Examining confirmation biases: implications of sponsor congruency
International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship
ISSN: 1464-6668
Article publication date: 5 February 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate occurrences of confirmation bias existing for sponsors whose brand is congruent to a sport. More specifically, this research investigates: if confirmation biases for congruent brands occur in the absence of exposure, the impact audience segmentation has on sponsorship evaluations by comparing highly identified fans to non-fans, and if congruent sponsors are recalled more often than incongruent sponsors after exposure.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment was conducted to measure how exposure, type of sponsor, and fan identification impacts recognition, attitude, and purchase intention.
Findings
The results confirm sport-congruent brands are more likely to be falsely recognized as a sponsor than non-congruent sponsors in the absence of sponsorship participation. Sport consumers’ confirmation biases yield positive attitudes and purchase intentions for congruent brands even in the absence of immediate exposure. Lastly, exposure has no impact on recall or sponsor outcomes, suggesting the need for articulating the brand’s connection prior to the event to build stronger memory traces.
Practical implications
Congruent brands should carefully consider investment costs and expected return on investment, noting benefits of participation might be marginal as a result of confirmation biases. Potential sponsors should also understand cognitive benefits begin before exposure to the sponsorship occurs, and therefore need to articulate a connection to the event prior to exposure by consumers.
Originality/value
The findings suggest the importance of confirmation biases when attempting to reach sport consumers. Some brands may be able to increase recall and recognition even in the absence of exposure, thus helping decision makers when managing budgets.
Keywords
Citation
Devlin, M. and Billings, A.C. (2018), "Examining confirmation biases: implications of sponsor congruency", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 58-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-10-2016-0078
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited