The Role of Faraway Fans in Sporting Event Sponsorship: Why Sponsor Patronage Is Stronger among Fans Who Travel Far to Events

Angeline Close Scheinbaum, Anjala S. Krishen, and Russell Lacey

Consumers routinely experience sponsored events near and far, and whether the attendee is a local or not may affect the event sponsorship’s impact.
Scheinbaum, Krishen, and Lacey

Management Slant

  • Sponsor patronage intent is driven in part by event attendees’ knowledge about the sport corresponding to the event sponsored, how identified they are as fans of the sport, and how attached they are to the event.
  • For event marketers, fan attachment with the event has positive downstream effects on sponsor patronage intent.
  • Attendees traveling from farther distances (i.e., “faraway fans”) tend to be more knowledgeable about the sport than local fans, contributing to higher levels of fan identification, which, in turn, strengthens their fan attachment to the event.
  • For events and sponsoring...

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