THE MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE USE OF CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP IN CRICKET: A CASE STUDY OF GLAMORGAN COUNTY CRICKET CLUB

Abstract

The focus of this research is to investigate and analyse why companies use sponsorship as a marketing tool in sport. The research will be specifically based on Cricket through a case study of Glamorgan Cricket Club. Current literature suggests that sponsorship in sport is a growing market, which makes this research all the more relevant and serves as a considerable motivation for the researcher. Furthermore, Cricket is also growing as a spectator sport and sponsorship is becoming a big aspect of the game, which built the foundation of interest for the chosen topic of research. A review of literature was undertaken by the researcher starting with a broad foundation of direct marketing and the marketing mix. The literature was then constructively narrowed down to aspects of sports sponsorship such as background theory, objectives and risks. For this project, the researcher used qualitative research through the use of semi-structured interviews. The interviews were taken with three companies that sponsor Glamorgan County Cricket Club. From this the researcher was able to conduct the results using an analysis technique known as thematic analysis of the findings. The researcher then identified patterns and key themes in the findings. The discussion was based on the three key themes, which were Brand and Profile Exposure, Media Exploitation and Influence on the Community and Goodwill. This discussion within these key themes was related back to existing literature. From the findings it was deduced that sponsorship in cricket is an effective marketing tool, as there are minimal risks and multiple benefits to companies, which are identified within the research project.