Corporate views on sport sponsorship in Tennessee

This study explores corporate trends in sport-related sponsorships among Tennessee businesses that have previously participated in sport sponsorship. Its primary purpose is to provide major league sport organizations with corporate profiles which would help franchises design their marketing strategies.

No comprehensive list of Tennessee sport sponsors exists, so a sample was drawn from the 1995 Sport Sponsor Fact Book, a reference volume which lists sports sponsors geographically by the state in which they are headquartered. The sample consists of the 18 corporations listed in the book as Tennessee sport sponsors. Twelve of the 18 companies responded, producing a 66.7% response rate.

A survey was constructed based on information other studies felt was important to include, as well as current issues about the relationship between Tennessee corporations and sport organizations. A 7-point Likert scale was chosen as the method by which respondents would answer. Frequencies and percentages were used to evaluate each research question. Conclusions were reached by comparing the responses of each survey question to every other question in the respective category.

The study answers the following five research questions:

1. What is the corporation’s history in dealing with sport sponsorships?
2. What kind of major league sport organizations would the corporation be interested in sponsoring?
3. How important would the sport organization’s name and location be in deciding whether or not the corporation would sponsor that organization?
4. What factors would make a sport sponsorship appealing to corporations?
5. Does the addition of certain services by sport organizations affect the corporation’s willingness to enter into sponsorships with a sport organization?