Sponsorship and Marketing Strategy Implications for Economic and Social Benefits

Abstract

The present study attempts to examine the impact of sponsorship as a marketing promotional strategy and the implications for economic and social benefits. It was observed that sufficient literatures both in theory and practice supported the importance and benefits of sponsorship as a veritable means for executing organizational strategy and as a strong component of a proactive promotional mix. Organizations that identin) with sponsorship programmes tend to depict a personality of corporate good citizenship, responsible businesses, a domain for quality human capital, and valuable relationship dividends. It is therefore recommended that for modern organizations operating in a more dynamic world requiring people and other units be heard, seen, and known should embrace sponsorship. This will go a long way to help them in the formulation and implementation of their promotional strategies and would earn them invaluable dividends such as goodwill, awareness, good relationship with stakeholders, employee motivation at work, media coverage, achievement of product and brand related objective, satisfaction of market segmentation and other benefits. These sponsorship activities include sports, broadcast programmes, college scholarship programs, festivals, community annual events, carnivals and various contest programmme.