Sponsring blir vad man gör det till : En studie om varför företag använder sponsring av idrottsevenemang som en kommunikationskanal

Background: Marketing communication is constantly changing and one way to communicate with customer is to use sponsoring. Sponsorship in sport has changed over the past years and new opportunities has developed. It is therefore interesting to ask sponsors what their opinion about sponsoring is. Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to find out why companies choose to work with sport sponsorship and what there opinion about it is versus other marketing strategies. Method: A qualitative study based on interviews with non-probability sample. Conclusion: This study reveals that there are several reasons to sponsor sporting events. The main reason is the possibility to communicate with a large and diverse targetgroup and have the opportunity for a personal meeting with the targetgroup. In today's information society, it is important to be unique and to communicate on a platform where consumers are responsive. All sponsorship needs to be evaluated and measured to be justified. The study also indicate that sponsorship is different from other marketing methods but the message is the same as in other marketing channels. The primary difference is the relationship with the customer and also the companies commitment to the sporting event through activation