Week eight's readings

I think the key points to remember from this week’s readings were that sponsorship is popular with many organizations because it generates goodwill and provides opportunities to enhance the image and reputation of the organisation by association.
Also, sponsorship provides a focal point for sales and marketing efforts, offers product brands high visibility to potential customers and generate media coverage for the sponsoring organisation.

The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that both corporate sponsorship and marketing sponsorship are very relevant in today’s society.

We see them everywhere. Big sporting brands like Nike and Adidas are sponsoring some of the world’s biggest athletes today. Such marketing sponsorships help boost the brand’s image and appeal and this in turn leads to increased revenue.

Large events like the Olympics draw a large number of sponsors. This is not surprising as the viewership of such sporting events can easily run into the billions. The Oakland Tribune reported that Coca-Cola was one of the 11 companies that paid a whopping $55 million each to be sponsors of the US Olympic teams.

Corporate sponsorships are also very popular amongst the big companies. Examples would include the recent HSBC Women’s Champions and the Aviva Open Singapore. Such corporate sponsorships help link the sponsoring organisation to a popular or high-profile event, and this in turn would help boost the profile of the organisation.