Should we stay or should we go? - Key brand elements that can be affected by sponsorship issues and how to communicate the “go-decision”

Sammanfattning: Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how sponsorship crises can affect brands. Especially brands that have decided to part from their athletes are taken into account in this paper. Besides that, it aims to establish managerial guidelines that help to communicate the termination of sponsorship activities. Methodology: To understand the underlying theory, secondary data is gathered through a detailed literature review. Moreover, this research is based on several case studies of different brands that have ended their relationships with their sponsored athletes. Therefore, the multiple case study approach is used to gain a deep insight into the different responses in different contexts. The primary data is obtained solely through surveys. Findings: The research demonstrates that depending on the nature of the sponsorship issue, companies consider different key brand elements to be affected. This leads to a framework that supports companies in the future on how a sponsorship issue can affect the brand. In total, three key elements of primary importance and two of secondary importance are identified. Furthermore, the framework gives helpful guidelines on which external communication strategy to choose. Six different communication approaches were identified based on the situational context and the key brand elements that might be affected due to the sponsorship issue. Originality/Value: The comparative analysis of the multiple case study approach and the quantitative research allowed us to establish a framework that enables firms to better identify the impact area of a sponsorship issue. The framework is also of crucial importance as it helps to select the right external communication strategy depending on the specific context. In total, we have generated six different approaches that we named the silent, thankful, operational, emotional, informative and “victimage” approach.