Sponsorship Evaluation of Soccer Teams: An Exploratory Study of São Paulo State League

Abstract

Brazil is developing in sport management, what gets Brazilian soccer teams to take less advantage over the several means of raising income that exist, among which there is sport sponsorship. In this sense, given its importance and considering the gap of studies using new methods for sponsorship evaluation in Brazil, as well as the importance of A-1 series of São Paulo State League (Campeonato Paulista de Futebol, in Portuguese) – which has not been studied yet –, this paper presents the brands that sponsored the 20 clubs that participated in the aforementioned championship in 2012. We separated the sponsors of the clubs into technical and commercial, pointing out the television media exposure time of each brand to demonstrate strategies that contribute to sport sponsorship and to the soccer teams. The research conducted was exploratory, with consultation to primary and secondary data. Therefore, the theoretical background used was about sport sponsorship and the Brazilian context, and sponsorship evaluation. The results pointed out to a configuration in which major international companies sponsored, preferably, major clubs, obtaining wide exposure on television media. On the other hand, smaller companies, located near the clubs’ headquarters, sponsored clubs that participated with lower frequency in the championship, obtaining lower exposure on television media. Finally, the study provided the perception of the benefits that certain sponsorship strategies to smaller clubs may generate by allowing wider television media exposure when the clubs are sponsored concurrently.