Sponsor Loyalty Left By Roadside
A study conducted by Performance Research Europe, at the
2000 British F1 Grand Prix, suggests sponsors must do more to
earn brand loyalty.
Picture the scene? Silverstone, July 1999 the ?RAC British
Grand Prix?, fuelled by the imminent departure of English
hero Damon Hill, Benson & Hedges engulf sunny Silverstone
with a sea of yellow flags, with ?Buzzin? Hornets? logos
everywhere. During spontaneous sponsor awareness questioning,
Benson & Hedges was the most frequently mentioned sponsor
(83%). Other sponsors including Marlboro (52%) and West (24%)
were left in their wake.
Now, picture this? Silverstone, April 2000 the 'Foster?s British
Grand Prix, swamped in mud with almost one-half (45%) of attendees
suggesting the British Grand Prix would be improved if it were
returned to July and roughly one-fourth of attendees (24%) demanding
improvements to the car parks. The most frequently recalled sponsor
during spontaneous awareness questioning is Foster?s (46%), followed
by new Arrows team sponsor Orange (41%). Benson & Hedges,
last years most frequently mentioned sponsor, is only reported
by roughly one-third (39%) of race attendees. Phew, what a difference
a year makes!
So why did Benson & Hedges do so well during unaided sponsor
awareness questioning last year? Maybe it was because they had
a number of highly visible and memorable on-site activities. These
included give-aways, (Buzzin? Hornets temporary tattoos!),
driving simulators and prize draws, which enabled Benson &
Hedges to communicate with F1 fans in an entertaining and relevant
way.
What caused such a big drop in unaided awareness? Well, judging
by the aided recall level (98%) almost everyone knows Benson &
Hedges is a F1 sponsor, but it seems that at the 2000 British
Grand Prix Benson & Hedges struggled to recreate last years
?top of mind? awareness.
This year there was a noticeable scaling down in on-site sponsorship
activity, with less emphasis on interaction and entertainment
and more emphasis on selling merchandise. In essence there was
less activity and a greater reliance on passive sponsorship methods
such as signage. The couple of exceptions being Orange and Jaguar,
but neither were able to dominate like Benson & Hedges did
the previous year.
Last year Benson & Hedges, along with many others, successfully
augmented their sponsorship relationship with F1 using well planned
and relevant on-site activities. Jed Pearsall, Managing Director
of Performance Research believes "This was sponsorship
working well, using physical interaction between B&H and fans
to form an emotional connection, without a trace of cynical commercialism.
Such activity improves corporate image and ultimately facilitates
brand loyalty."
Studies by Performance Research, conducted in America over the
last 14 years, show incredible results, on average almost three-fourths
(72%) of NASCAR fans report they would ?Almost always?
or ?Frequently? choose the brand or product associated
with their sport. Among attendees at the 2000 British Grand Prix
this figure is less than one-third (29%). In fact, two-fifths
(40%) indicated they would ?Almost never? choose the sponsors
product ahead of the non-sponsors product.
The fans? loyalty to F1 racing, however, is unquestioned, despite
the weather and police roadblocks many F1 fans still arrived at
Silverstone, often abandoning their cars on the roadside and walking
for several miles. Unfortunately, this loyalty to their sport
does not often extend to loyalty toward the sponsors. Unless sponsors
start to add more value to their sponsorship activity and begin
to provide fans with reasons to display loyalty, the full benefits
of sponsorship may never be fully realised.
Staff from Performance Research Europe randomly
intercepted and interviewed in person, two hundred and one (201)
attendees throughout the race weekend of the Foster?s British
Grand Prix, April 22-23rd 2000. The margin of error
is no more than ? 5? %.
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