Sponsorship leverage and its effects on brand image

Although leveraging is not the sponsor's responsibility, substantial numbers of research concluded that sponsorship effectiveness is highly related to the activeness of sponsors to leverage their investment. Because corporation image is perceived by the level of activities it involves in the market, monetary investment by a sponsor in and event is not enough. Sponsoring companies should spend more beyond the sponsorship fee to maximize the Return On Investment (ROI) and Return On Objective (ROO) in the sponsorship. This research discusses the issues of sponsorship, brand image as well as sponsorship leverage strategies through Sponsorship Leveraged Packaging (SLP), association and co-visibility, TV sponsorship, emotional connections and Cause-Related Marketing (CRM). In-depth researches suggested that more studies should be undertaken on the issues of linking leveraging strategies with brand objectives and most importantly, exploring the mechanism to measure the outcomes of both sponsorship and leveraging activities.