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Achieving brand loyalty through sponsorship: the role of fit and self-congruity

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Abstract

Managers increasingly seek to develop brand loyalty through sponsorship activities, though this relationship has not been solidly established. This article models and demonstrates the impact of sponsorship on brand loyalty. The studied concepts and relationships emerge from both the sponsorship and consumer-brand relationship literature. The experimental design relies on before and after measurements and multiple exposures to the sponsorship. Thus this study demonstrates that sponsorship exposure has a positive impact on brand affect, brand trust, and brand loyalty. The change in brand loyalty from before to after sponsorship exposure reflects two persuasion processes. First, self-congruity with an event enhances brand loyalty through event and brand affect. Second, perceived fit between the event and the brand has a positive effect on brand affect, through attitude toward the sponsorship, and on brand trust, such that it ultimately influences brand loyalty. Brand affect is identified as an important mediator of sponsorship effects.

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Notes

  1. Similar to most research in sponsorship (Simmons and Becker-Olsen 2006; Speed and Thompson 2000), we use the terms congruence and fit interchangeably in this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ISG Business School, 8 rue de Lota, 75116, Paris, France

    Marc Mazodier

  2. University Paul Cézanne in Aix en Provence (IAE Aix, Cergam) and Euromed Management in Marseille, Chemin de la Quille, 13540, Puyricard, France

    Dwight Merunka

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Correspondence to Marc Mazodier.

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Mazodier, M., Merunka, D. Achieving brand loyalty through sponsorship: the role of fit and self-congruity. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 40, 807–820 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0285-y

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