• Impacting Factors And The Effects Of Grassroots Sport Sponsor Awareness–A Case Of Taiwan Professional Baseball Game In Tainan Area

Abstract

Taiwan Professional Baseball Game is a typical grassroots sport, and sponsor awareness is resulted by sponsorship exposure. Using games in Tainan area as an example, this paper attempts to analyze factors that influence audience’s sponsor awareness and it subsequent effects. Because audiences of grassroots sports are usually highly sport involved, impacting factors comprise audience’s sport involvement and sponsor’s industrial sector and exposure spots. The effect model, purported to associate with sponsor’s and brand images and purchase intention, is structured based on image transfer and Hierarchy of Effect theories by a path model: sponsor awareness → corporate image association → brand image association → purchase intention. Data were collected from randomly chosen audiences. Upon exiting the event venue, chosen subjects were asked to participate by completing a self-administered questionnaire, including recall and recognition of sponsors and questions of image associates and purchase intention. Data of sponsor exposure and industry were gathered separately. The main findings include: corporate image associate is different from brand image associate; through image associate, audiences of high sponsor awareness also showed high activeness and caring image, and high brand uniqueness and favor image, associated with the sponsors and purchase intention. Sponsors therefore should consider business sector-sport event fitness and assess sponsorship effect by sponsor awareness from target audience, rather than simply by exposure rate.

Keywords: Grassroots Sport, Sponsor Awareness, Corporate Image Associate, Brand Image Associate, Hierarchy of Effect, Sport Involvement