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RESEARCH PROBLEM

Studying Student Perceptions of Corporate Sponsorship 

Sponsorship has become a valuable component of today's marketing mix. Young adults have become one of the key recipients of sponsorship marketing. Understanding the perceptions of students have of corporate sponsorship will allow us to understand if the tool effectively motivates consumers in this demographic to invest in a brand. 


The impressions and opinions of educated young adults can shed light on the next generation of market leaders. It will help us understand if this tool will have long-term success or if it is a dying fad. Past research argues that sponsorship is most effective when emotional interests align organically but do not consider how this is established from a student's perspective. 


The aim of this research study is to determine how Ryerson's students value brand sponsorships. This study has both theoretical and practical significance although the focus will be on its practical significance. This study seeks to discern whether or not this tool should continue to be used amongst this demographic. 


Sponsorships appear throughout campus and vary in their aid. Some sponsorships offer short-term financial support for student-led events and programs. This form of sponsorship demonstrates a transactional relationship between the sponsor and the sponsee. As a result of the transactional relationship, student impressions of a brand become temporary and hollow. The relationships established between brands and students has prompted my inquiry into how students perceive brand sponsorships and if they are more likely to invest in a brand that sponsors their programs and events.

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By understanding this, I can determine if transactional sponsorships are an effective marketing tool among students. This leads me to ask this question: Are students more likely to invest in a brand that sponsors student-organized programs and events versus a brand that does not? 

METHOD

The data in this study was collected using focus groups. The research sought to determine if there was a correlation between brand involvement (sponsorship) and student interest (purchasing patterns). The participants of my focus group represented the larger population of Ryerson students. This is why It was important that I spoke to both elected representatives, students apart of non-profit organizations as well as, students from a program affiliated and commerce-based groups.  My study utilized convenience sampling; convenience sampling is optimal because of the accessibility of the population being studied. 

 

The focus group was made up of individuals with characteristics of the overall population and helped contribute to a greater understanding of the common opinions surrounding sponsorship on campus. The focus group was 90 minutes and consisted of 6 participants varying in age, faculty, year of study and gender. Each Participant was an executive member of a student organization who has directly arranged sponsorship agreements for events or programs on campus. Each participant passed the pretest test which was used to determine (1) the knowledge and understanding of sponsorship, and (2) the familiarity of sponsorship practices on campus. These two measurements must be present in order for a student to participate in the study. 

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The purpose of this research was to explore the impressions Ryerson students held towards the practice of corporate sponsorship on campus. The key variables of this study linked sponsorship involvement and student interest. My assumption was that the more involved a brand became in student initiatives, the more interest students have in that brand. These initiatives included student-organized events and programs as well as, programs and events organized for students by any representing party. 

 

These variables were defined and measured using the data collected from the focus group. This allowed me to interpret the transcript and find results based on the opinions and beliefs of the participants. 

 

This study used qualitative data analysis to interpret the data presented in the transcription of the focus group. Specifically, a thematic analysis was used to explain the findings. After reviewing the transcription, codes will be created to categorize the data. Codes were categorized to determine which particular general themes or moods were presented. This study aimed to examine if there was a relationship between sponsorship and student interest. 

 

By understanding this, I hoped to determine if sponsorship was an effective marketing tool among students. My study aimed to discover if the relationship between sponsor and sponsee was mutually beneficial or one-sided.

ABOUT ME

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My Name is Lina Al-Chaer and I'm a fourth-year Professional Communication student at Ryerson University. I have been based in Toronto for most of my life but hope to continue my graduate studies outside of Ontario. I have always been fascinated by the field of Marketing and aspire to work in experiential marketing. This research was important to me as I hope to start a marketing career upon graduation. I was looking for ways to stand out among thousands of other candidates and I thought that by applying my research to real-world problems, I could find ways to present my skills and problem-solving abilities. I am currently working for the Office of the Dean at Ted Rogers School of Management and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).  In my spare time, I love to cook; right now I'm trying to make a dish from every country in the world, it's no quick feat!  

ANALYSIS

This Is What I Learned

 

Students are not any more likely to invest in a brand that sponsors their programs and events if a brand does not exhibit a certain goodwill factor toward the student groups' cause or initiative. What this means is that brands who approach sponsorship mainly as an advertising opportunity will be seen as opportunistic among students.

 

Goodwill has been expressed with two keywords: approval and favorable attitude. McDonald (1991) explained that goodwill is what a sponsor acquires from consumers' approval of its sponsorship activity; consumers' perception of sponsorship such as a "good thing to do" benefits to a sponsor. People are likely to approve of a sponsorship when they recognize "what a sponsorship deal is" or "what a sponsor does" (McDonald, 1991, p. 5).

 

In all cases, students agreed that corporations who sponsor student events and programs do it for the following 3 reasons: 1) to increase brand awareness and advertise products or services 2) to earn early access to top students in hopes of recruiting them for employment 3) to help students fund events, programs with initiatives that align with their cause or mission.

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I found that the relationship students form with corporations that exhibit a disingenuous goodwill factor is purely transactional. Most students will welcome the sponsorship but will not continue the relationship once the financial need is met. This means that purchasing patterns stay unaffected.

 

Student C explained:

 

“You know, what we're [student organizations] doing is creating value so when companies give us money and don't really invest, or like try to remember what we do. I feel like, I feel used, and I feel like we're doing this to create value, not just for our students but also for the industry partners as well, right so sometimes I feel like they don't recognize that.”

 

Student F continued:

 

“I think that they [Sponsors] all have like their own agendas, it's like is it worth my Sunday for you to show up to this event? like how many students are going to be there? what's happening at home in my personal life? how many hours that clock in at work? So like I didn't really get super excited. It's like, not all of the sponsors need to show up. I don’t expect Sponsors like [REDACTED] who give us free juices, or something like that then I don't really expect you to be there, but if you're a sponsor like [REDACTED] and if you're looking to recruit, then it's like, like you should be there, there are some people from day one that didn’t you get to meet you and showed up specifically for that reason.”

 

In cases where students experience poor interaction with a company and its representatives, the relationship may result in the avoidance of sponsorship and the use of products or services. This was often the case when students organizing sponsorship deals experienced mistreatment from sponsors.

 

Student D explained:

 

“Sometimes they just give it [the sponsorship] to you so you just leave them alone, you know,  just leave me alone. That's it like I don't want to, you know, come to your event I don’t want to like participate in whatever you're doing because I know they just feel like maybe they just don't care, they're just kind of just giving out free stuff just to do it. That's totally fine, right but it's like sometimes like I'm like a relationship builder and I'd love to have like, I'd love to see that company's rep at our event, and thank them”

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On the other hand, students are more likely to invest in a brand that sponsors their programs and events when that company’s causes matches the student’s. This means that sponsors that exhibit a goodwill factor that shows they care about the student group and the work that is being done. These sponsors often establish long-term relationships with these students and become annual supporters.

 

Student C shared;

 

“I didn’t know what [REDACTED] was until they started sponsoring a lot of school events, and, then I'm thinking like, Oh well, they're investing in students, they're getting free space like, you know, it's really expensive here so that was a big deal to me because just the fact that they give them the space right like that's incredible.”

 

The contribution made in this kind of relationship can be any form of sponsorship including in-kind or financial because both organizations share a common interest in the greater good and view the connection as mutually-beneficial.

 

Student F explained:

 

“We had a great sponsorship actually with [REDACTED] and they couldn't give us like any money, but they let us use their space for free and that helped so much and it was a mutually beneficial thing because that meant we didn't have to pay for a space, and then that also meant that students will go into their space. So that's what I saw as mutually beneficial because the advantage.”

 

Of the students interviewed, many agreed that when a brand displays a genuine interest in the student group, students are more likely to continue the relationship past the sponsorship. They become more likely to invest in the products or services and employment opportunities. It was determined that the impression that a student has of a company will change once their causes align and/or a deeper connection is cemented.

 

Student C explained:

 

“[REDACTED] gave us some money and gave a 10 minute speech, and [REDACTED] was another one, they didn't give us money but they did have a speaker come in. I was so angry, like they came in, talked and then just left because they had a flight that they needed to catch. I was walking them out of the hotel to their car and, I have never felt so low in my life, like they were ignoring me and they were on their phone.  I'm like, I'm sorry and I’m trying to talk to them and when they got in the car, I was like I never thought someone could be so rude. Then I question them, like are you really here to create value or are you just here to put your name on things. It was a really big turn off and I'm applying for internships now and I didn’t apply to either [REDACTED] or [REDACTED].”

 

Student D continued:

 

“Another company I was talking to seemed interested but at the end of the day they changed their mind. It was fine because they went to Ryerson events and were here for some alumni stuff, and I was able to like talk to the person that was emailing.  I think I kept a pretty good relationship with them because, throughout that process of talking to her, she was very accommodating. I was able to get that relationship with [REDACTED] and so if I ever need anything else, I can always reach out to them again in the future.”

 

 

In the final analysis, I found that the investment itself is worthless if it does not appear genuine. Understanding the student group’s cause and initiative will aid in the perception students make of corporate sponsors. If this is ignored, the sponsorship will appear as an advertisement that will unlikely influence student purchasing patterns but, if a company displays consider care for the goals of the student group, students are more likely to invest in that brand whether this is through future employment or use of products and services.

 

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