties enjoy benefits.”
• “Help for athlete and higher awareness for company.”
• “Particular item in return for promotion.”

36
The other interesting finding was that 47 percent of respondents believe congruency between
athlete and sponsor is quite important for sponsorship success. Adding to this another 44 percent
who believe relatedness is very important for success, I can conclude that athletes are aware of
importance of fit between them and the company.

Athletes play main role in their sponsorship. Therefore, I wanted to know their opinion how much
they contribute towards building brand equity. Visual representation in Figure 8 bellow shows that
majority of respondents believe athlete has the greatest effect on brand awareness (average 4.5),
followed by company awareness (average 4.3) and customer loyalty (average 4.1).

Figure 8. Suvey Answers: Effect of Athlete Sponsorship on the Constitutes of Brand Equity

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
1 2 3 4 5

Company awareness Brand awareness Customer loyalty

n=97 4,1 4,5

Absolutely Absolutely
negative (1) Mean 4,3 positive (5)

94 percent of respondents believe it is difficult for a professional athlete in Slovenia to get a

sponsor. Main obstacle (identified by 75 percent of respondents) was found to be unawareness and
lack of interest of companies for sponsoring athletes as they do not see benefit in it for themselves.
Table 2 bellow presents opinions of athletes about different segments of sponsorship in descending
order of mean values, from the highest to the lowest.

37
Table 2. Opinions of Athletes About the Sponsorship

Opinions of Athletes About the Sponsorship Mean Standard

(N=97) (Scale 1-5) deviation
Brand which is connected with athlete is enjoying higher 4,32 0,71
exposure than the brand that is not connected with athlete.
Congruence (values, vision, philosophy) between brand and 4,23 0,75
athlete is important
In general, athletes having sponsors feel obligated to present the 4,22 0,87
brand.
Sponsors should always prepare activation plan whose 4,10 1,08
realization would follow contract signature.
Connection of athlete with the brand has positive effect on 4,08 0,81
sales.
When shopping, people rather buy product / service that is 3,90 0,96
connected with athlete.
Before signing of the contract, sponsor inform itself whether 3,89 1,02
athlete coincides with the vision/values of the brand and with
the product / service itself.
Companies decide for sponsoring an athlete based on their 3,79 0,97
“connections / personal networks” and based on the business
development.
Sponsors are aware how important are well-developed and 3,67 1,08
well-executed marketing actions for the positive effect on their
company.
Companies are aware of advantages they get once their 3,59 1,09
customers start connecting their branded product / service with
athlete.
Personal networks (knowing someone working) in the 3,35 1,11
sponsoring company are more important than congruence of
athlete and brand.

5.2.3 Survey Results: Athletes without a Sponsor

Survey showed that none of the athletes who tried to get a sponsor and were not successful in their
attempt was denied because company would not have money. 43 percent of them received response
company was not interested in athlete sponsorship, while 39 percent did not receive any answer at
all. The rest, 18 percent, was told the company already sponsors other athletes.

From results, we can conclude that companies lack knowledge about how to implement athlete
sponsorship. Each company has a specific money intended for marketing. Knowing how to do it,
companies would not deny athletes in their offers anymore and would grasp the opportunity as
athlete sponsorship can be the cheapest way of advertising.

5.2.4 Survey Results: Athletes with a Sponsor

46 percent of all respondents claimed to have a sponsor or had it in the past. Their survey included
additional part of questions with which I wanted to find out what kind of sponsorship they have,
38
if they know brand's values, if they like sponsoring brand, if they are in touch with the company,
if take part at their events, etc. Results proved that even though athlete sponsorship situation in
Slovenia is not very prosperous in last years while many companies are still recovering from
Economic crisis, 70 percent of athletes with sponsors are having a written contract. Thinking that
the rest, 30 percent, are having only an oral agreement is quite high number. From results, I can
conclude that the athletes usually have one sponsor, 34 percent of them, or two, 27 percent of
them, sponsors. However, 20 percent of respondents are sponsored by five or more companies. I
assumed this percentage goes to top notch athletes that solved my questionnaire, while any other
professional athlete competing on the international level but not being among the top ones is
having either one or two sponsors. When asked what kind of sponsorship they have, 42 percent of
respondents replied they receive product/service they sponsor, 36 percent receives money and the
product/service, while 21 percent of athletes with sponsors receives money but no product/service.

Survey found out that 85 percent of athletes with sponsor knows their obligations towards sponsor.
However, 67 percent does not have these obligations stated in contract as it does not contain
activation plan. Knowing activation is vital part of sponsorship, this is alarming. When respondents
were asked when activation (oral or written agreement) was formed they stated that in 45 percent
of occasions it was formed by sponsor before the contract signature, and in the same, 45 percent
of occasions, it was prepared by athletes and sponsor's engagement together. The rest 10 percent
got it done by a manager. Similarly, when asked about how often they discuss their activation plan,
33 percent, stated they had activation agreement for a year in advance. Quite high, 27 percent of
sponsorships determine activation plan on a weekly basis, while 21 percent do not discuss and
agree on activation at all.

Another interesting fact was brought when respondents were asked about how they got
sponsorship. Results prove importance of networking channel and connections, as 36 percent of
respondents got their sponsorship through either family members or acquaintances who work in
the sponsoring company. Since 21 percent of them got sponsorship themselves with sending out
requests, athletes are quite self-imitative. Results also revealed importance of good manager in
sport (in 12 percent sponsorship was arranged by manager) and supportive parents (in six percent
arranged by parents). I was surprised, but at the same time happy to see, that two respondents
answered sponsor found him or her itself. It is great to see that some companies in Slovenia are
willing engage themselves in sport spheres. Furthermore, athletes with sponsors were ask to
evaluate their agreement with several statements on the 5-likert scale (1- absolutely disagree, 5-
absolutely agree). Results are seen in the Figure 9.

39
Figure 9. Survey Answers on How Much Respondents Agree with Asked Statements (5-likerd scale)

Because of sponsorship, I feel obligated to present the brand. 4.70

S =0,47

I would recommend the product / service which's brand I am

4.69
presenting to the potential customers. S =0,55

I trust the brand which I am promoting. 4.62 S =0,70

I am myself using product / service whose brand I am S =0,99

4.54
promoting.

I enjoy when I talk about the sponsoring company or their

4.54 S =0,68
brand.

I positively contribute to the brand awareness and awareness S =0,76

4.50
of the sponsor.

When I use the product / service of the brand I am promoting,

4.46 S =0,81
I feel good.

I am aware of values and philosophy of the brand which I am

4.13
presenting. S =1,07

I am aware of goals of marketing campaigns in which I am

3.88 S =1,13
present.

Because of my connection with the brand, people more often S =1,06

3.72
by product / service of that brand.

Brand which I am promoting is embodiment of what I want to

3.69 S =1,32
be myself.

People I do not know have already connected me with the S =1,55

3.65
brand which I am promoting.

Sponsor measures effectiveness of marketing actions and

3.00 S =1,24
reaching of the goal.

0 1 2 3 4 5

Mean

5.3 Hypotheses Analyses

5.3.1 Hypothesis 1

Reviewing literature, I develop general assumption that if a particular company sponsors an athlete
this positively contributes to its brand equity. I wanted to see if this assumption is true also in
Slovenia. So, the first hypothesis is stated as:

H1a: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on awareness of sponsoring
company.
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H1b: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on brand awareness.
H1c: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on customer loyalty toward the
brand.

In the survey, respondents were evaluating on the 5-likerd scale (1- completely negative, 5-
absolutely positive) how much, in their opinion, sponsored athlete affects three different things:
awareness of sponsoring company (H1a), brand awareness (H1b) and customer loyalty toward the
brand (H1c). All surveys answers were taken into analysis, no matter if respondents have/had a
sponsor or not (N=97).

SPSS analysis of survey results showed that average influence on the two out of presumed
constitutes are above 4 thresholds. 4 was a level that I assumed to be a milestone for positive
contribution. As seen in the Table 3, averages are at 4,41 for brand awareness, 4,24 for awareness
of sponsoring company and 4,10 for brand loyalty. The values of t are positive for all three
constitutes what put us on the right side of t-distribution (see Table 4). Since p-value is smaller
than 0,005 for awareness of sponsoring company (p= 0,008) and brand awareness (p= 0,000), we
can accept H1a and H1b. However, we cannot accept H1c as p-value for customer loyalty toward the
brand is not statistically significant, p= 0,240.

Since p-value is smaller than 0,005 for two out of three constitutes of brand equity, awareness of
sponsoring company with 0,008 and brand awareness 0,000, we can reject the H0 hypothesis and
prove that athlete sponsorship in Slovenia has a positive contribution to the brand equity.

Table 3. One Sample Statistics (Hypothesis 1)

Table 4. One-sample Test (Hypothesis 1)

Based on sample data, we can accept H1a and H1b stating that sponsored athletes have positive
contribution to the awareness of sponsoring company and brand awareness. Similarly, we have to
reject H1c. Analysis showed that sponsored athletes do not have effect on customer loyalty.
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5.3.2 Hypothesis 2

After interviewing sponsored athlete and sponsored personal trainer I quickly realized they do not
discuss activation with company’s manager. Since I learned that activation is activity that
determines success of sponsorship I predisposed that the frequency of its discussion also affects
athlete’s awareness of goals and sponsor’s measurement of this goal reaching. Consequently, I
stated second hypothesis as:

H2: Based on the frequency of the activation discussion among sponsor and sponsored athlete,
there is a statistically significant difference in athlete’s awareness of the goals and in sponsor’s
measurement of sponsorship and goal reaching.

For testing hypothesis, I used three questions seen in Table 5 that were solved only by athletes that
have or had a sponsor (n=44). In one question respondents were asked to list the frequency of
activation discussion with their sponsor. Regarding the frequency, they stated in their answer,
athletes were formed in different groups. For the other two questions respondents were evaluating
on the 5-likert scale their level of agreeing with the statements “I am aware of the goals of the
marketing campaigns in which I am present” and “Sponsor measures effectiveness of marketing
campaigns and reaching of the goal” (1- absolutely disagree, 5-absolutely agree).

Since the data of two statements was ordinal and relies on the ranking, I performed non-parametric
tests. I looked at the differences in the mean ranks between the different groups (based on the
frequency of activation discussion) with the Kruskal-Wallis H test. With mean ranks we can
compare the effect of athlete’s goal awareness and of sponsor’s measurement of sponsorship
success to the different groups based on their discussion frequency (see Table 6). We can see that
the mean ranks are much higher for athletes who do discuss activation than for those who don’t
what signals they give discussion higher awareness. Mean rank results for sponsor’s measurements
of goals varies a lot for all groups of athletes (grouped by the frequency of activation discussion).
If groups have different scores is further assessed in Table 7 which actually presents the results of
the Kruskal-Wallis H test. With this test, we proved that there is not a statistically significant
difference in scores with p-values of 0,513 and 0,295.

Table 5. Descriptive Statistics (Hypothesis 2)

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Table 6. Ranks (Hypothesis 2)

Table 7. Test Statistics (Hypothesis 2)

Based on the sample data we cannot accept H1. We cannot say that frequency of activation
discussion between athlete and sponsors has statistically significant different effect on athlete’s
awareness of sponsorship goal and on sponsor’s measurement of goal reaching.

5.3.3 Hypothesis 3

As fit between athlete’s and brand’s values and philosophy is a must for successful implementation
of sponsorship, I predisposed the relevancy has positive effect on brand equity as well. So, the
third hypothesis is stated as:
43
H3: There is statistically significant positive correlation between congruent athlete-brand
relationship on one side, and idol attachment and brand loyalty on the other side.

To test this hypothesis, I used two questions answered by all respondents (N=97). In the first one
respondents were asked to pick the level of importance athlete’s identification with the sponsoring
brand has on the sponsorship success. One the second one, respondents were asked to evaluate on
the scale from one to five how much they agree that congruence (values, vision, philosophy)
between brand and athlete is important.

With collected data, I performed SPSS analysis of Spearman correlation coefficient. Correlations
means closeness/connectedness and is researching how is one variable related to another. It
clarifies whether with the increase of one variable the other variable increases as well. My
variables were athlete’s identification with the brand, and identification with philosophy, values,
vision of the brand. With hypothesis, I tested the attitudes of athletes towards their identification
with the brand as this data could have implication for final recommendations to managers related
to the importance of athlete-brand fit on the sponsorship success. Analysis showed that Spearman
correlation coefficient is statistically significant with p-value 0,029 (see Table 8). We can talk
about the positive correlation between variables. Since the p-values between 0,20 and 0,39 mark
low correlation, our correlation is positive, however low. The more the respondents identify
themselves with the brand, the more they feel relatedness with its philosophy is important as well.

Table 8. Correlations (Hypothesis 3)

Based on Spearman correlation coefficient, we accept H1 at p-value 0,029. Since p-value is less
than 0,05, I can state at five percent risk that statistically significant correlations do exist.
Consequently, I can conclude that fit between athlete's and brand's values has a positive influence
on brand equity.

5.3.4 Hypothesis 4

Throughout the interview with the professional athlete and sponsored personal trainer I noticed
they had different tone of voice, mimics when speaking and also different opinion when asked
about the importance of personal connections when acquiring sponsors in Slovenia. Surely, this is
44
because one got sponsorship herself sending request, while the other got sponsor because of the
personal ties her partner has. Consequently, I formed fourth hypothesis as:

H4: Among the methods of pursuing sponsorship there is statistically significant difference in
athletes’ opinions whether companies decide on the sponsored athletes based on their personal
ties, networks and connections.

I included two survey questions in hypothesis analysis. One survey question answered by all
respondents (N=97) was asking respondents to evaluate their degree of agreement with the
statement on the 5-likert scale (1- absolutely disagree, 5- absolutely agree). The other question was
solved only by athletes who have/had sponsor (n=44) asking them how they pursued it. Testing
hypothesis, I performed non-parametric tests. I looked at the differences in the mean ranks between
the different groups (based on the method of pursuing sponsorship) with the Kruskal-Wallis H test.
Mean rank column in Table 10 can be used to compare opinions about the importance of athlete’s
connections/personal networks when pursuing sponsorship. It is seen that two groups of athletes,
the ones that got sponsorship through acquaintance or a family member working in sponsor’s
company and the ones for which parents arranged sponsorship have significantly higher mean
values. This signals they think connection and personal networks have high importance when
pursuing sponsorship. Whether the groups have different scores is further assessed using test
statistics seen in Table 11, which actually presents the results of the Kruskal-Wallis H test.
Krushkal-Wallis H test showed that the difference in scores between different groups is
statistically significant with p-value of 0,002.

Table 9. Descriptive Statistics (Hypothesis 4)

Table 10. Kruskal-Wallis Test (Hypothesis 4)

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Table 11. Test Statistics (Hypothesis 4)

Based on the above description and data, we can accept H1 with p-value of 0,002. There is a
difference in opinions between the groups of athletes about the importance of connections/personal
ties when pursuing sponsorship. Athletes who got sponsorship because of parents or acquaintances
in the sponsored company give »connections/personal ties« higher importance for successful
pursuing of sponsorship than the athletes who got sponsor themselves or through their manager.

5.3.5 Hypothesis 5

People always like to talk about the things they enjoy and make them happy. I predisposed that it
goes the same for the sponsored athletes; if the athlete is going to have inner motivation to present
sponsored brand him or herself, he will most likely also feel good about the product/service and
when presenting this. I realized this would be important information for Slovenian company so
they would be aware how the fit and authenticity of athlete can have indirectly effect also on all
after aspects of athlete sponsorship. Therefore, I stated fifth hypotheses as:

H5: There is a statistically significant positive correlation between athlete’s inner feeling of
obligation presenting sponsoring brand and athlete’s good feeling/mood when presenting the
brand.

To test this hypothesis, I again used Spearman’s correlation coefficient just as for testing the third
hypothesis. Fifth hypothesis relates to two survey questions that were answered by athletes having
sponsors, currently or in the past (n=44). For both questions respondents were asked to evaluate
on the scale from one to five how much they agree with the statements. One statement was:
“Because of sponsorship, I feel obligated to present the company.” The other statement was:
“When I use the product / service of the brand I am promoting, I feel good.”. I wanted to find out
if there was connectedness with athlete’s personal obligation to present the sponsor, and athlete’s
identity and likeness of the brand on the other side.

Hypothesis three already proved that congruent athlete-brand relation positively affects brand
equity. Taking this into account forming fifth hypothesis, I predisposed that if athlete has the
motivation to present the brand, he or she will feel good when doing so what will indirectly
positively affect sponsoring brand equity. In the Table 12, we can see that Spearman correlation
coefficient is statistically significant with p-value 0,001. We can talk about the positive correlation
between variables. The value of Spearman coefficient is 0,595 which signals medium correlation
strength. Medium correlation strength lies for the coefficients between 0,40 and 0,69. So, the more
46
athletes feel good when using sponsoring brand, the more they feel obligated to present the brand
and vice versa. Since the literature already proved that athletes feel good about the brands with
which they fit, this fit will lead to their personal obligation to promote the brand, what additionally
leads to increased brand equity.

Table 12. Correlations (Hypothesis 5)

Based on sample data we can accept H1 with p-value of 0,001. We can say that athletes' feeling of
being obliged to present the brand and their good inner mood when presenting the brand are
positively correlated what all indirectly leads to increase of brand equity.

5.4 Implications for Managers

When engaging in sport sponsorship, managers should first set a clear objective of what they want
to achieve with the sponsorship. With clear objective, they will later know whether their goal is
reached or not. Also, the goal should be mutual for the firm and the athlete. It should be achieved
by reaching targeted audience, creating exposure for the brand, and developing associations by
forwarding marketing messages. Managers should not go for any athlete based on their fame or
sport results at the time of the start of the campaign. Instead, they should study them. Sponsored
athlete should be an opinion leader who forms an impressive influence for the brand campaign.
Managers should research on social media beforehand if athlete’s lifestyle and values fit with the
brand. If athlete coincides with the brand image and shares the same values the product or service
presents, sponsorship will most likely result in success. Consequently, careful consideration of the
sponsored athlete is always advised.

Managers should also be in constant touch with the athletes. From interviews, it is seen they are
but they do not discuss activation. Activation of sponsorship is a key element of each project and
demands additional investment to build added value for a consumer. It aims for higher brand
awareness, new customers, higher website turnover, higher sales profits and brand image (Koščak,
2014). Companies do not know that their goals of sponsorship can only be reached with the further
investment, activation (Sport Element). Moreover, managers should keep in mind that they should
develop activation plan before contract signature. Also, to enjoy the returns of sponsorship, they
should spend on activation more than on sponsorship, 1.5 dollar on every dollar spent on
sponsorship rights. Furthermore, managers should always think about the sponsorship as a long-
term investment and partnership. Brand knowledge and awareness are built over time, so managers
should be patient and not give up as the results of sponsorship will be seen only after year one.
Moreover, having longer contracts, managers will still be gaining associations even after the end
of the sponsorship.

Stronger attention to the youth sport is another aspect managers should pay stronger attention for.
47
Youth sport gets hardly any media coverage, but it can still be a great tool to spread awareness of
the brand and to gain attention of young athletes, and, consequently, also of their parents, friends
and coaches. This is especially true because younger population is heavy social media user who
follow influencers on various social media platforms. Sponsoring youth athlete or team is available
to any company, also to medium sized and small firms, as it is not so expensive as sponsoring an
athlete celebrity. However, it still has a great value for the company in general and for brand image
itself, as people encourage and are impressed by positive contribution of sponsoring company to
their local community and for supporting young stars.

Most of all managers should show self-initiative to get knowledgeable about the athlete
sponsorship. Online they can find articles to read it in their own time. I recommend following the
website “The Sponsorship Consultants”, [Link] Website
provides information to business entities and athletes on how to get successfully engaged in
sponsorship. On their website, managers can listen to free podcasts, read articles and actively
participate in the blog discussions. Podcasts can be especially valuable source of information as
they talk about anything from “Launching business with brand ambassador” to “The business
benefits of sponsoring athletes”, etc. Additionally, managers can also purchase their book “The
ultimate guide to sponsoring athletes” that teaches anything from how to create powerful
marketing campaigns to how to get incredible financial return. Moreover, book about the
sponsorship is accessible also in Slovene. “Uspešne sponzorske strategije” (Eng: Succesful
sponsorship strategies) by Jadranka Jezeršek is actually a handbook for sistematic, creative and
effective sponsorships.

Perhaps managers of Slovenian firms can also sign up for free online courses on Sport
sponsorship being offered through massive open online courses, Courseera. Sign up for the
courses can be found on: [Link] Classes cover
information on fundamentals of sponsorship, the relationship between the brand/event and the
sponsor, types of sport sponsorship, objectives of the sponsor and much more. It is led by instructor
from Johan Cruyff Institute that is specializing only in sport management. Its online course of
sport management has been for the second consecutive year ranked number two among the world’s
best online programs. Ranking was made by Sportbusiness international magazine 2016 (Johan
Cruyffn Institute - Educating Sport Leaders, n.d.).

Another implication for manager is to set together and push on the Slovenian sport agency Sport
media focus. This is the biggest Slovenian sport marketing agency whose clients are firms like
Mercator, Hervis, Tilia, Triglav, Petrol, Omv, Unicredit bank, brands Frutabela and Pernaton, etc.
Agency also takes care of personal relations for several biggest Slovenian sport events, sport
federations and athletes themselves. Since Sport Media Focus also organizes Sporto conference,
the leading regional annual sport marketing and sponsorship conference, managers can talk them
into having a lecture particularly on athlete sponsorship on the conference in Fall 2018.

Managers should also pay a great attention to technological advancements and convergence
which has been enormous in recent years and has transformed marketing practices. With new
emerging trends, such as “sharing economy”, omnichannel integration, content marketing, social
customer relationship management, etc., managers should adopt to the customers’ path in the
digital economy. Today’s hyper-connected fans urge brand to deliver them high-tech engagements
with their athletes. The more high-tech customers are, the more they want things that are made just
for them. Moreover, with big data analysis products can become more personalized and services
more personal (Kotler, Kartajaya, & Setiawan, 2017). More about the marketing approaches in
this transitional era between traditional marketing outgrowth and digital marketing boom is written
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in the book Marketing 4.0. by Kotler, Kartajaya and Setiawan. Since the book was released in
2017 it really follows all the trends and can be valuable source of information for all managers
dealing with athlete sponsorship.

As already mentioned above, technology is now driving more activity also in athlete sponsorship.
In high technology era, social media already has a big impact on customers/athlete’s fans, but its
role is predicted to even further increase. It is reported that 30 percent of people who connect with
the sponsor that supports their favorite athlete by liking or following the brand on social media
buy one of sponsor’s products (Sport Sponsorship Trends 001, n.d.). So, managers should look for
the ways to further engage with the people, especially by valuable content marketing which is
distributed by athletes. Sponsors should create their own story and not simply just put the athlete
at the end of the commercial for gaining attention and increasing the reach of commercial. Creation
of a particular story builds passion for the brand (Bennett, n.d.). With an evocative story,
sponsoring firm will help athlete creating meaningful content he or she can relate to and,
furthermore, connections on social media platforms. Athlete sponsorship reassures consumer
about the true quality of the product. So, with the great content and story behind, the athlete can
develop loyalty, provide fans’ post-purchase behavior, make recommendations for the other
complementary products and discuss in what extend has the product improved his or her
performance or lifestyle (Ways to get more out of sponsored athlete, n.d).

Another prediction for 2018 that can be valued for marketers is that, due to the high number of
social media platforms, there will be less physical sponsorship activation which relates to the
presence of sponsored athlete at a particular event, and more digital sponsorship activation.
Managers should prepare their activation plans according to this trend. With the numerous social
media platforms, sponsors will be receiving even more likes and followers on their channels.
Effective usage of this data will become more and more important and managers should be aware
of it. Data analysis can have profound impact on sponsorship, from the evaluation, selection,
activation and measurement of partnership between company and athlete to the selling (Yardley,
2016). So, including data to the sponsorship activation the idea of exposing brand to the crowd is
still present, but the aim to identifying, understanding and communicating one to one with brands
best target customers. Data usage also allows managers higher ability to effectively measure return
on objectives of sponsorship and on its investment. Technologies delivering personalization drive
the most actionable results and the deepest insights on sponsor’s customers. What is more, the
costs of delivering personalization has recently decreased what makes it more approachable for
sponsors. (Yardley, 2016).

5.5 Implications for Further Research

Analysis presents fundamentals of athlete sponsorship, experiences and testimonies of Slovenian

athletes. In my research, we know companies’ perspectives on athlete sponsorship only from two
in-depth interviews. So, for further analysis, I recommend distributing similar questionnaire I did
among professional athletes among Slovenian companies. With this, the researched problem
would gain the point of view from both sides of partnership and gain on credibility. For example,
my research showed that 33 percent of athletes do have activation plan stated in their contract
while some also only have an oral agreement on it. Being in contact with firms, one could find out
what is the reason beyond that companies are committing only to oral agreements and not signing
formal contracts. Further research would also find answers to what is the leverage ratio of
activation spend in Slovenia, how, if, companies measure sponsorship effect, do they even set
themselves objective, etc.

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Slovenian economy was majorly affected by 2008 economic crisis. Many companies closed or
went bankrupt, while others were restricting their budgets and stop investing in any expansion or
modernization. Professional athletes that solved the survey were contacting companies in the years
of their recovery after the economic crisis. Perhaps this might be the reason many confronted
companies’ closed doors. Since Slovenian economy has been improving last years, companies
spend and invest more again. They are also more open to foreign cooperation, it would be
interesting to distribute the same questionnaire among professional athletes again in one or two
years. Situation can change dramatically. So, since athlete sponsorship is becoming more and more
popular and there are no additional research about it made yet, there is still more to explore in the
future to gain full picture of athlete sponsorship situation in Slovenia.

With the increasing role of data collection and analyzation in athlete sponsorship I would suggest
to include this to the further research. It would be interesting to see if Slovenian companies are
actually using customer’s information they receive through social media or are they simply
satisfied with seeing engagement on their social platforms.

CONCLUSION

The goal of this master thesis was to research and understand athlete sponsorship situation in
Slovenia and based on the findings provide possible improvements and recommendations to the
managers. In order to get theoretical base of the topic I reviewed literature on branding, brand
equity and athlete sponsorship. I supplemented this knowledge with the investigation of athlete
sponsorship in Slovenia through four interviews and survey distributed to the professional athletes.
Altogether, it led me to the results described below.

My analysis showed that the main obstacle for athlete sponsorship to be more spread in Slovenia
lies in companies’ un-interest, and companies’ managers’ unawareness of the potential
benefits/opportunity of growing their customer pool. They do not see sponsorship as a benefiting
activity for themselves. Consequently, it is not surprising that 94 percent of the survey respondents
believe it was difficult for professional athlete in Slovenia to get a sponsor. The problem was
further revealed with the fact that most of professional athletes that wanted to get a sponsor but
were unsuccessful at their attempt were denied because of the lack of company’s interest. Some
didn’t even receive any response at all.

As worldwide, sport industry has become such a big business, I am predicting that marketing
managers in Slovenia will gradually become more willing to invest into athlete sponsorship as
well. This will be easier when possessing knowledge about how to build brand equity through
sport engagement and sponsorships. If managers will execute athlete sponsorship correctly, they
will, through athlete’s exposure, enjoy the cheapest source of marketing.

It was not surprising to see that among professional athletes in Slovenia, there are two major
different perceptions on athlete sponsorship. Some athletes see it as a one-way benefit from which
only they benefit (financial or/and material “help”), while the others see it as a mutual and
reciprocal agreement between two parties. Consequently, marketing managers should always
introduce sponsorship to the athlete as a two-way partnership from which they will both benefit.
They could never know what is athlete’s perception on the sponsorship. So, it is wise to introduce
athlete with his or her obligations. Only this is how the stereotype of sponsorship being a “free
money for nothing in return” could be refuted in the future. Both parties have to be aware of two-
sided partnership! Sponsorship has to start becoming recognized as a company’s investment and
not a pure expense.
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Athletes get familiar with their sponsorship obligations in activation plan. Consequently,
Slovenian companies that practice sponsorship should give it higher importance, prepare it
beforehand together with the athlete and include it in the sponsorship contract. With the survey, I
found that 85 percent of athletes are aware of their obligations towards sponsors. However, 67
percent does not have activation plan which generally states these obligations in their sponsorship
contracts what is alarming. From other survey findings, I can conclude that percentage of
activation plan presence is so low because many time athletes only have informal oral agreement
with their sponsors. This is a reflection of Slovenia sport industry which is still in its early stages.
Activation adds value to the sponsorship contract and its investment determines success of
sponsorship (Koščak, 2014). Activation and its marketing campaigns are, as previously stated, fuel
of sponsorship with which sponsor, with a help of athlete’s figure, builds brand equity and receives
return on its investment. But to receive reimbursement, activation is required and not many
sponsors are yet aware of this (Koščak, 2014).

In the survey, I wanted to see if the frequency of activation discussion between the athlete and
sponsor affects athlete’s awareness of sponsorship goal and sponsor’s measurement of goal
reaching. I was surprised to see activation discussion frequency does not affect them. Trying to
understand survey founding I once again reviewed conducted interviews. I came to the conclusion
that athlete’s awareness of sponsorship goals and sponsor’s measurement whether these goal is
reached or not are more a matter of fact of the manager’s athlete sponsorship knowledge than of
the activation discussion frequency. Companies that perform athlete sponsorship seriously inform
athletes about the goals at their firsts meetings, frequency of activation discussion is not relevant
factor.

Statistical analysis of survey results proved that athletes themselves are aware they positively
contribute to the awareness of the sponsoring company and to the brand awareness. This is also
proved by female athlete of the previous year and Sporto brand in female category for 2017 Ilka
Štuhec, who in one of the interviews after receiving Sporto brand award testified: “Athletes
competing on such high level simply are brand themselves. We are aware of our responsibility
towards sponsors and our fans.” (Sporto konferenca, 2017). However, even though athletes are
aware of their positive contribution on the brand and company awareness they do not have effect
on customers’ loyalty towards the brand.

But if we add to this another survey finding showing there is statistically significant positive
correlation between congruent athlete/ brand relationship on one side, and brand loyalty and idol
attachment on the other side we can understand why the fit between the athlete and the brand is of
such importance. Appropriate fit between the image of the product and the image of the athlete
can significantly increase positive evaluation of the sponsorship (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007). Fit
additionally positively affects customer’s attachment to the idol. Also, it gives us clear
understanding that just any athlete sponsorship does not have effect on customer’s loyalty towards
the brand. But, the sponsorship that is congruent does have it. Talking about brand loyalty and
athlete attachment, social media plays important role as well. professional athletes more and more
see social media as a tool to nurture their relationship with the fans. So, sponsor sponsors should
see social platforms as an opportunity to build their brand (Hambrick et al., 2005).

Another statistically confirmed finding is that if the athlete feels good when presenting the brand,
he or she will have motivation to do so what will indirectly positively affect sponsoring brand
equity. Surely, he or she will be more likely to present the brand if there is a fit between them
already described above. Many athletes in Slovenia also pursue their sponsors through the
51
connections of their parents or acquaintances. Statistical examination of survey results proved that
athletes who got sponsors because of their personal networks and ties give ties and connections
higher importance as a tool for successful pursuing of sponsorship than the athletes who found
sponsor themselves or through the manager.

Lastly, I would like to point out three things that can after deciding for athlete sponsorship limit
its success. These are lack of creativity, imagination and flexibility (Roy, 2016). Too many
companies in Slovenia completely avoid them. Many of sponsoring companies only go for big
sport stars like Tina Maze, Peter Prevc, Ilka Štuhec, etc. These athletes are big names and bring
companies an instant success. Fans know them already, so sponsors do not need much creativity
and imagination to build a big story behind the whole campaign. Customer’s attention will be
guaranteed, due to the presence of the athlete star. Moreover, as a reflection of Slovenian
collectivistic society athletes are also only playing symbolic role and rarely address the audience
explicitly (Arnould et al., 2004), like they do in individualistic societies, for example USA, where
the focus is on athlete and his or her endorsement of the product (Geert Hofstede, n.d.).
Furthermore, sponsors too many times lack flexibility. For instance, none of Ilka Štuhec sponsors
twisted their strategy around after her injury just before the start of the new ski season in October.
Brand Ford created a advertisement in which Ilka is driving new Ford Kuga model (Ford Slovenija,
2017) and brand Veriga was the whole December broadcasting commercial in which Ilka is shown
by the Christmas three wrapping presents (Veriga k.f., 2017). Being flexible and responding
immediately, they could instead make a commercial or series of YouTube videos about her
emotional road to injury progress. Such commercials have already proved to be more successful
in similar occasions and keep even higher fans’ interest for the brand while receiving brand
exposure.

So, to sum up, instead of using big sport names, sponsors in Slovenia have to start educating their
personal about brand equity building and activation of sponsorship. Slovenian companies are not
yet, but should be prepared to create their own marketing story themselves, also with less
recognized athletes. Only then, the real effect of athlete sponsorship will be seen and companies
will realize that the results can be achieved also with perspective young talents and athletes who
are not top notch. I believe that once small firms see the results big businesses are getting with
athletes also they can afford, they will be encouraged to get engaged into athlete sponsorship as
one of their marketing strategies as well.

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POVZETEK

Dandanes trženje postaja vse bolj materialistično. Podjetja potrebujejo ambasadorje in se zato
vedno bolj zatekajo k znanim osebnostim. Športniki so v očeh množice navadni smrtniki, s
katerimi se je lažje identificirati, in so zato boljši ambasadorji kot, na primer, znani igralci ali pevci
(Meden, 2015). Podjetja po celem svetu v njih vidijo potencial za doseganje svojih ciljev trženja
(Hughes & Shank, 2005). Zaradi izjemne note naših športnikov, ki nas kot narod največkrat
združijo in pravzaprav predstavljajo naš nacionalni ponos, njihov potencial v oglaševanju še
posebej drži za Slovenijo. S podpisom sponzorske pogodbe in odkupom športnikovih pravic,
športnik postane ambasador podjetja, na katerega se le-to nato lahko nanaša preko različnih
kanalov množičnih medijev.

Sponzoriranje športnika je strateška aktivnost, ki za sponzorja na trgu pomeni trajnostno

konkurenčno prednost (Fahy et al., 2004). Aktivnost lahko razložimo tudi kot zamenjavo nečesa
za nekaj. V najpreprostejši obliki podjetje športnika finančno podpira, lahko pa mu nameni
materialno nadomestilo (Carrillat & Astous, 2011). Cilji partnerstva so večja prepoznavnost
blagovne znamke, naklonjenost kupcev k blagovni znamki ter spodbuda potencialnih kupcev k
interakciji z blagovno znamko (Weber, n.d.). Povezava ima tudi potencial za nadaljnjo gradnjo
blagovne znamke (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2000). Športno sponzoriranje je tako direktni poizkus
podjetij, kako pozicionirati svojo blagovno znamko skupaj s športnikom in na ta način direktno
vplivati na moč blagovne znamke (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007).

Preden se podjetje odloči za športno sponzoriranje, si morajo managerji zadati jasno predpostavko
kaj s sponzorstvom želijo doseči. Iz predpostavke bo kasneje razvidno, če je bil cilj dosežen.
Podjetje in športnik morata imeti skupen cilj, zato je celotni proces izbire športnika izjemno
pomemben. Ustrezna povezava med podobo športnika in podobo blagovne znamke lahko izjemno
vpliva na pozitivno vrednotenje sponzorstva športnika (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007) ter izboljša lojalnost
blagovne znamke (Honlei et al., 2015). Športnik mora pri ljudeh vzpostaviti kredibilnost blagovne
znamke (Bradič, 2015) in gojiti iste vrednote, ki jih predstavlja tudi znamka sama. Večja kot je
sinergija med sponzoriranim športnikom ter blagovno znamko, boljši so rezultati športnega
sponzoriranje in višja je prepoznavnost blagovne znamke. Skupni cilj športnega sponzoriranja je
dosežen s posredovanjem trženjskih sporočil, ki dosežejo ciljno skupino, izpostavijo blagovno
znamko ter generirajo asociacije.

Ključ do uspeha vsakega sponzorstva se prav gotovo skriva v aktivaciji. Zgolj sponzorstvo je le
pridobitev športnikovih pravic v namen oglaševanja, aktivacija sponzorstva pa je tista, ki te pravice
uporabi in jih vključi v komunikacijsko strategijo blagovne znamke. Aktivacija sponzorstvu doda
vrednost in se lahko pojavi v različnih oblikah, na primer kot so promocija prodaje, posebno
pakiranje produkta, zasloni v trgovinah, degustacija produkta, dodatna izpostavitev blagovne
znamke, digitalna interakcija navijačev, organizacija ogleda športnega tekmovanja za navijače,
darilne karte za ogled tekem, uporaba kart iz tekem za popust pri nakupu, popust pri nakupu kart
za ogled tekmovanj za uslužbence sponzorja, itd. (Fortunato, 2013). Višina investicije v aktivacijo
določa sam uspeh sponzorstva športnika (Roy, 2016). Da bi dosegli poslovni cilj, morajo
managerji razviti ideje o kreativni aktivaciji že v prvih fazah pogajanja o sponzorstvu. Na žalost
podjetja največkrat ne izkoristijo potenciala aktivacije, saj kar 24 odstotkov sponzorjev po podpisu
pogodbe s športnikom nima več denarja, ki bi ga zanjo namenili. Za dosego donosa morajo
sponzorji v aktivacijo pravzaprav investirati več kot v sponzorstvo: 1.5 dolarja za vsak dolar, ki je
šel za nakup sponzorskih pravic (Fortunato, 2013).

53
Sponzorji morajo partnerstvo s športnikom vedno obravnavati kot dolgoročno investicijo.
Zavedanje in prepoznavnost blagovne znamke se namreč gradi dlje časa. Rezultati sponzoriranja
športnika bodo namreč vidni šele po prvem letu. Dodatna prednost daljših sponzorskih pogodb je
tudi ta, da bo blagovna znamka tudi po preteku pogodbe v očeh množice še vedno povezana s
športnikom.

Razlog, da se zadnje čase vse več svetovnih podjetij odloča za športno sponzoriranje, je želja po
graditvi prepoznavnosti njihove blagovne znamke. Športno sponzoriranje je za podjetje manjši
strošek kot običajna oblika oglaševanja. Prav tako si podjetja želijo, da jih ljudje prepoznajo po
skrbnem poslovanju in družbeni odgovornosti (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007). Športno sponzoriranje v
zadnjem času ni postalo samo bolj popularno, temveč tudi bolj intenzivno. Postala je osnova
celotne strategije trženja številnih podjetij (Fahy, Farrelly, & Quester, 2004). Danes ni več
presenečenje, da je športna industrija postala pravi posel, kateremu se napoveduje nadaljnja rast.

Žal pa je v Sloveniji sponzoriranje športnikov še vedno v prvotni fazi razvoja in se največkrat ne

upravlja pravilno. Ne samo, da se uporablja napačno, tudi javno mnenje o njem je zmotno.
Množica ga največkrat vidi kot “denar, ki pade z neba”, podjetja pa kot “denar, ki se vrže stran”.
To je vsekakor zmotno; športnik ima namreč svoje naloge, ki so navedene v aktivacijskem planu
sponzorske pogodbe. Podjetja pa na splošno preprosto niso izobražena o potencialnih koristih
sponzorstva in se ga zato ne poslužujejo kot enega izmed orodij trženja. Posledično slovenski,
športniki, ki želijo pridobiti sponzorja za nadaljevanje svojega športnega udejstvovanja, največkrat
naletijo na zaprta vrata.

Ravno trenutno, ne najbolj cvetoče, stanje sponzoriranja športnikov v Sloveniji me je vzpodbudilo

k pisanju magistrske naloge s to tematiko. Glavna problematika je pomankanje zavedanja in znanja
podjetij o tem, kako obrniti sponzoriranje športnika v profitabilno obliko trženja. Če se situacija
sponzorstva ne bo spremenila in podjetja ne bodo spregledala potencialnega prispevka športnikov
k moči njihove blagovne znamke, bomo izgubili naš nacionalni ponos in osebe, ki besedo o
Sloveniji največkrat ponesejo v svet - naše športnike. Zato je moj namen raziskati, ali ima
sponzoriranje športnika lahko vpliv na sponzorjevo blagovno znamko. Prav tako želim podati za
slovenska podjetja koristne splošne informacije o grajenju blagovne znamke in poskusiti
oblikovati navodila o izvajanju sponzoriranja športnikov.

Podjetja delež svojega letnega proračuna namenijo trženju. Zakaj ga torej ne bi namenila za
sponzoriranje, od česar bi poleg njih imeli korist tudi športniki. Vsako podjetje, ki se odloči za
sponzoriranje, bi moralo dobro poznati in razumeti, kje se skriva dobiček od povezave s
športnikom. Biti mora seznanjeno o vplivih sponzoriranja na poslovanje in o obsegu njihovih
dolžnosti. Posledično sem si zadala cilj, da bom preko že zbrane literature, lastne ankete, ki sem
jo razmnožila med profesionalne športnike, in s pomočjo štirih intervjujev (s profesionalno
atletinjo in olimpijko, ambasadorko blagovne znamke Reebok, prokuratorjem večjega podjetja, ki
podpira naše športnike, ter marketinškim direktorjem podjetja Petrol d.d., ki je izjemno aktivno v
slovenskem športnem sponzoriranju) odkrila glavno težavo sponzoriranja športnikov v Sloveniji,
v nadaljevanju pa opredelila, kakšno je trenutno stanje sponzoriranja in kakšna je dejanska
percepcija. Zadala sem si tudi, da managerjem podam ideje in priporočila o možnih izboljšavah
trenutne situacije.

Raziskava je pokazala, da je glavna ovira, ki preprečuje razširitev sponzoriranja športnikov v

Sloveniji, prav nezanimanje podjetij in neznanje managerjev o možnosti grajenja bazena
potencialnih kupcev, ki ga sponzorstvo lahko prinese. Prav zato kar 94 odstotkov anketiranih
profesionalnih športnikov verjame, da je v Sloveniji težko pridobiti sponzorja. Zaradi njene
54
majhnosti mnogi športniki pridobijo sponzorja preko staršev ali svojega kroga znancev. Športniki,
ki pridobijo sponzorja preko različnih vezi in poznanstev, le-tem pripisujejo večji pomen za
uspešno pridobitev sponzorske pogodbe. Ugotovila sem, da med športniki vladata dve različni
mnenji o sponzoriranju športnikov. Nekateri sponzorstvo vidijo kot enosmerno aktivnost, od
katere imajo korist le oni (v obliki finančne ali materialne pomoči), medtem ko se drugi zavedajo
dvosmernega vzajemnega partnerstva. Prav zato morajo sponzorji še pred podpisom pogodbe
športnika vedno seznaniti z dejstvom, da je to dvosmerno partnerstvo, od katerega imata korist
oba. Le na ta način bo sponzoriranje športnikov postalo tretirano kot investicija podjetja in ne zgolj
kot strošek.

O pomenu aktivacije za uspeh sponzorstva sem že pisala zgoraj. Prav zato je zastrašujoče, da kar
67 odstotkov profesionalnih športnikov nima aktivacijskega plana, v katerem bi bile navedene
športnikove dolžnosti do sponzorja. V Sloveniji ima veliko športnikov neformalne ustne dogovore
s sponzorji in so pravzaprav seznanjeni s svojimi nalogami do sponzorja, nimajo pa aktivacijskega
plana. Takšnih je kar 85 odstotkov anketirancev. Zanimivo je, da sem s statističnim testiranjem
anketnih rezultatov med drugim ugotovila, da pogostost komunikacijskega stika, vezano na samo
aktivacijo med športnikom in sponzorjem, ne vpliva na športnikovo zavedanje skupnega cilja in
na sponzorjevo merjenje dosega tega cilja. Predpostavljam, da sta ta dva dejavnika bolj odvisna
od samega znanja managerja vezano na sponzoriranje športnikov.

Rezultati pa so med drugim potrdili že pridobljeno teoretično znanje, da je ujamanje športnika z

blagovno znamko izrednega pomena. Analiza je pokazala, da športniki statistično značilno
pozitivno vplivajo na prepoznavnost podjetja in blagovne znamke, česar se tudi sami zavedajo.
To pa ne drži za njihov vpliv na lojalnost kupcev blagovni znamki. Če temu dodamo ugotovitev,
da obstaja statistično značilna pozitivna korelacija med skladnim partnerstvom športnika ter
blagovne znamke na eni strani, ter lojalnostjo kupcev blagovni znamki in navezanost na idola na
drugi strani, lahko hitro pridemo do zaključka, da je ujemanje športnika z blagovno znamko res
izrednega pomena. Ustrezno ujemanje med podobo športnika in in podobo blagovne znamke lahko
pomembno vpliva na pozitivno vrednotenje sponzorstva (Pitts & Stotlar, 2007). Njuno ujemanje
dodatno pozitivno vpliva tudi na navezanost kupca na idola, v tem primeru sponzoriranega
športnika. Sponzorstvo športnika ima torej vedno pozitiven doprinos k prepoznavnosti podjetja ter
prepoznavnosti blagovne znamke. A le sponzorstvo, pri katerem se podoba športnika ujema s
podobo blagovne znamke, pozitivno vpliva tudi na lojalnost kupcev k blagovni znamki.

Ugotovila sem tudi, da bo športnik, ki se bo ob predstavljanju blagovne znamke počutil dobro,

motiviran za njeno promocijo, kar bo posredno vplivalo na moč blagovne znamke. Vsekakor pa
bo motivacija športnika večja, če bo predstavljal blagovno znamko, s katero se poistoveti in katera
predstavlja iste vrednote, ki tudi njemu poredstavljajo strast.

Nekateri izmed glavnih elementov, na katere sponzorji pri kreiranju strategij trženja s športnikom,
ne smejo pozabiti, so prav gotovo kreativnost, domišljija in fleksibilnost (Roy, 2016). Žal se teh
večina domačih podjetij ne poslužuje. Preprosto se odločijo za sponzoriranje najbolj znanih in
uspešnih športnikov, kot so Tina Maze, Peter Prevc, Ilka Štuhec, itd., s čimer se izognejo potrebi
po kreativnosti in grajenju celotne zgodbe, ki stoji za kampanjo. Prisotnost znanih športnikov jim
že sama po sebi prinese uspeh, saj jih ljudje prepoznajo. Odraz slovenskega kolektivizma je tudi
dejstvo, da športniki v celotni kampanji igrajo le simbolično vlogo in občinstva ne nagovarjajo
direktno (Arnould et al., 2004). Direktni nagovor s strani športnika, je namreč fokus kampanj pri
individualističnih nacijah, kot na primer v Združenih državah Amerike (Geert Hofstede, n.d.).

55
Slovenska podjetja, ki se trenutno poslužujejo sponzoriranja športnikov, največkrat tudi niso
prilagodljiva za hitro reagiranje in spremembo aktivacijskega plana v primeru nepričakovanih
dejavnikov, kot so na primer poškodbe. Trenutno aktualen ter odličen primer tega so sponzorstva
Ilke Štuhec, športnice preteklega leta. V primeru poškodb je bilo v preteklosti že dokazano, da bo
sponzor prejel večji odziv navijačev in izpostavljenost blagovne znamke, če bo fleksibilen,
spremenil plan tako, da bo vanj vključil športnikovo rehabilitacijo. Le-ta v danem trenutku najbolj
pritegne pozornost navijačev.

Po pregledu primarnih in sekundarnih virov informacij slovenska podjetja pozivam, da se bolj

vključijo v sponzoriranja mladih in lokalnih perspektivnih športnikov, ki so še velik neizkoriščen
potencial za širjenje prepoznavnosti in pridobitev pozornosti mladih športnikov, njihovih staršev,
prijateljev in trenerjev. Prav tako imajo tudi družbeno odgovornost, saj ljudje radi vidijo, da
podjetja skrbijo za dobrobit mladih ali/in lokalne skupnosti. Sponzoriranje perspektivnih
športnikov ni dostopno le velikim podjetjem, temveč tudi majhnim in srednje velikim. Odkup
športnikovih pravic namreč ni drag. Pomembo vlogo pri tretiranju sponzoriranja mladih športnikov
ima tudi dejstvo, da je mlajša populacija najbolj aktiven uporabnik različnih socialnih platform.
Le-ta bodo v prihodnosti igrala še večjo vlogo pri aktivaciji sponzorstva, saj bo digitalna aktivacija
postala pomembnejša kot pa dejanska fizična prisotnost sponzorirancev na različnih dogodkih
(Yardley, 2016).

Da se bo situacija sponzoriranja športnikov v Sloveniji spremenila, morajo podjetja izobraziti

delovno silo o grajenju blagovne znamke s pomočjo sponzoriranja športnika. Slediti morajo
trendom tehnologije ter digitalizacije in svojim (potencialnim) kupcem omogočiti visoko
tehnološko interakcijo s športniki preko socialnih omrežij. Pridobljene metapodatke morajo
uporabiti v lastno dobrobit in čim bolj personalificirati tako produkte/storitve, kot tudi
posredovana sporočila uporabnikom (Kotler et al., 2017). Sponzorji morajo iskati kreativne
možnosti, da se preko kvalitetnega vsebinskega trženja, ki ga bodo posredovali športniki, čim bolj
povežejo z že obstoječimi in tudi novimi potencialnimi kupci. Pripravljeni morajo biti kreirati
zgodbo tudi z manj znanimi športniki in ne le pozicionirati zveneča športna imena na koncu
reklam. Prav zgodbe namreč v trženju gradijo strast do blagovne znamke (Bennett, n.d.), športnik
pa s posredovanjem sporočil kupcem zagotavlja pravo kvaliteto blagovne znamke, gradi lojalnost,
posreduje nasvete o nakupu komplementarnih produktov in deli mnenje, kako je uporaba blagovne
znamke vplivala na njegovo življenje in tekmovanje (Ways to get more out of sponsored athlete,
n.d). Le na ta način bo razviden dejanski vpliv sponzoriranja športnikov na blagovno znamko, pri
čemer bodo podjetja spoznala, da je željeni cilj možno doseči tudi z manj znanimi
mladimi/lokalnimi športniki. Prepričana sem, da se bodo tudi mala in srednje velika podjetja začela
v večji meri odločati za implementacijo sponzoriranja športnikov, ko bodo videla rezultate trženja,
ki jih dosegajo velika podjetja s športniki, katerih pravice bi lahko kupili tudi sami.

Sama raziskava predstavlja dodano vrednost dosedanji literaturi, saj kakršnakoli raziskava o
športnem sponzoriranju v Sloveniji še ni bila opravljena. Analiza predstavlja temelje sponzoriranja
športnikov, izkušnje ter pričevanja profesionalnih športnikov. Slednje je koristno predvsem za
podjetja, ki se že poslužujejo sponzoriranja športnikov ali o tem razmišljajo, saj sami rezultati in
predlogi usmerjajo managerje k pravilnemu pristopu k sponzorstvu in razumevanju konkurenčnih
prednosti, ki jih samo sponzorstvo prinaša.

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svetuje: Veriga Lesce - darila, za varno pot do cilja [Sometimes you can give… and get at the
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APPENDIXES
LIST OF APPENDIXES

Appendix A: Visual Representation of Brand Creation….……………………...………...……...1

Appendix B: In-depth Interview with Professional Athlete……...………………………..……...2
Appendix C: In-depth Interview with Personal Trainer..…...……………….…..………………..8
Appendix D: In-depth Interview with B2B Company That Sponsors Athletes..…..…...…….....12
Appendix E: In-depth Interview with Marketing Director of Petrol d.d.………..……..……......15
Appendix F: Survey Questions………………………………………..………...…………….....21
Appendix G: Hypothesis Tested with the Survey………..……………………...……..…...........26

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Appendix A: Visual Representation of Brand Creation

Figure 1. Creation of Brand in the Mind of Consumer

Source: C. Majgaard, 9 parameters reviewed, 2016.

1
Appendix B: In-depth Interview with Professional Athlete

Name and Surname: Maja Mihalinec

Interviewee: Professional athlete - sprinter
Age: 27
Gender: Female

Who are your current sponsors?

The greatest sponsors are still my parents. It is sad, but true. I have sponsors Nike and Vitamin
Well water. From Nike, I get all sports clothing twice a year. That is it for the moment. But once
at the higher level, athletes also get a certain amount of money. One of my friends from Slovenian
athletics federation who was in the finals at Rio Olympic games gets 5.000 EUR per year. I can
imagine that for elite athletes the number is much higher.

As I already mentioned, my other sponsor is Vitamin Well water with which I have a sponsorship
contract signed for a year. I used to cooperate with sports nutrition company [Link]., but had
to turn down their sponsorship offer after two weeks. There was no money involved and my
obligations towards them were really high. They only gave me couple of their products and in
return I should have taken pictures or videos and upload them on the social media every day. I
quickly realized every day is too much. So, as you see I do not really have any “real” sponsor from
which I would get higher amount of money that would get me through the month. This is why I
am so happy; just today I signed an employment contract with Slovenian army force – sports unit.
Life is going to be so much easier now.

Last 2 years your performance improved dramatically. Being the fastest Slovenian women
and competing at the European, World championship and Olympic games you also got more
media exposure. Is this when it all started and you became attractive for sponsors?
Yes, I could say this was when it all started. It was also when I realized I needed money. Before
my results improved, I was studying in the United States of America and I actually did not need
money as I was provided with the full-scholarship. In the first year after my return to Slovenia it
was really difficult. All the financial burden was on my parents. At that time, I even got a student
employment so I could get through the month.

Who was your first sponsor?

It was company [Link], but as I said we quickly cancelled our cooperation.

Did sponsors contact you themselves or you wrote an offer for sponsorship to them? Where
they instantly interested in sponsorship with you?
Nike sponsorship is going through my manager. He arranges everything for me. But for [Link]
and Vitamin Well water it was me who wrote request for sponsorship. I remember once I stopped
at the gas station and bought Vitamin Well water. I really liked it, so I decided to check its
ingredients. Afterwards, boyfriend and I contacted them. They were interested right away. But as
they just started their business in Slovenia and are a small company also their sponsorship is small.
I get a little bit of money and their products.

Did you get any of your sponsorships because you knew people working there, your
parents/friends knew them or because you were simply recommended to them?
Actually, no, I contacted them myself.

2
However, I was present in one of the campaigns of Ljubljanske mlekarne, Ego Quark, because
boyfriend of one other Slovenian athlete instantly thought of me. He works at Slovenian marketing
agency whose client is company Ljubljanske mlekarne. When he got a brief for campaign, he saw
he needed two runners and he thought of me. This was only for one campaign; it was paid work
but this was not a sponsorship. But I believe this is how things go also for the sponsorships.

How does your sponsorship look like? Is there money involved or do you only receive
products? Do you have written contract or just oral agreement? What are your obligations
in return – social media?
With Nike, I only get equipment, but with Vitamin Well water I get money as well.
I have written agreement with both sponsors and my obligations are stated in the contract.

Are you in touch with the sponsor? If yes, how and how often. Is there any talk about the
further promotions at some events, etc.?
With Nike, I am not in contact at all because everything is arranged by my manager. He arranged
everything before signature and is also now. I literally just signed a sponsorship contract.
But with Vitamin Well water we are quite in touch. We talk through the phone or email every
month. We talk about current sponsorship success, set photography sessions and decide on the
meetings.

You were also in campaign for Alpsko mleko “Okus po domu” right before Rio Olympic
games. What about that?
Ljubljanske mlekarne are sponsor of Slovenian Olympic committee. It is in athlete’s contract with
Olympic committee that if any of the sponsors picked him or her for their campaign, he or she
needed to participate. It was more a coincidence they picked me. Sure, I was happy. I little media
exposure never hurts anybody (laughs).

Do you think you have any chances to cooperate with Ljubljanske mlekarne also in the
future? Are there chances they would sponsor you?
It is difficult to say this. I don’t know.

Do you and sponsor have any marketing plan how to promote the plan to gain media
exposure?
Everything is stated in both contracts. For Nike, my obligations were already stated and I just
signed. With Vitamin Well water sponsorship I had to be more involved. I actually had to propose
the activation and state my ideas. They had absolutely no ideas what to do. All the burden fell on
me and I was lucky that I had knowledge from this field as I pertained bachelor degree from
journalism in United Stated and also started master program in marketing on Faculty of Social
Science in Ljubljana. So, I wrote down activation plan and then we sat down and they agreed on
it.

Do you think that once a sponsorship contract is signed, there should be a marketing plan
for marketing campaigns?
Yes, there should for sure be an activation plan stated once sponsorship is signed. I believe that
sponsored athlete and the company should work together towards achieving business goal. It
should not be all just athlete’s responsibility.

Do you know values of the brand and vision of the sponsoring company? If yes, did sponsor
notify you about it to check if you value the same things and have the same philosophy as a
brand/product does? Or did you look for it yourself?
They did not notify me about it at all. All I know I researched by myself.
3
Do you as ambassador feel you are responsible to present the product to people in a positive
way?
Yes, I do feel it is my obligation to represent the product. But this is because of my personality
and morality. There are not many athletes who would be as self-initiative as I am. Most of
sponsored athletes do not care. They do what sponsors tells them to do and that is it. They do not
put any effort in it.

You said you got sponsors when you were good enough to compete on the higher /
international level. Do you believe that in Slovenia only top level athletes can pursue
sponsorship?
Yes, for [Link] see benefits and profit only in well-known top athletes. They do not
appreciate athletes competing on a little bit lower level.

Companies in Slovenia want to sign a sponsorship contract with a well-known athlete who is
already recognized by the public and would instantly bring them higher awareness and product
recall. They are not prepared to create their own story with less known athlete. They should get
more engaged in the activation of sponsorship themselves and only then they could see results also
with the less known athletes. Actually, I believe that with sponsor’s engagement, results of the
sponsorship with less known athletes would be even greater than with the recognized elite sports
figure.

Is athlete sponsorship in Slovenian often? What are experiences of your friends that do
professional sport as well? What are the barriers they are experiencing?
I would say that the top 10 percent of Slovenian athletes are well provided and have no problems
with sponsors. The other 90 percent have less chances to get a sponsorship. Also, their sponsors
are smaller and they most often provide just material things, no money; just like my Vitamin Well
Water sponsorship.

It sometimes seems that it would even be easier for some girls that workouts regularly to get a
sponsor than for professional athletes. It is just because they post their provocative pictures and
men like to follow them. This makes me mad, because it is so wrong. Companies do not realize
that the quality of the followers on social media is very important. These girls, for example, do not
have quality followers, their followers do not care about sport. But mine do. It is about quality and
not quantity of the followers. Also, my followers more likely fall into the target group of the
sponsored products.

The problem of athlete sponsorship in Slovenia is that companies are not knowledgeable how to
perform sponsorship. For example, I constantly need to prove my sponsors what my social media
posts do. They do not know how to evaluate them. I need to prove to them that my reach was high.
Some companies really do not know how to evaluate the sponsorship.

In your opinion, do you think that professional athletes in Slovenia have hard time finding a
sponsoring company? Why? Why companies do not want to get involved as one of their
promotional strategies.
90 percent of them have difficulties. This is because sponsors don’t appreciate them and are not
willing and knowledgeable to create a marketing campaign that would build high awareness. They
want to take shortcuts and have top stars in their advertisements because that kind of
advertisements will instantly get people’s attention. The problem is also that sponsoring companies
are not knowledgeable about the activation. They do not know how important it is for success.

4
What firms get engaged with athlete sponsorship? Is there any sector that is more exposed
and involved in sport sponsorship than others?
Most commonly sports nutrition firms or sport retailers. But really company from any industry can
be athlete’s sponsor.

In your opinion, do you think that athlete/personal trainer contributes to brand awareness
and greater brand recall? Do you think this for yourself? Has it already happened to you
before that people stopped you and told you are representing your sponsoring firm.
Yes, athlete contributes to the higher awareness and higher recall.
People on the streets started recognizing me after the Rio Olympic games.
I was just recently in Kranjska Gora and there was a group of teenagers. I could feel they were all
staring at me and then one girl said: “Look, this is Maja Mihalinec. She was on the advertisement
for Alpsko mleko.” This was the first time for me, but it happens more often now.

Examples of Maja’s exposures on social media:

Figure 2. Maja Mihalinec on Social Media #1

Source: Maja Mihalinec, 2016

5
Figure 3. Maja Mihalinec on Social Media #2

Source: Vitamin Well Slovenia, 2016

Figure 4. Maja Mihalinec on Social Media #3

Source: Vitamin Well Slovenia, 2016

6
Figure 5. Maja Mihalinec on Social Media #4

Source: Maja Mihalinec, 2016

7
Appendix C: In-depth Interview With Personal Trainer

Name and Surname: Rebeka Fink

Interviewee: Personal Trainer, Group Exercises Trainer, Rebook ambassador
Age: 25
Gender: Female

Did you take part at any Sport before you became a personal trainer?
Sport has always been part of my life. I started with gymnastics as a child and then at age 10 started
training handball. I quitted handball only when studying at the Faculty of Sport in Ljubljana.

While training handball, have you ever tried to perceive any sponsors?
No I haven’t. In handball, sponsorship practically doesn’t exist, especially not for female. If there
are any sponsorships, they are for the whole team/ handball club or for male team.
Many times, firms could be sponsors but they are not. For example, club would buy clothing from
a particular brand but it has to be paid. It is not a sponsorship.

Do you currently have any sponsors? If yes, who?

Yes, I have it. I am an ambassador for sport retailer brand Rebook.
I also got an offer to be sponsored by a sports nutrition company Nanox. They are smaller firm so
no sponsorship money was included in contract negotiation. They would give me one product per
month and I would take videos and pictures and upload them on my social media profiles. In return
for promotion they would help me with the advertising for personal training. However, in my work
contract there is a clause stating I shouldn’t be exposed so I had to turn the offer down. If there
was money involved I would take the offer, but this way, no.

Is sponsorship of personal trainers in Slovenian often? Do you know of any examples? What
firms get engaged with sponsorship?
It is quite often practice, or better said, it is getting more and more common that personal trainer
is having a sponsor as well.
Most of the time its sports nutrition companies who sponsors personal trainers. Less often, it is
sport retailer’s brands; but every personal trainer actually wants that kind of sponsorship contract
for him or herself. I know of personal trainers in Slovenia having a contract with Nike, Adidas and
of duo with Underarmour contract.

How has your sponsorship started? Have you contacted them yourself? How was their
response, where they instantly interested in sponsorship with you?
They actually contacted me themselves because one of their employees knew my partner. They
called me if I was interested and said to come to the meeting in Zagreb office. Of course, I went
and they immediately confirmed they wanted to work with me. They asked me where I worked
and they checked how much I am involved on the social media. They did not want a popular and
well known athlete. They wanted to cooperate with a “normal human being” so people can easier
relate to him or her. They wanted someone who works hard, maybe from time to time has some
blisters because of hard training. They wanted someone who will motivate their audience.

How does your sponsorship look like?

As I stated, I am ambassador for the sport retailer brand.
It was oral agreement made six months ago. After half a year, I still haven’t signed a contract. I
don’t get money from them but twice a year I get a full athletic clothing and shoes which I should
wear and promote the brand.
8
Have you tried to get any other sponsorship before? If yes, how have you contact them (email,
snail mail, telephone)? What was their main reason to deny partnership with you?
I haven’t done anything to get a sponsorship before, but I wanted to be an ambassador. I know
personal trainers are looking to get a sponsorship, but most of the time they are turned down.
Sometimes they do not get any respond. It is really difficult to get in touch with companies.

Do you and sponsor have any marketing plan how to promote the plan to gain media
exposure?
There is no plan. After six months, I still haven’t signed a contract where my obligations will be
stated, so, actually, I don’t know what I have to do for promotion.

I do what I feel is the right thing to do. I often wear sponsor’s brand when I coach and at that times
I take picture and upload it to Facebook or Instagram and mark the brand with the hashtag.
I know the company sent email to their partners to notify them I am brands ambassadors. When I
got the collection, they took some pictures and put them on Facebook but that is it.

Do you think that once a sponsorship contract is signed, there should have a marketing plan
for marketing campaigns?
Yes, for sure! I would love this.

Do you know values of the brand and vision of the sponsoring company?
Hmm, it values hard work and hard training.

After the response, I read brand’ vision to interviewee:

…“We envision a future where humans return to their roots. A future where we recognize that
each of us is a living, breathing, walking, talking, running, climbing, jumping, laughing, caring
miracle—a miracle that happens only once.
Through tough fitness, we will push each other to honor the body we’ve been given, because we
have only one body to honor. We will endure sweat, tears and even a bit of blood. We will flip
tires, sprint hills, and do push-ups until we can’t do them any longer. Why do we do this? We
certainly aren’t flipping tires to be better tire flippers. We’re doing it to be better, period. Better
leaders; better parents; better stronger, more determined humans—capable of anything. We do it
to honor our bodies and sharpen our minds—to be more human” (Source: Official Reebook
website).

Yes, I guess I was not quite aware of it, even though I was not that far from point. They value hard
work, sweat. I was never introduced to these values by sponsors.

Do you as ambassadors feel you are responsible to present the product to people in a positive
way?
Yes, I do. I expose the brand myself when I wear it. My clients know that I am brand ambassador.
I noticed they already have few pieces of their clothing because they see I wear them. Probably
they like the clothes and go buy them themselves as well.

Are you in touch with the sponsor? If Yes, how and how often. Is there any talk about the
further promotions at some events, etc.?
I am in touch with them through the email. We will talk twice a year regarding the new clothing I
will receive. I guess I will get to know more about the marketing plan once I receive the contact.
I know for now they are checking my involvement on social media, but they never get any
feedback from them. They never say what I should post.
9
In your opinion, do you think that athlete/personal trainer contributes to brand awareness
and greater brand recall? Do you think this for yourself?
Yes, I believe it does help with promoting a brand. Complete strangers’ haven’s stopped me on
the street saying: “You are XY brand ambassador.” However, it happens many times that
acquaintances and people that know of me say “Oh you, and XY (stating the brand)” when they
see me. They know I represent the brand. Also, as I stated, my clients started to wear my
sponsoring brand more so, obviously, they are more aware of it.

Do you think athletes and personal trainers have hard time finding a sponsor?
I think well known professional athletes do not have problems. But less known athletes without
media exposure, and young talents are for sure experiencing difficulties. The same goes for
personal trainers.

Examples of Rebeka’s exposures on social media:

Figure 6. Rebeka Fink on Social Media #1

Source: Rebeka Fink, 2016

10
Figure 7. Rebeka Fink on Social Media #2

Source: Rebeka Fink, 2016

Figure 8. Rebeka Fink on Social Media #3

Source: Rebeka Fink, 2016

11
Appendix D: In-depth Interview With B2B Company That Sponsors Athletes

Interviewee: Procurator of Slovenian B2B company

Sponsoring athlete: Alpinist/mountain climber
Age of sponsored athlete: 51
Gender of sponsored athlete: Male

Who is you company sponsoring?

We sponsor a lot of clubs, organizations. From sport spheres, we sponsor one Basketball club,
Golf club and Handball club. We are also sponsor of mountain climber who already got three
alpinists “Piolet d’Or” awards.

However, we also pursue to our local community by donorship of local cultural organizations,
firefighters, basketball club, etc. We support outstanding performers in many areas of society. We
support innovation, originality, and above-average human achievements.

How did all this sponsorship start? Did athletes contact you themselves, or…?
It is sad to say this, but sponsorship is mostly being done because of the business we do. In
Slovenia, it still goes through connections and networking. “I give me business, in return, you
sponsor our athletes.”

Our only individual athlete we sponsor, mountain climber has been with us for more than 10 years.
This sponsorship has nothing to do with the connections. He is a great friend of a CEO who helped
him with money support ever since company gained first successes.
However, for donorship, we get request from individuals or organizations themselves.

Do sponsored athletes/ clubs knows about company’s values and vision? Do they share the
same ones?
Only sponsored mountain climber knows about them and he shares the same values and passion
for perfection and excellence, purpose and goal as company does.

How do your sponsorships look like?

Athletes or clubs sign a sponsorship contract. They send a bill for “the service” – advertising the
company and we file this as an expense. Consequently, our yearly profit is lower and we pay less
tax. Obligations of sponsoring clubs are written in the contract. They have to wear our name and
logo on competition uniforms, stated the company in yearly club publications or bulletins, have
our advertising board in all of their events, etc. We don’t advertise club’s sponsorships ourselves.
The only sponsored athlete we expose is maintain climber.

Do you have any marketing plan for activation with sponsored mountain climber?
No.

How is then mountain climber involved in the company’s story?

As stated we have sponsoring contract with him for more than 10 years already. At first
sponsorship went through local mountain club, now he is sole proprietor as he is also a
photographer and mountain guide so he can issue bills for sponsorship himself.

His sponsorship is mentioned on the company’s website. He also shown and mentioned in most of
the videos presenting the company. We want that our current and potential future partners know
that we are engaged in the community and that we care for people’s welfare. Return is mutual for
12
both; we promote him and he promotes us. Company gives sponsorship and also donorship money
for good cause.

However, last few years we also published his calendar at the end of the year and give it to partners
as a New Year’s gift. Photography is his passion and he always takes great pictures when he goes
to climbing exhibitions. The idea started when he prepared PowerPoint presentation from one of
his mountain exhibition for the company’s employees. We were all impressed by his pictures. This
year we will publish his calendar again; it is already a well-known and common praxis. Business
partners are asking us in advance if we will have his calendar again because they always love it.
From all the calendars sales people get in December, ours is indeed unique. I guess know we are
doing this to make our business partners excited to work with us as well. But this activity is not
stated in his sponsorship contract. It all just started out of the blue and is oral agreement renewed
every year.

So, you mentioned you partners knows that you sponsor one of the greatest mountain
climber? Did you ever get any business because of him and his advertising?
Yes, they do know. We actually got one business partner due to our exposure through sponsored
athlete. Once we were at the trade show in Switzerland and one salesmen came to our stand. Our
representatives said he was very enthusiastic about our company because we sponsored one of his
idols, mountain climber. Salesperson of that company was amateur alpinist himself with a great
passion for climbing. It turned out he was salesman of one of the greatest pharmaceutical company
and this is how we started out cooperation. It seems quite unreal but you never know where the
opportunity is waiting for you.

In your opinion, do you think that athlete/personal trainer contributes to brand awareness
of your company?
A little it does for sure, but it would be difficult to say how much. It is always good if your company
is exposed in the community. It is even better if we and our sponsored athlete share the same values
and have common goals. It is just easier to communicate with that kind of person; you are on the
same page and I believe that kind of sponsorship can only gain a success.

In your opinion, what are the greatest barriers and downturns of athlete sponsorship in
Slovenia?
I believe more companies would be willing to engage in sponsorship if it would be less
complicated by law. Law declares that if you sponsor an individual he or she has to pay 25%
income tax on it. So, he or she give one quarter of the money to country. If company really wants
to sponsor an outstanding athlete and help him or her, with individual sponsorship, country is really
taking a high percentage. You as a company start thinking if it was even worth it. The other option
is that you sponsor an athlete through his or her club, but there it gets complicated as well as his
coach and club want certain percent of amount as well.

The other problem is that companies sponsor an athlete they either known, was referred to them
or is son/daughter of one of their employees. Connections, connections, connections; they can for
sure help athlete when pursuing a sponsorship. The other problem is that even sport sponsorship
is a bit corrupted and agreed when business of the two companies having nothing to do with sport
is agreed. Without influential family or athlete’s personal connections current situation does not
look prosperous.

13
Company’s calendar with pictures taken by the sponsored alpinist:
Figure 9. Collage of Companies Yearly Calender with Pictures made by Sponsored Athlete

14
Appendix E: In-depth Interview With Marketing Director of Petrol d.d.

Interviewee: Rok Cuderman

Position: Marketing director at Petrol d.d.

I found out that Petrol is sponsoring many Slovenian athletes who form Team Petrol: Andrej
Šporn, Aleks Humar, Blaž Kavčič, Gal Jakič, Dejan Zavec, Jakov Fak, Staš Skube, Žan
Kranjec, Žan Kosir, Miha Hrovat, Ana Drev, Anja Drev, Miran Stanovnik, Simon Marčič,
Tit Stante. These ones are named on your website. Are this all athletes you sponsor, are is
there more? Do you sponsor also any Slovenian federation team or young talent?
Athletes you named are actually just few. In total, we sponsor 19 or 20 individual athletes (I don’t
know the exact number because some sponsorship contracts are in renewal process).

Do you sponsor also any Slovenian federation team or young talent?

Yes, we do. Right now, the most exposure have Slovenian ski and biathlon team.
We also sponsor Slovenian football team, handball, basketball, tennis team and also hockey team
in smaller extend. Not to forget, we are Big sponsor of Slovenian Olympic team.

We sponsor also young tennis player Kaja Juvan, etc. We started sponsoring her already in youth
age category. When we sponsor young athlete, our sponsorship is completely without expectations.
The purpose is more financial help than serious partnership from which also Petrol would benefit.
We don’t want to put burden on their shoulder. However, we look at such sponsorship as a long-
term investment

How do you pick athlete you decide to sponsor? Do you have any selection process you follow
or do you pretty much sponsor just any athlete that would write a request to Petrol? Are you
as a company more interested to sponsor individual athletes or the whole teams, like for
example Slovenian football team, biathlon team, etc.?
We really do receive many sponsorship requests. In Petrol, we have a special committee for
sponsorship and donorship who meets every week for an hour and a half. For us, athlete is more
interesting if we already are present as a sponsor in his or her sport category. This way it is easier
for us to combine marketing activities than starting in completely new sport field. However, there
are exceptions.

In selection process, we do not look only sport results. School grades and their involvement and
activity on social media are important as well. We always want to meet athlete in person before
signing contract as well, so that we get to know him or her better.

In case Petrol is interested to sponsor a particular athlete, do you also contact him or her
themselves and offer your sponsorship?
It is not a rule that we would look after athletes. However, it of course also happens. If athlete is
particularly interesting for us, we think: “Yes, maybe we want to go in this sport as well.”

On your website, I noticed that sponsored athletes write their blog what I found really
interesting. What are some other obligations sponsored athletes have in return for Petrol’s
sponsorship?
In contract, we state number of days the athlete should be available to us. These days we use for
athlete’s meeting with employees, business partners or other events. For example, if we organize

15
sport games we invited sponsored athlete to come give away awards. Also, when we do blood
donor session, athlete can be an ambassador.

As you already mentioned, sponsored athletes represent Team Petrol. Once a year we meet with
all of them in info day with entertainment note. We prepare for the educational workshop we think
they need what can be anything from public speaking, doping, psychological preparation, etc.
There we tell them our expectations. However, there is no need to do something, if they do not
feel like it. We at Petrol are very understandable. Their main role is to do sport. For example, if
athlete would come to our event in the bad mood, we rather see them not coming.

Is activation plan stated in Petrol’s sponsorship contracts? If yes, how is it formed? Do you
prepare it yourself or together with athlete?
Yes, it is stated. It is prepared together with an athlete as this is a matter of coordination.

What are Petrol’s actions for including sport fans in your own promotions and brand
building (for example organized bus to go cheer for sponsored athlete on the competition,
contest, etc.)?
We do many different actions. Just recently we organized action: “With Petrol coffee on the World
Ski Cup in St. Moritz”. We did similar for handball fans before World Handball cup at the
beginning of this year (2017). Hockey players were once cleaning windshields at the gas stations
and at the same time gave away tickets. Another action was before one of Dejan Zavec’s match.
He had candid camera and was also giving away tickets.

However, one action that it seemed quite unimaginable for fans was when we took a person to
Australian Open to be companion of Blaž Kavčič. In selection process, fans were playing tennis
match with Kavčič so more fans were involved in it, but just one was a lucky winner. He got
exclusive entry to Australian Open, it was not a regular ticket what gives this prize added value.

When researching, I find out that Petrol’ mission is preservation of the planet and endeavor
for collective responsibility of preservation and intact/unspoiled nature. Petrol’s values are
respect, trust, excellence, creativity and boldness. Are you looking for these in athletes?
We do not sponsor only sport results. We sponsor athlete’s values. For example, we would not go
into boxing if it was only for boxing. We started sponsorship with Dejan Zavec on a small extend.
But since our collaboration was good and we liked Dejan’s personality, it all developed into much
broader extend. So yes, values of athletes are important.

Is it important for Petrol that sponsored athlete possess the same values as sponsoring
company?
Yes, absolutely.

What would you say from your personal experiences, does sponsored athlete feel obligated
to present the and expose his or her sponsor?
We rather see that athlete does not post anything on social media, if this is not pure and authentic.
If he or she feels like posting and exposing our company, he or she should do it. If not, we do not
force anything. Of course, we encourage them to stop at our gas stations and not to buy at the
competition. It is up to them.

Can you say that athletes Petrol is sponsoring positively contribute to your brand equity
(awareness, recognition, etc.) and spread the voice of your company also outside of Slovenia?
It would be difficult to say either yes or no. For example, snowboarding in Russia is very popular,
more than skiing. When Žan Kranjec got medal at the Sochi Olympic Games this probably brought
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some recognition. Also, when Matevž Lenarčič did his flight around the world, our media exposure
was for sure higher. However, we never concluded business deal because of our athletes.

How long are usually your sponsorship contracts (one year, two years or longer)? Are you
generally happy with athletes are renew their contract after it expires?
The longest length is four years – Olympic cycle. But our contracts are anything from one to four
years long. However, all of them have purpose of long-term partnership.

How do you plan budget for when you decide for sponsoring new athlete? Do you include in
expenses only the cost stated in sponsorship contract, or do you add to this the amount you
will spend in time of sponsorship for marketing purposes (for activation)?
We plan sponsorship and also activation. However, it is different from contract to contract. If in
one sport we already have high exposure, we do not put so much in activation. So it varies a lot.
We do not have any rule.

For example, for Olympic games we sell hats and T-shirts. In this case activation is bigger and it
is through sales of these hats and T-shirts.

What about measuring the effectiveness of sponsorship, does Petrol do it? If yes, what are
the methods you use?
We score how important this sponsorship is for our customers, business partners, employees. Also,
what is the potential from ticket sales, media coverage and margin (where it is subject of rights we
receive). For instance, if we have exclusive for ticket sale, the big part of sponsorship expense is
already reimbursed.

We use more soft approaches as well like meeting with our employees and their feedback on this
event.

What do you think are advantages for company if it sponsors athletes? What are
disadvantages sponsors have- if any?
I see sponsorship as a plus for a company. This is not a “thrown away money”. Some advantages
of sponsorship I would like to expose are:

• Use of sponsorship for sale purposes (where this is possible, for example, for tickets sales)
• Company’s return to the environment in which it operates
• Easier address of the customers
• Values that are passed on the company’s employees

Do you think athletes in Slovenia enjoy enough support from companies or is here still space
for improvement?
I think athlete’s self-activity is a must. Somebody who is self- initiative, addresses companies
with a sponsorship requests and tell them what he or she is prepared to do in return will get sponsor.

Do you think Slovenian companies have employees who are knowledgeable and capable of
formulating sponsorship contract and later effectively implement also marketing campaigns
that include sponsored athlete?
There are great differences between companies in Slovenia. Some do not perform sport marketing
at all. However, whoever wants to do things seriously and professionally, he or she can do it. Each
company has chances to work with sport agencies. We worked for a year with agency Sport
Element and did occasionally with Sport Media Focus. Other than that, we do things in house.

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Examples of exposure of Petrol’s sponsored athletes on social media:

Figure 10. Petrol's Exposure of Sponsored Athlete on Social Media #1

Source: Petrol d.d., 2017

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Figure 11. Petrol's Exposure of Sponsored Athlete on Social Media #2

Source: Petrol d.d., 2017

Figure 12. Sponsored Athlete Showing Sponsors on his Social Media Profile

Source: Žan Košir 2017

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Figure 13. Sponsor's Exposure of Team Petrol on Corporate Website

Source: Petrol d.d., 2017

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Appendix F: Survey Questions

NOTE: This survey is designed to be solved by professional athletes and personal trainers that
have a sponsor, they had it in the past, or they tried to get one, but were not successful.

1. Do you train professionally?

a) Yes

b) No

2. How long have you been already training your current sport for?
a) 0 - 1,9 years

b) 2 – 3,9 years
c) 4 – 5,9 years
d) 6 – 7,9 years
e) 8 years or more

3. Do you believe that it is difficult for professional athletes in Slovenia to pursue sponsor?
a) Yes
b) No

4. In your opinion, what is the main problem of athlete sponsorship in Slovenia?

a) Athletes do not put effort into getting sponsors.
b) Slovenian legislation (taxation of sponsorship).
c) Companies do not have money.
d) Companies are not interested in sponsoring athletes because they are not aware of
advantages it can bring.
e) Other. _______________
5. How do you understand sponsorship? Shortly explain.
_____________________________________________________________________

6. Do you have a sponsor or did you have it in the past?

a) Yes
b) No

7. How many sponsors do you have?

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
e) 5 or more

NOTE: If you had sponsors in the past, please solve the next section of questions based on
the time of your sponsorship.

8. What kind of sponsoring agreement do you have with your sponsor?

a) Written contract
b) Oral contract
c) Other. _______________

9. What kind of sponsorship do you have?

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a) I receive money
b) I receive product / service whose brand I promote.
c) I receive money and product /service whose brand I promote.
d) Other. _______________

10. Are you aware of your obligations toward your sponsor (marketing activities in which
you are included, mentioning sponsor on social media, etc.)?
a) Yes
b) No

11. Do you and your sponsor discuss activation (marketing activities) regularly, or do you
have yearly/monthly plan? H2
a) Regularly, from week to week.
b) We have agreement for a month in advance.
c) We have agreement for 6 months in advance.
d) We have agreement for a year in advance.
e) We do not discuss it.
f) Other. _______________

12. Is activation plan (marketing activities in which you will be included) stated in your
sponsorship contract?
a) Yes
b) No

13. How was activation plan formed?

a) Sponsor prepared it itself BEFORE the signing of contract.
b) Sponsor prepared it itself AFTER the singing of the contract.
c) I prepared activation plan myself
d) Sponsor and I prepared a plan together
e) Plan was prepared by my manager.
f) Other. _______________

14. How did you get your sponsor? H4

a) I got it myself with writing and sending out requests for sponsorship.
b) I got it through acquaintances/ family who works in sponsor’s company.
c) Manager got a sponsor for me.
d) My parents got a sponsor for me.
e) Other. _______________

15. How strongly do you agree with the following statements?

(Scale from 1 – 5: Absolutely disagree | disagree | Neither disagree nor agree | Agree |
Completely agree)
a) I am aware of the goals of marketing campaigns in which I am present. H2
b) Sponsor measures effectiveness of marketing actions and reaching of the goal. H2
c) I am aware of values and philosophy of the brand which I am presenting.
d) Because of sponsorship, I feel obligated to present the company. H5
e) I have positively contributed to the brand awareness and awareness of the sponsor.
f) I trust the brand which I am promoting.
g) I am myself using product / service whose brand I am promoting.

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h) People I do not know have already connected me with the brand which I am
promoting. (Bruner, James& Hensel, 2001)
i) Brand which I am promoting is embodiment of what I want to be myself.
j) When I use the product / service of the brand I am promoting, I feel good.
(Bruner, James& Hensel, 2001) H5
k) I enjoy when I talk about the sponsoring company or their brand. (Zarantonello &
Pauwels-Delassus, 2016).
l) I would recommend the product / service which’s brand I am presenting to the
potential customers. (Zarantonello & Pauwels-Delassus, 2016).
m) Because of my connection with the brand, people more often by product / service of
that brand.

16. Have you tried getting a sponsor.

a) Yes
b) No

17. Please state the main reason why you were not successful at getting a sponsor?
a) I didn’t get company reasons at all.
b) Company does not have money.
c) Company is not interesting in athlete sponsorship at all.
d) Company is already sponsoring other athletes.
e) Other. _______________

18. In your opinion, how important for a sponsorship success is the fact that sponsoring
athlete identify him or herself with the brand? H3
a) Very important
b) Important
c) Neither important nor not important
d) Not important
e) Completely not important

19. What is athlete’s effect in the following statements? Please rank. H1

(Scale 1 – 5: Completely negative | Negative | Neither negative nor positive | Positive |
Absolutely positive)
a) Awareness of sponsoring company
b) Brand awareness
c) Customer loyalty toward the brand
d)
20. How strongly do you agree with the following statements?
(Scale from 1 – 5: Absolutely disagree | disagree | Neither disagree nor agree | Agree |
Completely agree)
a) Brand which is connected with athlete is enjoying higher exposure than the brand that
is not connected with athlete.
b) Connection of athlete with the brand has positive effect on sales.
c) Before signing of the contract, sponsor inform itself whether athlete coincides with
the vision/values of the brand and with the product / service itself.
d) Congruence (values, vision, philosophy) between brand and athlete is important. H3
e) Personal networks (knowing someone working) in the sponsoring company are more
important than congruence of athlete and brand.

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f) Sponsors are aware how important are well-developed and well-executed marketing
actions for the positive effect on their company.
g) Companies decide for sponsoring an athlete based on their “connections / personal
networks” and based on the business development. H4
h) Companies are aware of advantages they get once their customers start connecting
their branded product / service with athlete.
i) When shopping, people rather buy product / service that is connected with athlete.
j) In general, athletes having sponsors feel obligated to present the brand.
k) Sponsors should always prepare activation plan whose realization would follow
contract signature.

21. Gender:
a) Male
b) Female

22. Age:
a) 15 – 19,9 years
b) 20 – 24,9 years
c) 25 – 29,9 years
d) 30 – 34,9 years
e) 35 years and more

23. What is your highest achieved formal education?

a) Elementary school
b) Secondary vocational school
c) High school
d) Undergraduate studies
e) Postgraduate studies
f) PHD studies
24. Your current occupation:
a) High school student or student
b) Employed – full time
c) Employed – half time
d) Self-employed – sole proprietorship or limited liability company
e) Unemployed

25. Sport:
a) Personal trainer
b) Track and field (athletics)
c) Tennis
d) Judo
e) Swimming
f) Skiing
g) Snowboarding
h) Cross country skiing
i) Ski jumping
j) Biathlon
k) Cycling
l) Basketball
m) Football
n) Volleyball
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o) Golf
p) Other. _______________

26. If you receive sponsoring money, does this represent primary monthly income?
a) Yes
b) No

27. What amount of sponsoring money would you need to cover your monthly expenses?
a) 0 – 199 EUR
b) 200 – 399 EUR
c) 400 – 599 EUR
d) 600 – 799 EUR
e) 800 – 999 EUR
f) 1000 EUR and more

28. If you receive sponsoring money, please state approximate monthly amount received.
a) I do not receive sponsoring money.
b) I do not want to state.
c) 1 – 199 EUR
d) 200 – 399 EUR
e) 400 – 599 EUR
f) 600 – 799 EUR
g) 800 – 999 EUR
h) 1000 EUR and more

USED REFERENCES:

Bruner, G., James, K. & Hensel, P.J. (2001). Marketing Scales Handbook of Brand Management
Scales. Chicago: American Marketing Association.

Zarantonello, L. & Pauwels-Delassus, V. (2016). The Handbook of Brand Management Scales.

Oxford: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

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Appendix G: Hypothesis Tested with the Survey

H1a: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on awareness of sponsoring
company.
H1b: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on brand awareness.
H1c: Sponsored athlete has positive statistically significant effect on customer loyalty toward the
brand.

H2: Based on the frequency of the activation discussion among sponsor and sponsored athlete,
there is a statistically significant difference in athlete’s awareness of the goals and in sponsor’s
measurement of sponsorship and goal reaching

H3: There is statistically significant positive correlation between congruent athlete-brand

relationship on one side, and idol attachment and brand loyalty on the other side.

H4: Among the methods of pursuing sponsorship there is statistically significant difference in
athletes’ opinions whether companies decide on the sponsored athletes based on their personal
ties, networks and connections.

H5: There is a statistically significant positive correlation between athlete’s inner feeling of
obligation presenting sponsoring brand and athlete’s good feeling/mood when presenting the
brand.

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