Personas in action: linking event participation motivation to charitable giving and sports

Charitable organizations continue to use sport events to raise money for the cause and provide meaningful experiences for participants. This study analyzes the motivation for participating in a charity sport event. Four segments of participants have been distinguished based upon a cluster analysis; for each of them, personas have been constructed on the basis of qualitative research. How to approach these personas with different propositions has been formulated on the basis of their motivation regarding the cause and/or the actual sport activities. The purpose of this study is to contribute to a common understanding and method of creation of personas, a new and largely untested tool. Furthermore, this study demonstrates the value of detecting the most valuable participant segments in order to influence and leverage future and repeat participation as a basis for success of a fundraising event for a charity's cause. Copyright (C) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.