Creating Brand Awareness Through Event Marketing : The Off-Field Competition of Sportswear Companies in the Olympics

Date: May 30, 2012 University: Mälardalen University, Sweden Program: MIMA- International Marketing Course Name: Master Thesis (EFO705) Title: Creating Brand Awareness Through Event Marketing The Off-Field Competition of Sportswear Companies in the Olympics Authors: Laura Dolge and Malin Marmbrandt Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to research how companies are promoting themselves efficiently to increase brand awareness through advertisement in major sporting events, through viral marketing and athlete endorsement. Research Questions: Firstly: What are the major differences and similarities between the official and non-official sponsors and their marketing activities when creating brand awareness in sporting events? Secondly: How do official and non-official sponsoring companies increase brand awareness in sporting events through viral marketing activities? Thirdly: How do official and non-official sponsoring companies increase brand awareness in sporting events through athlete endorsement? Method: Data was collected with a qualitative multi-method approach that consists of observations of online social networks and media (netnography), and semi-structured interviews was applied. Conclusion: The main differences between the official and the non-official sponsor´s marketing campaigns are that the official sponsor has the advantage of using the event’s logo in its campaigns, and is able to advertise during the event. Whilst, there are many rules that restricts the non-official company´s campaigns. Regardless, non-official sponsors are still able to associate themselves with the event by using creative viral marketing campaigns and endorsing athletes, thus create brand awareness by so called ambush marketing.