Volume 5 N4 Journal of sports marketing

Journal|Reports

SPORTS MARKETING JOURNAL

ISSN : 1464-6668

Library: £35

Standard: £109

International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship

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Back issue Volume 5 Number 4 March 2004

Editorial

Forget the old, on with the new

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‘Forget the old, on with the new’

(unknown source)

No doubt this is good advice in many situations, but what about all the good that was in the old? Perhaps it would be better to say “on with the new but keep the good of the old”.

If you agree with this last statement, you will be delighted to see the first issue of the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship under our new publisher, International Marketing Reports.

Yes, there will be changes and new things that you will observe in the next few issues of the journal. Our publisher, Simon Rines, is discussing some of them here. Others are at the planning stage, and will be reported in later issues. But with all the new, the journal is committed to keep the best of the old.

The mission of the journal will stay the same: to serve as a channel for state of the art research and best practice knowledge in sports marketing and sponsorship.

The scope and target audience of the journal will not change; indeed it will be reinforced, bringing together academia, professionals and members of the sport industry from all over the globe.

The high quality, timeliness and accessibility of the content will be, as always, my first priority. We will continue with the rigorous and constructive review process, and with the help of new technology, the process will become faster and easier for all stakeholders.

As we are starting together with the new, I must take the opportunity to offer apologies and thanks. I would like to apologise to many of you who were caught in the middle of the transition with submitted manuscripts, or manuscripts under review. I spoke to many of you and I could not promise you ‘a satisfactory solution’ at the time. As an editor, I understand the action many of you took, and I promise it will not be held in any way against you in the future. So please continue to send us your best work.

I would also like to thank all the subscribers, readers, authors, reviewers and editorial board members that ‘stacked’ with us during the difficult and uncertain period of transition. Last but not least, we all need to thank our new publisher. Mr Rines stepped to the plate, and made a major commitment to the continuation of the Journal. Now it is up to all of us to make it happen. So let us all go on with the new and make it even better.

‘Change is inevitable - except from vending machines’

(Robert C. Gallagher)

David Shani

Editor

Interview

Nigel Currie, Joint chairman, European Sponsorship Association

Paper 1

Promoting Water Polo in Greece: Applying Marketing Theories and Techniques to Sport

Authors

Yanni D. Afthinos, University of Athens, Greece,

Dimitris P. Gargalianos, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece

Abstract

This paper presents the theoretical conceptualisation that led to the communication improvements needed for water polo in Greece. The paper also studies the implementation process. The proposed improvements were: (a) arrangement of symbols on the players’ caps; (b) addition of team logo and name on players’ caps; (c) redesign of players’ caps; (d) addition of colour to players’ caps; and (e) introduction of a full-body swimsuit. The result was that all but one (e) of the proposed modifications was implemented and adopted during the 1996-2000 National League periods of the Greek men’s water polo Division A1.

Paper 2

Consumers’ Perceptions of NFL Stadium Naming Rights

Authors

Perry Haan, Tiffin University, Ohio, USA

Matt Shank, Northern Kentucky University, USA

Abstract

This study assesses consumer awareness of National Football League (NFL) stadium names and examines consumers’ familiarity with sponsoring companies’ industries and products. It explores whether consumers are more likely to purchase from a company or switch to products offered by a company that has paid to put its name on an NFL stadium. It attempts to understand consumers’ overall perceptions of companies that put their names on stadiums. The results show that the naming of an NFL stadium has a minimal effect on consumers’ perceptions towards the companies that buy naming rights or the likelihood of buying products from these companies.

Paper 3

Impact of sponsorship on companies that supported the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Paralympics

Authors

Mehmet A. Ozturk, Indiana University, USA,

Francis M. Kozub, Indiana University, USA,

Settar Kocak, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of sponsorship on companies that supported the 2002 Winter Paralympics. The aim of the study was to find out whether sponsorship was related to positive cumulative abnormal returns on the stocks of selected companies. Specifically, was there a difference between the stock values of the 16 companies (with shares in US markets) that sponsored Paralympic games versus leading competitors that did not? Results indicated that no differences existed between those companies that chose to sponsor Paralympics and their leading competitors at any of the time periods F(1, 30 ) = 1.15, p < .05. These findings were consistent with past studies conducted on sport events for persons without disabilities. Further studies are needed to measure other possible company gains by sponsoring Paralympics.