Sports sponsorships are shrinking along with the economy – and many consumers think that’s a good thing. 32% of U.S. consumers say they are paying “less attention” to corporate sponsorships than they were a year ago, and 62% would like to see less spending on sports sponsorships by companies in trouble, per a Performance Research study.
In particular, 68% think companies accepting federal bailout money should spend less on sponsorships.
More than two-thirds (69%) of consumers report they have a “lower approval” of American companies than they did a year ago, and the majority do not believe increased sports and cultural sponsorships will do anything to increase these opinions, writes Marketing Charts.
Only 13% say that increased sponsorship of their favorite sporting event would raise their opinion of corporate America, while 26% reported decreased sponsorship would raise their opinion.61% say that an increase or decrease would make no difference.
20% say that sponsorship of their favorite cultural event should increase to raise their opinion of corporate America, and 20% say it should decrease.
The industry of the sponsoring company also plays an important role in attitudes toward sponsorship, the study found. When asked if they would be more or less confident if a company were to sponsor their favorite sporting event, industries most under fire in the current economy (banks, investment firms, and domestic automakers) were most likely to inspire “less” confidence as a sponsor (37%, 36%, and 30%, respectively). Only about 10% indicated they would be “more confident” by seeing sponsorship from companies in these industries.
When asked about specific corporations and their individual sponsorships, favorable reaction to sponsorship is down. For example, 22% indicated they would have reacted positively to Citibank sponsoring the New York Mets a year ago, compared with 15% today. Identical numbers were shown for Wachovia and the Wachovia (PGA) Championship.
Sports such as the NFL and NASCAR have been feeling a reduction in sponsorships for months. The average price of NFL ads dropped slightly in mid-season to below $400,000, and NBC struggled to sell its last Super Bowl slots, as advertisers like General Motors and Garmin sat out the big game.
GM, a staple of sports advertising, has been pulling back on its sports presence amidst a general cut in marketing spending. In addition to sitting out the Super Bowl, GM severed its sponsorship of two NASCAR racetracks and decided to not renew its partnership with the United States Olympic Committee at the end of its contract.
The automaker has said, however, that it will not pull back from sports entirely. “I think we’ll still be there. It may not be at the volume that people have seen before, but we’ll still be a presence,” says Peter Ternes, GM director of communications for sales, service and marketing.
About the survey: Performance Research conducted this study among random sample of American consumers, ages 18-65, in the last week of February 2009. A total of 1,005 respondents were included in this study.