Abstract

Sponsorship has grown from its early roots in philanthropy/patronage into a multi billion pound global industry due in large part to its ability to cut through the clutter of traditional advertising and connect personally with a specific audience. Sports sponsorship has made up a large part of this with motor sport, in particular, demonstrating a wide variety of levels of engagement from the calculated multi-million dollar associations of F1, MotoGP and Nascar to the more ‘casual’ relationships at national and club level. Although sport has led the way in developing sponsorship, increasing clutter means that many potential and existing sponsors are seeking alternatives and are looking again at more altruistic channels such as cause related marketing and, once again, patronage in order to gain differentiation through positive image. Paul will discuss his prior involvement, as media analyst, with a British Touring Car Championship team and the potential for research into the relationships between the various levels of patronage and sponsorship in a range of motorsport formulae.