A Model of Image Creation and Image Transfer

Today, although still representing a small percentage of the overall promotional budget, the outlay of rumination dollars for sponsorship castles Is growing rapidly (Parker, 1991; Candler and Shank, 1989; Scott and Chard, 1992). Not only are today's sponsorships more sophisticated (I. E. , more than simply the donation of cash for event production but most firms are expecting a reasonable return on their sponsorship dollar in the form of increased sales (Octahedron and Van Kirk, 1992).While firms enter into sponsorship arrangements with a variety of goals, two of the most important are: to increase brand awareness; and to establish, strengthen, or change brand image Crowley, 1991; Marshall and Cook, 1992; Meghan, 1991; Memorable teal . , 1991). Recently, these goals have been theorized to be important in the development of customer-based brand equity, defined as the differential effect of brand knowledge on the consumer's purchase decision (Keller, 1993).In Seller's conceptualization , brand knowledge (which drives customer-based brand equity) Is a function of both the consumer's awareness of the brand and the Image(s) associated with that awareness. â€Å"In particular, the variability, strength, and uniqueness of the brand associations play a critical role in determining the differential response† (Keller, 1993, p. 8). Brand awareness is achieved by exposing the brand to as many potential consumers as possible (Asker, 1 991 ).Sponsorship activities present multiple opportunities for achieving awareness objectives, and much of the research to Image creation model 145 International Marketing Review, Volvo. 14 No. 3, 1997, up. 145-158. MAC university press, 0265-1335 International Marketing Review date in the sponsorship literature has focused on awareness issues such as sponsor recall (e. G. McDaniel and Kinney, 1996). Regrettably, less attention has been given to event and brand image issues.A number of questions exist regarding the effect of sponsorship promotional activities on brand and event image. For example: ; What factors contribute to an event's image? ; Do consumers associate an event's image with sponsoring brands? ; If there is an image association between event and sponsor, is there a theoretical explanation that can be used to understand this linkage? ; If there is an image association between event and sponsor, what factors moderate (strengthen or weaken) this relationship? How does event image influence attitude towards the brand? Although attempts at measuring the return on the sponsorship investment have been made (e. G. , total event attendance, exit polls, sales following the event, and number of media mentions), an understanding of how sponsorship â€Å"works† has yet to be developed (Octahedron and Van Kirk, 1992; Cavalry et al. , 1994; Memorable teal . , 1991; Parker, 1991). The purpose of this article is to present a model explaining the mechanisms by which brand image may be impacted through sponsors hip activities.Specifically, drawing on the theory of meaning rareness from the celebrity endorsement literature, a model is presented which suggests the factors involved in creating an event's image and the subsequent transfer of that image to the sponsoring brand. Furthermore, several factors are identified that may moderate the relationship between event image and brand image. While the focus of this article is on the conceptual development of image transfer in sponsorship, a variety of research propositions are offered to guide future empirical inquiry.A framework for the transfer of event image Model conceptualization and overview Brand image has been defined as â€Å"perceptions about brand as reflected by the brand associations held in memory' (Keller, 1993, p. 3). Keller suggests that the variability, uniqueness, and strength of the associations are critical to a brand's success. Brand associations are developed from a variety of sources including product use, informational sources (e. G. , advertising, packaging, word-of-mouth), and association with other entities.The â€Å"association with other entities† source is of particular relevance to sponsorship activity. Keller has suggested that when a brand becomes associated with an event, some of the associations linked with the event (e. . , youthful, relaxing, enjoyable, disappointing, sophisticated, elite, etc. ) may become linked in memory with the brand. This transfer of associations is consistent with research in the celebrity endorsement process. Initial research regarding celebrity endorsement focused on the credibility and attractiveness of the message source (I. E. Celebrity) to explain the persuasive nature of endorsers. That is, more credible and attractive endorsers were viewed as more persuasive. However, McCracken (1989), pointing to conflicting research results, suggested that endorsement effectiveness is better explained by the â€Å"meanings† consumers associate with the celebrity endorser and subsequently transfer to the brand. McCracken uses the term â€Å"meaning† to describe consumers' overall assessments of what a celebrity â€Å"represents† based on counterblasts sun as social class, gender, age, personality Ana Testily. In individual characteristics (e. . , regal, trashy, maleness, strong, caring, sexual, irreverent, wise) are integrated to define the meaning of the celebrity. Meaning which has been accumulated through their roles in â€Å"television, movies, military, athletics, ND other careers† is thought to reside in celebrities (McCracken, 1989, p. 315). According to McCracken, the meaning attributed to celebrities moves from the celebrity endorser to the product when the two are paired in an advertisement. That is, meanings associated with the celebrity become associated with the product in the mind of the consumer.To complete the meaning transfer process, consumers acquire the meaning in the product through consump tion. This process is illustrated in Figure 1. 147 Figure 1 . Meaning movement in the endorsement process McCracken (1989) â€Å"meaning† in celebrities is analogous to Seller's (1993) event associations. Following the convention set forward by Keller with reference to brand image, this article uses the term event â€Å"image† to represent the cumulative interpretation of meanings or associations attributed to events by consumers.A comparison can be drawn between celebrity endorsers and events. Just as consumers associate celebrities with certain meanings, so too are events associated with particular attributes and attitudes. It is suggested here that these associations are derived from the event's type, event characteristics, and several individual consumer factors. This is not unlike the meaning attributed to a celebrity being formed by the various roles he or she occupies.For example, event associations attributed to the annual Chicago Blues Festival (a food and mus ical extravaganza drawing over 500,000 people) might include tradition, celebration and civic pride. Extending this concept of meaning transfer from the celebrity endorser literature, it is suggested that events act in a manner analogous to endorsers in the transfer of image to sponsoring brands. The framework presented in Figure 2 theorizes from McCracken celebrity endorsement model to suggest that International Marketing Review 14,3 148 Figure 2.A model of image creation and image transfer in event sponsorship event image is formed from a number of external and internal factors. Through sponsorship, an event's image, which may be relatively distinct for different consumer groups, may be transferred through association to the sponsoring product. As indicated in the figure, several factors may moderate the strength of this image transfer. This discussion leads to the offering of the first research proposition: Pl : Through sponsorship, an event's image will become associated with th e sponsoringDragon ‘s Image. Determinants of event image An event's image is represented by a particular market segment's overall subjective perceptions of the activity. The proposed framework suggests three factors that may impact one's perception of a particular event: event type, event characteristics, and individual factors. Event type . In accordance with the earlier definition, event type can be categorized into at least five areas: sports related, music related, festival/fair related, fine arts related (e. G. Ballet, art exhibit, theatre, etc. ), and professional meeting/trade show related. The type of event impacts event image in a variety of ways. First, it conjures up image associations in the mind of the consumer. That is, most individuals, through past patronage or other forms of exposure (word-of-mouth, television, etc. ) will develop some attitudes (I. E. , positive or negative predispositions towards an event) regarding particular events. These attitudes will se rve to frame the image of the particular event type.Note however, that one's attitude towards an event is only one part of an event's image. One's attitude towards an event represents a summary of experiences resulting in some mineral predisposition to respond to an event in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner. Thus, event attitude is an enduring evaluation (Cohen, 1990). While an event's image will be strongly influenced by one's attitude towards the event, event image will also be impacted by non-evaluative perceptions of an event that are formed through associations held in the consumer's memory (Keller, 1993).In this sense, event image reflects the meaning of the event for an individual, and can be characterized using descriptive labels that represent a summation of one's perceptions. These labels, termed image associations, would include: youthful, mature, carefree, adventurous, educational, social, traditional, exclusive, common, liberal, conservative, high class, f amily oriented, children oriented, cerebral, athletic, artistic, pride, political, etc. Thus, event image can be thought of as a collection of image associations.In addition to past experiences and other indirect exposures, it is likely that new experiences will shape one's perception of event image. In fact, image perceptions formed from the most recent event experiences will likely be the most influential in shaping one's overall event image receptions (Baggage and Warsaw, 1990). New experiences can be divided into two types: the specific activities engaged in or observed; and all interactions with other event attendees/participants and event staff.It is through these two experiences that past event images may be changed or modified and new image associations can be added. The specific activities engaged in or observed may be the same for all participants[l] (e. G. , attendees at a soccer match) or quite varied (e. G. , the individual rides and attractions selected at a local fest ival), depending on the type of event. Regardless of the similarity of experiences, the essential issue is that a given consumer's specific event experiences or observations will shape their perceptions of event image.It is also argued here that the number and type of other participants will have an impact on one's evaluation of the event's image. For example, the number of spectators may impact one's assessment of the success of the event. Perhaps events may be viewed as more successful when they draw more attendees. In Alton, ten under AT participants may Impact perceptions AT crowding, event availability, and wait times. Type of participant† represents the demographic and cryptographic characteristics of others attending the event.The attendees at some events represent relatively homogeneous market segments in terms of social class, family life cycle, age, gender, political affiliation, etc. For example, spectators of professional golf tournaments may be middle aged, white males, with above median incomes. In other cases, events draw heterogeneous types of participants. Just as other customers can have a substantial impact on consumer's perceptions of service firms, so too can other participants have an impact on one's event experiences and bequest assessment of event image (Bitter et al. , 1994).These factors, perceptions based on past experiences, event activities, and the number and type of spectator/participant, constitute one aspect that will serve to shape consumers' overall subjective perceptions of a given event. Based on the above discussion, several research propositions are suggested: 149 International Marketing Review 14,3 150 App: Direct experience and/or indirect information (word-of-mouth, advertising, etc. ) with an event type will influence event image. Pub: The specific activities experienced or observed during an event will influence event image.PC: The number and type of other spectators/participants will influence event image. Eve nt characteristics. Within a given event type (e. G. , music concert series, trade show, etc. ), a number of characteristics will vary from event to event. The â€Å"level† of the following five event characteristics will likely influence consumers' perceptions of an event's overall image: event size, professional status of participants (professional or amateur), tradition/history associated with the event, event venue, and promotional appearance.Event size can be considered along a number of dimensions, including Engel of event, level of media exposure (local, regional, national, international), number of performers (if applicable), and amount of physical space occupied. The same type of event, for example electronic industry trade shows, can vary along all of these dimensions, creating different images for the same event type. Likewise, other event characteristics such as the professional status of performers (professional versus amateur) or the venue in which the event is staged (e. . , temperature, convenience, physical condition, etc. ) will impact one's overall assessment of the event's image. One could theorize that, in most cases, perceptions of quality, legitimacy, and attendance desirability will be higher with long running, large, elaborately staged events, featuring professionals in attractive and convenient venues. The perceived promotional appearance of a brand's sponsorship activities may appear anywhere along a spectrum from advertiser to benefactor.A perception towards the benefactor end of the spectrum may lead to increased feelings of goodwill towards the brand because it is perceived as donating funds to make the event possible (McDonald, 1 ) conversely, tanner may De a negative reaction to ten Americanization of events that have not been sponsored in the past. These events may be perceived as â€Å"selling out† to the corporate world. This has become especially true in the Arts, where some individuals feel that sponsorship (c orporate or governmental) of the Arts leads to censorship Jacobson, 1993; Wood, 1996) .However, due to increasing costs, it has become even more critical for events to obtain outside sponsors in order to continue to exist. To take full advantage of the goodwill aspects, the sponsoring brand may need to educate attendees regarding the beneficial role sponsorship plays in event production. Due to its association with the event, a sponsoring brand's promotional claims can be legitimated, which serves to increase the believability of the promotional message (McDonald, 1991). Additionally, a sponsoring firm may be perceived as making an event possible for the consumer (Chew, 1992; McDonald, 1991).The perception may be especially strong for small events which often have difficulty securing financial support. In this sense, the consumer does not view the sponsorship as a form of promotion, but rather the sponsoring brand is seen as providing a service to the attendee and a level of dowdily is generated by the firm. Again, the skepticism that can be associated with traditional advertising may be circumvented. Brands that are viewed as â€Å"benefactors† will be seen in a more favorable light. The consumer may even feel the need or desire to reciprocate by purchasing the brand.Following from the above discussion, the following research propositions are suggested: App: Event size will influence event image. Pub: Professional status of participants will influence event image. PC: Tradition/history associated with the event will influence event image. Pad: Event venue will influence event image. Pee: Promotional appearance will influence event image. Individual factors. Because of the large number of factors influencing event image and the unique manner in which participants may interpret those factors, an event may have different images for different individuals. Qualitative research has revealed each sport to have its own individual image, and sponsors will tend to benefit from image transfer accordingly' (Parker, 1991, p. 26). Three individual factors are suggested here that may impact event image: the number of images an individual associates with an vent; the strength of the particular image; and the past history one has with a specific event. This last factor differs from the â€Å"past experience† factor discussed under event type. Past history refers to the unique experiences associated with a specific event, whereas past experiences refers to encounters with a general event type.Events that consumers perceive as having multiple images will be more difficult to associate with a single identity. This will be compounded when the meanings are of a conflicting nature. Thus, an individual with many event associations may have a hafting image of the event, depending on which association is currently most salient. Related to this is that images can be very strong or relatively weak. It is likely that a single strong image will dominat e over several weaker ones. This will cause an event Image to De consistent over time, out Limits ten realness Tanat multiple Image associations would confer.Finally, an individual's personal history with a particular event may have an impact on one's perception of an event's image. A long history will typically lead to a more ingrained and consistent image. An individual that has attended or has been associated with an event for a substantial time period may also have nostalgic feelings that become associated with the event's image. Events that have multiple or vague images pose problems for a firm's sponsorship selection decision because it becomes more difficult to predict the image that may become associated with the event, and ultimately â€Å"transferred† to the product.The above discussion leads to the following research propositions: App: Individuals associating an event with a large number of images will have difficulty identifying a consistent event image. 151 Inter national Marketing Review 14,3 152 Pub: Individuals with a single, strong image association will have consistent event images over time. PC: Individuals with a single, strong image association will have less rich event images. Pad: Individuals with long-term participation in an event will hold a consistent event image for that event.This section has identified three broad areas (event type, event characteristics, and individual factors) that influence the creation of an event's image, although there may be some event image determinants not explicitly discussed in the previous section. It is likely that any unrepresented actors could be accommodated within the proposed areas. The next section discusses constructs that may moderate the relationship between event image and brand image. Moderating variables in the model Potential moderating variables presented in the model are discussed in two sections.In the first section variables potentially impacting the strength of the image transf er from event to brand are discussed. As such, variables pertaining to the formation of strong memory associations (degree of similarity) and exposure to the sponsor's message (level of sponsorship and event frequency) are discussed. The second section on moderating rabbles examines how one's involvement with a product may moderate the impact of the event's image on brand attitude. Attitude towards the event and attitude towards the brand are conceptualized and discussed as being components of event image and brand image, respectively.Although not illustrated in Figure 2, these attitude components should be considered as a part of each of the respective â€Å"image† boxes in the figure. Moderators between event image and brand image This section will discuss three moderating variables impacting the strength of the â€Å"transfer† between an event's image and the image of a sponsoring brand. As indicated above, the basis of the relationship is the meaning transfer betwe en these constructs and it is this process that the moderating variables are proposed to influence.The first moderating factor to be discussed in the image transfer process is the degree of similarity between the event Ana ten sponsor. A product can nave letter Atonally or Image related similarity with an event. Functional similarity occurs when a sponsoring product is actually used by participants during the event. An example of this type of similarity is Valentine's sponsorship of automobile racing. The link is established because, apart room being a sponsor, Valentine's motor oil products are actually used by many of the participants during the event.The second type of similarity is termed image related, and occurs when the image of the event is related to the image of the brand. An example of this type of linkage is Pepsin's sponsorship of the 1993 Michael Jackson World Concert Tour. Here the similarity comes from the youth and excitement orientation of both the music and the pr oduct. Interestingly, some sponsors do not appear to be linked to the events they sponsor. For example, the USAF&G Sugar Bowl combined a large insurance firm with a collegiate football game.It is suggested here that either functional or image based similarities forge stronger ties and help the consumer to link the event image with the brand. Thus, sponsor- event similarity (functional or image based) will enhance image transfer by more firmly anchoring the relationship in the consumer's mind. This assertion is consistent with some celebrity endorsement literature which suggests that â€Å"MIS-matches† between endorser and brand decrease the effectiveness of the endorsement (Katie, 1987). A second factor that may moderate the image transfer from event to sponsoring brand is the level of sponsorship.Sponsorship arrangements can run the gamut from a single sponsor to hundreds of sponsors at many different levels. Multiple sponsors for a given event lessens the probability that a particular brand will be associated with the event, due to the additional stimuli each consumer must attend to and recall (Hutchinson and Alba, 1991). Often, events allowing multiple sponsors will offer different â€Å"levels† of sponsorship. By contributing different dollar amounts to the event, the sponsor can buy enhanced packages. These enhancements include better sign/banner location, more frequent media mentions, and premium kicked and hospitality packages.Exclusive sponsorship, or at least a dominant position, will increase the likelihood of meaning transfer from the event to the sponsoring brand by more firmly establishing the link between event and brand. The frequency of the event will also have an impact on the image transfer process. Events may be on either a one-time or recurring basis. Although a onetime event does not allow recurring event-sponsor associations to be developed over time, some events may be of such a unique nature that they attract a great deal of media attention (e. G. , Hands-Across-America). However, an ongoing event (annual, semi-annual, monthly, etc. Should have the benefit of more firmly establishing a link between the event and the brand due to repeated exposures (Manacling et al. , 1991). The above discussion leads to the following research propositions: App: The higher the degree of similarity (image or functional based) between event and sponsoring brand, the more effective the image transfer between event and brand. Pub: The more exclusive the level of sponsorship, the more effective the image transfer between event and brand. PC: The more frequent the event, the more effective the image transfer between event ND brand.Image creation m Ode I 153 Moderators between event image and attitude towards the brand As discussed previously, one's attitude towards the event will help to shape one's image of the event. Thus, event attitude is a component of event image. Likewise, attitude towards the brand is considered und er this framework as a International Marketing Review 14,3 154 component of brand image. Indeed, recent conceptualizations of brand image include an attitude component (Keller, 1993). As such, the model presented in Figure 2 suggests that event image will have an impact on attitude towards the brand.However, might there be situations in which this relationship is moderated by another factor? Advertising research with endorsers has demonstrated that product involvement level (defined as the level of personal relevance a product has to a consumer, resulting from the perceived level of risk associated with the product's consumption or non-consumption) can impact the attitude formation process (Petty et al. , 1983). â€Å"Specifically, we have shown that when an advertisement concerned a product of low involvement, the celebrity status of the product endorsers was a very potent determinant of attitudes about the product.When the advertisement concerned a product of high involvement, ho wever, the celebrity status of the product endorsers had no effect on attitudes, but the cogency of the information about the product contained in the ad was a powerful determinant of product evaluations† (Petty et al. , 1983, p. 143). Following from this research, level of product involvement should moderate the relationship between event image and attitude towards the brand, such that event image will have a larger impact on brand attitude for a low involvement product.The influence of event image on brand attitude can be understood further by considering the type of persuasion process likely to occur. Petty and Capacious (1986) elaboration likelihood model (ELM) suggests that persuasion can occur along two routes. The central route to persuasion occurs when an individual bases product evaluation on â€Å"diligent consideration of information that a person feels is central to the true merits of an issue or product† (Petty et al. , 1983, p. 144).The second route to att itude change, peripheral, suggests that change may also occur through the association of the object with positive or negative cues (e. G. , expert source, pleasant surroundings, forceful presentation, etc. ). This conceptualization of the peripheral persuasion route is consistent with Seller's (1993) position of links in memory being established between an event and the sponsor. One characteristic of sponsorship that distinguishes it from some other promotional methods is its indirect nature (McDonald, 1991).That is, the sponsorship is, at best, a secondary concern (behind the actual event) for the participant. Furthermore, other than the brand's name and/or logo, seldom is any type of commercial message associated with the firm's products. Thus, sponsorship would appear to operate along Petty and Capacious peripheral persuasion route due to this indirect nature, and lack AT available cognizant International. Emplace tests AT ten ELM model suggest Tanat ten central route to persuasi on is more effective for high involvement goods, while the peripheral route has a higher impact on low involvement goods (Petty et al. , 1983).Theorizing from the ELM, one could conclude that when the sponsoring brand is a low involvement product, event image will be a potent force in determining brand attitude. Conversely, the promotional benefit, in terms of attitude change, for high involvement products appears to be small. Product involvement is only likely to be applicable when the sponsorship is focused at the brand level, as opposed to the sponsorship focus being at the firm level. The discussion in this section gives rise to the following research propositions: App: Brand attitudes of low involvement goods will be strongly influenced by event image.Pub: Brand attitudes of high involvement goods will be weakly influenced by event image. PC: Persuasion processes from event sponsorship take place on the peripheral route. Implications for practice and research Implications for p ractice Several implications for marketing practice can be drawn from the proposed model. First, firms should consider more than simply the number of potential customers their sponsorship signage and other identifiers will reach. It is important to consider the image of the event, as this image may become associated with the brand.An event's image can be assessed through a variety of methods. However, given its potentially ambiguous and transitory nature, qualitative methods in the form of depth interviews, focus groups, and projective techniques, are likely to provide the best view of how consumers perceive a given event. Event organizers might take it on themselves to conduct such studies and use the results to recruit potential sponsors. In the course of such research, event organizers may find that the image of their event is not what they thought.Furthermore, it would be wise for event image studies to take place on a regular basis to assess changes in event image over time. Th is would allow event organizers to take corrective action in a timely manner. The proposed model suggests a variety of event image determinants that could be manipulated to position a given event in a different light. In terms of the sponsoring rand, the model suggests several aspects of sponsorship that should be considered when deciding on potential event affiliations.One aspect that should be considered, in light of image transfer benefits, is the degree of similarity between the event and the brand. Brand awareness benefits are likely to accrue regardless of similarity levels, but it has been argued here that image associations will be more likely when some link exists, either image or functional, in the consumer's mind. Firms looking to add sponsorship activities to their promotional mix should also consider the level of pensioners and frequency of the event.Although most firms will look at these aspects with an eye towards the total dollar commitment, it may also be wise to co nsider the meaning transfer implications. As discussed previously, exclusive sponsorships in events occurring on a frequent basis will likely maximize the image transfer potential of the sponsorship purchase. Finally, firms should consider whether image transfer benefits will actually have any influence on consumers' attitudes towards their brand and ultimately their purchase intention. The model suggests that, in terms of impacting a