The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, sister publication of THE
DAILY, has released the results of its survey of 301
"decision makers at companies that sponsor sports" conducted
by N.Y.-based Erdos & Morgan that shows NASCAR "ranks ahead
of every other sports property in terms of its ability to
market itself and service sponsors." The SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL's Andy Bernstein reports that it "appears" sponsors
will give NASCAR "high marks no matter what the question,"
as the organization "even ranked" No. 1 in "providing
exclusivity and protection, something NASCAR actually tells
clients it can't do." About one-third of respondents said
that their sponsorship budgets increased in '99, while
"only" 13% said that their budgets declined. The average
budget increase was 24%. Sponsors said that "brand
awareness" was the No. 1 benefit of a "sports deal," with
87% rating it as "important" or "very important." Product
branding, media coverage and promotional opportunities "were
also cited as important by more than" 70% of respondents.
The following is just one excerpt taken from the current
issue's data (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/20 issue).
THEY DO A GOOD JOB MARKETING THEIR SPORT
(of the 120 largest sports sponsors who responded)
NASCAR 100.0% Minor League Hockey 20.0%
NBA 86.7% WTA 14.3%
NFL 83.9% Minor League Baseball 13.3%
WNBA 80.0% IRL 11.8%
PGA 70.8% MLS 9.1%
LPGA 33.3% ATP 7.1%
MLB 28.0% CART 6.3%
IOC 23.5% NTRA 0.0%
Senior PGA 23.1% AFL 0.0%
NHL 21.7% CBA 0.0%
USOC 20.0%
