At the1987 MRS Annual Conference, whose papers are stored in the archive*, it was reported that Research International Specialist Units had conducted 25,000 interviews across seven countries (Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Brazil, Malaysia and the UK), and these found that before and after the World Cup:
- Average recall of 11 international sponsors increased by 86%, whereas for eight non-sponsors it declined by 32%.
- Expectations of major awareness and image effects from sponsorship were low because the amount spent on it by most marketing companies were low in relation to their total spend. Nevertheless, clear awareness effects and minor image effects were clearly revealed.
Later survey information from 2018 on this topic is not easily comparable, as the level of participation by marketing companies has been so adversely hurt by pervasive allegations of bribery and corruption. But via the 1987 research in the archive, historical perspectives on the impact of World Cup sponsorship are discussed fuller detail; and much else on leisure-related topics over the years is easily accessible in other sections of the archive.
Sources:
The archive contains a wide range of valuable material that is free to access, and this may be found under ‘Survey Magazine (1983-1991)’, or by clicking this direct link to the archive (link opens as a separate page).