Abstract

This study was conducted to determine and set guidelines for corporate sponsorship of golf Championship by identifying event attitude by spectator involvement, sponsorship preference, brand attitude and the casual model of corporate image with regard to spectators at golf matches and analyzing the effect of corporate participation in golf Championship sponsorship. To that end, convenience sampling was performed to get a sample of 601 subjects out of all spectators who were present at the 44th Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship. Of the 601 subjects, 589 were utilized for the study excluding those that were not checked for more than three analysis categories. SPSS Ver. 10.0 and AMOS 4.01 were used for sample processing. And demographics were studied by frequency analysis while covariance structure analysis was utilized to identify spectator involvement, event attitude, perceived sponsorship effect, sponsorship preference, brand attitude and the casual model of corporate image. Study results are summarized below: 1) While event attitude and sponsorship preference had a significantly positive effect on brand attitude, image improvement did not have any significant effect on brand attitude. 2) Confidence acquisition and sponsorship preference did not significantly affect corporate image regarding the relationship between title sponsorship and corporate image. 3) Brand image had an effect on corporate image and social contribution image. 4) Corporate image positively affected social contribution image. In conclusion, I would like to suggest three guidelines for corporate sponsorship of golf Championship and improving overall corporate image. Businesses taking part in title sponsorship must engage in more marketing campaigns aimed at transforming characteristics peculiar to golf matches into better corporate or brand image. They must also step up their efforts to change the public awareness that corporate sponsorship for golf Championship is commercially motivated. Finally, they must work hard on maximizing the positive effect of golf sponsorship-related corporate image on brand attitude by executing carefully devised marketing programs, including events, not only for the game itself but also for all other related areas.

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