Des Thwaites

Professional Football Sponsorship—Profitable or Profligate?

The results of this empirical study of the English Premier League and First Division indicate that the vast majority of companies express a very positive view of their experience with professional football sponsorship. However, there is evidence of a failure to employ a number of the techniques advocated in the literature. This suggests that for some companies opportunities exist for sponsorship to make an even greater contribution to their communication objectives. Key areas which need to be addressed are objective setting, evaluation, leverage and integration with other elements of the communication mix.

Bank selection criteria — a student perspective

This paper reports an empirical study of student buyer behaviour in the context of banking services. While a large number of variables influence the choice of the student current account provider, eight factors are identified as key drivers of the purchase decision. Based on these factors, four discrete orientations are established which represent distinct customer segments requiring alternative marketing approaches. Students are not convinced about the concept of a financial supermarket, are generally more inclined to shop around for the best offer, conduct business with more than one institution and are not particularly loyal.

Managing Sport Sponsorship Programs: Lessons from a Critical Assessment of English Soccer

ABSTRACT Following recent increases in the financial value of sport sponsorship programs, some commentators believe this has been accompanied by the development of sponsorship management practices. Despite this, there are still widespread concerns about some of these practices. This study therefore sets out to examine and comment upon the practice of sponsorship management from an English perspective, specifically in soccer. This is an area of sponsorship that has previously been examined and is a sport in which there have been significant commercial developments in recent years. Using face-to-face interviews and questionnaires, 43 corporations provided information about their sponsorship programs. While there is some evidence of good practice, a continuing failure to effectively manage sport sponsorship programs is clear. The study thus concludes by making recommendations about the future development of sport sponsorship management.

The Use of Humor to Mask Deceptive Advertising: It's No Laughing Matter

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the use of humor as a masking device for deceptive advertising claims. Content analysis on a total of 238 ads assessed whether humor was used to mask any deceptive claims. Deceptive claims were found in 73.5% of humorous ads, and 74.5% of these were masked by humor. The relationship between various forms of deceptive claims and humor types used was also assessed to determine whether specific humor types masked particular types of deceptive claims. It appears that all types of humor are used to mask the various types of deceptive claims investigated. Furthermore, specific types of humor are used to mask particular types of deceptive claims.

The Influence of Environmental Change on the Marketing Practices of Building Societies

The marketing environment for the financial services industry in the UK is experiencing a period of rapid change. How building societies are preparing to meet the demands of the 1990s is shown by examining the level to which the marketing concept has been adopted, and the extent to which various marketing techniques are being used. Based on empirical findings, it was determined that major differences exist among building societies in their approaches to marketing. This is particularly evident in comparisons between larger and smaller societies.

Sports sponsorship development in leading Canadian companies: issues & trends

This study adopts both qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine current practices in the management of sports sponsorship and to assess the extent to which selected Canadian companies adopt the prescriptions for effective sponsorship identified in the literature. Issues which may create new trends and the implications of these trends for sponsorship managers are also addressed. While sport remains the most popular focus for sponsorship in Canada several concerns are highlighted in relation to future developments. A significant number of companies are questioning the contribution of sport to their sponsorship programmes and adapting its role.

Closing the gaps: service quality in sport tourism

Draws on the extant literature in the areas of services marketing, sport tourism and service quality to present a range of concepts and models that have utility in heightening management’s appreciation of the complexities of achieving service quality in a sport‐tourism context. Emphasis is placed on the multidimensional nature of the issues involved. Generic service and quality concepts and models are tailored to sport tourism through a range of examples. More in‐depth illustrations are provided by case material relating to Club La Santa, which is located on the northern coast of Lanzarote. Marketed as “the world’s leading sport and leisure resort”, La Santa offers all‐year‐round training and leisure facilities for national and international standard sportsmen and women, as well as less competitive visitors who merely seek exercise and relaxation. The managerial implications of the issues are discussed.

Strategic Marketing in Financial Services: Retrospect and Prospect

Traditionally, marketing in financial services had been a largely tactical activity, concerned primarily with the advertising and selling of existing products. With the growth in environmental turbulence which characterized the 1980s the notion of marketing as a strategic activity became increasingly important. The 1980s were, in many senses, an era of expansion and diversification. However, many organizations over‐stretched themselves in this period and the 1990s has seen many organizations looking to refocus on core businesses.

Adoption of the Marketing Concept by UK Building Socities

This article identifies the different approaches to marketingpreva- lent among UK building societies. Based on the view of marketing either as a function incorporating a number of related activities or as a guiding philosophy for the whole organisation, building societies are divided into four discrete groups. Many differences between the groups are evident in respect of attitudes towards, organisation for and implementation of marketing. Based on these differences, a novel evolutionary pattern of marketing develop- ment within UK building societies is suggested.

Corporate sponsorship by the financial services industry

This paper reports empirical findings from a study of sports sponsorship activities by a representative sample of UK banks, building societies and insurance companies. While there are indications of a professional approach to the management of sports sponsorship programmes by some institutions, this pattern is by no means universal. The general impression is that sports sponsorship is used on an ad hoc, intermittent basis and appears unhinged from broader strategic considerations. There is only limited evidence of a rigorous practical application of the theoretical prescriptions identified in the literature.