Using Two or Three Brands, Discuss the Influence of Sponsorship on the Creation of Brand Meaning

Sponsorship is one of the means open to a company to bring itself or its products to the attention of consumers and present them in a favourable light. Advertising is the most frequently used marketing tool and speaks to a consumer in a direct way. It announces the availability of a product and creates an image for a brand. It can also provide information on product quality, characteristics, price and performance. Sponsorship seeks to enhance these messages by association with a person (normally a movie/music or sports), event, club or team that shares similar image qualities and values as the brand. This association can be very powerful because it is perceived as an endorsement of the brand by an independent third party. Consumers are aware of the costs of sponsorship but the message retained is more subtle than that from the more overtly paid-for advertisement. The meaning of a brand image basically expresses a way that a consumer thinks about the brand and the feelings the brand arouses when the consumer thinks about it. On the basis of these characteristics, which the consumer associates with the brand, the company can build a competitive advantage for its brand. When combining sponsorship and brand meaning the company can initiate a transition or a direction they want to take their brand meaning/image on and incorporate a new or enhanced blend. This can be clearly seen by the ways in which Nike, Coca Cola use the tool of sponsorship to help create and encourage a meaning of their products/services into consumers' minds.…