The influence of commercial sponsorships on consumer attitudes towards brands: a case study of Nairobi residents

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the impact and relevance of commercial sponsorships which is an emerging trend in Kenya. This concept embraces the whole philosophy of investing in building strong brands. Commercial sponsorships have gained wide recognition world over due to the shortcomings of traditional tools of promotion like advertising since sponsorships go a step further to enhance the messages by association with an event, club or team that shares similar image qualities and values as the brand .This is owing to the ability of sponsorships to relay the message in a more subtle way compared to paid for advertisement. This allows firms to broaden their competitive advantage by increasing their credibility, image and prestige amongst their target audience.

The study therefore sought to determine the influence of commercial sponsorships on consumer attitudes towards brands in Nairobi. To achieve this, face to face interviews were conducted within a sample of 90 respondents from three socio -economic groups as defined by the Marketing and Social Research Association (MSRA) namely: AB, who are fully qualified professionals living in the high end residential neighborhoods; C1C2, who are junior to middle level management positions, are semi-skilled to skilled workers and live in middle level residential neighborhoods while socio economic class D are part time to semi skilled manual workers and who live in the low-end residential neighborhoods.

Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Graphs and charts were used to present the results. Pearson correlation coefficient was performed to test the significance of some of the variables under study. The study found that commercial sponsorships do actually influence consumer attitudes towards brands and the following conclusions were drawn based on the findings: There is a high level of awareness of commercial sponsorships as well as the event sponsors across all social classes which imply that sponsorships do increase awareness of the sponsoring brands. There is substantial association of the sponsored event with the sponsoring brand Sponsorships have influenced likeability and choice of brands as well as brand switching after consumers’ participation in the sponsored events. There is need for consistency in sponsorship of a particular event over a period of time to enhance the carry over effects of sponsorships.