Assessing the Potential of Sponsorship for Marketing Communications of Scottish Charities

Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Offline Marketing and Online Marketing, grade: 1,3, Edinburgh Napier University, language: English, abstract: Recent trends in the charity sector predict a challenging future in terms of procuring funding, as the Scottish Government is likely to decrease funds allocated to the third sector. In this context, this study aims to critically evaluate the potential of sponsorship as a marketing communications method for Scottish charities with focus on charities as the sponsoring entity.

The author considers this assessment important, as it possibly holds the potential to generate sustainable government-independent funding through increased brand and cause awareness. The study is supported by a qualitative mono-method inductive research approach consisting of seven individual face-to-face interviews with a panel of experts from the corporate and charity marketing industries. Comparing marketing communications theory, sponsorship theory in particular as well as third sector theory with the research findings, this research project arrives at outlining possibilities for the development of starting points to develop fund-procuring methods with the means of sponsorship or adapted forms of it. One can record the following assumptions in regard to the feasibility of an implementation of sponsorship into charity marketing communications: Sponsorship provides significant benefits in terms of brand enhancement and identification, which would allow for a more targeted communication of the cause. Sponsorship can be deemed effective; yet, there is no predictability in measurement, which decreases its full applicability. Despite its favourable benefits, sponsorship is not viewed as viable for a use in the charity context due to a moral dilemma in justifying its cost. However, alterations or particular sections of sponsorship might be imaginable.

Nonetheless, the study is underpinned by limitations like the small sample size and restricted locational aspects surrounding the sampling, which, however, offer great potential for future research in this field.