The role of sponsor brand loyalty in sponsorship arrangements: FMCG context

Abstract

In today’s fiercely competitive FMCG industry, brand managers have attempted to tackle consumers increasing price sensitivity by creating stronger brands. Marketers are aware that most FMCG consumer purchase decisions are made at the point-of-purchase. As on-pack promotions are considered particularly effective in influencing the consumer, sponsorship by FMCG organisations may provide a point of differentiation. In the last decade sponsorship spending increased with large corporations now including some sponsorship spend in their marketing budget, with worldwide sponsorship spending approaching US$45 billion. One widely used form of sponsorship, particularly in the fast moving consumer goods industry (FMCG) is sponsorship leveraged packaging (SLP). SLP involves depicting the sponsored property’s image and logos on the sponsoring brand’s packaging. Despite its widespread use, little empirical research exists to explain whether sponsorship leveraged packaging (SLP) impacts consumer behaviour in low involvement settings. This paper provides empirical evidence of the relationship between SLP and loyalty to the sponsoring brand.