Ambush Marketing in Sports

Ambush Marketing in Sports
Ambush marketing is a strategy by which a company or organisation uses their

marketing communications to associate themselves with an event without being
an of¿cial sponsor or authorised partner or licensee. It has become a particular
concern in the marketing of major sports events, with international sponsorship
and branding properties worth many millions of dollars. Ambush Marketing in
Sports is the ¿rst book to offer comprehensive analysis of the theoretical and
practical implications of ambush marketing.
Drawing on cutting-edge empirical research data, the book outlines an
innovative model for understanding ambush marketing and offers practical advice
for all stakeholders, from sponsors and event organisers to media organisations.
The book examines the opportunities and the risks of ambush marketing, assesses
the legal, ethical and business dimensions, and offers advice for preventing
ambush marketing in a range of contexts. Fully supported throughout with
examples and cases from major international sports events, such as the FIFA
World Cup and the Olympic Games, this book is important reading for any
student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in sport marketing, sport
business or event management.
Gerd Nufer is Professor of Business Administration, specialising in Marketing

and Sport Management at Reutlingen University, Germany. He is also Director of
the German Institute for Sport Marketing based at the same university. Gerd
worked in the marketing industry before moving into academia and has published
widely on the subject in both journals and books.
Routledge Sports Marketing
Series Editor: Simon Chadwick
Director of the Birkbeck Sport Business Centre, and Programme Director for
the M.Sc. Sport Management and the Business of Football at the University of
London, UK.
The Routledge Sport Marketing Series provides a superb range of texts for students
and practitioners covering all aspects of marketing within sports. Structured in
three tiers the series addresses:
• sub-disciplines within sports marketing: for example, branding, marketing

communications, consumer behaviour;
• sports and sporting properties to which marketing is applied: for example, the
marketing of football, the marketing of motor sports, marketing of the
Olympic Games;
• philosophy, method and research in sports marketing; for example, research
methods for sports marketing students, theoretical perspectives in sports
marketing, undertaking successful research in sports marketing.
The Routledge Sport Marketing Series is the ¿rst of its kind, and as such is
recognized as being of consistent high quality and will quickly become the series
of ¿rst choice for academics, students and managers.
Available in this series
Marketing and Football

Michel Desbordes
Consumer Behaviour in Sport and Events

Daniel Funk
Relationship Marketing in Sports

Andre Buhler and Gerd Nufer
Sport Public Relations and Communication

Maria Hopwood, James Skinner and Paul Kitchin
Sport Brands
Patrick Bouchet, Dieter Hillairet and Guillaume Bodet

Gerd Nufer
Theory and Practice
Gerd Nufer
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2013 Gerd Nufer
The right of Gerd Nufer to be identi¿ed as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identi¿cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Nufer, Gerd.
Ambush marketing in sports / Gerd Nufer.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-415-62678-1 (hbk) -- ISBN 978-0-203-37128-2 (ebk) 1.
Sports--Marketing. 2. Corporate sponsorship. I. Title.
GV716.N84 2013
796.06’9--dc23
2012037500
ISBN: 978-0-415-62678-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-37128-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Preface xiii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Presentation of problem and objectives 1
1.2 Structure of the approach and course of the study 2
2 Theoretical foundation of ambush marketing 4

2.1 Sponsorship as the basis of ambush marketing 4
2.1.1 Fundamentals of sponsorship 4
2.1.2 Sports sponsorship 10
2.1.3 Features of sports event sponsorship 16
2.1.4 Critical assessment 20
2.1.5 Developmental trends 21
2.2 Classi¿cation of ambush marketing within the
overarching concept of guerrilla marketing 21
2.2.1 Characterisation of guerrilla marketing 22
2.2.2 Guerrilla marketing as a strategy 23
2.2.3 Marketing mix for guerrilla marketing 24
2.2.4 Guerrilla marketing tools 26
2.2.5 Critical assessment 30
2.2.6 Developmental trends 31
2.3 Characterisation of ambush marketing as a guerrilla
alternative to sports event sponsorship 31
2.3.1 The de¿nition of ambush marketing 32
2.3.2 Reasons for the emergence of ambush marketing 32
2.3.3 Attributes of ambush marketing 33
2.3.4 Objectives of ambush marketing 34
2.3.5 Different forms of event marketing 34
vi Contents
3 Ambush marketing in practice 38
3.1 Discussion of selected spectacular cases of ambush
marketing 38
3.1.1 Lufthansa 38
3.1.2 Burger King 39
3.1.3 Puma 39
3.1.4 Ferrero 41
3.1.5 Media-Markt 42
3.1.6 Bavaria 43
3.2 Critical assessment 45
4 Structuring the strategies and manifestations of ambush

marketing 46
4.1 Description and critical assessment of structural
approaches in relevant literature to date 46
4.1.1 Approach of Meenaghan 46
4.1.2 Approach of Bruhn and Ahlers 48
4.1.3 Approach of Noth 51
4.1.4 Approach of Pechtl 53
4.2 Development of a new, integrated structuring model 56
4.2.1 Differentiating fundamental ambush marketing
categories 57
4.2.2 Differentiating ambush marketing case groups
by category 57
4.2.3 Typology and characterisation of the
manifestations of ambush marketing 59
4.2.4 Assessment of the model 66
4.3 Classi¿cation of cases of ambush marketing observed
in the context of the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup 67
4.4 Extracted determinants for differentiated ambush
marketing strategies 69
4.4.1 Ex ante corporate and brand awareness 69
4.4.2 Size of available budget 69
4.4.3 Type of products or services advertised 70
4.4.4 Timing 70
4.4.5 Consideration of target group behaviour in terms
of media consumption 70
4.5 Discussion of deduced ambush marketing concepts 71
4.5.1 Brand asset concept 71
4.5.2 Opportunism concept 72
4.5.3 Island position concept 73
4.5.4 Altruism concept 74
4.5.5 Country focus concept 75
Contents vii
5 Consequences of ambush marketing 76
5.1 Consequences for of¿cial sponsors 76
5.2 Consequences for sports event organisers 78
5.3 Consequences for the media 79
5.4 Consequences for the development of the sponsorship
and sports market 79
6 Interdisciplinary evaluation of ambush marketing 81

6.1 Legal and statutory considerations 81
6.1.1 Copyright law 82
6.1.2 Trademark law 82
6.1.3 Laws regulating competition and fair trade
practices 83
6.1.4 Domiciliary rights 84
6.1.5 Rights of the individual 86
6.1.6 Autonomy of associations 86
6.2 Ethical and moral considerations 87
6.2.1 Utilitarianism 87
6.2.2 Duty ethics 88
6.2.3 Virtue ethics 89
6.2.4 Stakeholder analysis 89
7 Prevention of ambush marketing 91

7.1 Challenges confronting sports event organisers 91
7.1.1 Contract management 91
7.1.2 Monitoring 92
7.1.3 Public relations 93
7.2 Challenges confronting of¿cial sponsors 93
7.2.1 Sponsorship planning 95
7.2.2 Sponsorship implementation 95
8 Empirical research on the impact of ambush marketing 98

8.1 Status of effectiveness research on ambush marketing 98
8.1.1 Theory of effectiveness research 98
8.1.2 Overview of empirical studies on ambush
marketing 100
8.1.3 Description, key ¿ndings and critical assessment
of selected empirical studies on ambush
marketing 102
8.1.4 Current status of research and research
requirements with regard to ambush marketing 109
viii Contents
8.2 Empirical research on the effects of ambush marketing 109
8.2.1 Methodical approach of the empirical study 109
8.2.2 Changes in likeability values in comparison
before, during and after the World Cup 110
8.2.3 Perception of brands and companies in the
context of sports 112
8.2.4 Analysis of the reasons for confusing ambushers
with of¿cial sponsors 117
8.2.5 Limitations of the study 125
9 Critical assessment of ambush marketing 126

9.1 ConÀict of interest of two diametrically opposed
positions 126
9.2 Summary of arguments 127
9.2.1 Opportunities and application options for
ambush marketing 127
9.2.2 The risks and limitations of ambush marketing 128
9.3 Concluding critical evaluation of ambush marketing 129
9.3.1 Results of a nuanced contemplation of ambush
marketing 129
9.3.2 Recommendations thus deduced 130
10 Final observations 134

10.1 Summary 134
10.2 Perspectives 135
Bibliography 136
Author biography 147
Index 149
Figures
1.1 Structure of the approach and course of the study 3

2.1 The process of planning, integration, realisation and monitoring
in sponsorship 8
2.2 Network of relationships and communications relationships in
sports sponsorship 12
2.3 Fascination and awareness level of selected sports events 17
2.4 Guerrilla strategy of the “Heart Attack Grill” 24
2.5 Application of guerrilla marketing in the marketing mix 25
2.6 Example of guerrilla product policy 25
2.7 Overview of tools of guerrilla marketing 27
2.8 Example of viral marketing 28
2.9 Examples of ambient marketing 30
2.10 Examples of sensation marketing 30
2.11 Objectives of ambush marketing 34
3.1 Ambush marketing by Lufthansa 39
3.2 Ambush marketing by Burger King 40
3.3 Ambush marketing by Puma 40
3.4 Ambush marketing by Ferrero 41
3.5 Ambush marketing by Media-Markt 43
3.6 Ambush marketing by Bavaria 2006 44
3.7 Ambush marketing by Bavaria 2010 44
4.1 Systematisation of the manifestations of ambush marketing
according to Pechtl 54
4.2 Integrated model to structure the manifestations of ambush
marketing 58
4.3 Case groups and objectives of ambush marketing 66
4.4 Frequency of observed cases of ambush marketing in the context
of the 2010 Football World Cup 68
5.1 Functional chain of the consequences of ambush marketing 79
6.1 Evaluation of ambush marketing 81
7.1 Anti-ambush advertisement of the IOC at the 2006 Winter
Olympics in Turin 94
x Figures
8.1 Perception of sponsors and ambushers according to study of
Zanger and Drengner 107
8.2 Overview of unaided recall 113
9.1 Case groups and results of ambush marketing 132
Tables
2.1 Differentiation of event sponsorship from event marketing 35

2.2 Differentiation of event sponsorship from ambush marketing 36
4.1 Systematisation of the manifestations of ambush marketing
according to Bruhn and Ahlers 49
5.1 Awareness of sponsors at the 1992 Olympic Games in
Albertville 77
5.2 Aided recall values at the 1998 Football World Cup in France 78
8.1 Overview of empirical research on ambush marketing 101
8.2 Knowledge of of¿cial sponsorship according to the study of
Shani and Sandler 104
8.3 Knowledge of the various sponsorship categories according to
the study of Shani and Sandler 104
8.4 Attitudes to ambush marketing according to the study of Shani
and Sandler 105
8.5 Sponsorship knowledge according to the study of Zanger and
Drengner 107
8.6 Attitude towards sponsorship or ambush marketing according to
the study of Zanger and Drengner 108
8.7 Levels of likeability before, during and after the 2006 World
Cup 111
8.8 Signi¿cance tests regarding likeability values before, during and
after the 2006 World Cup 111
8.9 Results for unaided recall 113
8.10 Results of aided recall 117
8.11 Characterisation of the confusion clusters 118
8.12 Results of the bivariate tests regarding ambush marketing 119
9.1 Results of a nuanced contemplation of ambush marketing 131
Preface
In today’s world, ambush marketing has great and ever increasing, but also very
controversial, signi¿cance in the practice of sports marketing. To date, however,
there is still very little scienti¿c literature on the subject. The topic is conceptually
and typologically unclear and – with the exception of a few studies on the
Olympics – empirical studies on its impact are lacking. The goal of this study is to
¿ll this gap. Its purpose is to describe and evaluate this marketing tool and to
explain its impact.
Ambush marketing is the practice by companies of creating an impression of an
association with an event to the event audience, although the companies in
question have no legal (or only underprivileged or non-exclusive) marketing
rights for this event sponsored by third parties. Ambush marketing seeks to bene¿t
from the successes of sport sponsorship without incurring the duties and
obligations of of¿cial sponsors. Thus, ambush marketing represents a guerrilla
alternative to sports event sponsorship.
The line between creative marketing and the violation of sponsorship rights is
a very ¿ne one. Of¿cial sports sponsors speak of the “theft” of high-priced
advertising rights. Ambushers, on the other hand, see themselves as a “creative
power” that provides sports sponsorship marketing with increased ef¿ciency.
Thus, ambush marketing is very controversial.
This book undertakes a comprehensive observation of the phenomenon of
ambush marketing that does not yet exist in a comparable form. The reader is
provided with a complete overview – theoretically substantiated and empirically
analytical – of ambush marketing in sports. The current status of research on the
subject matter is conveyed from an objective and neutral perspective. Due in large
part to the numerous integrated examples, the book imparts valuable new insights,
in equal measure to both the science and the practice of sports marketing.
The target audiences addressed by this book are students of sports economics
and business administration (undergraduate and graduate), lecturers and
researchers in sports management and business administration with a focus on
(sports) management and last but not least the actual practitioners in companies
(primarily sponsors, guerrilla marketers, agencies and the media).
At this point, I would like to express my appreciation to the various persons and
institutions who contributed to this study.
xiv Preface
My special thanks go ¿rst and foremost to my academic mentor and teacher,
Professor Dr. Heinz-Dieter Horch, who encouraged me to conduct my postdoctoral
work and who created an atmosphere in which scienti¿c work can Àourish freely.
Furthermore, I am greatly indebted to my friend and colleague Professor Dr.
André Bühler (Macromedia University for Media and Communication Stuttgart,
Professor for Sports and Event Management) for the proli¿c exchange of scienti¿c
ideas and the long-term motivational collaboration on numerous joint projects in
the area of sports marketing.
I would also like to thank my colleagues and associates at the ESB Business
School of Reutlingen University and the German Sport University Cologne for
their support.
A very special thank goes to Elli Strauss (translation, interpreting, proofreading
and editing) from New York City. Elli helped me with her outstanding expertise
in translating existing German drafts into the English language. I have always
admired her accuracy and patience. Of course, all remaining errors are mine.
Last but not least, I also owe deepest thanks to my family: my wife Karin as
well as my two daughters Gabriela and Isabel. Having already dedicated books to
each of you individually in the past, I am dedicating this work to all of “my three
girls” together, as you have consistently reminded me of what is really essential in
life.
Reutlingen, August 2012
Prof. Dr. Gerd Nufer
Professor of Marketing & Sports Management,
ESB Business School, Reutlingen University
Associate Professor of Sports Economics & Sports Management,
German Sport University Cologne
1 Introduction
1.1 Presentation of problem and objectives

In the twentieth and twenty-¿rst centuries, the area of sports has become a
signi¿cant economic factor worldwide. Due to the increasing commercialisation
of sports, business management know-how is becoming ever more essential in
this ¿eld. The economics of sports is a relatively new discipline, but one that has
undergone very fast-paced development in recent years. Not the least of the
reasons why sports economics and sports management are exciting research ¿elds
is that this is where diverse approaches to an appropriate method mix in terms of
substance and problem come together. Some even speak of a new scienti¿c “sub-
discipline” (Albach and Frick 2002: vii) or more so of an independent “branch of
science” (Heinemann 2001: 17). Within sports management, the discipline with
the strongest differentiation to date is that of sports marketing, i.e. professionalism
in terms of business management is the most advanced in the area of sports
marketing.
“Consumers love events, corporations love consumers … this is a match made
in heaven” (D’Alessandro 1993: 507). In consideration of this “magic formula”, it
is especially companies that operate internationally who are in search of attractive
sports events that have a great deal of appeal to a broader public. Therefore, it is
not surprising that it is primarily international sports events that are utilised by
numerous companies to embed their target group-oriented communications in an
attractive environment. There are many good reasons why marketing with sports
events is of such great interest to companies. The aim is to create a positive image
transfer from the sports event to the brand or the company. The message is
communicated in the context of an attractive sporting environment. High
(international) reach and thereby comparatively low cost per mille prices can thus
be achieved. The multiplier effect of mass media can be fully utilised.
The increasing intensity of competition in the sponsorship market has resulted
in a price explosion for sponsorships, with the ensuing consequence that not all
companies interested in an event are able to afford or willing to commit to an
of¿cial sponsorship. Additionally, the design of the sponsorship rules and
regulations for mega events (e.g. the guarantee of industry exclusivity for of¿cial
sponsors) frequently deprives competitors of any opportunity for “legitimate”
2 Introduction
contact with their target groups in the context of the event. Ambush marketing is
the practice by companies of using their own marketing to create an impression of
an association with the event to the event audience, although the companies in
question have no legal (or only underprivileged or non-exclusive) marketing
rights for this event sponsored by third parties.
The line between violation of sponsorship rights and creative–innovative
communications policy is often a very ¿ne one, which is why ambush marketing
is a fundamentally controversial topic of discussion. The growing aggressiveness
in the communications and sports markets has resulted in the appearance of
ambush marketing worldwide and its continually increasing pervasiveness.
The aim of this book is to make a contribution to the in-depth scienti¿c
examination of the phenomenon of ambush marketing. The objectives of this
study are as follows:
Ɣ Description: survey and assessment of the entire problem area of ambush

marketing (descriptive scienti¿c objective).
Ɣ Explanation: identi¿cation and review of the relevant structures, processes,
inÀuencing factors and interactions (theoretical scienti¿c objective).
Ɣ Design: generation of solutions or deduction of action recommendations
(pragmatic scienti¿c objective).
1.2 Structure of the approach and course of the study

Chapter 2 of this study addresses the theoretical foundation of ambush marketing.
Based on the essential principles of sponsorship, ambush marketing is categorised
within the overarching concept of guerrilla marketing and characterised as a
guerrilla alternative to sports event sponsorship.
In Chapter 3 selected cases of ambush marketing in actual practice that
generated a great deal of buzz and media presence are presented and subjected to
critical assessment.
The point of departure for structuring the diverse strategies and manifestations
of ambush marketing in Chapter 4 is established by the presentation and critical
assessment of existing systematisation approaches in literature. Based on this, the
author develops his own integrated structuring model for ambush marketing,
which encompasses ambush marketing categories differentiated from one another
that, on subsequent levels, are further broken down into differentiated case groups
per category and differentiated cases per case group. The cases of ambush
marketing observed in the context of the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup in South
Africa are integrated into the structuring model and implications deduced from
these.
Based on this, in Chapter 5 the consequences for the participating stakeholders
that result from ambush marketing are elaborated and developed.
Subsequently, Chapter 6 follows up with an interdisciplinary evaluation of
ambush marketing in terms of both legal–statutory and ethical–moral perspectives.
Introduction 3
In Chapter 7 the challenges for organisers and of¿cial sponsors of sports events
in the prevention of ambush marketing are extrapolated.
Chapter 8 is dedicated to the empirical research of the effects of ambush
marketing. Initially, an overview of the current status of effectiveness research on
ambush marketing is presented. It is followed by the empirical study of the author
on ambush marketing in the context of the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany.
A total of over 2,000 teenagers aged 13 to 18 were interviewed. The focus of the
analysis is on image values and recall performance of the interviewees with regard
to companies who used the World Cup platform as part of their communications
policy. Based on this, the causes for confusion of ambush marketers with of¿cial
sponsors are analysed in order to determine the impact of ambush marketing.
In the critical assessment of ambush marketing in Chapter 9 both the pro and
contra positions on ambush marketing are examined before a conclusive evaluation
of the phenomenon is conducted. Implications for the actual practice of sports
marketing are deduced from the results of these observations.
The essential insights of this study are summarised in the context of ¿nal
observations in Chapter 10. Furthermore, a short perspective for the future of
ambush marketing is provided.
Figure 1.1 provides an overview of the structure of this study in graphic form.
Introduction
Theoretical Foundation
Sponsorship Guerrilla Marketing
Ambush Marketing
Practice
Structuring
Consequences Evaluation Prevention
Empirical Assessment
Sports Sponsorship Ambush Marketing
Critical Assessment
Final Observations
Figure 1.1 Structure of the approach and course of the study

2 Theoretical foundation of
ambush marketing
For many companies, it is major international sporting events in particular, for

example the Olympics or the Football World Cup and European Championships
that constitute the ideal platform for the integration of their target group-speci¿c
communications into an attractive sports environment. Sports event organisers
therefore sell exclusive marketing rights for their events to sponsors. In return,
of¿cial sponsors acquire exclusive options to utilise the event for their own
advertising purposes. Ambush marketing, on the other hand, is the method used
by companies that do not actually hold legal marketing rights to an event, but still
use their marketing communications activities to create the impression of an
association with this event to their audience.
While sports sponsorship has already established itself in theory and practice,
ambush marketing is a relatively new, innovative method to make use of sports
events in terms of communications. Both of these alternative communications
options shall be presented and critically assessed in the following. As sponsorship
is the original soil and breeding ground for ambush marketing, its fundamental
precepts will be looked at ¿rst.
2.1 Sponsorship as the basis of ambush marketing

Sponsorship is classi¿ed among the non-classical forms of marketing
communications policy and addresses people in non-commercial situations. It is
precisely through sponsorship that those target groups can be reached who are, for
example, negatively disposed to advertising or cannot be reached via classical
communication tools. Also, a sponsorship commitment generally tends to be
accepted more so than classical advertising, since sponsorship per se is based on
a certain degree of promotional intent (Nufer and Bühler 2011c).
2.1.1 Fundamentals of sponsorship

Today, sponsorship is a well-established facet in the marketing plans of companies
as well as in professional literature on corporate communications. Sponsorship
has gained this level of acceptance relatively quickly, for even in the mid 1980s
Theoretical foundation of ambush marketing 5
this communications tool was neither widely used nor theoretically well developed
(Drees 2003).
2.1.1.1 De¿nition and attributes of sponsorship

One of the most frequently cited de¿nitions of sponsorship is attributed to Bruhn
(2010: 6f.). He de¿nes and structures sponsorship generally as the:
Ɣ Analysis, planning, execution and control of all activities

Ɣ that with the provision of money, materials, services or knowhow by
companies and institutions
Ɣ for the promotion of persons and/or organisations in the areas of sports,
culture, social issues, environment and/or the media
Ɣ are associated under contractual regulation of the services of the sponsor
and the return services of the sponsored party
Ɣ to thereby, at the same time, achieve marketing and corporate
communications objectives.
One refers to a sponsorship when the sponsor and the sponsored party have agreed
to jointly conduct or execute a speci¿c project in a predetermined time-frame
under speci¿c conditions (Bruhn 2005).
Bruhn (2010) distinguishes six constitutive features of sponsorship that,
irrespective of differing approaches, are common to all sponsorship activities:
Ɣ Sponsorship is based on the principle of performance and consideration: the

sponsors provide their funding in the expectation of the receipt of speci¿c
return performance or service from the sponsored parties. The sponsored
parties, in turn, also seek to bene¿t from more than just the ¿nancial support
of the sponsor in this barter transaction by realising an image enhancement
and using the sponsorship to expand their networks.
Ɣ In sponsorship the promotional aspect in terms of the sponsored party is
given expression: sponsorship is not the pure sale of advertising space for
payment, but rather the identi¿cation of sponsors with the inherent substance
of their functions.
Ɣ Sponsorship ful¿ls communicative functions: these are provided by the
sponsored party, transmitted by media or may also be created by the sponsors
themselves.
Ɣ Sponsorship demands a systematic planning and decision-making process:
based on a situation analysis and the formulation of objectives, measures
must be planned, executed and monitored individually.
Ɣ An image transfer constitutes an essential objective of sponsorship. For image
building, sponsorship does not allow for the separation of the message from
the medium. The object of a sponsorship commitment (e.g. a sports event)
embodies the message as well as the medium per se.
6 Theoretical foundation of ambush marketing
Ɣ From a company’s perspective, sponsorship is a building block of integrated
communications: it cannot be an isolated measure, but rather must be
implemented in conjunction with other communications tools.
2.1.1.2 Objectives of sponsorship

In formulating sponsorship objectives, one must differentiate between economic
and psychological objectives.
Economic objectives incorporate monetary economic factors such as pro¿t,
sales or market share. The advantage of economic objectives is the fact that
monetary factors are unambiguously measurable and quanti¿able. However,
exclusively specifying objectives attributed to this category is insuf¿cient due to
the lack of speci¿cation of action incentives (Steffenhagen 1993). Often, the long-
term achievement of overall economic objectives can only be achieved by
specifying psychological objectives.
The spectrum of psychological or communications objectives that can be
attained through sponsorship is a broad one (Berndt 2005):
Ɣ level of awareness objectives (increase or stabilisation of corporate or brand

awareness);
Ɣ image objectives (establishment or modi¿cation of speci¿c image aspects);
Ɣ contact cultivation with invited guests (hospitality);
Ɣ performance demonstration of product and company;
Ɣ generation of good will and demonstration of social responsibility (good
corporate citizen);
Ɣ motivational promotion for one’s own employees.
The description of these objectives in literature is largely consistent. Empirical

studies have con¿rmed this orientation of objectives in terms of sponsorship
(Drees 2003).
2.1.1.3 Types of sponsorship

Overall, six essential types of sponsorships can be differentiated (Nufer 2002a):
Ɣ sports sponsorship:
Ɣ cultural sponsorship (or art sponsorship);
Ɣ social sponsorship;
Ɣ ecological sponsorship;
Ɣ scienti¿c sponsorship; and
Ɣ programme sponsorship (or media sponsorship, TV-presentation).
The advent of sports sponsorship in the 1970s initiated the emergence and
development of sponsorship as an element of corporate communications. It was
followed by cultural sponsorship in the 1980s and subsequently by social and
ecological sponsorship. Programme sponsoring was added in the 1990s. A newer
type of sponsorship is that of scienti¿c sponsorship (that can be subsumed in
cultural sponsorship where appropriate). The individual sponsorship types may be
characterised as follows (Rennhak and Nufer 2008):
Ɣ Sports sponsorship can be broken down in terms of criteria such as type of

sport (e.g. football, cycling, motor sports, golf, etc.), organisational entity
(association, club, team, individual athlete, event, etc.) and performance level
(professional, amateur, leisure sports). Since sponsorship presumes a certain
amount of media interest, it is primarily the sport types with a media presence
that stand to bene¿t.
Ɣ A company that is interested in getting involved in cultural sponsorship has
a broad range of diverse cultural ¿elds and spheres of action to choose from.
In recent years, the concept of cultural sponsorship has established itself
primarily in the areas of the visual arts/museums, music, theatre and ¿lm but
also in support of festivals and activities to promote conservation of historical
monuments. A world famous example of cultural sponsorship in the ¿eld of
music is the partnership of Volkswagen with Bon Jovi.
Ɣ Similarly to ecological sponsorship, social sponsorship aims at demonstrating
societal and socio-political responsibility by the sponsor. The sponsored
parties are largely non-pro¿t organisations (e.g. charitable institutions, self-
help groups and welfare organisations and associations) that address and seek
to solve social or humanitarian problems. FC Barcelona supported UNICEF
by providing free advertising space on its jerseys and, in addition, donated
€1.5 million annually to the children’s charity of the United Nations.
Ɣ Ecological sponsorship focuses on the sponsorship of projects and
organisations that are committed to protecting the environment. For this
manifestation of sponsorship, the credibility of the commitment in particular
is critical. An example of ecological sponsorship is the promotion of
preservation of the rainforest by Krombacher, a leading German beer brand.
Ɣ In the context of scienti¿c sponsorship, sponsors support organisations in the
¿elds of science and research with comprehensive ¿nancing of their research
activity without demanding predetermined results, as is common practice
with third-party funded research. Thus the Jacobs enterprise is the sponsor
and, in connection with this, has at the same time also given its name to the
Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany.
Ɣ Frequently, in this context, programme sponsorship is mentioned as an additional
form of sponsorship. In programme sponsorship a company or brand appears as
the presenting entity of a television programme. Immediately before and after
the broadcast, as well as in any breaks, a short trailer is shown that indicates the
connection between the brand and the programme (e.g. “the following game of
the Football World Cup is brought to you by ZDF and Bitburger”). This method,
however, does not refer to sponsorship in the sense of the above stated de¿nition,
since here neither sports, nor cultural, social, ecological or other issues are being
promoted, but rather to a special form of advertising.
The strong growth of sponsorship was one of the most striking developments of
communications policy in recent years. Since the mid 1980s the volume of
sponsorship worldwide has approximately quintupled (Nufer 2010).
2.1.1.4 Planning process for sponsorship

Figure 2.1 presents an overview of the process of planning, integration, realisation
and control of sponsorship. Ideally, this process model is sub-divided into multiple
phases, in which speci¿c information is accessed in order to make partial decisions
on sports sponsorship.
(1) SITUATION ANALYSIS
Initially, the internal and external company situation should be analysed. The
fundamental decision as to the implementation of the sponsorship follows as a
consequence of the evaluation of the ascertained strengths and weaknesses of the
company as well as the opportunities and risks in the market.
(2) ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES
The subsequent formulation of the objectives of the sponsorship is based on the

overarching objectives of corporate communications as well as the communicative
positioning of the company or its individual brands or products. The objectives
should be made operational in terms of content, scope, time and segment relevance.
Situation Analysis
Objectives simultaneous Target Groups

I
n
Strategy t
e
g
r
Budgeting a
t
simultaneous i
Sponsorships Individual Measures o
n
Realisation
Control
Figure 2.1 The process of planning, integration, realisation and monitoring in sponsorship
(adapted from: Nufer (2010: 10))
(3) DEFINITION OF TARGET GROUPS
In parallel to the formulation of objectives, the target groups to be addressed by

the sponsorship should be selected and characterised. In the identi¿cation of the
target groups, the target groups of the company should be compared with those of
the sponsored entity, whereby the focus should be on the greatest possible af¿nity
of both target groups.
(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF STRATEGY
In the context of this step, a fundamental decision should take place as to what
types of sponsorships the company can and wants to consider. Here, attention
should be paid to lines of connection between the sponsor and the sponsored
entity, whereby key connecting lines to be considered would be product, image
and target group af¿nities. The result of these considerations is the formulation of
a sponsorship strategy that establishes the contextual focal points of the
commitment.
(5) BUDGETING
Ideally, budgeting takes place simultaneously with the planning of the individual
activities, since the extent of the costs depends signi¿cantly upon the sponsorships
selected. The budgeting process includes the calculation of the sponsorship budget
as well as its allocation to the individual sponsorship activities.
(6) SELECTION OF SPONSORSHIPS
The selection of sponsorships is made on the basis of the sponsoring strategy. In

so doing, the decision-making criteria for their selection should be individually
de¿ned (e.g. media presence, reach, advertising opportunities and costs).
(7) DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL MEASURES
Once the decision has been taken for a speci¿c sponsorship, the individual
measures for its realisation should be planned. In addition to the de¿nition of
services and return services performance, the legal form of the sponsorship and
the selection of agencies to support the sponsorship planning and implementation
should be considered.
(8) INTEGRATION OF THE SPONSORSHIP INTO THE COMMUNICATIONS MIX
The coordination of the sponsorship with the other tools of corporate

communications represents an accompanying phase of the entire sponsorship
planning process. A synergetic reinforcement of the overall effectiveness of
communications can only be achieved if the sponsorship is linked with other
communications tools in terms of content, form and timing.
(9) REALISATION
The implementation encompasses all activities that are required for the actual
attainment of the strategy. The realisation phase can be further sub-divided into
the execution (practical functions) and the implementation (organisational and
personnel-related functions). The substance of this phase differs for individual
cases and may vary from sponsorship to sponsorship.
(10) CONTROL
The heart of the ef¿ciency review is the analysis of the communicative effectiveness
of the sponsorship. Depending upon the results of the ef¿ciency review, it may be
necessary to make larger or smaller adjustments to the concept, with a view to the
implementation of sponsorships at later dates.
This process model is a theoretical, typically ideal sequence of phases. In the

reality of sponsorship practice, however, often a compelling sequential procedure
is replaced by a simultaneous process with numerous instances of reactive
feedback. Nevertheless, it makes sense to use this model of clearly delineated
phases as a guideline in order to optimise the individual decision components. The
tendency to an intuitive and spontaneous procedure by companies in the planning,
integration, realisation and control of sponsorship activities that was frequently
observed in the past is now increasingly being replaced by a well-planned,
systematic approach (Bruhn 2010; Nufer 2012).
2.1.2 Sports sponsorship

Bühler and Nufer (2010: 92) de¿ne sports sponsorship as follows:
Professional sports sponsorship is a business-related partnership between a

sponsor and a sponsee based on reciprocity. The sponsor provides ¿nancial or
non-¿nancial resources directly to the sponsee and receives a prede¿ned
service in return in order to ful¿l various sponsorship objectives.
Of all the different types of sponsorship, sports sponsorship has a dominant

position. Approximately two-thirds of the expenditures for sponsorship Àow into
the area of sports, bene¿ting primarily those sports with a media presence (Pilot
Group 2009). This is based on consumers’ high degree of interest in sports and the
broad social acceptance of appropriate sponsorship activities. Sport is associated
with virtues such as fairness, team spirit, performance orientation or passion,
attractiveness and emotions, which makes it an attractive communications
platform. The increasing pervasiveness and acceptance of sports sponsorship is in
line with the general tendency to increasingly utilise leisure time pursuits of the
population for the purposes of corporate communications.
The concepts of sports sponsorship and sports advertising are often used
synonymously both in theory and practice. However, strictly speaking, in terms of
its content, sport advertising is subordinate to sports sponsorship and has a sub-
instrumental character. In the context of sports advertising, sport functions as a
medium for transmitting advertising messages – such as the perimeter advertising in
the stadium – very much in the sense of classical advertising efforts (Nufer 2002a).
2.1.2.1 Manifestations of sports sponsorship

The manifestations of sports sponsorship are diverse. How a sponsorship
commitment appears to the target group is dependent upon a variety of decisions
by the sponsor. Three decision-making areas in particular determine the speci¿c
con¿guration of the sponsorship (Drees 2003):
1 the choice of the sponsorship object;

2 the speci¿cation of the measures or actions;
3 a determination in terms of the scope of the sponsorship commitment.
(1) FORMS IN TERMS OF THE OBJECT OF SPORTS SPONSORSHIP
The following dimensions determine the scope of a sports sponsorship object:
Ɣ sport type (e.g. football, Formula 1, cycling, ski jumping, etc.);

Ɣ performance level (high performance or competitive sports, mass sports,
junior sports);
Ɣ organisational unit (cross-sport sports organisations, associations, clubs,
teams, individual athletes, events).
(2) FORMS IN TERMS OF THE USAGE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SPORTS SPONSORSHIP
Basically, the following core measures can be differentiated in terms of the

varying degrees of their realisation and individually in the speci¿c form for the
various objects:
Ɣ branding or labelling of equipment (e.g. advertising on jerseys);

Ɣ presence in the run-up to sports events (e.g. press information);
Ɣ presence in the immediate environment of sports events (e.g. perimeter
advertising);
Ɣ usage of attributive designations (e.g. “of¿cial out¿tter of …”);
Ɣ calling a sponsorship object by the name of the sponsor (title sponsorship);
Ɣ branding of printed material of the sponsored entity (e.g. autograph cards);
Ɣ employment of sports personalities (for testimonials);
Ɣ organisation/equipping of sporting events (e.g. fun runs).
(3) FORMS IN TERMS OF THE SCOPE OF THE SPORTS SPONSORSHIP COMMITMENT
Ɣ Full sponsorship (sole communicative right of use);

Ɣ main sponsorship (dominance with regard to co-sponsors);
Ɣ co-sponsorship (no exclusive rights).
While in 1990 the results of a survey of companies indicated that less than 40 per
cent of companies were using sports sponsorship (Drees 1992), today it is up to
approximately 85 per cent (Hermanns 2008). Thus, sports sponsorship has become
an everyday occurrence.
2.1.2.2 Participants in sports sponsorship

Sports sponsorship is based on a contractual agreement covering a transaction
(money, material or services in return for communicative rights of use) to be
conducted between at least two participants, the sponsor and the sponsee.
However, in the implementation of sponsorship contracts, typically additional
parties are involved (Hermanns and Marwitz 2008): the target groups of the
sponsors, the audience of the sponsee, the media, the media users as well as
sponsorship service providers (see Figure 2.2).
Classical sports sponsors are for-pro¿t companies. While in the early stages of
the development of sports sponsorship the companies involved tended to be big,
one observes that today, regardless of the size of the company, sports sponsorship
has become an established element in a company’s marketing communications.
The target groups of the sponsor are the de¿ned target groups of the company
that are to be addressed with the help of marketing communications. Sports
sponsorship is used to address these groups in order to achieve the desired effects.
Sponsor Sponsee
Sponsorship
service providers
Media
Media
audience
Target group Audience

of of
sponsor sponsee
Figure 2.2 Network of relationships and communications relationships in sports

sponsorship (adapted from: Nufer and Bühler (2011c: 156))
Sponsored entities can be sports organisations, associations, clubs, teams and
individual athletes. For the sponsees, sports sponsorship is primarily a ¿nancing
and procurement tool. Sponsorship serves the sponsees as an additional source of
income to cover increasing expenditures and makes bene¿ts available that are
required for their functions, which the sponsor provides in the form of goods and
services.
The audience of the sponsored entity (e.g. the spectators at a football game) is
reached directly by the communications activities of the sponsor (e.g. advertising
on jerseys).
The media deal with sports in their editorial sections. Therefore, the
communications activities of the sponsor also reach the media users. As the buyer
of broadcast rights (e.g. for the Olympics or Football World Cup), television, the
medium broadcasting to the television audience, makes sponsorship even more
interesting for itself as well as for the sponsors (or expressed somewhat differently:
without the involvement of the mass media, many sponsorships would not be
contracted).
Sports sponsorship service providers include sponsorship consultants and
sponsorship agencies. Sponsorship consultants act as advisors to sponsors and
sponsees or take on the role of agents between these two parties. Sponsorship
agencies are business service organisations that are primarily active on behalf of
sponsors, but can also act on behalf of the sponsees.
2.1.2.3 Management of sports sponsorship

In conjunction with the general planning process, the development of a sports
sponsorship strategy will be dealt with to a greater extent below. This will be
handled successively from the perspective of the sponsors and then from the
perspective of the sponsee.
(1) SPORTS SPONSORSHIP – MANAGEMENT OF SPONSORS
Sports sponsors are confronted by the challenge of orientating their sponsoring

commitment to a long-term strategic approach in order to achieve their
communications objectives (Bruhn 2010).
A sponsor’s sports sponsorship strategy should be based on a written and
binding applicable sponsorship philosophy that forms the frame of reference for
the establishment of the content of the strategy. A sponsorship philosophy is
substantiated by the following building blocks:
Ɣ determination of the level of sports promotion;

Ɣ conditions for a media presences in sports reporting;
Ɣ status of the company as compared with other sponsors;
Ɣ terms and conditions for the use of advertising materials;
Ɣ general terms and conditions (e.g. duration of the contracts, geographic
spheres of inÀuence, internal responsibilities).
The following strategic approaches can be differentiated within the context of a
sports sponsorship strategy:
Ɣ Awareness building strategy: targets the increase of awareness and acceptance

of brands by consumers and dealers.
Ɣ Target group development and customer loyalty strategy: concentrates on the
focused address of individual target groups that could previously not be
reached in suf¿cient measure, as well as the retention of existing customers.
Ɣ Image pro¿ling strategy: targets the transfer of speci¿c sports-related image
dimensions.
The identi¿cation of the strategy is to be interpreted as a multi-stage process. It

takes place on two levels, with the rough screening of sports types and the ¿ne-
tuning of the sponsorship forms.
In the stage of rough screening of sports types the criteria should be established
on the basis of which the various sports types can be reviewed for their suitability
in terms of a company’s communications performance requirements. In accordance
with the concept of af¿nities, the following connections are conceivable:
Ɣ Product af¿nity: the sports type has some sort of relationship with the product
or the service of the sponsor.
Ɣ Target group af¿nity: the sports type is of interest to a speci¿c target group
that is also attractive for the sponsor.
Ɣ Image af¿nity: the image of the sports type is similar to that of the company,
its umbrella brand or individual brand(s), or a similarity can be associated.
Additional possible connecting aspects would be common ties to a location of

sponsor and sponsee or similarly perceived “super¿cial factors”. There are various
scoring models to facilitate the decision-making process.
The subsequent stage of ¿ne-tuning of selection of the sponsorship form
encompasses the analysis of various sponsorship alternatives (individuals, teams,
organisations or events) in the context of the determined sport types. For the
concrete selection, criteria that enable a comparison of the alternative propositions
should be drafted. The following criteria – in addition to the costs related to the
individual alternatives – are appropriate for this purpose:
Ɣ Individuals/teams: e.g. performance and success to date; awareness,

likeability and acceptance in the target group; media presence at sports
events; options for integration into additional communications activities.
Ɣ Sports organisations/associations: e.g. management quali¿cations in the
organisation; PR activity by the organisation.
Ɣ Sports events: e.g. media presence; participation of speci¿c (well-known)
individuals; option of the award of attributive designations, licences and
titles; usage of advertising options before, during and after the event.
The activities of competitors represent additional criteria. The objective should be
to select a sports type and an organisational form that enables a company or brand
to distinguish itself from the competition and establish distinctive image attributes
through the sports sponsorship.
(2) SPORTS SPONSORSHIP MANAGEMENT OF SPONSEES
The sponsorship concept of the sponsee encompasses all decisions related to the
intended sponsorship activities and forms the basis for the acquisition and
maintenance of sponsors (Hermanns 2008).
In order to ensure the continuity necessary in sports sponsorship, it is advisable
to establish an advance written de¿nition of basic sponsorship principles that
provide a general framework for the sponsorship work. These basic principles can
include statements about the following aspects of sports sponsorship:
Ɣ role of the sponsorship for ¿nancing and acquisition (e.g. dominant/

incidental);
Ɣ codes of conduct for the collaboration with the sponsor;
Ɣ communications limitations;
Ɣ industry or product exclusion (e.g. for tobacco and/or alcoholic products).
The general objective of the sponsee consists of the acquisition of ¿nancial and
material resources or services to maintain or improve the sporting performance of
the sponsee.
The sponsorship rights form the core of the sponsorship business. The expected
reciprocal services of the sponsor depend on their scope and relevance in the
market. The classic categories applicable in this regard are advertising rights,
equipment and service rights, participation rights (including hospitality), sales
and management rights, identi¿cation rights and the rights for the use of
promotional attributive designations. In the recent past additional innovative
exploitation of rights has been implemented, e.g. awarding of naming rights for
stadiums. New supplementary options are offered by the internet appearance of
the sponsees or text messaging services.
The sponsored entity receives appropriate reciprocal services in the form of
monetary funding, non-cash bene¿ts and services for the marketing of sponsorship
rights and the related communications effects. For classical sponsorships (such as
jersey sponsorship) the prospective prices can be estimated in terms of the
expected media performance via the cost per mille rate. However, these values
must be corrected in accordance with the competitiveness factor (if the demand
for a speci¿c sponsee is high, the value increases and vice versa). Here there is
usually a correlation between the sporting performance and the redeemable
service or performance in return.
As regards the sponsor con¿guration, in recent years there has been a dynamic
development in terms of the type and number of sponsors for sports sponsorships.
Whereas initially the full sponsor was given the sole rights of communications
usage, this was later followed by division into main and co-sponsors. Currently,
two developments have been observed in sports sponsorship: on one hand, the
term “sponsor” is increasingly being replaced by the term “partner”, on the other
hand, a highly intensive differentiation of the sponsors is taking place (e.g. main
sponsor, out¿tter, premium partner, classic partner, etc.) that enables improved
utilisation of the sponsorship potential of the sponsee and a better expression of
the signi¿cance of the various sponsors.
The decision of a sponsor to go with a special sponsee is generally taken based
on decision-relevant information. Therefore, sponsees are called upon to provide
the appropriate information about themselves and their environment (e.g. general
information on the sport type, image of the sport type, image of the association,
team, etc., spectator information, information regarding reach in the media, and
their own communications potential).
The acquisition of sponsors can also be undertaken by the sponsees themselves
or handled through a marketing agency. The choice of sponsors must be guided by
the set fundamentals, objectives and sponsorship potential with reference to reach
and image on one hand, as well as the sponsorship proceeds to be achieved on the
other. The better the ¿t of the sponsor to the sponsee, the better the outlook for a
stable and long-term development of the sponsorship partnership.
It is no longer in any way suf¿cient to conclude the legal aspects of the
sponsorship transaction and to consider it thus done. Instead, what is required
today with an eye to a longer-term sports sponsorship partnership is the
implementation of mutually bene¿cial relationship marketing. Sponsors want to
be kept abreast of the development of the sponsee, obtain contact opportunities to
sports circles, and passively participate in the sporting action. Classical relationship
management measures – ranging from invitations to important sports events to
opportunities for personal contact with athletes to sponsor newsletters – all
contribute to a productive sponsorship relationship.
In the meantime, there are numerous examples that show that a long-term
positive sports sponsorship relationship can lead to additional cooperative
relationships that are mutually bene¿cial to the partners. In this context, one
should highlight the establishment of joint business areas (e.g. medical care and
rehabilitation, trips for club members and fans, culinary and catering businesses)
and the conclusion of strategic partnerships (a very prominent example being the
alliances of FC Bayern Munich with adidas and Audi).
2.1.3 Features of sports event sponsorship

There is a growing recognition among sports sponsors that classical sports
sponsorship (of individuals or teams) can be very risky, since in the case of a
sharp decline in the image of the sponsored entity (caused, for example, by
scandals or a series of defeats), the reputation of the sponsor may also be negatively
affected. International companies in particular are more and more frequently
acting as sponsors of attractive major events that have an enormous appeal to the
public and for which they need not fear this risk. In this context, one speaks of
sports event sponsorship. Thus, sports event sponsorship is a special case of sports
sponsorship (Nufer 2002a).
2.1.3.1 Appeal of sports events

Major sports events have developed into established concepts of excitement,
entertainment and high-performance sports. Sports events not only enjoy a high
level of awareness with the sports-orientated public, but exert a huge fascination
(see Figure 2.3). The reach of these sports events already draws many thousands
of spectators locally, and via media multipliers such as television, radio, print or
Internet can reach an international audience in the billions. In conjunction with
sponsored sports events – completely independent of the outcome of the sporting
competition – communicative competitive advantages are attainable with which a
differentiation of advertising activities from the competition can be achieved.
2.1.3.2 Characterisation of sports events

From a legal perspective, there are no signi¿cant structural differences between
the Olympic Games and the local club championship of a skittles club. An
association (usually in the legal form of a club) organises a sporting competition
in which its members can participate in accordance with the rules and regulations
established by the club (Pechtl 2007).
From a marketing perspective, however, there are huge differences between a
major international sports event and a local club championship: due to their high
attention-getting value, sports events such as world championships in popular
sports types or Olympic Games are crowd pullers that offer enormous marketing
potential. This marketing potential (goodwill, intangible commercial value) refers
to the long-term bene¿ts that companies achieve when they utilise the sports event
as part of their marketing strategy (Townley, Harrington and Couchman 1998).
Fascination Awareness
Football World Cup 75% 100%
Olympic Games 70% 99%
Formula 1 67% 100%
Football European Cup 63% 99%
Champions League 52% 97%
Wimbledon 47% 99%
Tour de France 45% 98%
Four Jumps Tournament 37% 95%
ATP World Championship 31% 86%
Figure 2.3 Fascination and awareness level of selected sports events (adapted from: Nufer
(2010: 13))
Although these bene¿ts are dif¿cult or almost impossible to quantify, in the
opinion of many companies, marketing investments in sports events yield higher
returns than marketing investments in alternative strategies. As a consequence,
many companies want to have a part in the marketing potential of major sports
events (Pechtl 2007).
Despite the great spectator interest, organisers of sports events are often able to
cover only part of the costs incurred in running the event from ticket sales or the
sale of broadcast rights. Moreover, in running this event, organisers aim to
generate ¿nancial means that they need to cover the achievement of their
association objectives and for the maintenance of their organisation. One way to
solve this problem is by awarding brand licences as well as sponsorships.
Sponsors and licensees, however, expect to obtain preferential “exploitation” of
the marketing potential of the event in return for their ¿nancial commitment. With
licensees this right is generally limited to the exclusive use of event-related brands
in their business area. Event sponsors, on the other hand, obtain additional, more
extensive considerations. These typically include advertising space at the event
and the permission to be allowed to use attributive designations such as “of¿cial
sponsor” in their own advertising. Moreover, the publication of the sponsorship in
the media and the support of hospitality activities are also included. In terms of the
scope of the sponsors’ rights, there are often qualitative gradations (e.g. top, main,
associated, co-sponsor). The rule here is: the higher the sponsorship amount, the
greater the scope of the sponsorship rights conferred.
As the sponsored entity, the organiser is called upon to create the prerequisites
for the development of marketing potential and to promote this potential through
appropriate measures (e.g. through the creation and protection of hallmarks for
the branding of merchandising materials). Furthermore, the organiser has to
guarantee sponsors and licensees exclusivity in the use of the marketing potential
(i.e. the organiser must develop and implement measures to enable the sponsors
and licensees to generate a preferential exploitation of this marketing potential)
(Heermann 2006; Pechtl 2007).
2.1.3.3 Sponsorship con¿gurations at sports events

Various sponsors are present at sports events and their environment (Townley,
Harrington and Couchman 1998; Pechtl 2007; Nufer 2010).
An initial look at the association pyramid shows that the organising association
itself is at the very top (e.g. FIFA, International Olympic Committee). The next
level down from the association are the members participating in the sports event.
For international associations these are the national sports associations. These, in
turn, also have their own (national) members. In addition, at major sports events a
mid-level also exists in the association pyramid. For example, in the case of the
Olympics this involves the organisation committee (OC), that is founded by the
relevant National Olympic Committee under the supervision of the IOC and that
takes on the actual organisation of the event. All levels of the association pyramid
appear in the role of sponsored entities or licensors in conjunction with the sports
event and actively acquire sponsors and licensees for themselves. As a general
rule one ¿nds independent sponsorship and licensing programmes at the various
levels, with these usually also characterised by different points of emphasis. While
the organising association requires the sponsorship fees and the royalties from
licence agreements for the execution of the event, at the level of the participating
members, the sponsorship fees serve to support the selection and delegation of its
athletes to the event.
Aside from the sponsorship in the context of the association pyramid, additional
sponsor groups exist in the environment of the event: many participating individual
athletes or teams operate their own sponsorship programmes. First, these are
“of¿cial out¿tters” who may, for example, provide the necessary sports equipment.
Furthermore, athletes or teams frequently function as advertising vehicles to
augment their incomes. Another sponsor group may be found in the media area:
companies that run programme sponsorships on television. Finally, owners or
operators of stadiums in which sports events are conducted can be sponsored or
advertising licences related to the sport sites sold (generally these are name rights,
e.g. “Allianz Arena” in Munich).
It becomes clear that sports events are covered by a network of various sponsors
and licensees, all of whom are more or less closely connected to the sports event.
The event organisers have a vested interest in avoiding or solving any sponsorship
and licence relationships of other involved players that may come into conÀict
with them.
2.1.3.4 Examples of sports event marketing

A great dependence upon sponsors’ funding now exists primarily at major
international sports events of high-performance sports such as the summer and
winter Olympics. Today, international tournaments, such as the Football World
Cup or European Championships, are also largely dependent on ¿nancially strong
sponsors. The share of income from advertising and television broadcast revenue
amounted to as much as two-thirds for past Football World Cup events. The
decision by a company to commit to sponsorship at a sports event depends almost
exclusively on their indirect audience, in which television plays an absolutely
pivotal role (Walliser 1995; Bruhn 2005).
In the context of the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa there were a
total of 20 of¿cial sponsors, divided into three categories: six FIFA partners, eight
sponsors of the FIFA Football World Cup and six national promoters. The six
FIFA partners have the closest partnership agreement with FIFA. They can
advertise for an extended period of time in the context of the various FIFA
competitions. The rights of the sponsors of the 2010 Football World Cup were
limited to this particular event. The national promoters were local companies who
possessed the right to advertise with the event within the host country (FIFA
2010). These companies together paid a total of approximately US$1.2 billion for
all marketing and media rights (App 2009).
At the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany 21 companies divided into two
different sponsorship categories made up the team of of¿cial sponsors. The
authorised companies included 15 of¿cial main sponsors. Additionally, FIFA
permitted the German organisation committee to expand this group by six national
partners. The sponsorship costs came to approximately €40 to 45 million per of¿cial
main sponsor and approximately €13 million per national promoter (Nufer 2010).
Eight years earlier, at the 1998 Football World Cup in France a total of 45
companies were still allowed to call themselves of¿cial sponsors. Next to the 12
of¿cial main sponsors (sponsorship category I, costs: approx. US$30 million) 33
other companies operated in the additional sponsorship categories II (eight of¿cial
suppliers, each at approximately US$10 million), III (nine of¿cial product and
service companies, each paying approximately US$5 million) and IV (16 of¿cial
equipment and device suppliers, with individual contracts). Furthermore, there
were many licensees at the lowest marketing level, all of whom had individual
contracts (Nufer 2002a).
2.1.4 Critical assessment

Over the past 20 years the signi¿cance of sports sponsorship has increased more
than that of any other communications tool, and today a marketing mix without it
would be unimaginable. This development may be traced primarily to the speci¿c
advantages of sponsorship over other communications tools in a communications
market suffering from sensory overload and in the face of “advertising weary”
consumers (Rennhak and Nufer 2008; Nufer 2010).
The most important advantages of sports sponsorship that make this particular
communications tool so attractive for so many companies are:
Ɣ The communicative address occurs in an attractive sporting environment.

Ɣ It offers the opportunity to achieve broad (international) reach and thereby
relatively cost-ef¿cient per mille contact rates.
Ɣ The multiplier effect of the mass media can be fully exploited.
Ɣ It targets a positive image transfer from the sport to the brand or the company.
Disadvantages counter this:
Ɣ The representation or illustration opportunities for companies, brands or

products are very limited (as a general rule only the brand name and/or the
trademark can be communicated).
Ɣ The number of available sponsorship objects is limited.
Ɣ The costs for sports event sponsorships are usually high.
Dynamic developments affect the future activities of sponsors, sponsees and the
media. This inÀuence can proceed in a positive as well as in a negative sense and
should be included in the evaluation of sports sponsorship. The restrictions on
advertising for tobacco products, which has an inÀuence on the commitment of
sponsors of Formula 1 racing, serve as an example. Unclear legal regulations in
conjunction with an increasingly intense competitive situation among advertisers
lead to further problems. Particularly in times of economic strain, this will
frequently result in a re-evaluation of sponsorships. It has become apparent that in
the future sports sponsorship will be associated not only with opportunities, but
with risks as well.
2.1.5 Developmental trends

Following the boom experienced by sports sponsorship in the late 1980s and early
1990s, relative calm has now set in. An important indicator of this is that the Àood
of publications on sports sponsorship appears to be subsiding somewhat. However
this in no way signals a declining role of sports sponsorship – on the contrary: the
predictions for sports sponsorship are that it will probably continue to grow. What
it does indicate is that dealing with sponsorship has become the norm. By now,
sports sponsorship is methodically sound and well-founded and conceptually
integrated into communications policy (Drees 2003; Nufer and Bühler 2011c).
Sports events in particular offer companies new ways to use communications to
spotlight their brands and products. Agencies are constantly endeavouring to develop
new forms of execution. That is why, apart from of¿cial sponsorship of attractive
sports events, in recent years an alternative opportunity to take advantage of mega
events for advertising communications purposes has been increasingly observed in
practice: ambush marketing. Ambushers attempt to bene¿t from the success of
sports sponsorship without incurring the obligations of an of¿cial sponsor.
2.2 Classi¿cation of ambush marketing within the overarching

concept of guerrilla marketing
These days, companies are primarily engaged in a communications competition
and no longer in competition over products. Due to intensi¿ed communications
efforts, the attempt is being made to counter the increasing homogenisation of
products by achieving a needs-oriented differentiation (Esch 2005). The
communications market is undergoing economic, communicative and social
changes that are making reorientation of communications policy a necessity. The
willingness of the public to be subjected to a static, continuously repetitive and
thereby allegedly boring constant stream of information and communication
continues to drop (Zerr 2003; Langner 2005). According to various studies, the
level of information overload of a German consumer is between 95 and 98 per
cent – i.e. only a minute fraction of the information being offered has even the
slightest chance of being absorbed by consumers (Kroeber-Riel and Esch 2004;
Nufer and Bender 2008).
To keep scatter loss as low as possible, an inter-instrumental shift is taking place
in favour of non-classical communications tools, as the failure of classical,
conventional forms of advertising to be effective becomes increasingly evident.
This is giving rise to a demand for innovative new marketing strategies such as
guerrilla marketing. As a form of guerrilla marketing, ambush marketing offers new
and unusual opportunities to counter the increasing consumer aversion to advertising.
2.2.1 Characterisation of guerrilla marketing

The term “guerrilla” originates with the military. “Guerrilla” is the diminutive of
the Spanish word for war, “guerra”. Thus, “guerrilla” is equivalent to “small war”
or “partisan warfare” whose goal it is to weaken the opponent in certain spots
(Schulte 2007: 28).
The transfer of the guerrilla concept to marketing terminology results in diverse
interpretations and opinions as to the implementation and functions of guerrilla
marketing. The fundamental determinant in characterising guerrilla marketing is
its unconventional nature (Zerr 2003; Schulte 2008). “Guerrilla Marketing is a
body of unconventional ways of pursuing conventional goals. It is a proven
method of achieving pro¿ts with minimum money” (Levinson 2008b: w.p.).
One of the most comprehensive de¿nitions of guerrilla marketing thus far
comes from Zerr (cited in Schulte 2007: 16), who describes guerrilla marketing as
an alternative, holistic marketing approach:
The concept guerrilla marketing designates the selection of atypical and non-
dogmatic marketing activities that aim to achieve the greatest possible impact
with a minimum investment. Guerrilla marketing has developed into a basic
strategy overarching the marketing mix, a basic marketing policy attitude for
market development that goes off the beaten track to consciously seek new,
unconventional, previously disregarded, possibly even frowned-upon
possibilities for the deployment of tools.
There are many other approaches to de¿ning and attempts at circumscribing the
term guerrilla marketing. In reviewing these, one can identify constantly recurring
constituent characteristics of guerrilla marketing. According to these, guerrilla
marketing is (Patalas 2006; Jäckel 2007; Schulte 2007; Levinson 2008a):
Ɣ unconventional
Ɣ surprising
Ɣ original/creative
Ɣ cheeky/provocative
Ɣ cost-ef¿cient/effective
Ɣ Àexible
Ɣ unusual/atypical
Ɣ funny/witty
Ɣ spectacular
Ɣ contagious
In summary, it can be stated that the philosophy of guerrilla marketing consists of

attaining conventional marketing objectives with unconventional methods
(Förster and Kreuz 2006). Thus, surprising content can turn a classical advertising
vehicle or medium into a guerrilla marketing activity. In this way, guerrilla
marketing does not make traditional marketing obsolete, but has a supportive
point-to-point effect and helps the marketing mix, mainly the communications
mix, to take on an innovative new face (Patalas 2006; Jäckel 2007). At its core,
guerrilla marketing aims to be different and to attract attention (Schulte 2007). As
a rule, a comparatively smaller investment (than is common for traditional
marketing) should achieve as great an impact as possible.
2.2.2 Guerrilla marketing as a strategy

Guerrilla marketing is a philosophy and an attitude that must be deeply ingrained
in the company (Patalas 2006). At the same time guerrilla marketing varies with
the size of the company, which is why Levinson (2007: 17) states “different wars
require different tactics”. In literature there can be found a differentiation of three
distinct strategies that can be implemented using guerrilla marketing. Guerrilla
marketing as an attack strategy, as niche marketing and as a strategy for small and
mid-sized companies (Zerr 2003; Patalas 2006; Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and
Wong 2007; Schulte 2007).
2.2.2.1 Attack strategy

Based on the military origin of the term guerrilla and the obvious association,
guerrilla marketing may initially be designated as an attack strategy. This is a
competition-directed marketing strategy, focusing on a particular competitor, the
recipient of this unexpected attack (Durö and Sandström 1986; Welling 2005).
There are ¿ve different types of attack strategy (Kotler, Armstrong, Saunders and
Wong 2007), discussed below.
The frontal attack and the encirclement strategy aim at the general weakening
of the market leader. They relate to all areas of the marketing mix. Suf¿cient
¿nancial resources are essential for the success of both strategies.
A focus on the competitor’s unprotected or unattended market segments due to
concentration on the core business is the essence of the Àank attack and the
circumvention strategy. These strategies are particularly applicable if the
challenger has fewer resources available than does the market leader.
In contrast to the above, the guerrilla attack comprises multiple small, point-
by-point attacks with a cumulative effect. The element of surprise is the decisive
component of this strategy. The strategic expediency of the guerrilla attack is
primarily suited for smaller companies with weak ¿nancial resources due to its
short-term concentration of power.
2.2.2.2 Niche strategy

The objective of a niche strategy is the focus and concentration on a very speci¿c
and narrowly con¿ned buyer segment. Companies who serve niche markets are
distinctive for the “otherness” of their range of products and services. As a niche
strategy, guerrilla marketing incorporates the requirement for the development or
creation of new niches and the defence of traditional market niches (Porter 1992;
Schulte 2007).
The example of the American fast food restaurant “Heart Attack Grill”, that
serves only unhealthy products, is an impressive personi¿cation of the niche idea
of guerrilla marketing (see Figure 2.4). The name of the restaurant itself already
implies its unconventional positioning and the promotion of a counter-trend in
nutritional behaviour. The high-calorie orders are served by attractive young
“nurses” in skimpy nurses’ costumes, who also offer carafes of beer and un¿ltered
cigarettes. This unusual niche positioning provided the Arizona enterprise with a
great deal of media resonance in the American and even in the Japanese press. In
addition, they established an extraordinary pricing model: “All You Can Eat &
Drink” for $499 a year.
2.2.2.3 Strategy for small and medium-sized companies

The guerrilla marketing approach that is based on the attributes of ingenuity,
unconventionality and Àexibility, is often applied by small and mid-sized enterprises,
due to their optimal ful¿lment of these prerequisites. Thereby, it is not uncommon
for the premise of guerrilla marketing to be the optimum application of scarce
available resources. However, the effectiveness of the marketing strategy is less a
factor of the ¿nancial budget than of creativity, resourcefulness and unconventional
advertising measures (Levinson and Godin 1996; Schulte 2007).
2.2.3 Marketing mix for guerrilla marketing

With its creative and unconventional approaches, guerrilla marketing can enrich
the entire marketing mix, although typically in varying degrees of frequency of
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Figure 2.4 Guerrilla strategy of the “Heart Attack Grill” (source: http://www.
heartattackgrill.com (accessed 1 July 2008))
Marketing Mix
Product Price Promotion Place

70%
10% 10% 10%
Guerrilla Marketing
Figure 2.5 Application of guerrilla marketing in the marketing mix (adapted from: Schulte
(2007: 20))
application (see Figure 2.5). Guerrilla marketing functions as a bundle of

accompanying measures that make strategic and tactical modi¿cations to the
classical marketing mix to provide the company with an advantage through
context-speci¿c unusualness.
The concept of guerrilla marketing was initially practised before it found its
way, with some delay, into academic literature. Therefore the following
classi¿cation of guerrilla marketing within the marketing mix draws on vivid
examples of its practical application.
2.2.3.1 Guerrilla product policy

Since the year 2000, gherkins of the Spreewaldhof brand have also been available
in tins. Spreewaldhof packs its popular 250g gherkins individually, stylishly in
ring-pull aluminium tins that are sold at petrol stations, supermarkets, discotheques
and ¿tness centres (see Figure 2.6). The break with the predominant stereotypical
packaging of gherkins in a glass jar as well as with the conventional distribution
channels is apparent. These unusual measures aim at gaining a competitive
advantage over competitors (Schulte 2007). In the context of the product policy,
guerrilla marketing can, for example, exert some inÀuence on decision-making
factors with regard to the actual product, the packaging and the choice of a name.
Figure 2.6 Example of guerrilla product policy (source: http://www.spreewaldhof.net

(accessed 1 July 2008))
2.2.3.2 Guerrilla price policy
As early as the 1980s Drypers, then a newcomer on the American nappy market,
attacked market leader Procter & Gamble and its Pampers brand with an aggressive
pricing strategy with its low-priced nappies. Procter & Gamble reacted with a
coupon promotion that offered consumers a generous discount of US$2 with the
purchase of P&G nappies. But Drypers retaliated cleverly. They offered customers
the option of also using the P&G coupons for the purchase of Drypers nappies – with
success. The guerrilla element in this course of action is primarily the Àexibility and
canniness of Drypers, in turning the weapon directed at them around and using it as
their own. Thus, guerrilla marketing decisions are also applicable to price policy.
2.2.3.3 Guerrilla distribution policy

Customers who in 2003 had pre-ordered the ¿fth volume of the popular Harry Potter
series entitled The Order of the Phoenix from the Weltbild publishing house were
free to choose the time of delivery. The special aspect here was the option of Àash
delivery by the German post, at the witching hour between 00.00 and 02.00 hours
on the night of the publication date – and without any additional charge. In so doing,
Weltbild wanted to offer its customers an unusual service and a time advantage.
This makes it clear that guerrilla marketing can also be used in distribution policy.
2.2.3.4 Guerrilla communications policy

However, guerrilla principles can be most ef¿ciently integrated in communications
policy-related measures. Viewed from this perspective, guerrilla marketing is
among the non-classical forms of communications policy (“below the line”
activities). The deployment of classical tools of the communications mix forms
the basis upon which guerrilla marketing is selectively applied as an additive,
surprising component of integrated communications. The consensus in literature
is that guerrilla marketing is primarily used as a communications policy (Jäckel
2007; Schulte 2007; Levinson 2008a). Therefore, the following section will deal
with the various application possibilities of guerrilla marketing in terms of
communications policy in greater detail. Ambush marketing, that generally has a
communications policy emphasis, should also be classi¿ed in this context.
Overall, guerrilla marketing cannot and does not seek to replace the classical
marketing mix, but rather to illustrate new directions and, as a comprehensive new
concept, support the proven marketing tools and supplement them with
unconventional elements (Patalas 2006; Schulte 2007).
2.2.4 Guerrilla marketing tools

Guerrilla marketing can be implemented with diverse tools. Thereby, until now no
uniform categorisation of these instruments has prevailed. Schulte (2007)
subsumes the most important instruments of guerrilla marketing in the three
categories: “Low-budget”, “New media” and “Out-of-home” (see Figure 2.7).
Tools of Guerrilla Marketing
Low-Budget New Media Out-of-Home

Guerrilla Marketing Guerrilla Marketing Guerrilla Marketing
Applies primarily Viral Marketing Ambient Marketing

for small and Guerrilla Mobile Sensation Marketing
mid-sized companies Ambush Marketing
Figure 2.7 Overview of tools of guerrilla marketing (adapted from: Schulte (2007: 20))
Low-budget guerrilla marketing is particularly suited for small and mid-sized

companies that have only very limited budgets at their disposal. While new media
guerrilla marketing attempts to make use of the opportunities provided by the new
media such as the World Wide Web and mobile communications, out-of-home
guerrilla marketing concentrates on communications instruments that are
employed in the public space or at special locations.
2.2.4.1 Low-budget guerrilla marketing

For small and mid-sized companies the emphasis of their communications policy
is on the direct address of the (regional) target group with creative, unusual and
quirky ideas. Their aim is to underscore special features and “otherness”, thereby
imbuing the company with a special signi¿cance in the eyes of consumers. This
approach thrives primarily on a long-term, consistent commitment (Schulte and
Pradel 2006; Jäckel 2007). Examples as to how awareness can be attained with
cost-ef¿cient low-budget marketing activities include eye-catching calling cards
that project a clear and simple message or specially dressed-up promotion teams
distributing original Àyers and giveaways.
2.2.4.2 New media guerrilla marketing

New media guerrilla marketing includes viral marketing and mobile marketing.
VIRAL MARKETING
The “infection strategy” of viral marketing is similar to that of biological viruses:

however, instead of the proliferation of pathogens, the focus here is on the
exponential dissemination of a marketing message. By recommending a product
or service to friends or acquaintances, consumers themselves become the
advertising vehicles – whereby neither the transmitter nor the receiver of
the message perceives the recommendation as advertising. The dissemination
of the message can take place ofÀine by word-of-mouth communication
(mouth-to-mouth propaganda, buzz marketing) or online, virtually “from mouse
to mouse” (Langner 2005; Förster and Kreuz 2006; Patalas 2006; Schulte and
Pradel 2006). For example, within only six months Johnny Walker’s free PC
game “Grouse Hunt” was downloaded from the Internet by a total of 40 million
users, thus propelling the brand to immense awareness levels.
A further outstanding example of a viral marketing campaign is the marketing
of the low-budget ¿lm The Blair Witch Project. The guerrilla campaign began as
early as two years before the ¿lm hit the cinemas in 1999. The ‘Independent Film
Channel’ broadcast an unusual documentary about the disappearance of three
students in the forests of the state of Maryland in the United States. The television
channel associated the disappearance with a spooky witch legend, which was
reinforced by the statements of both the ¿lmmakers Myrick and Sanchez during
an interview. Their assertions that they were in possession of mysterious
videotapes subsequently unleashed curiosity and sensationalist cravings among
the public. With the design and launch of a website, the falsi¿cation of police
documents and photographic evidence as well as accompanying reports in high-
circulation magazines (such as Time Magazine and Newsweek) they generated
additional free PR (see Figure 2.8). The website of the documentary ¿lm project
recorded 100,000 hits after one week, a number that grew to over two million by
the launch of the ¿lm. The public was infected by the Blair Witch virus and
captivated (Langner 2005; Schulte 2007).
GUERRILLA MOBILE
Mobile marketing deals with the transmission of messages via mobile phones.
Here, the jumping-off point for the use of guerrilla marketing is the fact that today
the smartphone has advanced to the status of steady companion for many people
in all life situations, thereby making the consumer approachable at any given time.
By sending creative and humorous messages, for example via SMS, the objective
is not only to have the advertising messages instantly read and absorbed, but
ideally also immediately passed on to friends and acquaintances. The close
Figure 2.8 Example of viral marketing (source: http://en.wikipedia.org (accessed 1 July

2008))
association with viral marketing is obvious. As the options – with infrared,
Bluetooth and MMS – steadily become more diversi¿ed, the signi¿cance of the
mobile communications market for companies continues to grow (Schulte and
Pradel 2006; Jäckel 2007).
In the run-up to the cinema release of the thriller Hide and Seek the ¿lm
production company Twentieth Century Fox sent 100,000 young people a text
message with the following content: “Why don’t you turn around …”. By scrolling
down the message, the initially bafÀed target persons were able to learn the
solution: “You don’t see me! I am hiding. HIDE AND SEEK, the horror thriller
now at the cinema. www.fox.de” (Jäckel 2007).
2.2.4.3 Out-of-home guerrilla marketing

Out-of-home guerrilla marketing encompasses the tools of ambient marketing,
sensation marketing and ambush marketing. To begin with, the ¿rst two of these
will be introduced below while ambush marketing will be presented in detail in
the following section.
AMBIENT MARKETING
Ambient media is a collective term that aggregates all non-classical advertising

media. Ambient media are placed and integrated in the direct living environment
of consumers – they are therefore not perceived as annoying, but rather often seen
as likeable and original (e.g. postcards in trendy pubs, shower gel samples in
locker rooms of ¿tness studios). Special hallmarks of ambient marketing are the
radical nature, the speed and the creativity with which the public space is co-opted.
Consumers are taken by surprise with advertising where they don’t anticipate it.
The advertising message is transmitted in popular locations such as clubs, bus
stops, the baggage conveyer at the airport or petrol pumps while refuelling. Here,
switching channels is not an option. Ambient marketing can be planned and is
repeatable (Förster and Kreuz 2006; Schulte 2007).
The advertising industry has found that public lavatories are a place where
“induced forced involvement”, i.e. a high-involvement situation, can be generated
and used for the placement of advertising messages (see Figure 2.9).
SENSATION MARKETING
Sensation marketing is basically very similar to ambient marketing. The main

difference being that as a general rule sensation marketing activities are one-time
occurrences, and not repeatable. The aim is to surprise and fascinate the consumers
and produce an “aha” or a “wow” effect. The terms “guerrilla sensation” and
“ambient stunt” represent unusual, spectacular special activities (Schulte and
Pradel 2006; Jäckel 2007).
Guerrilla sensation refers to a dynamic activity involving people. An example
of this would be the “Street Show” of jeans brand Lee that staged unannounced
fashion shows on the streets of large German cities.
Figure 2.9 Examples of ambient marketing (source: http://www.sit-watch.de (accessed 1

July 2008))
Figure 2.10 Examples of sensation marketing (source: http://www.adverblog.de (accessed

1 July 2008))
On the other hand, the ambient stunt entails a spectacular static installation whose
presentation is no less unconventional. The media-effective activities are
conducted at strategic, high-traf¿c locations in order to generate a great deal of
attention. This form of guerrilla marketing also makes use of multipliers such as
media dissemination and viral effects in order to inform as broad a public as
possible of the stunt (Patalas 2006; Schulte 2007). The auto rental company Sixt
has been attracting attention for several years with Àashy guerrilla sensation
activities, and sports equipment maker Nike attempts to regularly surprise its
target audience with sensation marketing (see Figure 2.10).
A selective distinction and unambiguous categorisation of the various guerrilla

marketing instruments is not possible. On the contrary, the individual instruments
complement one another and thus function synergistically to produce the actual
impact of guerrilla marketing.
2.2.5 Critical assessment

Guerrilla marketing involves a concept that has been heavily driven by business
or corporate practice. The shortage, up to now, of scienti¿cally substantiated
knowledge on the subject matter of guerrilla marketing, its instruments and its
categorisation may be interpreted from two different points of view: guerrilla
marketing cannot be classi¿ed or guerrilla marketing is dif¿cult to classify.
New opportunities for marketing arise from the changes taking place in markets,
in communications and consumers. Jung and von Matt (2002: 21) have determined
that “It is good to know the most important rules of communication, for then one
can break them more purposefully”. Guerrilla marketing attempts to counteract
the prevailing marketing monotony and to get a hold of consumers in the space
where classical marketing abandons them. Today, guerrilla marketing is therefore
viewed as an especially spectacular and media-effective complement to the
classical marketing mix. The prevailing dynamics and spontaneity of this concept
increase the willingness of advertiser companies and consumers to interact. The
emotion-spiked messages facilitate the decoding of the encrypted message and its
absorption by consumers. Guerrilla marketing is emotional and effective, and yet
at the same time inexpensive. It helps marketers to establish a brand as the friend
of the customer (Conceptbakery 2008).
Guerrilla marketing should be new, brash and provocative. The consequence of
this is that guerrilla marketers often ¿nd themselves operating in a moral and legal
grey area, in a balancing act between morality and bad taste or legality and
illegality that results from the requirement to breach taboos and the associated
greater attention levels. As opposed to classical marketing methods, the result is
higher potential for moral and legal conÀict. Cautious and meticulous planning in
the execution of guerrilla activities is called for, as guerrilla marketing may thwart
the brand building and image of the company with such an activity. Accompanied
by the break with conventions and mores, guerrilla marketing ranges between
fascination and annoyance, and this can have a negative effect on the image and
may even destroy the core values of the brand (Zerr 2003; Schulte 2007).
2.2.6 Developmental trends

Guerrilla marketing is increasingly developing into an effective spearhead of the
marketing or communications mix, to gain a decisive advantage in the battle for
the attention and the receptiveness of the consumer. Guerrilla marketing operates
by the simple principle: KISS – keep it simple, stupid (Nufer 2012).
Guerrilla marketing is a dynamic concept that sheds its skin again and again, as
it circumvents the traditional old methods and their application. The release from
the bonds of marketing convention has consistently attested to the endlessness of
opportunities inherent in marketing. Levinson (2007: 3) summarises it as follows:
“Marketing has a beginning and a middle but not an ending.”
2.3 Characterisation of ambush marketing as a guerrilla alternative

to sports event sponsorship
Ambush marketing is directly linked to sensation marketing, in that an attempt is
made to use spectacular activities in the context of a (sports) event to weaken the
communications effectiveness of a competitor and to bene¿t from the event as a
free rider. Thus, ambush marketing represents an alternative to (sports) event
sponsorship.
2.3.1 The de¿nition of ambush marketing

“To ambush” means to attack from a hidden position. In popular sources, ambush
marketing is frequently used synonymously with terms such as “coattail
marketing”, “parasitic marketing” and “freerider marketing”. Of¿cial sponsors
de¿ne these ambushes on high-priced advertising rights as “theft” and emphasise
the illegal aspects of ambush marketing (Payne 1998; Townley, Harrington and
Couchman 1998). However, there are also representatives of the opposite
standpoint. They see ambush marketing as a “legitimate power” that facilitates
more ef¿ciency in the sponsorship market. “All this talk about unethical ambushing
is … intellectual rubbish and postured by people who are sloppy marketers”
(Welsh 2002: w.p.).
Therefore, the phenomenon of ambush marketing is not new, but in recent
years it has become signi¿cantly more professional. Although initially the subject
was almost exclusively taken up by Anglo-American authors, it is no longer an
(Anglo)-American phenomenon. The growing aggressiveness in the
communications and sponsorship markets has resulted in the fact that marketing
can be observed worldwide and that it continues to grow. Since thus far no uniform
de¿nition of ambush marketing has been able to prevail, different de¿nition
approaches should be contemplated.
An early scienti¿c de¿nition of ambush marketing originates with Meenaghan
(1994: 79). He describes ambush marketing as “the practice whereby another
company, often a competitor, intrudes upon public attention surrounding the
event, thereby deÀecting attention toward themselves and away from the sponsor”.
In contrast, Bortoluzzi Dubach and Frey (2002: 149) characterise ambush
marketing as “unauthorised free riding, in which the outsider bene¿ts from an
event without himself being a sponsor”.
For the observations below, the following de¿nition shall be applied: ambush
marketing is the practice by companies of using their own marketing, particularly
marketing communications activities, to give an impression of an association with
the event to the event audience, although the companies in question have no legal
or only underprivileged or non-exclusive marketing rights for this event sponsored
by third parties. Thus, ambushers want to promote and sell products via an
association with the event as of¿cial sponsors are allowed to do.
2.3.2 Reasons for the emergence of ambush marketing

The strong growth of sponsorship was one of the most striking developments of
communications policy in recent years. Since the mid 1980s, worldwide
sponsorship volume has approximately quintupled (Bruhn 2003). Almost three-
quarters of the total expenditures for sponsorship currently go into sports. While
in 1990 the results of a survey of companies indicated that less than 40 per cent of
companies were using sports sponsorship (Drees 1992), today it is up to
approximately 85 per cent (Hermanns 2008). Thus, sports sponsorship has become
an everyday occurrence. It is therefore not surprising that it is primarily
international events that are utilised by numerous companies to embed their target
group-oriented communications in an attractive sports environment. Sports-
related mega events in particular have enormous appeal for the public and thus
also for companies who advertise. The increasing attractiveness of sports event
sponsorship is also accompanied by an increase in ambush marketing.
Furthermore, additional parallel developments have contributed to or facilitated
the growing prevalence of ambush marketing: ¿rst of all, saturated markets as
well as progressive product uniformity require emotionalised product
differentiation through communications. The rapid rise in sponsorship expenditures
in the past two decades is evidence of the key function of sports event sponsorship
and that especially international mega events are at the focal point of sponsors’
interests. The increasing intensity of competition in the sponsorship market has
led to a price explosion for sponsorship and the result is that not all companies
with an interest in an event can afford or are willing to take on of¿cial sponsorship
commitment. This development is attended by a parallel surge in the fees for
broadcast rights for mega events. Not least because of the necessity to re¿nance,
an expansion of protected advertising opportunities often ensues. Finally, it is the
design of the rules and regulations for sponsorship at mega events (e.g. the
guarantee of industry exclusivity for of¿cial sponsors) that often deprives
competitors of any chance of “legitimately” establishing contact with their target
group in the context of the event, thereby actually creating a provocation to
conduct ambush activities (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Nufer 2005).
2.3.3 Attributes of ambush marketing

The essential features of ambush marketing may be summarised as follows
(Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Sportlink 2003; Nufer 2005):
Ɣ Ambush marketing involves a conscious or planned attempt by a company to

weaken the effectiveness of the activities of an of¿cial sponsor.
Ɣ Ambush marketing is most notably practised by direct industry competitors
of authorised sponsors and serves primarily as an alternative to event
sponsorship.
Ɣ What happens is a deception of the target group with regard to the connection
between the sponsorship occasion and the sponsor or the ambusher; due to
ambush marketing, attention is drawn away from the of¿cial sponsor and
shifted to the ambusher.
Ɣ The aim is an association with a speci¿c event or project at relatively low
cost; ambush marketing makes the ¿nancial contribution of sponsors appear
in some measure as unnecessary.
2.3.4 Objectives of ambush marketing
The idea of ambush marketing is to capitalise on the success of sports event
sponsorship without taking on the intrinsic obligations of an of¿cial sponsor. The
objectives of ambush marketers are therefore largely identical to those of the
event sponsors, but are to be attained with reduced ¿nancial expenditure (Pechtl
2007; Nufer and Bühler 2011d). The objectives of ambush marketing can thus be
deduced from the objectives of sponsorship. Their primary function is the
achievement of psychological and/or communicative aims (see Figure 2.11).
Ultimately, the exploitation of the marketing potential of a sports event implies
the targeting of economic objectives such as sales, revenue, market share and
pro¿t. This is to be understood as directly related to the range of event-related
products and services.
The pre-economic (psychological) objectives are situated primarily in the area
of communications impact. Like sponsors, ambushers target psychological
objectives such as attention to their own advertising, the increase of their awareness
levels as well as a sense of being current. They aspire to image enhancements on
one hand through their supposed sponsorship goodwill as well as an image transfer
from positive attributes of the sports event to the image of the product or the
company.
In addition to these goals, ambush activities also feature explicit competition-
oriented objectives. The intent is to diminish the communications-political
effectiveness of the sponsorship, thereby weakening the competition (e.g. by
obviating the exclusivity of the sponsorship, the reduction of the share of voice of
the sponsors or obstructing the sponsors’ advertising).
2.3.5 Different forms of event marketing

Events (in a narrower sense) are person-focused service offers generating limited-
time bene¿ts that are provided under conditions of time–space integration for
multiple customers (Wochnowski 1996). In the following, the various options for
event marketing are distinguished from one another in succession.
Target Variables of Ambush Marketing
economic psychological competition-orientated
sales, attention awareness image weakening

turnover, topicality goodwill of competition,
market share, reduction of
profit effectiveness
of sponsorship
Figure 2.11 Objectives of ambush marketing

In a ¿rst step, one can basically differentiate between two different perceptions
within the scope of event marketing (Nufer 2002a, 2012):
Ɣ Marketing at events: already existing events are utilised by companies as

advertising vehicles for their messages. Thus, the communicative address
takes place in an externally organised context, i.e. the initiative stems from
professional organisers and not from the sponsors. The latter use an existing
event as an attractive platform for their communications policy.
Ɣ Marketing with events: companies orchestrate events speci¿cally to promote
products or brands and use these as communications platforms. The event is
initiated by the company itself. The staged brand world should be experientially
tangible for the consumer and lead to the consumer’s emotional bond with the
brand.
Thus, marketing at sports events (e.g. Olympics or Football World Cups) is

classi¿ed with sponsorship, speci¿cally with its manifestation as event sponsorship.
On the other hand, marketing with events is to be classi¿ed as event marketing.
Event sponsorship and event marketing can be distinguished from one another in
terms of the more narrowly de¿ned constitutive attributes of event marketing (see
Table 2.1).
In a second step, there is a need to further differentiate within the perception of
“marketing at events”: for internationally active companies in particular, the
context of a major sports event is the ideal platform for a company to gain the
limelight in front of a global audience, in terms of its advertising communications.
That is why event organisers sell privileged marketing rights for their events to
sponsors. In so doing, of¿cial sponsors acquire exclusive rights to advertise with
Table 2.1 Differentiation of event sponsorship from event marketing
Type of unilateral interactive

communication informative experience-oriented
Type of execution
external integrated in Event sponsorship Trade fairs

organisation existing
framework, (e.g. of a Football (e.g. trade fair
n World Cup) participation)
~ independent of
~ the company
~ n
~ ~ Sales promotions Event marketing
~ ~
~ p (e.g. distribution of (e.g. organisation of
p speci¿cally giveaways) streetball tournaments)
self-initiated staged by the
company
the event and in its context. Ambush marketing, on the other hand, is practised by
companies who, their lack of legal marketing rights for an event notwithstanding,
use their communications activities to indicate a connection to this event to their
audience. Thereby, ambush marketers seek to bene¿t from the success of sports
sponsorship, without taking on the obligations of an of¿cial sponsor.
The two communications options event sponsorship and ambush marketing
may be further differentiated from one another (see Table 2.2).
In contrast to event sponsorship, with ambush marketing no authorised
exchange relationship exists between the event organiser and the advertiser
company. The ambusher does not provide the organisation responsible for the
event with ¿nancial or other resources, while the event organiser does not award
the ambusher with any rights whatsoever for the communications-related use of
the event.
Only of¿cial sponsors are granted permission to present their communications
messages at the event, for example in the form of perimeter advertising, and in this
way to reach the on-site spectators on one hand, and additionally access media
users via media reporting on the event, on the other.
Sponsors can and may integrate their event sponsorship commitment in
additional communications instruments, such as classical advertising. A cross-
linked use of a sponsorship offers many options for the design of the
communications message and the degree of event reference through the use of
of¿cial logos and brand names.
At major sports events such as the Olympics or Football World Cups and
European Championships, stringent rights protection programmes prevent
unlawful use of of¿cial brands in the environment of the event by non-sponsors.
Since sponsors are frequently also granted rights of ¿rst refusal and industry
exclusivity for advertising opportunities in the media-related advertising
environment of an event, ambushers have to turn to other advertising spaces or
media.
Table 2.2 Differentiation of event sponsorship from ambush marketing (adapted from:
Nufer (2010: 38))
Features Event Ambush

sponsorship marketing
Exchange relationship between company and event yes no
Use of advertising space at the event yes no
Use of of¿cial logos and brand names of the event in yes no
integrated communications
Use of advertising space in the media-related yes no
environment
Thematic reference to the event in communications yes yes
Ambushers can only establish a thematic reference to an event with the contextual
design of their communications activities and/or their selection of tools. Often
public ¿gures associated with the sports event are used as testimonials for this
purpose.
Thus, there are a total of three completely different possibilities for using a sports
event in terms of advertising within the framework of corporate communications
(Nufer 2010):
Ɣ event sponsorship
Ɣ event marketing
Ɣ ambush marketing
In the following chapter, attention will be focused on ambush marketing. In the

in-depth discussion of this newest opportunity in the context of event marketing
there will be a continuous reference to the comparison with event sponsorship.
3 Ambush marketing in
practice
Football World Cup championships cumulatively reach well over 30 billion

television viewers worldwide, thus being the most popular sports event by far.
3.1 Discussion of selected spectacular cases of ambush marketing

Thus, Football World Cups provide a welcome opportunity for companies to align
their advertising activities with the event. The following presents several
particularly striking examples of ambushing activities that were observed in the
context of the 2006 and 2010 Football World Cups.
3.1.1 Lufthansa
Although Emirates was the of¿cial airline partner of the FIFA World Cup, in 2006
Lufthansa (as partner of the German Football Association (DFB) and thus the
regular carrier of the German national team) announced con¿dently “We are the
airline of the World Cup”. Although this statement referred to the anticipated
additional passengers, the company consistently aligned its marketing activities
with this as its guiding theme, before and during the event. Since Emirates had
limited landing rights in Germany, Lufthansa assumed transportation for the 32
participating teams within Germany and was adept at perfectly orchestrating the
media and communications effectiveness of this fact by painting 50 aircraft noses
as football balls (see Figure 3.1, left). Images of these were depicted in various
print ads as well as outdoor and online advertising activities. Lufthansa presented
itself as “Germany’s Football Airline”. Additional connections to the World Cup
were established by the creation of a DFB partner logo and the launch of the
website www.lh2006.com, on which football fans were informed of up-to-the-
minute football news and background topics and could participate in a World Cup
quiz. Passengers were “tuned” to the World Cup theme using measures including
“penalty area carpets” in front of check-in counters (see Figure 3.1, right), the
publication of a free daily World Cup newspaper and the distribution of a wide
variety of World Cup giveaways.
Ambush marketing in practice 39
Figure 3.1 Ambush marketing by Lufthansa (source: http://www.lh2006.com (accessed 2

August 2006))
3.1.2 Burger King

Based on its partnership with FIFA, McDonald’s secured the exclusive rights in
the restaurant industry. Nevertheless, competitor Burger King also sought to use
various measures to bene¿t from the World Cup 2006 (see Figure 3.2). The focal
point of the Burger King commitment involved a campaign with the slogan “show
true greatness” featuring a testimonial with Oliver Kahn, a famous German
goalkeeper. In 2006 the self-appointed “of¿cial partner of German football fans”
Burger King used its Internet commercial showing Kahn – appropriate for his
position as reserve goalkeeper of the national team during the championship –
sitting on a park bench eating burgers, and also ran it on TV – supposedly because
of the great demand. The commercial was supported by radio spots and e-cards
and an online vote for the best World Cup burger within the promotion “Eleven
for Germany”. Furthermore, in the World Cup year 2006 Burger King was a
sponsor of the “FIFI Wild Cup”, a football tournament run by several non-FIFA
countries that was also held in Germany right before the Football World Cup. The
event generated special attention, not only on account of its exotic participants,
but also due to TV commentaries of the event by Oliver Pocher and Elton, two
German TV moderators popular with the younger Burger King target group.
3.1.3 Puma
Adidas is a long-term partner of FIFA and is also equipment supplier of the
German Football Federation. Not least due to previous negative experience with
competing ambushers of the sports equipment industry, during the 2006 World
Cup adidas conducted its “+10” campaign, the biggest football marketing
campaign in the history of the company, to cede as little potential as possible to
ambush marketing by competitors. At the 2006 World Cup competitor Puma was
the most frequently represented equipment supplier with a total of 12 national
teams playing in Puma jerseys, among them also subsequent World Champion
Italy. By means of its cooperation with the Berlin pedicab enterprise Velotaxi
GmbH and the airline dba, Puma was able to draw additional attention to itself
40 Ambush marketing in practice
Figure 3.2 Ambush marketing by Burger King (source: http://www.burgerking.de

(accessed 2 August 2006))
Figure 3.3 Ambush marketing by Puma (source: http://www.velotaxi.de (accessed 2

August 2006))
(see Figure 3.3): by out¿tting the entire Àeet of Velotaxi’s pedicabs with the Puma
logo and design, the company was able to circumvent the prohibition against ¿xed
advertising around the Berlin World Cup stadium. In addition, before and during
the World Cup 27 dba planes bore the legend “Welcome to football” in conjunction
with the Puma logo and the on-board crews wore Puma uniforms. Another element
of this campaign was the use of football legend Pelé with a testimonial in a global
TV and print campaign as well as additional activities that took place primarily in
Germany’s capital city Berlin. The link to Pelé was further reinforced by the
of¿cial sponsorship of the “Pelé Station Exhibition”, an exhibition about Pelé’s
life and successes in Berlin. To address local fans directly, Puma offered live
broadcasts of all the games in the Café Moskau, topping these off with appearances
by various entertainers. Furthermore, Puma was actively involved with the charity
organisation Together for Africa and, among others, organised a charity tram that
took the Puma logo all across Berlin. In the role of the challenger Puma also
initiated the biggest marketing campaign in the company’s history.
3.1.4 Ferrero
Ferrero, an international leading producer of chocolates and related snacks and
foods, has been a DFB partner since 1982. It was during the 1982 World Cup that
stickers with pictures of players on the German national team were ¿rst included
with Ferrero products duplo and hanuta. This collector image promotion, that in
the meantime has become a tradition at major football championships, was to be
repeated for the 2006 World Cup. Following a long-standing brand dispute with
FIFA over the labelling of the pictures with the designation “(Football) World
Cup 2006” that had already begun two years before the 2006 World Cup, the
German Federal Supreme Court ¿nally granted Ferrero Germany the right to use
this label in April 2006, i.e. about six weeks before the start of the championship.
The generic logo created by Ferrero, including only a football, the German Àag
and the year 2006, was hurriedly printed on the packages and used in the
advertising (see Figure 3.4). The success of this promotion may be determined in
Figure 3.4 Ambush marketing by Ferrero (source: http://www.kickblog.de (accessed 2

August 2006))
terms of both economic and psychological target values. Presumably, the collector
images result in a substantial increase in sales and thereby to higher turnover.
Moreover, the promotion’s popularity is also apparent from the “shock and
horror” of consumers who feared that a brand dispute would put an abrupt end to
the beloved collector images and protested. The company’s nutella brand also
advertises with athletes’ testimonials. Since 2004 young German football players
have been its focal point. According to Ferrero, the decisive factor in the selection
of the latter is not their membership in the national team, but rather their
youthfulness, fresh advertising faces, the ¿t with the product and credibility in the
delivery of the message. Consumers should be able to identify with the stars
shown. So before, during and after the World Cup nutella ran TV commercials
and ads using the slogan “home game with nutella” depicting up-and-coming
German football stars Andreas Hinkel, Benjamin Lauth, Kevin Kuranyi and Arne
Friedrich wearing their national jerseys while playing football and eating nutella
on bread. The link to football was further reinforced at the point of sale and
additional attention generated with the offer of a football special edition of the
nutella jar.
3.1.5 Media-Markt
In 2006 Media-Markt was among the ten largest World Cup advertisers without
being an of¿cial World Cup sponsor (Giersberg and Nöcker 2006). The immense
advertising investments of the consumer electronics dealer were distinctly visible
in the numerous TV, cinema and radio commercials and print advertisements that
Media-Markt placed before and during the World Cup. As early as October 2005
they ran a campaign with the slogan “The title’s ours” (see Figure 3.5, left).
Although this message referred to the title “Best Media-Markt ever”, this slogan
offers suf¿cient association to the World Cup – in the same way as the continuation
of the campaign with the slogan “Best fan out¿tter ever”. In this campaign, which
ran from March 2006, Media-Markt generated an additional thematic association
with the event through the witty integration of stereotypical idiosyncrasies of the
participating nations. Inviting comparisons to World Cup stadiums, stores were
presented to customers as “shopping venues” and promotional sales measures
with reference to the World Cup were placed at points of sale. For every goal
scored by the German national team, buyers of television sets (from a speci¿c
price and within a speci¿c time-frame) would retroactively receive a €10 discount
(see Figure 3.5, right). After the elimination of the Dutch national team, a
commercial was placed in which the entertainer Oliver Pocher presented the
World Cup to disappointed Dutch fans sitting in a trailer with the line “This is
what you could have won”, which played on a phrase used by the Dutch presenter
Rudi Carrell, a cult entertainer in Germany.
Figure 3.5 Ambush marketing by Media-Markt (source: http://www.werbeblogger.de

(accessed 2 August 2006))
3.1.6 Bavaria
Before and during the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany, Bavaria, a beer
brand owned by the Dutch Heineken group, distributed about 250,000 samples of
imitation lederhosen in the Dutch national colour orange, bearing the advertising
imprint “Bavaria” (see Figure 3.6). The intention was to have the Dutch fans wear
these lederhosen during their World Cup stay in what was supposedly the
“lederhosen country” of Germany and especially to display these prominently
during their stadium attendances. This strategy was initially successful, as
thousands of Dutch fans showed up wearing the bib-pants at the Netherlands vs.
Ivory Coast group stage game in Stuttgart to – consciously or subconsciously – act
as disseminators transporting unauthorised advertising into the stadiums. In order
to protect the of¿cial sponsors, a rapid decision by the organisers was called for.
FIFA invoked Rule 10 of the tickets’ terms and conditions, which stated that
advertising, commercial, political or religious articles of all types, including

banners, symbols and Àyers … are inadmissible and … may not be brought
into the stadium if the organisation committee has grounds to assume that
these will be displayed in the stadium.
Therefore, the FIFA Rights Protection Team saw to it that all unauthorised Bavaria
advertising items remained outside the stadium gates, i.e. over 1,000 Dutch fans
had to remove their lederhosen, otherwise FIFA would have barred them from
entering the stadium. Although ultimately a repelled ambush attempt, the operation
produced a tremendous amount of attention for Bavaria. The fact that over 1,000
people followed a World Cup game in the stadium in their underpants was picked
up with great interest by the media.
During the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa Bavaria also relied on
ambush marketing and again attained a high level of media attention – this time
with the so-called “beer babes”. The spectators at the preliminary round
Figure 3.6 Ambush marketing by Bavaria 2006 (source: http://blog.karotte.org (accessed

2 August 2006))
Figure 3.7 Ambush marketing by Bavaria 2010 (source: http://www.zeit.de (accessed 14

August 2010))
Netherlands vs. Denmark game in Johannesburg included 36 young women who

showed up in the orange-coloured mini-dresses of the brewery. This time the
Bavaria brand name was only evident on a small label on the seam (see Figure
3.7). Once again, FIFA was rigorous in dealing with this action, had the blondes
removed from the stadium and even brieÀy had their alleged ringleaders arrested.
Then the situation exploded. The World Football Association ¿led suit in court
against the planned promotion. The Dutch embassy assured the women of legal
support. While Bavaria’s advertising intent in 2006 with the clearly visible logo
on the bib-pants was obvious, the brewery’s calculation in 2006 was in¿nitely
more subtle. In the opinion of the author, this is literally cool, calculated ambush
marketing straight from the drawing board. On-site, i.e. in front of and in the
stadium, the action was initially not recognised as ambush marketing. Thus, the
“beer babes” – unlike the fans dressed in orange Bavaria bib-pants four years
earlier – were easily able to make their way into the stadium. Who pays attention
to a few orange-clad girls (with a barely visible Bavaria logo) in a stadium, when
thousands of orange-clad Dutch fans are already there? Again, it was only with the
intervention of FIFA that the ambush marketing activity was exposed as such and
became public knowledge. Only in this way did an initially totally harmless
incident, in terms of advertising effectiveness, make it into the media reports and
achieve such an immense PR impact – and that is precisely what Bavaria wanted
to achieve.
3.2 Critical assessment

As the organiser of major sports events, FIFA has recognised the importance and
signi¿cance of the topic of ambush marketing. It invoked its domiciliary rights in
the World Cup stadia and their environments, in order to prevent ambush
marketing, concluded supplementary contracts with the event venues, deployed
“Ambush Police” in the form of a rights protection team, emphasised the status of
of¿cial sponsors and promoters and requested that the media adhere to the
“guidelines for the use of the FIFA 2006 Football World Cup brands” (see FIFA
2005).
However, the 2006 Football World Cup also showed that despite intensive
defence measures by the organisers, ambush marketing could not be completely
inhibited. For ambushers there are always enough touch points for the initiation
and execution of ambush actions, against which there is no legal or statutory
objection and consequently cannot be prevented. Creativity knows no boundaries.
The defensive measures of the World Football Association to protect its
sponsors lend themselves to controversial discussion. On one hand, it is primarily
the comprehensive registration of brands and the stringent provisions for the
maintenance of industry exclusivity that give uninvolved outsiders the impression
that possibly the commercialisation of the World Cup and thereby of the sport
itself has already gone too far. The competitors of sponsors and the media have
even put forward accusations of “brand monopolisation”, “expropriation” or
“trademark protection fury” against FIFA (Sasdi and Baumann 2006: 8ff.). On the
other hand, of¿cial sponsors of the World Cup in particular point out the many
still existing gaps in the rights protection programme of FIFA, e.g. with regard to
the as yet unattainable total protection of word marks such as “World Cup 2006”,
and complain to FIFA that the latter would have been better served by initiating a
law with comprehensive protection for the sponsors’ brands similar to the Olympic
Protective Act as early as the candidacy for holding the World Cup in Germany
(Reinholz 2005).
4 Structuring the strategies and
manifestations of ambush
marketing
By now, the range of strategies used by ambushers’ strategies has reached almost
unlimited proportions. A systematisation of the manifestations of ambush
marketing can be accomplished in terms of very diverse points of view. This
chapter begins by presenting basic existing approaches drawn from international
literature to differentiate conceivable strategies for ambush marketing. Based on
this, the author will then proceed to develop a model for structuring the various
manifestations of ambush marketing, in the context of which new ideas as well as
modi¿ed parameters of sports event sponsorship are taken into consideration.
4.1 Description and critical assessment of structural approaches in

relevant literature to date
In the following, the approaches and signi¿cant milestones most frequently cited
in literature for systematising ambush marketing will be presented in chronological
order and subjected to critical assessment.
4.1.1 Approach of Meenaghan

Meenaghan (1998) observes a “continuum” of ambush marketing measures in
practice, with these varying particularly in terms of whether and how far legal and
ethical boundaries have been crossed. As “common ambushing strategies” he cites
the following practices that he documents with examples (Meenaghan 1994, 1996,
1998).
“Sponsor media coverage of the event”

If the programme sponsor of the television reporting of a major sports event is a
direct competitor of an of¿cial sponsor, the act of programme sponsorship by the
competitor may be interpreted as ambush marketing. For example, Fuji Film was the
of¿cial sponsor of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, while at the same
time Kodak became the programme sponsor on the American television channel
ABC and “of¿cial ¿lm supplier” of the American track and ¿eld team (Fannin
1988). This is by the way historically one of the ¿rst cases of ambush marking ever.
Structuring the strategies and manifestations of ambush marketing 47
“Sponsor a subcategory within the event and exploit this investment
aggressively”
The basically proper commitment as an of¿cial sponsor in a sponsorship
subcategory becomes ambush marketing when it is accompanied by an “over-
exploitation” of the rights acquired for this subcategory. In a new edition of their
1984 conÀict, in 1988 Kodak became an of¿cial sponsor of the Summer Olympics
in Seoul, while this time Fuji Film slipped into the role of the ambusher, and as the
sponsor of the US swim team, also established an association to Olympics – albeit
at signi¿cantly lower costs (Bayless 1988; Fannin 1988).
“Make a sponsorship-related contribution to the ‘players pool’”

Sponsorship agreements with individual teams or athletes reward many companies
with a presence both at and in the environment of a sports event and in the media
reporting – without the need to be an of¿cial sponsor at the event. Meenaghan
(1998) notes that this form of ambush marketing is now considered a totally
legitimate form of access to an event.
“Engage in advertising that coincides with the sponsored event”

Advertising campaigns that are implemented at the same time as a sports event
generate an association with the event. Whether this is legally or ethically tenable
depends on the individual case. Here Meenaghan differentiates between two cases:
“THEMED ADVERTISING”
One option is represented by advertising with well-known sports protagonists of

the event. In the context of the 1992 Winter Olympics, restaurant chain Wendy’s
ran advertising with ¿gure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, while McDonald’s was the
of¿cial sponsor of the American Olympic team (Jensen 1995). Another option
would be to run classical commercials with content focused on the topic of sports
or the event itself. For example, Nike is traditionally not an of¿cial Olympics
sponsor, but regularly acts as an ambusher. In the 1990s, an intensive TV campaign
featuring famous US sports stars (among others Carl Lewis) was intended to ¿ght
competitor Reebok (Huey 1996).
“USE A TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING STRATEGY”
When a competitor of an of¿cial event sponsor makes the calculated decision to

run TV spots during the advertising breaks of the television broadcast of a sports
event, this can be considered ambush marketing. Meenaghan (1998) notes that in
practice this strategy is becoming increasingly insigni¿cant, since television
channels in many countries now offer these advertising slots ¿rst to of¿cial
sponsors or refuse to place competitors’ advertising in the immediate environment
of a television broadcast of sports events.
48 Structuring the strategies and manifestations of ambush marketing
“Miscellaneous ambushing strategies”
In addition to the already described manifestations of ambush marketing,
companies are constantly developing new, highly creative strategies to associate
themselves with speci¿c sports events. As actual practice indicates, there are no
limits to creativity in this regard: although the Steinlager Brewery was the of¿cial
sponsor of the 1991 Rugby World Championship in Great Britain, competitor
Foster’s initiated a UK campaign featuring the song “Swing Low, Sweet Carry-
Out” (“Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” is the of¿cial hymn of the English Rugby
Team). During the 1996 Football European Championship, Nike blanketed
England with posters depicting football scenes and Nike-supported players, thus
achieving, according to surveys, higher recall values and a closer association with
the event than many an of¿cial sponsor (Nealon 1996).
Overall, Meenaghan doubtless plays a trailblazing role in the examination of the

phenomenon of ambush marketing. In the mid 1990s he was the ¿rst to engage in
intensive scienti¿c research of ambush marketing. His work represents an
authentic pioneering achievement in the scienti¿c penetration and even more so in
the systematisation of ambush marketing. However, his merit is more in the
descriptive listing of the most frequently observed manifestations of the practice
of ambush marketing at that time than in exploratory categorisation and structuring
of conceivable ambush marketing strategies which, if nothing else, is evident
from his residual heading “Miscellaneous”. Nonetheless, almost all subsequent
scienti¿c research is based on his work.
4.1.2 Approach of Bruhn and Ahlers

Bruhn and Ahlers (2003) are the ¿rst scienti¿c marketing scholars in the German-
speaking area to have systematised the various manifestations of ambush
marketing. In so doing, they apply two criteria:
Ɣ On one hand, they differentiate in terms of whether the measure occurs at the
actual venue of the sports event or in its environment.
Ɣ On the other hand, a differentiation is made as to whether the deception of
spectators is achieved through exploitation or use of the athletes or with the
deployment of additional media or advertising vehicles.
Bruhn and Ahlers categorise the various characteristics of ambush marketing in

terms of the characteristics of the two applied criteria placement location and
advertising vehicle in a four-¿eld matrix (see Table 4.1).
Bruhn and Ahlers (2003) elaborate on those ambush marketing measures that
they consider “most signi¿cant” and illustrate them with accumulated examples.
Table 4.1 Systematisation of the manifestations of ambush marketing according to Bruhn
and Ahlers (adapted from: Bruhn and Ahlers (2003: 274))
Brand placement via/on Brand placement using

objects persons
Placement of brands within • Placement of perimeter • Out¿tting of athletes with
the event advertising boards and jerseys and other items or
other forms of advertising equipment that bears the
at the site of the event logo of the ambusher
• Supply of food and • Covering up the logos of
beverages to restaurants, of¿cial sponsors on the
VIP areas, etc. athletes’ equipment
Placement of brands outside • Programme sponsorship • Use of athletes in sales
of the event venue • Out-of-home advertising, promotion, at trade fairs,
e.g. billboards, aerial in the context of
advertising company-initiated events
• Classical TV commercials or the like
in advertising breaks of • Appearances in the media
television coverage of an of athletes with the logo
event of the ambusher
• Topic-related advertising
in the media
• Intimations/suggestions in
media advertising
“Ambush marketing in the context of a subcategory of a sports event”

Due to the heavy differentiation within sports sponsorship, diverse sponsorship
categories have evolved over time. Thus, sponsors could deliberately decide on a
“subcategory”, to achieve more or less the same effect as with the purchase of
“high quality” sponsorship rights (Meenaghan 1998; Lyberger and McCarthy
2001). For example, the package delivery company UPS has been among The
Olympic Partner Programme (TOP) partners of the Olympics for many years.
However, at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney UPS had to look on
helplessly as the admission tickets were of¿cially distributed by competitor
company TNT (McDonald and Davidson 2002).
“Ambush marketing through out-of-home advertising”

Ambush marketing need not be limited to the actual venue of the event, but can
also be implemented in the context of out-of-home advertising – for instance with
the placement of billboards or staging of sky advertising. Thus, numerous airplanes
“wrote” the Mercedes logo in the sky above the 1997 New York Marathon.
Already during the 1984 Summer Olympics Nike had purchased a large number
of advertising spaces, using them to depict athletes with the Nike logo (McDonald
and Davidson 2002).
“Ambush marketing with television advertising”
The coverage of important sports events on television provides companies with
the opportunity to buy advertising time in this attractive, sports-related environment
and to run appropriate TV commercials to create an association with the individual
event (Meenaghan 1996, 1998). However, with the practice in recent years of
granting of exclusive rights to sponsors, this form of ambush marketing has lost
much of its relevance. More provocation is effected by a thematic TV advertising
campaign in which companies indirectly refer to a sports event. So it was, for
example, that in the year of the 2002 Football World Cup, whose of¿cial partner
was Coca-Cola, Pepsi ran a global TV campaign with a company-owned football
team, featuring appearances by world stars such as David Beckham, Rivaldo and
Juan Sebastian Veron (Rungfapaisarn 2002).
“Ambush marketing by covering up communications efforts of sponsors”

Instead of making its own logo the centre of attention, ambushers can also
“obstruct” the brand name of of¿cial sponsors. Thus, at the 1992 Summer
Olympics in Barcelona, members of the victorious US basketball dream-team
Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan wrapped themselves in American Àags
during the medals ceremony. As they later admitted, their reasons for doing this
were less than patriotic, but rather that their aim had been to cover up the logo of
team sponsor Reebok on their jerseys, in favour of their personal sponsor Nike
(Lyberger and McCarthy 2001; McDonald and Davidson 2002).
“Ambush marketing through programme sponsorship”

As compared to an event sponsor, a programme sponsor can often count on greater
attention-getting impact. The fundamentally legitimate programme sponsorship
may be considered ambush marketing if the programme sponsor is a direct
competitor of an of¿cial sponsor (Meenaghan 1996, 1998). As one of the earliest
and best-known cases of this situation, Bruhn and Ahlers cite the example already
mentioned by Meenaghan of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (Fuji
Film was the of¿cial sponsor of the Olympics, while Kodak became the programme
sponsor on US television and its “of¿cial ¿lm”). Today this form of ambush
marketing is prevented to the greatest extent possible by awarding rights of pre-
emption for programme sponsorship to the sponsors.
Bruhn and Ahlers are the ¿rst authors to succeed in undertaking a descriptive
systematisation of the various characteristics of ambush marketing observed in
real life practice. As a matter of consistency, this is not done in a purely theoretical
manner, but by citing numerous international examples of actual practices. On a
critical note, however, it should be pointed out that on one hand not all the
manifestations of ambush marketing that are actually practised are covered, and
on the other hand, the structuring includes forms of ambush marketing that
although theoretically conceivable at the time of Bruhn and Ahlers’ categorisation,
had already been eliminated in practical terms through the appropriate protective
measures. Overall, the approach of Bruhn and Ahlers represents a milestone as
regards the structuring of the manifestations of ambush marketing; yet especially
from our current perspective it appears to have been squeezed into something of a
straightjacket in its scope, and possibly already partially outdated.
4.1.3 Approach of Noth

In his legal evaluation of ambush marketing (in terms of Swiss law), Noth (2007)
formulates various criteria in order to structure the breadth of the spectrum of
possible forms of ambush marketing:
Ɣ motivation of the freeriders;

Ɣ communications instrument;
Ɣ reference object; and
Ɣ affected event performance and intensity of concernment.
Without providing substantiation, Noth (2006, 2007) ultimately only uses one of
these criteria for his systematisation – that of the reference object. Based on this,
he works with the help of examples to differentiate among ¿ve case groups of
ambush marketing.
“Advertising with an event symbol”

Freeriders use the event brands of the organisers in their advertising. The objective
thereby is to attract the attention of the audience interested in the event and to
transfer the positive values associated with the event to themselves. A New
Zealand telecommunications company that was not a sponsor of the 1996 Summer
Olympics used the Olympic Rings in its ads. However, the rings were not depicted
as ¿ve differently coloured circles, but with the English word “ring” (= ring in the
sense of a circle as well as the ringing of a telephone) that was arranged ¿ve times
in the identical con¿guration as are the Olympic Rings. The caption under this
read “with Telecom mobile you can take your own mobile phone to the Olympics”.
Thus this actually constituted a double allusion to the Olympics: on one hand by
playing with the Olympic Rings and, on the other, by using the term “Olympics”
(Noth 2006).
“Advertising with the venue of the event”

The venue is also very well suited to arouse the interest of the audience. An
association with an event can be connoted with the use of a name, a public brand
or trademark, a symbol, an image of an object of interest or an important site, with
folkloristic motifs and ethnic garb or typical ¿gures of speech colloquialisms.
Thus, an airline that was not a sponsor of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens
ran ads using a photo of ancient Greek ruins on which an unidenti¿able
long-jumper sprang from one Doric column to the other; the slogan and the name
of the airline appeared directly under the image (Garrigues 2002).
“On-site advertising”
Popular sports events offer the opportunity to address advertising to a great many
people. The spatial proximity of the advertising to the event can suggest an
association with that event irrespective of the content of the advertising. Noth
subsumes stadium advertising, advertising in front of the event venue and aerial
advertising under “on-site” advertising. There are many examples for this: a
frequent occurrence is that freeriders distribute giveaways bearing their logo to
attendees in front of the stadium, with these gifts subsequently worn by the
spectators in the stadium and thus displayed in a clearly visible manner. Advertising
in front of a venue means the use of advertising space (e.g. advertising boards,
pillars, panels, façades, walls) at strategically signi¿cant locations (for instance at
traf¿c intersections leading to the stadium). For example, the latter group would
include a hot air balloon bearing the logo of the ambusher circling above the
venue (Garrigues 2002). Noth (2007) adds that, in addition, a reference to an event
can be established through advertising on television or radio as well as by using
new technologies.
“Advertising with an event participant”

Persons having a speci¿c relationship to an event can play a role as advertisers for
a company. Using event participants (e.g. athletes, teams, coaches, referees, but
also former stars, of¿cials or sports experts) can produce an association with an
event and, in addition, this way sports stars are able to more easily attract the
attention of the public. The communication can take place in the context of the
sponsorship of the athletes, but it may take the form of ads that have not been
approved by the athletes in which companies wish them luck before a competition
or congratulate them on successful outcomes (Tripodi and Sutherland 2000).
“Advertising with an event-related object”

Contests or sweepstakes that include a reference to a sports event can be used to
stir up interest and establish a connection to the event. Providing event-related
information such as sports results for advertising purposes should be categorised
in this context. A side event that takes place at the same time or immediately
preceding or following a main event can also create an association with the event.
Finally, the sponsorship of a television or radio broadcast can have an impact that
is comparable to of¿cial sports event sponsorship (Bean 1995; Noth 2006).
Whereas all the other approaches described above originate with economists, the
systematisation of the manifestations of ambush marketing developed by Noth,
who is a solicitor by profession, is, as anticipated, different in the method of
approach: he is less concerned with the implications in terms of marketing, and
much more so with the legal assessment of the various ambush marketing activities
that are the centrepiece of his work. His descriptions therefore focus more heavily
on obvious ambushing measures that can be legally inhibited with the appropriate
measures. Thus, creative ambush marketing activities or promotions that can
hardly be legally prosecuted or not all tend to be underrepresented in his
systematisation. What is inexplicable or actually even inappropriate in terms of
content is the classi¿cation of programme sponsorship under the case group “on-
site advertising”. The ¿nal category, “advertising with another event-related
object”, could be characterised more as a hodgepodge of previously unclassi¿ed
ambushing phenomena rather than an attempt to cluster similar forms of ambush
marketing and thereby presenting an authentic new case group (although one can
assume that the selected methodology is meaningful and common from a legal
perspective).
4.1.4 Approach of Pechtl

Pechtl (2007, 2008) ¿rst classi¿es ambush marketing in two categories (direct
versus indirect ambush marketing) and based on this differentiates among a total
of three case groups (see Figure 4.1):
Ɣ direct (“blatant”) ambush marketing;

Ɣ indirect (“subtle”) ambush marketing by intrusion (“taking advantage of the
opportunity”);
Ɣ indirect (“subtle”) ambush marketing by association (“agenda setting”).
Pechtl draws on important preliminary groundwork laid by other authors:
Ɣ His basic classi¿cation is based on the structuring of Wittneben and Soldner

(2006) who do not analyse ambush marketing from the perspective of
marketing but, similarly to Noth, focus on the legal aspects of the phenomenon.
Wittneben and Soldner are responsible for the classi¿cation into the “direct”
and “indirect” forms of ambush marketing. They then sub-divide the latter
into “ambush marketing by intrusion” and “ambush marketing by association”.
Ɣ The latter terminology comes from the international legal discussion of
ambush marketing, that Wittneben and Soldner themselves revert to. The
concepts of “ambush marketing by intrusion” and “ambush marketing by
association” can be found with du Toit (2006).
Pechtl (2008) characterises the various ambush marketing categories in his

systematisation speci¿cally in terms of the target pro¿les that are aimed at by the
individual manifestations of ambush marketing.
Ambush Marketing
Direct Ambush Marketing Indirect Ambush Marketing
Ambush Marketing Ambush Marketing

by Intrusion by Association
Use of event-related brands Implementation of own Sports event as the
Unauthorised use of image advertising and presentation central theme for
and film material related to of own brands in the geographic own communications
the sports event environment of the sports event Use of participants
Pretence of sponsorship Implementation of own as “personae” in
advertising in the media own advertising
Attack due to sponsorship environment of the sports
event
Providing audience-effective
services in the immediate
environment of the sports event
Figure 4.1 Systematisation of the manifestations of ambush marketing according to Pechtl

(adapted from: Pechtl (2007: 3))
“Direct (‘blatant’) ambush marketing”

A characteristic of direct ambush marketing is that the activities directly target the
marketing rights of the event organiser or the event sponsorship. The organisers
of a sports event have trademark law protection for event-related brands (e.g.
symbols, labels, images, ¿gures). By awarding rights of use to sponsors and
licensees they create event-associated merchandising materials. From the
perspective of the sponsors and licensees what makes these items attractive is
their ability to effect an image transfer from the sports event to the event-associated
product, enabling a differentiation from competitors’ products. Ambushers offer
merchandising materials that have not been authorised by the organisers, and thus
have a share in the market potential of the sports event. For example, on the
occasion of the 2006 Football World Cup one company ran Internet advertising
offering a US one-dollar commemorative coin bearing the inscription
“commemorative coin 2006 World Cup Germany” – but FIFA had hallmarks such
as “World Cup 2006” registered with trademark protection (Heermann 2006).
Another variety of direct ambush marketing refers to the fact that by using
advertising stimuli commonly used by sponsors, ambushers can create the
impression that they are of¿cial sponsors of the event. Both sponsors and
ambushers anticipate the positive transfer of goodwill that target groups usually
ascribe to a sponsorship and, once again, aim for an image transfer from the sports
event to their own companies or brands. Thus, during the 1988 Olympics American
Express (not an Olympics sponsor) ran advertisements depicting an opening
ceremony in the Olympic Stadium of Seoul – albeit not the opening ceremony of
the Olympic Games but that of the previously conducted Asian Games (Netzle
1996).
“Indirect (‘subtle’) ambush marketing”
As opposed to direct ambush marketing, with indirect ambush marketing the
ambushers use the sports event as an occasion or reason for their own marketing
activities without generating new, event-associated products. The ambushers’
existing product palette remains unchanged. Here one can differentiate between
two case groups: ambush marketing by intrusion designates intelligent use of the
“good opportunity” that a sports event offers in terms of communications. Ambush
marketing by association may be succinctly characterised as the advertising
strategy of agenda setting.
“AMBUSH MARKETING BY INTRUSION (‘USING THE OPPORTUNITY’)”
The main objective is to take advantage of the high spectator traf¿c at a sports
event to conduct sales activities or to use the high-frequency advertising contacts
to increase attention and awareness for one’s own company. As a side effect, one
can again assume that many a target person perceives the ambushers as the of¿cial
sponsors. In this context, it is of great interest to the ambushers not to limit such
measures merely to the on-site visitors of the event, but to gain an additional
presence in the mass media to bene¿t from the extensive multiplier effect. This is
successful when brands and symbols of the ambushers that are worn by athletes or
spectators – for instance on their clothes – are displayed during television coverage.
This was the effect that was intended by the Dutch brewery Bavaria during the
2006 Football World Cup. Bavaria was not an event-sponsor, but before and
during the World Cup the company distributed imitation lederhosen in the Dutch
national colour orange bearing the “Bavaria” advertising imprint. The idea was to
have the Dutch fans wear these lederhosen during their World Cup stay in Germany
and especially to wear these during their stadium attendances. However, over
1,000 fans were forced to take off their lederhosen before the Netherlands vs.
Ivory Coast group stage game in Stuttgart, or they would have been prohibited by
FIFA from entering the stadium (Wittneben and Soldner 2006).
A second approach of ambush marketing by intrusion focuses on addressing
the high number of spectators at a sports event via the media. An ambusher can
accomplish this by booking advertising slots timed to be aired shortly before,
during breaks or just after the media broadcast of the sports event. This includes
the already cited example of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where
Fuji was an of¿cial sponsor of the Olympics while Kodak bought the programme
sponsorship for the coverage of the sports competitions by American television.
Thus Kodak attained signi¿cantly higher media attention in the United States than
did the of¿cial sponsor (Meenaghan 1998; Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
“AMBUSH MARKETING BY ASSOCIATION (‘AGENDA SETTING’)”
The objective of ambush marketing by association is to use the sports event as an

“attention getter” for a company’s own advertising activities. This includes all
activities that seize on the sports event as a communications platform (agenda
setting). The sports event itself serves as the central theme for one’s own
advertising campaign. Even without the use of direct references, the use of indirect
references or well-known representatives of the sport type or the event in the
advertising can generate reminders of the event with consumers. So it was that
during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens the do-it-yourself chain
Hornbach (not a sponsor) ran a campaign with the slogan “Hornbach Summer
Games” advertising some of the various products in its range in the style of
Olympic disciplines: among others, there was the “400m men’s turf rolling”, the
“9mm women’s bolt shooting” or the “4 x 100m tiling” (Riering and Seidel 2004).
Ambush marketing by association is also a given when merchants decorate
their windows with products that establish a relationship to the sports event or
companies conduct game promotions referring to the event. From a general
perspective, ambush marketing by association may be understood as a non-
authorised form of co-branding. With their activities, the ambushers thrust
themselves into the advertising cooperation of organisers and of¿cial sponsors/
licensees. Such ambushing activities are often motivated by the desire to create a
counterweight to sponsors’ advertising and not leave the entire advertising playing
¿eld to the sponsoring competitor. Thus, during the 2006 Football World Cup
insurance company Axa Colonia, a competitor of the national promoter Hamburg-
Mannheimer, signi¿cantly increased its advertising expenditures – all this without
using the sports event itself as its communicative focal point or “hook” (Wittneben
and Soldner 2006).
Pechtl (2007) notes that clearly distinguishable classi¿cation of a speci¿c ambush

activity in one of the above categories is not always possible. Furthermore, he
admits that his systematisation may not be exhaustive. But his categorisation does
provide an advance in knowledge and insight that is based precisely on this: while
Meenaghan and Noth tend to aim at documented listings of actually existing cases
of ambush marketing (from differing vantage points) rather than engendering a
complexity-reducing structuring of its diverse manifestations, and, based on the
selected criteria or designation of axes, the matrix by Bruhn and Ahlers is incapable
of incorporating the diversity of ambush marketing forms in only four clearly
de¿ned ¿elds, Pechtl succeeds in creating a systematisation that is suf¿ciently open
to the potential incorporation of newly emerging ambush phenomena and at the
same time establishes a comprehensible logical categorisation that goes well beyond
simple listings. Concomitant with the structuring of ambush marketing
manifestations, Pechtl also illustrates the objectives pursued in the individual case
groupings and any overlaps that may occur here.
4.2 Development of a new, integrated structuring model

Based on the previously presented systematisation approaches to ambush
marketing, a new model for structuring the manifestations of ambush marketing is
presented in this paragraph. In so doing, this new, integrated approach draws on
tried-and-tested knowledge, develops it further and augments it with new insights,
resulting in the most comprehensive systematisation of the full range of ambush
marketing to date, encompassing a total of 21 differentiated cases.
Along with the logical systematisation of the manifestations of ambush
marketing in different case groups and cases, the approach clari¿es the objectives
underlying the individual case groups. Moreover, an additional evaluation of the
distinctly separate clusters in terms of legal–statutory or ethical–moral aspects is
enabled in the context of the model. Ultimately, this evaluation facilitates the
deduction of implications for action and conclusive critical assessment of the
various manifestations of ambush marketing.
4.2.1 Differentiating fundamental ambush marketing categories

In a ¿rst step, based on the differentiations established by Wittneber and Soldner
(2006), du Toit (2006) and Pechtl (2007), direct (“blatant”) ambush marketing
may be separated from its indirect (“subtle”) forms. This fundamental course-
setting has prevailed in scienti¿c literature on ambush marketing and will be
maintained.
This dichotomy of “blatant” and “subtle” ambush marketing is complemented
by a third manifestation that is best designated as “dominant destructive–
aggressive ambush marketing”. The essential objective of actions that fall into
this category is to diminish the effectiveness of of¿cial sponsorships with
predatory methods. The obstruction of sponsors’ measures is generally an attack
on a direct competitor of the ambusher, in effect weakening the competition. This
radical targeting is predominant only in this case group, which is why it is
separated from the others (it is undeniable that it can also be observed, if less
blatantly, in other manifestations of ambush marketing, but nowhere else does it
appear with a comparable intent; furthermore covering up of competitors’ logos,
for example – in speci¿c isolated cases – may be interpreted as either “blatant” or
“subtle”, and therefore can not be unequivocally classi¿ed as direct or indirect
ambush marketing).
Thus, the result of this ¿rst structuring step is the establishment of three
categories:
Ɣ direct (“blatant”) ambush marketing;

Ɣ indirect (“subtle”) ambush marketing; and
Ɣ dominant destructive–aggressive ambush marketing.
4.2.2 Differentiating ambush marketing case groups by category

In a second step, these three categories are further broken down into case groups,
in which similar cases are grouped together (see Figure 4.2).
Within the scope of direct (“blatant”) ambush marketing, no author has as yet
proposed a further sub-division. Here the author undertakes a further
systematisation for the ¿rst time: direct ambush marketing approaches that are
Ambush Marketing
Dominant
Direct (“blatant”) Indirect (“subtle”) destructive–aggressive
Primarily Primarily By Intrusion By Association

product-policy communications-
motivated policy Agenda Fun Philanthropic
motivated setting ambushing ambushing
(1) Unauthorised (4) Advertising with (8) Advertising in (14) Sports and (19) Fun ambushing (20) Philanthropic (21) Dominant
use of event event brands the geographical event as the ambushing destructive–
brands environment contextual aggressive
(5) Simulation of leitmotif of the ambush
(2) Unauthorised sponsorship (9) Advertising in communications marketing
use of event the media strategy
materials (6) Overreaching on environment/
lower-privilege public relations (15) Equipment
(3) Unauthorised rights in a sponsorship
catering at the sponsorship (10) Broadcast
event venue subcategory programme (16) Testimonial/
sponsorship celebrity
(7) Advertising at endorsement
the event venue (11) TV advertising in
the context of the
(17) Advertising
event coverage
with the event
location
(12) Providing services
in the extended
(18) Partnership to
event environment
facilitate establishing
connections to the event
(13) Launch of products
or services in
conjunction with
the event
Figure 4.2 Integrated model to structure the manifestations of ambush marketing

motivated primarily by product policy and predominantly pursue (relatively short-
term) economic objectives are distinguished from direct ambushing activities
whose motivation and implementation are primarily in the realm of communications
policy and which therefore prioritise (relatively medium-term) psychological
objectives. In the context of the ¿rst case group, event-associated products are
created and marketed in an unauthorised manner (cases 1–3). The second case
group involves the pretence of a sponsorship that, in reality, does not exist (cases
4–7).
Indirect (“subtle”) ambush marketing as proposed by du Toit and taken up by
Pechtl is initially sub-divided into ambush marketing by intrusion and ambush
marketing by association. Whereas all ambush activities within the scope of a
sports event that, according to Pechtl, can be characterised as “taking advantage
of the opportunity” can be subsumed under ambush marketing by intrusion (cases
8–13), the author of the present study further differentiates ambush marketing by
association: “Agenda setting” encompasses all ambush marketing activities that
use the sports event as a communications platform (cases 14–18). In addition, this
case group includes two special cases. One refers to the concept of “fun
ambushing” (case 19) once coined by the author (Nufer 2005). Witty, humorous
activities are used to establish an association with an event – but not as is the case
for agenda setting, with the primary intent of directing attention away from the
of¿cial sponsor to one’s own company, but to communicate a current topic with a
twinkle of the eye, and use it in an amusingly creative manner. Another special
case is represented by “philanthropic ambushing” (case 20): the alleged selÀess
and altruistic endeavour of companies to serve a good cause that is primarily
attributed to sponsors, although non-sponsors can also communicate altruistic
motives (Nufer and Geiger 2011).
The category of “dominant destructive–aggressive ambush marketing” is not
differentiated into any other distinguishable case groups. All the ambush marketing
forms related to this category follow the same pattern: the effectiveness of of¿cial
sponsorship is obstructed or destroyed with planned assaults and targeted attacks
on sponsors, whose main objective is to diminish the effectiveness of the of¿cial
sponsorship or even its selective destruction thereby weakening the ambusher’s
competitor(s) (case 21).
4.2.3 Typology and characterisation of the manifestations of ambush

marketing
Finally, in the third step, a total of 21 cases of ambush marketing subsumed in the
individual categories and case groups are distinguished from one another and
illustrated in terms of examples.
(1) Unauthorised use of event brands

A brand exists in terms of trademark law if the event organiser possesses legal
protection (copyright and trademark rights) for hallmarks (symbols and
designations) of the event. Products that bear hallmarks relating to the sports
event are designated as merchandising items. They range from fan merchandise
(e.g. shirts and scarves) and souvenirs (e.g. mascots and books) to clothing,
computer games, gifts and everyday items (e.g. calendars and writing instruments)
all the way to food and sports equipment. A sports event is used to create new
event-associated products. The sponsors and licensees use the resulting increase
in popularity of event-associated products for themselves as a quid pro quo reward
for sponsorship or licensing fees. Ambushers who create and sell merchandising
items that have not been authorised by the organiser pursue the same objective
(Noth 2007). For example, at the 2004 European Football Championships, a
company attempted to launch balls with “EURO 2004” printed on them, despite
the fact that UEFA had registered a word/image brand in the trademark register
for this event (Heermann 2006).
(2) Unauthorised use of event materials

Services are also considered event brands if the service bears an event-related
brand (name). It is direct ambushing if, for example, a media company reports on
a sports event without being authorised to do so by the organiser, i.e. without
possessing a broadcast license. This includes the case of media providers using
event-related hallmarks for which the organiser has brand or copyright protection
in their reporting. Ambushers use these hallmarks to make their own product (e.g.
print media or broadcast programme) more attractive – analogous to the case of
merchandising goods (Reinholz 2005). Furthermore, programme transmission or
documentation of sports events has the potential for multiple secondary
exploitation. If, for example, organisers of public TV viewing charge admission
fees and/or offer food in order to attract more guests and achieve higher sales
volume, it entails direct ambushing if the organiser of the public TV viewing does
not have a broadcast licence for the secondary utilisation of the media transmission
of the sporting event (Pechtl 2007).
(3) Unauthorised catering at the event venue

Depending upon the contextual focus, ambushers create their own event-associated
product or service by providing unauthorised catering on the event premises. If,
for example, an unauthorised party distributes or sells food and drink within the
event, this is a case of direct ambushing and is exacerbated if the ambusher
happens to be a direct competitor of an of¿cial sponsor (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
(4) Advertising with event brands

In order to get the attention of an interested audience and transfer the positive
values associated with the event to themselves, ambushers use the event brands of
the organisers without authorisation for their marketing communication. To
circumvent legal repercussions, many coattailers resort to designations allegedly
excluded by trademark law as in the public domain in order to establish a
connection to the event. Thus, the wordmark “Football World Cup” was frequently
used in advertising and the opinion presented that this referred to a freely available
trademark in the public domain (Melwitz 2008).
(5) Simulation of sponsorship

In this case, ambushers use their communications activities to suggest that they
are an of¿cial event sponsor. This can transpire via explicit statements to this
effect or implicitly, without an actual assertion to that effect, by creating the
impression that they are among the of¿cial sponsors without enlightening the
public that they are not (Wittneben and Soldner 2006). In the run-up to the 2006
Football World Cup, the Internet provider AOL, at the time the name sponsor of
the stadium in Hamburg but not an of¿cial sponsor of the World Cup, placed a
large advertising banner at the company headquarters located directly opposite the
stadium reading “AOL Arena – 2006 World Cup venue” (Heermann 2011).
(6) Overreaching on lower-privilege rights in a sponsorship subcategory

If an of¿cial sponsor decides to make a commitment within the framework of a
lower-cost subcategory of a sporting event and overreaches on the rights it has
been granted for this category, this behaviour can also be de¿ned as ambush
marketing (Meenaghan 1998). An example is the course of actions of the delivery
service company TNT, which of¿cially distributed tickets prior to the 2000
Summer Olympic Games in Sydney and thus positioned itself as a key partner of
the Games, while in truth UPS was the traditional TOP sponsor of the Olympics
(McDonald and Davidson 2002).
(7) Advertising at the event venue

Finally, the category of direct, communications policy-driven approaches includes
the ambusher advertising at the venue of the sporting event. Whereas American
sports equipment manufacturer Nike initially allowed the 1994 Football World
Cup in its own country to go largely unexploited for weeks, the brand initiated a
sensational ambush marketing move just in time for the Brazil vs. Italy ¿nal in
Los Angeles: 70,000 baseball caps in the Brazilian national colours and bearing
the Nike Swoosh were distributed outside the stadium, although at the time its
competitor Umbro was the of¿cial out¿tter of the Brazilians. Because of this, the
stadium resembled a Nike sea, something that was also highly conspicuous in the
television broadcasting (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
(8) Advertising in the geographical environment

For many companies, the high number of attendees at sporting events represents an
incentive to run advertising or even sell products in the geographical environment
of an event. Outdoor marketing communications encompasses placing billboards in
streets with high spectator traf¿c, distribution of giveaways, positioning one’s own
brand symbols in the vicinity of the event and even advertising in the airspace. The
objective is to use the stream of visitors for one’s own marketing activities (Zanger
and Drengner 2005). At the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens a Greek
telephone company, whose competitor was a national Olympics sponsor, ran large-
scale advertising on seven ferries that anchored in the port of Piraeus and could
hardly be overlooked by the many passersby.
(9) Advertising in the media environment/public relations

So as not to limit the effectiveness of the above-mentioned measures merely to the
spectators of a sporting event, ambushers are interested in obtaining a simultaneous
presence in the mass media that cover the event. Achieving the necessary attention
for media reports is particularly successful when sports stars are engaged for the
ambushing activities, i.e. when a combination with celebrity advertising exists. In
this context, a series of unusual incidents took place at the 1996 Summer Olympics
in Atlanta: the 100m-sprinter Linford Christie appeared at a press conference and at
interviews wearing blue contact lenses that conspicuously displayed the Puma logo,
even though Puma was not an of¿cial event sponsor (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
(10) Broadcast programme sponsorship

The acquisition of broadcast programme sponsorship is basically legitimate, but
can, however, be interpreted as ambush marketing, especially when the programme
sponsor is the competitor of an of¿cial sponsor. Television programme sponsors
often attain higher levels of awareness than of¿cial event sponsors (Meenaghan
1998). For example, at the 1998 Football World Cup, Bitburger, the programme
sponsor on German public television, achieved higher unaided levels of recall
than two-thirds of the of¿cial main sponsors of the event.
(11) TV advertising in the context of event coverage

An effect similar to that of broadcast programme sponsorship can be achieved by
booking regular advertising slots that air immediately before, after or during breaks
in the television broadcasting of sporting events. So it was that in the context of the
television coverage of matches at the 2006 Football World Cup that German
Football Association sponsor (but neither World Cup nor broadcast programme
sponsor) nutella ran a massive product advertising campaign featuring German
national team players in traditional TV commercials (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
(12) Providing services in the extended event environment

Ambush marketing by intrusion also exists when an ambusher provides services
that are popular with the general public in the indirect environment of the sporting
event even though there is an of¿cial sponsor from the same industry. The result
is that a user of this service and possibly even the general public perceives the
ambusher as a sponsor (Pechtl 2007). For example, Kodak was the of¿cial sponsor
of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. Its competitor Fuji applied ambush
marketing by setting up an unof¿cial photo centre giving away Fuji ¿lms and
developing them for free. Although located outside the actual event venue, this
was not far from the Olympic press centre (Noth 2007).
(13) Launch of products or services in conjunction with the event

Particularly in conjunction with the 2010 Football World Cup, ambush activities
were observed that were aimed at capitalising on the mega event as an opportunity
to launch new products or services (or adapt existing products to the sporting
event with short-term modi¿cations). In so doing, these products or services and
their communications strategies typically do not work with brands associated with
the event (Heckenberger 2010). An example of this type of ambush marketing is
the launch of the sports drink “Soccerade”. Cristiano Ronaldo, renowned football
player, brand ambassador and shareholder, effectively launched the thirst quencher
in 30 international markets in April 2010, immediately preceding the start of the
World Cup. The drink had long been developed and tested, but the 2010 Football
World Cup was speci¿cally targeted as the context for its worldwide launch
(Anonymous 2010a).
(14) Sports and event as the contextual leitmotif of the communications strategy
Ambushers use sports events as a platform for marketing their own products and
services. A huge international event frequently provides the impetus to focus the
communications strategy around this sporting event for a longer period of time,
i.e. before, during and after the event (Melwitz 2008). With the 2006 Football
World Cup approaching, consumer electronics retailer Media-Markt started an
intensive media campaign a year in advance, using the slogan “We will be world
champions”, later replaced by “Best fan out¿tters”. The staging of the commercials
established an unambiguous reference to the World Cup (e.g. with the appearance
of football fans).
(15) Equipment sponsorship

Sponsorship contracts with individual teams or athletes provide many companies
with a presence both at events and their environment and in media coverage
without having to become an of¿cial sponsor of the event (Meenaghan 1998). The
following ambush manoeuvre caused quite a stir during the 1998 Winter Olympics
in Nagano: the out¿tter Nike sponsored a black African cross-country skier who,
although athletically hopelessly out of the running, was assured of the media
spotlight as a supposedly “exotic” ¿gure in this sports category. This meant that
Nike was often seen on TV (Nufer and Geiger 2011).
(16) Testimonial/celebrity endorsement
Association with a sports event can also be established by having well-known
personalities who are directly involved in the event or stars of individual sports
disciplines appear in television commercials aired in the context of the speci¿c
sports event (Noth 2007). While McDonald’s was one of the of¿cial main sponsors
of the 2006 Football World Cup, its competitor Burger King initiated the “Burger
King Kahn” promotion in Germany, engaging German national goalkeeper Oliver
Kahn for a testimonial in its TV commercials.
(17) Advertising with the event location

Comparable to the “country of origin” effect, advertising with the location of the
sporting event can also be used to effect an image transfer from the event to one’s
own company or the advertised brands and products. The speci¿c competition
sites, the host city or even the host country can be used to represent the event
location (Quester 1997; Noth 2006). For example, during the 1984 Summer
Olympics in Los Angeles, Nike used the tagline “I love L.A.” in an advertising
campaign intended to exploit the interest of the public and intimate a connection
to the event (Bean 1995).
(18) Partnership to facilitate establishing connections to the event

For companies with little or no association to sports, entering into partnerships
with brands that are closely or more closely associated with sports simpli¿es the
establishment of a connection to sports or a sports event. Beyond achieving a
better event–ambusher ¿t, a partnership with an of¿cial sponsor may even offer
the possibility of having the latter’s involvement projected onto the ambusher. For
example, during the 2010 Football World Cup, the yogurt drink brand Actimel
offered consumers the option of redeeming codes printed on packages for a tipp3
bet credit with the purchase of three packages of their product. Thus, by having a
closer association with sports, the sports betting provider tipp3 made it easier for
Actimel to establish a connection to the Football World Cup (Anonymous 2010b).
(19) Fun ambushing

Fun ambushing represents a special case of ambush marketing by association.
Unlike other cases of ambush marketing by association, attention is not in this
case generated by agenda setting, but rather by using a witty and humorous
approach to produce an association with an event (Nufer 2005). During the 1994
Football World Cup in the United States, McDonald’s played to the gallery as “the
unof¿cial food supplier of German football fans”, without paying any licensing
fees for this privilege. During the 2010 Football World Cup, the South African
airline Kulula advertised “Affordable Àights to everybody except Sepp Blatter.
He can Ày for free”. The FIFA president did not accept the offer, but instead, a dog
owner from Cape Town appeared, offering to have his dog named Sepp Blatter Ày
with him. The airline proudly announced: “It’s of¿cial. Sepp Blatter Àies with
us!” (Weinreich 2010).
(20) Philanthropic ambushing

The alleged selÀess and altruistic endeavour of companies to serve a good cause
is primarily attributed to sponsors (Huber, Matthes, Dreckmeier and Schunk
2008). Non-sponsors can also communicate altruistic motives. For example, with
its Africa-oriented promotion “Söbbeke helps Ixopo” during the 2010 World Cup
in South Africa, the Söbbeke dairy implied altruistic principles, since part of the
proceeds were donated to African street children (Söbbeke 2010). The supermarket
chain Rewe, of¿cial food partner of the German Football Association (DFB), used
the close of its TV commercial at the time of the 2010 World Cup, which featured
national team player Lukas Podolski, to speci¿cally point out that its activities
helped support German football (Kolbrück 2010).
(21) Dominant destructive–aggressive ambush marketing

Attacks against sponsors exist when brand (names) of of¿cial sponsors are
obstructed so as to keep them from being seen by the public at sports events or in
the context of the media coverage for the event. Ambushers can (physically) cover
the advertising space of of¿cial sponsors (or have it covered). An exacerbation of
this is to display their own logo instead. Thus, at the awards ceremony at the 2000
Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australian swimming star Ian Thorpe, who
was personally sponsored by adidas, used a towel to cover up the logo of Nike, the
of¿cial out¿tter of the Australian team (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003). Rather than
taking this relatively simplistic approach, it is far more original to attack of¿cial
sponsors in their own communications. For instance, shortly before the l994 Winter
Olympics in Lillehammer, where Visa appeared as the of¿cial credit card sponsor,
competitor credit card company American Express advertised with the slogan “If
you’re travelling to Norway this winter, you’ll need a passport – but you don’t need
a visa”. It can be assumed that given this attack, target persons perceived and
classi¿ed the ambusher as the actual sponsor of the event (indeed, in the aftermath
of this event supposedly 66 per cent of consumers interviewed were convinced that
American Express had played the role of of¿cial sponsor) (McDonald and Davidson
2002; Pechtl 2007). At the same time, however, this is also an overlap with fun
ambushing, since this activity also “pulls the leg” of an of¿cial sponsor, and can
thus be interpreted as being done in a witty and ironic sense.
In the above descriptions of ambush marketing cases, the examples shown have
made it especially obvious that a clear-cut differentiation is not always possible,
but that overlaps do occur. What this means is that some ambush activities have
multiple characters and could (or even should) be ascribed to two (or possibly
more) parallel cases. Neither does the systematisation claim to be complete. Based
on the highly innovative content of ambush marketing, with its constantly new
creative activities, this is rather a snapshot of the current situation. The applied
structure is therefore not rigid, but Àexible and open in order to allow for new
cases to be subsequently included and integrated.
Figure 4.3 summarises (based on Figure 2.11) the objectives typically targeted
by the individual ambush marketing case groups, illustrating and visualising them
with arrows (dotted line arrows indicate possible but relatively insigni¿cant
relationships or connections).
4.2.4 Assessment of the model

A detailed examination of the diverse characteristics of ambush marketing is
conducted in the context of the model. The classi¿cation system that has been
developed serves the scienti¿c structuring of the manifestations of ambush
marketing. The various forms of ambushing that can be observed in practice are
categorised and comprehensively identi¿ed.
In so doing, not every ambush activity can be clearly ascribed to a category or
case group or even to a speci¿c case, since by de¿nition ambush marketing has a
multi-faceted character. What is decisive for the classi¿cation is the determination
of which characteristic dominates in a given situation.
The list of differentiated cases also does not make an absolute claim to
completeness. Based on the highly innovative content of ambush marketing, with
its constantly new creative activities, this is rather a snapshot of the current
situation. The applied structure is therefore not rigid, but kept deliberately Àexible
Ambush Marketing
Dominant
Direct (“blatant”) Indirect (“subtle”) destructive–
aggressive
attention
weakening of
awareness, topicality competition,
reduction of
effectiveness
of sponsorship
image, goodwill
sales, turnover, market share, profit
Figure 4.3 Case groups and objectives of ambush marketing

and open in order to allow for new cases to be subsequently included and integrated.
On the contrary, it is actually desirable that in the course of later surveys gaps will
become visible that are intended to stimulate additional targeted research.
Above all else, this model has a didactic objective. Because it includes a general
overview, it provides guidance for the comprehension of individual aspects of
ambush marketing and the clari¿cation of existing correlations. However, the
selected representation should not be misunderstood. This is not a Àow chart, but
rather a complex of variables and interdependencies. The advantages of this model
may be found in heuristic purposes (description, explanation).
Moreover, this model ful¿ls an integrative function by establishing an overarching
frame of reference. The objectives pursued by the individual ambushing case groups
are illustrated, and an evaluation of individual ambush marketing characteristics is
also enabled. Thus, the model goes beyond purely descriptive functions. It clari¿es
correlations, consequences and points out implications for actions, which will be
addressed in more detail in the following chapters.
Due to its diverse manifestations there cannot be a universally accepted model
for ambush marketing. None of the classi¿cations presented or developed can be
applied as “the one best way”. Ambush marketing continues to reinvent itself.
Freeriders are constantly developing surprising ideas and ¿nding innovative ways
to attract attention to themselves. Therefore, such a dynamic phenomenon does
not allow for conclusive structuring or one that is always completely up to date.
The new approach presented here structures those ambushing types that are most
frequently observed in practice. Thus, the model goes beyond the statements or
remarks on ambush marketing relating to speci¿c individual cases and can be
viewed as a typological approach.
4.3 Classi¿cation of cases of ambush marketing observed in the

context of the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup
During the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup in South Africa, Nufer and Geiger
(2011) conducted a randomised analysis of German-language media for the
purpose of identifying ambush marketing activities.
The study of the following advertising media was based on the time frame of
the World Cup (11 June to 11 July 2010):
Ɣ Television: coverage of the World Cup games on public channels ARD, ZDF
and privately held channel RTL; in addition, football-related advertising on
other channels.
Ɣ Radio: SWR 1, SWR 3.
Ɣ Product packaging and advertising Àyers: www.probierpioniere.de, own
observations.
Directly following the World Cup, an evaluation of all expenditures was conducted
for all of the media listed below that appeared in the time period from January to
August 2010:
Ɣ Magazines: Sportbild, Autobild, werben & verkaufen, Horizont,
Handelsmagazin, Seezunge.
Ɣ Newspapers: Lebensmittel-Zeitung.
Ɣ Online media: openpr.de, pressetext.de, presseportal.de, advertising presence
of various companies, additional websites/blogs.
The cases of ambush marketing identi¿ed in the context of this media analysis
were classi¿ed on the basis of the above-mentioned typology of the manifestations
of ambush marketing; 187 ambushing activities by 125 different ambushers were
detected within the scope of the random sample. A total of 209 attributions were
made, since 22 of the observed ambushing tactics corresponded to various cases
at the same time.
Figure 4.4 summarises the core results of the study. The most frequently
observed case was that of sports and events as a contextual leitmotif of the
communications strategy (37.3 per cent of the cases observed). The second most
Sports and event as the contextual

37.3%
leitmotif of the communications strategy
Testimonial/celebrity endorsement 12.9%
Launch of products or services in 9.6%

conjunction with the event
Advertising with the event location 9.1%
Partnership to facilitate establishing 8.6%

connections to the event
Equipment sponsorship 5.7%
TV advertising in the context of 2.9%

event coverage
Advertising with event brands 2.9%
Broadcast program sponsorship 2.9%
Fun Ambushing 2.4%
Philanthropic Ambushing 1.9%
Unauthorized use of event brands 1.9%
Providing services in the extended 0.5%

event environment
Advertising at the event venue 0.5%
Advertising in the media environment/ 0.5%

public relations
Dominant destructive–aggressive 0.5%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Figure 4.4 Frequency of observed cases of ambush marketing in the context of the 2010
Football World Cup (adapted from: Nufer and Geiger (2011: 10))
commonly observed form was advertising with sports testimonials (12.9 per cent).
Third place went to the launch of event-related products or services (9.6 per cent).
Overall, it is apparent that in the context of the 2010 Football World Cup indirect
ambush marketing by association and especially the ambushing case group agenda
setting dominated.
4.4 Extracted determinants for differentiated ambush marketing

strategies
If a company is contemplating the integration of ambush marketing into its
marketing mix, it should consider the above-mentioned systematisation and the
success stories, and incorporate the core criteria addressed below in the
development of its ambushing concept.
4.4.1 Ex ante corporate and brand awareness

When of¿cial sponsors of a sports event have relatively low awareness levels ex
ante, this represents an opportune starting point for their industry competitors
with higher levels of awareness to conduct ambush marketing activities. If the
situation is reversed and the potential ambushers are less prominent than their
sponsoring industry competitors, it cannot be assumed that ambush marketing
will affect their exceeding the recall values of the sponsor.
The recall performance notwithstanding, ambush marketing can also effect a
positive attitude towards the ambusher. Given the great signi¿cance that is
attributed to originality as a feature of sports-related communication, especially
creative advertising in the form of fun ambushing could conceivably have a
positive effect on attitudes to the ambusher. Since many consumers expect a social
commitment from of¿cial sponsors, it can be assumed that consumers would be
more inclined to assign positive attributes to a non-sponsor running philanthropic
ambushing than to an of¿cial sponsor who only spends large amounts of money
for the rights to exploit the event for advertising purposes. Furthermore, entering
into cooperation agreements with well-established brands provides less popular
companies intending to conduct ambush marketing with a suitable opportunity for
a simpli¿ed establishment of an association to an event.
4.4.2 Size of available budget

In a situation similar to that of ex ante less popular brands, when a relatively small
budget is available, it is advisable to, for instance, select the forms of a cooperative
agreement or fun ambushing so as to achieve speci¿c attention-getting impact or
to evoke a positive attitude of the consumer to the advertising and ultimately
towards the ambushers themselves. Here, instead of attempting to indicate an
of¿cial sponsorship and omnipresence in the media, the implementation of viral
campaigns via the Internet would tend to be a fast and effective method for
disseminating an established af¿liation with an event.
A correspondingly larger budget allows for integrated strategies for devising
various comprehensive ambushing forms that are promising based on their holistic
(integrated) nature.
4.4.3 Type of products or services advertised

In conceptualising an ambush marketing strategy, the analysis of the ambusher–
event ¿t is a signi¿cant factor in its success, since the latter can have either a
positive or a negative effect on credibility as well as on the attitude towards the
ambusher. Based on experience, for spectator sports, sport-related products (e.g.
sports articles per se) and products with a high degree of af¿nity to the target
group (e.g. beer and consumer electronics) are particularly appropriate for
advertising. The acceptance of snacks, ¿tness and wellness products and tourism
offers is rated as relatively high. The ¿tness and wellness industry in particular,
whose representatives have as yet hardly appeared as ambushers, would stand to
bene¿t from a good ¿t with a sport or an event, and allows for projections of a
high level of acceptance.
The lack of an existing thematic connection can be mitigated at least to some
extent by pursuing long-term ambushing activity. In order to achieve this, the
integration and establishment of the contextual sports leitmotif in the
communications strategy, above and beyond the event itself, should be sought.
Continuous equipment sponsorship and consistent advertising with sports
testimonials also effect the achievement of a credible association with an event
over the long term, as does the commitment to a cooperation agreement with a
partner whose products enjoy a relatively high acceptance in terms of football
relevance, or the launch of new products within the scope of mega sports events.
4.4.4 Timing
The pervasiveness of a generally very positive mood among many consumers
during major sports events such as the Football World Cup can be exploited for
advertising purposes. In general, however, this positive mood does not last very
long and levels off after a few weeks, returning to its initial level. Therefore, it is
decisive that ambushing activities are focused on the period before and during the
event. Along with a product launch just in time for the event, it would appear
useful, for example, to introduce “limited editions” of (additional) product
variants with an advance declaration of their promotional period as limited to the
duration of the event.
4.4.5 Consideration of target group behaviour in terms of media consumption

In the context of major sporting events, television plays a key role both in terms of
sourcing information about the event as well as the perception of advertising.
Programme sponsorship and TV advertising in the context of event coverage are
therefore effective in achieving an attention transfer to the ambusher.
As increasingly innovative cross-linkage of information and brand staging can
be anticipated, integration of the Internet into the media strategy is eminently
advisable. The incorporation of daily papers, radio and billboards into media
planning is indispensable for the implementation of comprehensive and
omnipresent World Cup campaigns that use the sport or the event as their leitmotif.
Consideration should also be devoted to the incorporation of public TV
watching – a prevailing trend since the 2006 Football World Cup that was held in
Germany. A “sports-mad” environment featuring heavily involved and enthusiastic
guests is an appropriate venue for providing services or effectively staging and
marketing brands and products.
4.5 Discussion of deduced ambush marketing concepts

Although the criteria described take on a guideline function in terms of the drafting
of an ambush marketing strategy, they do not represent a guarantee of success.
The concurrent consideration of the outlined determinants in conjunction with a
combination of the basic ideas of the systematised ambush marketing cases, result
in additional implications for the development of differentiated, comprehensive
ambush marketing concepts. Examples of several conceivable approaches are
presented and critically assessed below.
4.5.1 Brand asset concept

Characterisation
The “brand asset concept” is based on the continuous integration of the sports
theme in a long-term marketing strategy (Hermeier, Rettig and Krol 2010). An
effort is made to achieve the perception with consumers that the brand is related
or linked to mega sports events by presenting all communications activities with
direct references to sports over a longer period of time.
Opportunities for ambush marketing

The brand asset concept is particularly suited for companies with an ex ante poor
¿t of the ambusher to the event, but with high brand awareness. The acceptance of
consumers is generated through a long-term contextual reference to the topic of
sports. On the other hand, a better ¿t of ambusher to event evokes positive effects
on the ambushers’ credibility as well as the attitude towards their brands.
Appropriate ambush marketing manifestations

In principle, there are no limits in terms of the choice of forms of ambush
marketing for this concept. What is essential is the ¿rm establishment of the sports
leitmotif even beyond the event. For example, German Football Association
partner nutella succeeded in establishing an effective conditioning with football.
While it is primarily the agenda-setting case group within indirect ambush
marketing by association that offers the opportunity to manifest the omnipresence
of the brand, e.g. with equipment sponsorship and testimonial advertising, the
simultaneous use of direct ambushing as well as indirect ambush marketing by
intrusion can be seen as being associated with a speci¿c event.
Risks
The prerequisites for the creation of a credible long-term relationship to sports
include a high level of brand awareness and a relatively large communications
budget. Thus, high ¿nancial investments by the ambusher are required for the
realisation of this concept.
4.5.2 Opportunism concept

Characterisation
The “opportunism concept” is based on the short-term and opportunistic utilisation
of a major sports event. Its core component is creative, event-related
communications that aim at achieving rapid establishment of an association to the
individual event. The speci¿c objective is to take advantage of the positive
atmosphere that predominates in the context of an event to place the brand in the
spotlight for the limited time frame of the duration of the event.

The opportunism concept is recommended for companies not aiming for a long-
term association with the topic of sports, but wanting to gain a short-term bene¿t
from the favourable, positive atmosphere before and during the sports event.

Since highly creative and innovative communications measures have a better
prospect of standing out by cutting through the event-related “advertising clutter”
that dominates during major sports events, fun ambushing offers an effective
opportunity for differentiation. Thus, by using the slogan “Not next year, not last
year, but somewhere in between” South African airline Kulula succeeded in
advertising its 2010 World Cup Àights with humour and even without using the
World Cup year (Manson 2010). Moreover, the use of the central theme of the
sport and the event is important for the achievement of an image transfer from
the event to the ambusher. Another manifestation of ambush marketing that
serves the fastest possible establishment of an association to an event is a
cooperation agreement with partners pursuing long-term strategies and whose
relationship to sports is already ¿rmly entrenched with consumers.
Risks
Given the increased intensity of sports-related advertising during a mega event,
the establishment of a short-lived af¿liation with a sports event involves the risk
of being perceived by consumers as just another annoying company jumping on
the World Cup advertising bandwagon to create an arti¿cial event association
aimed solely at exploiting the event without providing a service in return.
4.5.3 Island position concept

Characterisation
“Island position” designates the placement of a print ad in a non-commercial,
editorial environment (Manson 2010). In terms of ambush marketing this is to be
understood as the execution of measures that make a largely isolated appearance
in selected areas that tend to be neglected for advertising, thus facilitating an
isolated (and thus individual) perception of a brand.

This concept is particularly appropriate for companies whose industry competitors
may be among the of¿cial sponsors who enjoy the protection of industry
exclusivity for the event they have secured with the event organisers. Using the
island position concept ambushers run a short-term, isolated guerrilla action,
outside of the media used by of¿cial sponsors, in an attempt to create strong
appeal and thereby generate attention for themselves. Island position tactics are
also suitable for companies operating in industries that are (as yet) characterised
by relatively few ambushing activities (e.g. the ¿tness and wellness market).
Being unique – i.e. being the sole advertiser in their media environment – would
give them the advantages of pioneer status.

Ambush marketing by intrusion is useful in order to attain a standalone position
for one’s advertising: forms such as programme sponsorship as well as the
provision of services in an extended World Cup environment (e.g. public TV
viewings) can effect a perception of uniqueness, or one that is largely alone in its
¿eld. Direct ambush marketing, both in terms of product policy and communications
policy, can facilitate an island position. The Dutch beer brand Bavaria succeeded
in achieving the latter during a preliminary round game at the 2010 Football
World Cup, when they were represented in the stadium by 36 women in orange-
coloured dresses (Nufer and Bühler 2011d).
Risks
The risk inherent in the island position concept relates to the statutory–legal
constraints that could be breached. In addition, a rigorous handling of such tactics
by the event organisers is to be anticipated.
4.5.4 Altruism concept

Characterisation
The “altruism concept” expands previous ambushing approaches with the
communication of altruistic motives as well as long-term integration of a social
commitment. The company aligns its communications in the context of an event
with corporate social responsibility (CSR) and thus ful¿ls the expectations that
many consumers have of modern corporate policy, i.e. good corporate citizenship.

The communication of CSR is basically appropriate for any company. The
company-related appropriateness notwithstanding, the analysis of the event
location is a fundamental aspect of this concept. For example, the 2010 Football
World Cup in emerging market country South Africa offered great potential for
the demonstration of social responsibility. Brazil, the host of the 2014 Football
World Cup also offers numerous opportunities for socially motivated initiatives.
Linking the popular motifs of sports and events with altruistic central themes
reinforces credibility, which in turn has a positive inÀuence on attitudes towards
the ambusher.

The altruism concept is based on philanthropic ambushing. In that context,
additional advertising with a sports testimonial can be contemplated, so that for
instance, a part of the advertising fee of the testimonial provider is donated to a
good cause. If new products are launched at the time of a sports event, it is
conceivable that a speci¿c portion of the proceeds would be applied to socially
oriented purposes. Furthermore, equipment sponsorship, i.e. the support of
selected athletes and teams (e.g. of appealing ¿gures from emerging market
countries) can serve to convey altruistic motives.
Risks
Consumers are increasingly aware of the fact that purely altruistic motives on the
part of companies are almost non-existent and that these are ultimately used solely
as a façade to enable them to achieve positive communications and pro¿t
objectives.
4.5.5 Country focus concept
Characterisation
The “country focus concept” focuses primarily on the establishment of an
association with the event venue that in turn contributes to the creation of a
credible link to the actual event. Thereby, the ambush marketing activities are
limited to the time prior to and during the event. They can, however, also become
part of a long-term strategy focusing on the leitmotif sports.

South Africa was an ideal location for the launch of new products in the food
industry or to capture the African animal kingdom in product design and
communications. For Brazil, a link to the overriding leitmotifs of carnival and
dance in advertising with the event venue could prove to be very appropriate.

The country focus concept is based on the case of advertising with the event
location that would be enhanced with an additional innovative facet by launching
thematically appropriate products in limited editions. Equipment sponsorship of
the national team of the individual host countries as well as testimonial advertising
with native players is also conceivable. Sporting goods manufacturer Nike
executed this successfully at the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa by
having African football star Didier Drogba act as the poster boy for the “(NIKE)
RED” campaign.
Risks
The focus on the geographic event venue in communications could pose a risk in
that some host countries involve a measure of political risk. It is not possible, per
se, to guarantee only positive news reports in conjunction with the event location.
In conclusion one can state: the ambush marketing concepts that have been
developed based on the determinants illustrated here and for whose implementation
individual combinations of various ambush marketing manifestations have been
proposed, are only a few examples of many conceivable approaches to
conceptualise ambush marketing. Despite the fact that in order to protect of¿cial
sponsors event organisers are resorting to increasingly drastic courses of action, in
the future one may also anticipate a multitude of creative ambushing activities,
possibly in unprecedented or as yet unknown manifestations.
5 Consequences of ambush
marketing
Since ambush marketing acts as an alternative to event sponsorship, it is the

primary sponsorship participant who bears the consequences of ambush marketing.
In this context Bruhn (2003: 16) speaks of the “magic triangle of sponsorship”
and outlines three groups of participants, each of whom pursue different interests:
Ɣ Sports event organisers: they aim to use sponsorship as a means to tap into
additional sources of income; the greater the public interest, the greater the
marketing potential.
Ɣ Of¿cial sponsors: they consider sponsorship as an integral element of their
communications policy; they exploit the attractive sporting environment in
order to achieve economic and communicative goals.
Ɣ The media: their approach is a factor of the ratings; using sports events to
reach their own target audiences and to distinguish themselves from media
competitors.
The following paragraphs initially illustrate the consequences of ambush

marketing for these three groups, subsequently summing up with conclusions
drawn as to its impact on the entire sponsorship or sports market.
5.1 Consequences for of¿cial sponsors

Since ambushers take a share in the market potential of a sports event, a smaller
“slice of the pie” remains for of¿cial sponsors and licensees.
First, there’s direct competition for the market potential of merchandising
products. Sponsors and/or licensees and ambushers and their products compete
with one another in the same business area. With their own event-related products,
the ambushers siphon off the buying power of interested consumers (Pechtl 2007,
2008).
Moreover, ambush marketing results in a weakening of the communicative
effectiveness of the sponsorship of an of¿cial sponsor (Nufer 2005). Due to
ambush marketing, the number of vendors using the sports event as part of their
communications policy is increased. There is an inherent danger of attention
being drawn away from the sponsor to the ambusher and the aspired-to heightening
Consequences of ambush marketing 77
of awareness as well as the targeted image transfer do not take place for the
sponsor, as intended, but rather for the ambusher. Thereby, the exclusivity of the
of¿cial sponsor’s positioning in direct relationship to the sports event is lost. The
accompanying “commoditisation” impedes the attainment of communications
goals set by the sponsors (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Berberich 2006). At the same
time, the advertising pressure on the target groups increases, implying a drop in
attention paid to the communications measures that refer to the sports event.
Herein, there is not only competition between vendors in one industry, but all
advertisers are competing for the (scant) attention of the target group. Thus, due
to ambush marketing, sponsors obtain a smaller “share of voice” in the target
groups (Pechtl 2007).
Various empirical studies substantiate these assumptions:
1 In lab experiments test persons were shown videos of sports events, where
during the advertising breaks commercials of either of¿cial event sponsors or
their competitors were inserted. As a result of the insertion of competitors’
advertising the advertising impact of the of¿cial sponsors was substantially
weakened and, in parallel, the ambushers were frequently perceived as
sponsors (Sandler and Shani 1989; McDaniel and Kinney 1998).
2 At the time of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games Nike had purchased large
advertising spaces in the city of Los Angeles, using these to portray athletes
with the Nike logo. According to an empirical study, this billboard campaign
resulted in the fact that 44 per cent of the population thought that Nike was
the of¿cial sponsor and only 15 per cent identi¿ed Converse as the actual
Olympic partner (Meenaghan 1994).
3 In the context of an empirical study of the perception of of¿cial sponsors at
the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, Meenaghan (1996) determined that
to a great extent consumers could not differentiate between sponsor and non-
sponsors, some of which may be attributed to ambush marketing practised at
the time (see Table 5.1).
Table 5.1 Awareness of sponsors at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville (adapted
from: Meenaghan (1996: 103ff.))
Perception (in %)
Industry Correct (of¿cial sponsor) Incorrect (not an of¿cial
sponsor)
Credit cards 46.0 (Visa) 24.3 (American Express)
Delivery service 13.2 (Express Mail) 60.4 (Federal Express)
19.6 (UPS)
Coffee 25.5 (Maxwell House) 41.7 (Folger’s)
Retail 11.9 (J.C. Penney) 34.7 (Sears)
27.7 (Kmart)
14.9 (Wal-Mart)
78 Consequences of ambush marketing
Table 5.2 Aided recall values at the 1998 Football World Cup in France (adapted from:
Nufer (2002a: 81))
Aided recall (in %)

Industry Correct Incorrect
(of¿cial sponsor) (not an of¿cial sponsor)
Sports articles 83.5 (Adidas) 71.1 (Nike)
Soft drinks 78.6 (Coca-Cola) 7.5 (Pepsi)
Fast food 61.6 (McDonald’s) 3.5 (Burger King)
Chocolate candy bars 43.4 (Snickers) 19.1 (Mars)
The author of this study pursued a similar approach in interviews at the time of the
1998 Football World Cup in France. Teenage consumers were questioned in terms
of aided recall as to of¿cial main sponsors (see Table 5.2). In this study, for
example, the high aided recall values for non-sponsor Nike can largely be
interpreted as the result of a powerful ambushing commitment as well as the
vigorously communicated cooperation with the Brazilian national team.
The ¿ndings to date allow the presumption that for sponsors ambush marketing
basically results in a decrease in the effectiveness of their sponsorship message
and ultimately in a depreciation of their sponsorship (Meenaghan 1996; Townley,
Harrington and Couchman 1998). If, due to ambush activities, of¿cial sponsors
can only partially realise the market potential of a sports event, it can be anticipated
that their willingness to pay for and their motivation to support such a sports event
will decline. It is precisely in dif¿cult economic times that this may frequently
trigger a reappraisal of event sponsorship in the context of the communications
mix (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Heermann 2006). With reduced sponsorship support,
however, the sports event cannot be conducted to the extent that is necessary. In
this context, Pechtl uses the metaphor of the “Ambushers who bite the hand that
feeds them” (Pechtl 2007, 2008).
5.2 Consequences for sports event organisers

As the organisers’ own budgets are generally insuf¿cient to cover the ¿nancing of
major sports events, they rely on the acquisition of well-¿nanced external partners.
That is why the attractive marketing of the targeted sports event represents a core
objective of event organisers. In return they offer sponsors communications
opportunities in the context of the event and enable the sponsoring companies to
generate an af¿liation with the sports event. If due to ambush marketing this
af¿liation and, as a consequence thereof, the communications achievements of the
sponsorship commitment are not guaranteed or must be shared with non-sponsors,
the value of sponsorships inevitably depreciates. The consequences are either a
demand by sponsors for a reduction in sponsorship fees or possibly even a
withdrawal of the sponsors. Both of these cases lead to insecurity on the part of
the organisers of sports events and jeopardise the sources of income for event
Consequences of ambush marketing 79
organisers (Meenaghan 1996; Payne 1998; Townley, Harrington and Couchman
1998; Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
5.3 Consequences for the media

For the media, sports event coverage has long since become an essential
programming component and an effective tool for image differentiation vis-à-vis
their media competitors. Important sports events produce high ratings and beyond
that the opportunity to realise high advertising revenue by offering advertising
slots in the environment of the broadcasts. Thus, insecurity on the part of the
organisers also affects the ¿nancial situation of the television channels: they lose
programme content and as a consequence thereof also advertising revenue (Bruhn
5.4 Consequences for the development of the sponsorship and

sports market
Overall, the simultaneous activities of sports sponsors and ambushers within the scope
of the very same sports event result in the functional chain depicted in Figure 5.1.
Parallel activities of official sponsors and ambushers in the context

of the very same sport event
The target group cannot differentiate between official

Audience sports sponsors and ambushers
Sponsors complain of a weakening of the impact of

Official Sports
sports sponsorship and request a reduction of fees –
Sponsors
threatening to withdraw from their sponsorship
Event organisers fear a depreciation of their sports

Sports Event event – lower revenues from sponsorship jeopardising
Organisers the securing of financing of the sports event
The insecurity on the part of the organisers is

Media transferred to the media since sports coverage serves
as a means of distinguishing from media competition
Sports Sponsorship/ Jeopardising the organisation of sports events –

Sports Market insecurity in the sports market
Figure 5.1 Functional chain of the consequences of ambush marketing

80 Consequences of ambush marketing
Based on the network of connections among the main sponsorship participants,
the consequences are not merely limited to individual groups, but ultimately cause
uncertainty in the entire sports sponsorship market. With sponsors withdrawing
from their commitments and thus depriving a great number of events of their
¿nancial basis, this, in turn, has a negative effect on the development of the sports
event market. Therefore, the organisation of signi¿cant and popular major sports
events such as the Olympic Games and Football World Cup and European
Championships that typically rely on external partnerships for between 70 and
100 per cent of their ¿nancing (primarily sponsorship funds) is jeopardised for the
intermediate term (Meenaghan 1996; Payne 1998; McDonald and Davidson 2002;
Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
6 Interdisciplinary evaluation of
ambush marketing
It is more than obvious that ambush marketing operates in a grey area somewhere
between permissible and prohibited actions and between fair and unfair
competition (Nufer, Cherkeh and Banke 2012). Therefore, an evaluation of
ambush marketing must necessarily apply legal as well as ethical–moral standards
(see Figure 6.1).
6.1 Legal and statutory considerations

In the legal–statutory evaluation of ambush marketing, the measures are to be
differentiated in terms of whether they constitute a clear breach of the law in the
context of the event, punishable by speci¿c legal remedies, or if they are of a more
subtle nature, defensible only with vague legal remedies or none at all (Townley,
Harrington and Couchman 1998; Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
The legal and statutory considerations of ambush marketing below refer
primarily to German and European law. Internationally/worldwide one can
assume more or less similar results based on individual national legal principles.
With regard to detailed litigation related to ambush marketing, reference examples
can be found in publications of Heermann (2006, 2011), Wittneben and Soldner
Ambush Marketing
Dominant
aggressive
Legal and statutory considerations Ethical and moral considerations
Figure 6.1 Evaluation of ambush marketing

82 Interdisciplinary evaluation of ambush marketing
(2006), Melwitz (2008), Jaeschke (2008) (always in accordance with German law),
Noth (2007) (in terms of Swiss law) or Townley, Harrington and Couchman (1998)
(in accordance with British law). The discussion will focus on whether or to what
extent current legislation in Europe enables litigation against ambush marketing and
where there are limits. By implication, the description of the legal and statutory
defensive options indicates what options do exist for legal ambush marketing.
6.1.1 Copyright law

The Copyright Act provides for protection of intellectual property. It can be applied
for the legal prosecution of an ambush activity when protected graphic design logos,
symbols and emblems as well as mascots or trophies of an event are unlawfully
used. Corresponding to the structuring that has been applied to ambush marketing,
this is only possible in the case of direct ambush marketing. The prerequisites are
that the mark or symbol can be designated as an original artisanal work. This
condition is ful¿lled if the logo or symbol represents a personal intellectual creation
and displays a minimal measure of creativity, i.e. a certain level of creative design
(Heermann 2006; Wittneben and Soldner 2006; Jaeschke 2008).
In general, the unlawful use or dissemination of counterfeit materials is
punishable by prohibition and claims for damages. In the case of counterfeit
merchandising materials, for example, there are entitlements to removal, cease
and desist orders and payment of damages. Also photographs fall under the
protection of intellectual property rights, whereby the unauthorised use of of¿cial
photographs and shots can be prohibited (Heermann 2006; Pechtl 2007).
Thus, the infringement of intellectual property rights can be countered.
However, the necessary prerequisites for the implementation of intellectual
property law only apply to a small fraction of the cases of ambushing that can be
observed in actual practice. One of the primary problems in this regard involves
the creative ambushing activities that deliberately sidestep the crude imitation or
copying of logos and symbols.
6.1.2 Trademark law

The trademark rights to a brand are acquired by registration in the trademark
register. Pursuant to the trademark law hallmarks consisting of word and image
marks, combinations of both, as well as individual letters and numerals can be
registered, provided that no obstacles to protection exist. If event organisers
register the hallmarks or symbols of their major events as trademarked brands, an
event trademark (or brand) is created, with the rights to said trademark being the
property of the organiser. The event organiser can confer the use of the registered
event trademark to sponsors and licensees in the form of licence agreements
(Jaeschke 2008; Melwitz 2008).
Provided that organisers are owners of protected trademarks, they can take
legal action against freeriders who use these trademarks without having acquired
the appropriate licence, with trademark-related cease and desist orders and claims
Interdisciplinary evaluation of ambush marketing 83
for payment of damages. This is also applicable to symbols or hallmarks that may
be similar to the registered trademark or those that may result in their confusion.
This is intended to prevent imitation or impersonation (Heermann 2006; Wittneben
and Soldner 2006).
A registered trademark is protected if it ful¿ls speci¿c criteria of registrability.
Distinctiveness implies the protection as a trademark of attribute(s) that
differentiate the products/services of a company from the products/services of
other companies. If the producing company or entity (in this case the organiser of
a sports event) is inherent in the trademarked brand name, then its identi¿cation is
ful¿lled in terms of the indication of origin function. In order to decrease the
initial options for ambushers, event organisers frequently also register so-called
“reserve trademarks”, to ensure that as many word and symbol combinations as
possible are protected and thus not available for ambushers to (mis)use. It may,
however, be questionable whether the registration of an event title constitutes a
direct reference to the origin of the organiser or if it is merely a descriptive
indicator of the event itself. No one is permitted to register a trademark for the
purpose of procuring a monopoly on the use of universal terms and notions. In
order to avoid completely blocking other companies’ access to a merchandise
category, it is prohibited to register symbols or marks that merely describe product
features such as texture or consistency, number or purpose. This is the case of a
so-called requirement of free availability. The requirement of free availability is
to be construed as grounds for refusal, stating that trademarks are excluded from
registration when they represent a commonly used designation or, as in this case,
merely describe or refer to a major event, thus being terms of common usage. The
owner may not prohibit this usage. So, for example, the event brand “2006
Football World Cup” describes an international football competition in 2006, for
which the requirement of free availability based on common language use is to be
af¿rmed. Thus, the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) ruled that the
trademark “2006 Football World Cup” was to be deleted in respect of all goods
and services for which protection was sought. On the other hand the Court deleted
the trademark “2006 World Cup” only for goods and services that are associated
with football. This means that with clever phrasing of commonly used terms and
concepts, it would be absolutely feasible to legally indicate an association with the
2006 Football World Cup without infringing on trademark law (Heermann 2006;
Wittneben and Soldner 2006; Pechtl 2007).
In previous cases, the problems usually involved the determination of the extent
of coverage of trademark protection. For this reason, in recent years the focus has
not been on the actual legal protection of the trademark, but instead, the discussion
centred on the extent of coverage of the trademark protection (Schmid-Petersen
2004; Berberich 2006; Heermann 2006; Wittneben and Soldner 2006).
6.1.3 Laws regulating competition and fair trade practices

Inasmuch as no infringement of trademark rights can be determined, claims for
injunctive relief with regard to the laws of unfair competition may be considered
– provided that ambusher and of¿cial sponsor have a competitive relationship
(Melwitz 2008). Generally speaking, there is freedom of competition, as
competition promotes motivation to be productive, thus serving the cause of
progress. However, speci¿c rules are required for the preservation of fair
competition. Thus, for example, the Restriction of Competition Act secures the
“existence” of generally free competition, while the Act against Unfair Competition
ensures the “quality” of the competition and takes action against unfair competitive
practices such as misleading advertising (Zerres 1994; Stumpf 2006; Jaeschke
2008).
The aim of the Act against Unfair Competition is the protection of competitors,
consumers and other players in the market from unfair competition, while at the
same time protecting the public interest by maintaining genuine competition. For
this legal protection to even be considered, an actual competitive activity must
exist. Ambush marketing activities can, in effect, be regarded as competitive
actions (Heermann 2006; Wittneben and Soldner 2006).
The Act against Unfair Competition lists examples of unfair competitive
practices and describes situations involving unfair competitive practices. These
range from facts such as undue inÀuence, obstruction and exploitation of reputation
to deception concerning commercial origin of products and disparagement. It is a
matter of examining the individual case to determine to what extent speci¿c
ambush marketing measures that constitute a competitive activity should actually
be considered unfair practices. Examples of the most important and most
frequently occurring ambush situations are (Berberich 2006; Heermann 2006;
Wittneben and Soldner 2006; Melwitz 2008):
Ɣ avoidable misrepresentation of origin;

Ɣ exploitation of reputation;
Ɣ targeted hindrance of a competitor;
Ɣ misleading; and
Ɣ disparagement.
Generally speaking, only slight protection from ambush marketing can be

attributed to the rules governing unfair competition, as they only apply under very
speci¿c circumstances and trademark rights can usually be invoked beforehand
(Pechtl 2007). Thus it becomes clear that the laws governing competition also do
not provide comprehensive protection against ambush marketing, as unlicensed
advertising that merely alludes to a sports event can hardly, or with great dif¿culty,
be prevented on grounds of this legal basis.
6.1.4 Domiciliary rights

Domiciliary rights determine access to the event venue. In the Civil Code of Law,
domiciliary rights are determined from the fact of ownership or possession of a
property or event structure. In principle, the owner is entitled to domiciliary rights.
They are transferred to person(s) allowed to use the property (or lessees)
(Heermann 2006). As the BGH has ruled that the commercial organisation of a
sports event represents a right to the furnished and practised commercial operation,
the Civil Code also provides, in principle, a legal basis for the defence against
ambush marketing measures. However, to date there are no rulings on this subject
(Jaeschke 2008).
The domiciliary rights give the organiser the option to stipulate the terms and
conditions for the admission of spectators. Based on stadium rules, for example,
the distribution of giveaways or the rollout of advertising billboards at the site of
the event can be prevented. The admission of persons with ambushers’ advertising
materials can be declined based on this provision. However, the question arises as
to whether persons wearing a non-sponsor’s clothing or bringing with them food/
accessories of non-sponsors can be excluded from the event. In addition,
domiciliary rights authorise the organiser to make determinations concerning the
advertising spaces and opportunities available at the event venue. Thus, having
only advertising of of¿cial sponsors and licensees visible at the event venue can
be ensured (Schmid-Petersen 2004; Wittneben and Soldner 2006; Pechtl 2007).
Frequently, due to additional agreements (“functional speci¿cations”) with the
communities at event venues, protocol routes (access roads to the stadium) and a
speci¿ed area surrounding the stadium are negotiated as licensed advertising-free
zones. However, the suppression of advertising on public grounds is limited to
advertising that hampers public use by being displayed on ¿xed advertising media
such as booths, parked cars or signs, since these are subject to approval. On the
other hand, such special rights of usage are not required for mobile advertising
that does not impede normal traf¿c, such as, for instance, distribution of Àyers or
giveaways without static booths. Furthermore, no legal options exist for the
prevention of advertising on private property or within the scope of public usage,
for instance on private or public vehicles. It is basically dif¿cult to thwart
advertising in air space, but as it is, today air space is often off-limits for security
reasons (Reinholz 2005; Berberich 2006; Müller 2007).
In this context, the 2006 FIFA World Cup saw the emergence of the concept of
the “off-limits area” (FIFA preferring the term “controlled areas”) all around the
stadium, as any and all advertising – with the exception of that licensed by the
organisers – was banned from this space. Voluminous functional speci¿cations
whose ful¿lment had to be guaranteed by the host municipalities created
advertising-free zones in the environment of the sports venue and on the protocol
routes, these being high-traf¿c access routes from airports, railroad stations and
city centres to the stadium. Thus, communications measures by non-sponsors
were prohibited within these zones so as to eliminate the provision of any
advertising opportunities for ambushers. However, this type of encroachment on
public space and the rights of third parties extends beyond the rights granted to
organisers by domiciliary rights. In fact, the host cities – actually non-pro¿t public
institutions and thereby an “extension” of the organisers – favour of¿cial sponsors
by granting selected companies (the sponsoring companies) special status and
thereby helping provide these enterprises with quasi-monopolising communications
status. So one could accuse the municipalities of intervening in competition and
even hampering the latter, as in this way it becomes impossible for any competitors
of sponsors to use what is actually public property (advertising space that in theory
can be used by anyone) for their own (advertising) purposes (Wittneben and
Soldner 2006; Nufer and Simmerl 2008; Pechtl 2008).
The supervision and enforcement of domiciliary rights requires considerable
effort and resources on the part of organisers, because both are very costly and
personnel intensive. If the aim is careful monitoring, resources must be allocated
well ahead of the event, to pursue all potential cases of ambush marketing or not
even allowing these to develop.
6.1.5 Rights of the individual

When images of popular sports ¿gures are used in advertising, it is important to
ascertain whether or not the consent of the person concerned has been obtained.
The use of these images or their names without their consent can be prohibited
based on the rights of the individual. This enables the prevention of ambush
activities that are conducted at the expense of a speci¿c personality whose image
or name is used in an authorised manner (Nufer 2005).
A violation of the rights of the individual exists when speci¿c characteristics,
such as the name, are exploited for commercial purposes. However, in the relevant
case of ambush marketing relating to this issue it generally involves testimonial
advertising. The athlete in question consents to this for the purpose of generating
additional income from advertising revenues. This creates a legitimate association
of the advertiser with the sports event in which the athlete participates (Schmid-
Petersen 2004; Pechtl 2007).
Not infrequently, however, athletes, teams or associations conclude sponsorship
and equipment contracts that, as the case may be, conÀict with existing of¿cial
event sponsors (or, as the case may be, the converse: athletes already have
contracts with sponsors whose competitors later become event sponsors), which is
especially problematic if the latter have been assured of exclusivity. This raises
the question as to whether and to what extent this involves ambushing. If the
personal contractual partner makes no ¿nancial contribution whatsoever to
the execution of the event, this would constitute ambush marketing. Yet it is
precisely the ¿nancial support engendered by personal sponsorship contracts that
enables some athletes to participate in the competition (Schmid-Petersen 2004).
6.1.6 Autonomy of associations

At sports events the organiser is generally an association or a club. The autonomy
of associations enables the organiser to stipulate regulations for the execution of
the sports event, with participants committing to abide by these. Along with
sporting and organisational rules, conditions for the use of advertising and
marketing rights during the event can be set out here (Pechtl 2008).
To prevent the perpetration of ambush marketing by participants, e.g. the
obstruction of logos of of¿cial sponsors or their own display of logos not associated
with the event, certain obligations may be imposed upon the participants and possible
sanctions for violations speci¿ed (up to their disquali¿cation) (Pechtl 2008).
Due to the many instances of individual sponsorship contracts of individual
athletes or teams, this may also be a source of conÀicts of interest. Solutions to
date (e.g. the Olympic Charter of the IOC) include, among other things, the
authorisation to have their own equipment, often provided by the individual
sponsor with discreet (not overwhelming) display of the company or brand logo
or limitations for the placement of advertising materials that the event participants
use as testimonials (Pechtl 2007).
In conclusion of the present legal–statutory evaluation of ambush marketing, the

following can be stated: the more blatant the attempted association with an event,
the more likely the existence of a legal approach against the relevant ambushing.
In other words, however, this also means: while the justice system can prevent
direct ambush marketing, ultimately it often has little to offer to counter the far
more frequent cases of indirect ambush marketing that are prevalent today.
Although the generally ambush-friendly legal interpretation that has prevailed
until now seems to be changing, ambush marketing by association can hardly be
prevented legally since many of these ambush activities are so cleverly staged that
violations of the current justice system are generally hard to prove. It remains to
be seen if at some time in the future lawmakers will pass a special “Anti-Ambush
Marketing Act” as, for example, has already been attempted to some extent in
Switzerland at the 2008 Football European Championship, but ultimately failed
(Grüter 2008; Melwitz 2008). Additional speci¿c laws modelled on the Olympic
Protection Act as part of the candidacy of the city Leipzig to host the 2012 Summer
Olympic Games, the constitutionality of which was subject to signi¿cant
misgivings, can therefore not be anticipated in the near future (Wittneben and
Soldner 2006; Jaeschke 2008).
6.2 Ethical and moral considerations

The dif¿culties associated with the legal–statutory assessment of ambush marketing
have also initiated an international ethical and moral debate on ambush marketing
(Meenaghan 1996; Doust 1997; O’Sullivan and Murphy 1998). In recent years
ethical discourse has become increasingly signi¿cant in the ¿elds of business
administration and the science of sports. Thereby, an ethical evaluation requires the
initial selection of the appropriate criteria in order to enable the classi¿cation of
ambush marketing as ethically proper or improper. For this purpose, O’Sullivan and
Murphy (1998) apply four selected basic principles discussed in the literature on
ambush marketing and that are addressed in more detail below.
6.2.1 Utilitarianism
The utilitarian approach was systematically developed primarily by Jeremy
Bentham (1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) and applied to speci¿c
issues. The utilitarian principle is the basis for the ethical evaluation of an act. The
core of utilitarianism can be summarised in the postulation: act in a manner so that
the greatest possible degree of happiness is created (“Maximum Happiness
Principle”). In so doing, the general utility is a result of the aggregation of the
utility of the individual. In terms of utilitarianism, decisions are judged as proper
if they increase the total utility for a majority of those involved (Bruhn and Ahlers
2003).
As related to ambush marketing the argument could thereby be made that due
to the fact that multiple sponsorship rights are granted in various sponsor categories
– including competing companies – the ¿nancial support of the sports event is
maximised and thus the interests of the active and passive participants at a sports
event are served. Thus, this form of ambush marketing is classi¿ed as ethically
proper. The utility notwithstanding, a limitation of the utilitarian perspective may
be perceived in the fact that the maximisation of utility for the majority may at the
same time cause a minority to incur substantial damages. In the case of ambush
marketing these are the of¿cial main sponsors. If, as a consequence of this, the
sponsors withdraw from their sponsorship commitments, the expected
consequences would ultimately be negative for the entire sponsorship and sports
market, i.e. the total utility enjoyed by the majority of participants drops
(O’Sullivan and Murphy 1998; Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Stumpf 2006).
Another utilitarian aspect concerns sports fans and the broader public. If
ambushing activities cause confusion among spectators as to which company is
the of¿cial sponsor of a sports event and which is not, this undermines the goodwill
that usually emanates from a sports event. This can potentially lead to a situation
where the special “spirit” of sports event such as the Olympics could be called into
question due to ambush marketing. Viewed from this perspective, ambush
marketing is thereby unethical (O’Sullivan and Murphy 1998).
6.2.2 Duty ethics

The categorical imperative is the most fundamental principle of Immanuel Kant’s
(1724–1804) duty ethics. He mandates all people to examine their actions in terms
of whether they follow a universally valid precept. Duty is the necessity to commit
an act based on respect for the law. Duty should be the motive for acting. Thus an
act based on a sense of duty is an act of respect for the law. Persons whose
conscience demands of them that they act in a particular way are duty bound to act
in that way. Therefore, in the context of duty ethics an evaluation is not conducted
on the basis of the consequences of an action but rather on the basis of its intended
purposes (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
If an ambusher’s intention is to mislead the spectators at a sports event with
regard to sponsorships, its intent is wilful deceit. This conduct is to be quali¿ed
unequivocally as unethical (O’Sullivan and Murphy 1998; Bruhn and Ahlers
2003; Stumpf 2006).
Another interpretation of duty ethics as related to ambush marketing comes
from Meenaghan (1996). In his opinion, the ambusher is duty bound to pursue
overall company goals, i.e. to generate competitive advantages as well as to
maximise pro¿t and shareholder value. If a company cannot afford an of¿cial
sponsorship, by not undertaking ambush marketing it would be carelessly
relinquishing an attractive advertising opportunity in the context of a sports event.
Viewed from this perspective, ambush marketing is to be classi¿ed as appropriate.
6.2.3 Virtue ethics

Virtue ethics denotes a class of normative theories whose core concept is human
virtue. Aristotle (384–322 BCE) is the classical advocate of virtue ethics. The
classical four Greek virtues are wisdom, justice, courage and moderation. In the
Christian tradition, the three theological virtues of faith, hope and love were added
by Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225–1274). In summary, one speaks of the seven
cardinal virtues. Virtue ethics focuses neither on the consequences nor on the
intention of actions, but rather on the character of persons or organisations. The
principle is based on the assumption that people strive to do good and to behave
virtuously (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
Ambush marketing provokes the deception of spectators. Thus, ambush
marketing dissociates itself from accepted virtues and has a counterproductive
effect, i.e. in accordance with this ethical principle ambush marketing should be
rejected (O’Sullivan and Murphy 1998; Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Stumpf 2006).
However, in terms of the basic principles of virtue ethics, the behaviour of
several sports event organisers should also be classi¿ed in a critical manner. Due
to the very high fees for of¿cial sponsorships, organisers such as FIFA or the IOC
create a downright provocation for ambushing and they provide a signi¿cant
contribution to the overall surge in ambush marketing (O’Sullivan and Murphy
1998; Stumpf 2006).
6.2.4 Stakeholder analysis

In the context of a stakeholder analysis, decision-makers contemplate the impact
of their decisions on a broad range of individuals and groups. Those directly
involved have of¿cial or contractual relationships with an organisation, all others
involved are to be classi¿ed as indirect stakeholders (Carroll 1993; O’Sullivan
and Murphy 1998).
For instance, the stakeholder analysis of the 1998 Football World Cup would
show the following scenario: adidas is an of¿cial sponsor of the World Cup and
has a contractual relationship with event organiser FIFA, which, among other
things, assures adidas of exclusivity in the area of sporting goods. On the other
hand, during the World Cup competitor and non-sponsor of the World Cup Nike
runs a massive advertising campaign touting its partnership with the Brazilian
national team and especially with its superstar Ronaldo. In the ¿nals, the French
team, equipped by adidas, faces off against Brazil. The spectators watching the
game are irritated, confused as to who the actual of¿cial sponsor is, as both brands
are clearly visible and had already advertised beforehand during the entire event.
Does this scenario encompass anything unethical? Nike’s activities can be
adjudged as ethically proper as long as the consumers were not wilfully misled
and do not consider Nike to be the of¿cial sponsor. If Nike were to play by all the
rules of the event organiser, the results of this stakeholder analysis would be that
neither FIFA nor adidas have incurred any damages. Ordinarily, however,
ambushers attempt to deliberately deceive the spectators and that is precisely why
they are mistakenly perceived as the of¿cial sponsors. If the results of the
stakeholder analysis were to sound like this, then Nike’s strategy would have to be
declared as unethical (Sandler and Shani 1989; O’Sullivan and Murphy 1998).
In conclusion, a glance at the ethical discussions of ambush marketing makes it

clear that both the opponents and proponents of ambush marketing may ¿nd equal
measure of support for their individual opinions in fundamental ethical principles.
Therefore, a general ethical–moral evaluation or condemnation of ambush
marketing cannot be undertaken.
To sum up, it can be stated that neither the hope of legal–statutory support nor the
argumentation using ethical–moral principles will be able to bring about a decrease
of ambush marketing in the future. As seen from a neutral, objective perspective,
ambush marketing is just one more tool of communications practice and thereby
a tangible fact that both organisers and sponsors will have to deal with in
professional terms.
7 Prevention of ambush
marketing
As has previously been illustrated, the legal options for taking on ambush
marketing offer only limited promise of success. Therefore, the measures
described in this chapter focus primarily on the prevention of ambush marketing,
and to a lesser extent on the subsequent (or retroactive) “punishment” of
ambushers.
7.1 Challenges confronting sports event organisers

In the context of the contemplation of the challenges facing organisers of sports
events in the future, a distinction can be drawn between organisational and
communications-related measures.
7.1.1 Contract management

The ¿rst organisational point of departure is the clear structuring of the rights
awarded for sponsorship and licensing. Initially, this refers to transparency,
de¿ning what rights are awarded and how these rights are to be exercised.
Association autonomy also provides the organiser with the option of resolving
conÀicts between sponsors’ rights at the various league levels, or, in other words,
granting the top level in the association pyramid the oversight of the sponsorship
and licensing for the subordinate level(s). Thus, in the case of the Olympic Games
the OC and the NOCs (national organisational committees) may not accept
sponsors who are the direct competitors of the top partners of the IOC. This type
of contract management has already become standard practice for international
mega events (O’Sullivan and Murphy 1998; Shani and Sandler 1998; Farrelly,
Quester and Greyser 2005).
Moreover, sponsorship packages that do not assure the sponsors suf¿cient
exclusivity are to be avoided. Thus, in current practice, of¿cial event sponsors
normally also get pre-emptive rights for programme sponsorship with media
companies or the organisers assert themselves to make sure that no competitive
advertising is permitted to be booked during the coverage of the sports event
(industry exclusivity) (Pechtl 2007). Furthermore, it is crucial to regulate which
rights are granted exclusively to an of¿cial sponsor and which rights may also be
92 Prevention of ambush marketing
acquired by other companies. In the relationships between organisers and
sponsored athletes, teams or leagues this requires clear-cut contracts with all those
involved, that includes, for example, rules covering equipment or out¿tting of the
sponsored entities or the obligation of athletes to publically use certain sponsors’
products (Townley, Harrington and Couchman 1998; Garrigues 2002; Bruhn and
Ahlers 2003).
It can be ascertained that in the endeavour to provide sponsors with consistently
more perfect sponsorship packages, ambush marketing has undoubtedly had
learning effects. These are manifested especially in the gradual improvement of
regulations and guidelines in order to be able to prevent recently determined types
of ambush marketing in the future. Related to this, Pechtl uses the metaphor of
“the hare and the hedgehog” in which the ambusher searches for gaps in the
network and the organiser strives to close these gaps (Pechtl 2007).
7.1.2 Monitoring
The second organisational point of departure encompasses the establishment of a
monitoring system or a so-called “ambush police”. It is incumbent upon the
organisers to protect their sponsors and licensees by implementing their own
monitoring measures to uncover ambushers and to take primarily legal action
against their activities (Heermann 2006; Pechtl 2007).
During the 2006 Football World Cup FIFA’s so-called legal protection teams
were active at the site of every game to prevent any ambush activities. The venues
were monitored to ensure that no unauthorised persons or companies were able to
sell or promote their materials, advertise their products or even sell counterfeit
products. In cooperation with security personnel they paid particular attention at
stadium entrances that no company could succeed in having spectators bring
advertising materials such as posters or banners into the stadium (thus, spectators
were forced to hand over their clothing simply because they bore advertising
imprints; the controls targeted only products that had been speci¿cally distributed
to spectators in large quantities prior to the games) (Müller 2007).
In the requirements of the IOC to which organisers of Olympic Games are
subjected, the responsibility for a “clean” environment even goes to such great
lengths as checking the dishes served at restaurants in the vicinity of the event
venue and the brands of beverages dispensed there, as well as the prior speci¿cation
of accepted credit cards. In order to monitor the environment of the event, the IOC
works closely with local of¿cials (Payne 1998; Bruhn and Ahlers 2003).
However, such a monitoring system entails enormous costs. It is therefore
prudent to weigh the economic bene¿ts of preventing an ambush activity and
whether they justify the monitoring costs required therein. In addition, the
organisers risk potential detriment to their image when the public perceives the
prevention of ambush activities as excessive. The dilemma for the organisers,
however, is that conversely, by taking preventive measures that may appear
excessive they must send a signal that they take the protection of their sponsors
and licensees very seriously (Gentner and Saal 2006; Pechtl 2007).
Prevention of ambush marketing 93
7.1.3 Public relations
A completely different strategy to counter ambush marketing involves
communications efforts by the organisers to address companies, advertising
agencies and the media and to provide information to spectators and end-users.
“Education and shaming” strategies have two core objectives: on the one hand,
PR and media advertising are implemented to inform the relevant players of the
existence of protective rights, sponsorship relationships and regulations related to
the individual sports event and, in parallel, to make target groups aware of the
names of the of¿cial sponsors and licensees (education) for the purpose of
reducing the risk of confusion through ambush activities. On the other hand, these
communications measures are also aimed at creating a negative image of ambush
marketing with the public (shaming) while simultaneously improving the image
of sports sponsorship or at least sensitising the target group to its bene¿ts
(Heermann 2006; Noth 2006; Wittneben and Soldner 2006; Müller 2007).
The reasoning provided for the latter refers to the increasing commercialisation
of sports events and/or a strict rights protection policy by the organiser as tending
to raise acceptance and sympathy for ambushers in public opinion. This is
illustrated in a particularly striking manner by the IOC advertising campaign at
the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin that was adapted by the Deutsche Sport-
Marketing GmbH. The goal of this PR campaign was to counter the spectators’
lack of knowledge concerning the rights and duties of of¿cial sponsors so as to
diminish the effectiveness of ambush marketing (see Figure 7.1).
Such communications measures can also be downright threatening. Thus, in
the run-up to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, the Olympic Committee sent
out about 900 letters to advertising, PR and communications agencies with the
warning that any and all ambush marketing in the context of the Olympics would
be disclosed to the public in full-page print ads in national newspapers. In this
case, however, the organisers may have overshot their targets, as at the very least,
those ambush activities that are legally unobjectionable cannot be condemned in
this manner (McDonald and Davidson 2002).
The bottom line is that, in general, the likelihood of the success of education
and shaming strategies is questionable. Creative ambushers who want to take
advantage of the legal loopholes will not be thus intimidated, and when in doubt
will take their chances as to how their activities are judged in court (Heermann
2006).
7.2 Challenges confronting of¿cial sponsors

In much the same way as the organisers, the of¿cial sponsors and licensees face
challenges in defending themselves against ambush marketing. In practice, it can
be observed that it is partially a lack of professionalism in the planning and
implementation of sponsorships that may provoke the ambushers to exploit the
situation. The acquisition of sponsorship and licensing rights does not guarantee
the sponsors or licensees that the marketing potential of a sports event will simply
O L Y M P IS C H E A T H L E T E N S O R G E N FU R D lf S P A N N U N G .
D L Y M P IS C H E S P O N S O R E N LIEFE R N DIE U N T E R S T O T Z U N G .
Z U S A M M E N E R S C H A T F E N SIE D EN T R A U M .
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Spanscran zu win, o-lino Liz«anzvertrag& mit dam IOC und ctam NOK
atgeschlo^en zu haben. Indem sie otympistfie Embleme ader Bildar
^ r M n d a n Oder sieli selbst ate offizielier Partner der Olympisehen
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Olympischen Spiels. Sie entziehen ihnen die materi^lie GrundlajG.
Nur oftiziella S p o n s o rs der OtympiKheri Spiele sind berechtigt, die

olytnpischen Symbole und Bild-dr fbr ihre Werbung zu n^rwentlen.
Diesfl Sponsoren haben das Recftt dazu, indein sie Pnodukte, Dienst-
teistungen oder financial Is UniterstCrtoing liefern und so mil holfen, die
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Mil Hinblick airf die Otympischen Winters piele 2 0 0 6 in Turin bitten

wir Sie, die U'ntemehmen zu unterstfftzen, die offizielle olympische
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Figure 7.1 Anti-ambush advertisement of the IOC at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin
(source: http://www.dsm-olympia.de (accessed 25 March 2009))
fall into their laps, or that they can demand it from the organisers. They are merely
acquiring a favourable starting position in competition with potential ambushers
that must be used to their advantage in their marketing efforts (Bruhn and Ahlers
2003; Nufer 2005; Pechtl 2007). For of¿cial sponsors, the following is therefore
of fundamental importance: the more effective they are in communicating their
own sponsorship to their target groups, the less vulnerable they are to ambush
marketing.
7.2.1 Sponsorship planning

The ¿rst order of business is for potential sponsors to choose an appropriate
sports event that is a good ¿t for their own products and target groups (Farrelly,
Quester and Greyser 2005). All too frequently companies base their sponsorships
on gut feeling or on the personal af¿nities of management.
In addition, combating ambush marketing requires that in the future of¿cial
sponsors deal more intensively with the legal and contractual situation inherent
in sponsorships. In many companies it is solely the marketing or advertising
departments and top management who are responsible for sponsorship, while the
legal department is not involved or, if at all, too late in the process (O’Sullivan and
Murphy 1998; Noth 2006).
In order to be able to predict the potential for ambush marketing early on, in
addition to a critical examination of sponsorship agreements, it is imperative that
potential “loopholes” for ambushers are identi¿ed, especially if not all sponsorship
rights are granted and controlled by the organisers themselves. The most effective
defence against ambush marketing is the occupation of potential ambush areas by
the sponsors themselves. The purchase of the most comprehensive sponsorship
packages possible enables at least well-¿nanced companies to signi¿cantly reduce
the risk of interference from ambush marketing (Meenaghan 1996; Bruhn and
Ahlers 2003).
With regard to the media, in addition to control of programme sponsorship, a
guarantee of product or industry exclusivity in television advertising is important.
This includes, for example, the prohibition of advertising by direct competitors of
of¿cial sponsors or the creation of af¿liations with a speci¿c sports event in the
TV commercials of non-sponsors (McDaniel and Kinney 1998; Shani and Sandler
1998; Townley, Harrington and Couchman 1998).
Nevertheless, limiting the allocation of TV advertising time solely to of¿cial
sponsors would appear to be rather unrealistic. It should also be added that for the
implementation of the above-mentioned approaches, of¿cial sponsors would
probably require either the support of the event organisers or the media and/or that
these measures would necessitate great ¿nancial capacity.
7.2.2 Sponsorship implementation

In the battle for a share of the marketing potential of a sports event, ambushers
only have a shot if the of¿cial sponsors do not make adequate use of their rights.
Thus, it is essential for sponsors to effectively exploit the sponsorship rights they
have purchased and to implement them aggressively. In a highly competitive
environment it becomes increasingly important for sponsors to communicate their
unmistakable status as sponsors, i.e. to advertise who the “true” promoters of
the sports event really are, and in this way bring about a direct af¿liation with the
sports event (Tripodi and Sutherland 2000). Sandler and Shani (1989: 13)
emphasise just how important this is “to achieve any bene¿ts from being a sponsor
it is necessary not only for a company to sponsor an event such as the Olympics
but to heavily advertise the fact that they are of¿cial sponsors”. This includes the
implementation of their sponsorship with the use of creative communications
measures as well as supporting activities in the time preceding and following the
sports event (Meenaghan 1994; Lyberger and McCarthy 2001).
Another alternative is the responses of of¿cial sponsors to ambush activities.
But reactions to ambushing by the sponsor may result in even more damage to the
sponsor (Burton and Chadwick 2009; Humphreys, Cornwell, McAlister, Kelly,
Quinn and Murray 2010).
It is crucial that the event sponsorship is consistently integrated into the
communications mix. Linking the sponsorship with other communications tools
in terms of content, formal aspects and timing generates the achievement of a
synergetic intensi¿cation of the overall effect (Nufer 2012). This can produce
a long-term reinforcement of the relationship between a company and a sponsored
event in the consciousness of its target groups, thus reducing its vulnerability in
the face of ambush marketers. The approaches for such a cross-instrument
integration (cross-linking of the various tools) are multi-faceted. Examples of the
available options are (Bruhn 2003; Daumann and Berlin 2008):
Ɣ inclusion of the sponsored event in PR efforts;

Ɣ execution of sponsorship-related sales promotions;
Ɣ invitation of important clients to sponsored events and the organisation of
hospitality activities;
Ɣ communication of the sponsorship on the company website;
Ɣ activities/measures in the context of customer relationship management
(CRM).
At the same time, in addition to the cross-linking of sponsorship with other

communications instruments, the intra-instrumental integration of the individual
sponsorships of a company takes on increasing signi¿cance. Frequently,
companies do not limit their roles as of¿cial sponsors exclusively to one
mega sports event, but are actively engaged at smaller events as well as in various
sports. An overarching central theme increases the credibility of the entire
sponsorship commitment and reinforces the sought-after image transfer (Bruhn
In order to be able to showcase their sponsorship commitment to a broader
public and to prevent direct competitors in particular from gaining communicative
access to a sports event, many of¿cial sponsors adhere to the internal “rule of
thumb” that at least the same amount as paid to the organisers for their sponsorship
should be budgeted for supporting communications measures. However, in
practice, evidently either not all sponsors choose to apply this maxim or do not
have the ¿nancial means for an appropriate integrated communications policy at
their disposal.
In conclusion, it can be stated: all those involved bear responsibility for the
defence against ambush marketing, which includes the organisers of sports events
who must develop and implement effective “anti-ambushing programmes”; the
of¿cial sponsors who apply professional planning and integrated implementation
of their sponsorships to rob ambushers of their targets. Then there are also the
media, who must display sure instincts in dealing with the phenomenon of ambush
marketing both in the allocation of their advertising options and in their event
coverage. Ultimately, the sciences can also make a contribution, addressing the
increasing prevalence of ambush marketing in practice by dealing more intensively
with the motives and objectives of ambush marketing and by further studying the
phenomenon of ambush marketing with both theoretical and empirical
effectiveness research.
8 Empirical research on the
impact of ambush marketing
Whereas there are already quite a number of empirical research studies on sports
sponsorship in general and at least a few on sports event sponsorship in particular,
empirical research on the subject of ambush marketing is still in its early stages.
8.1 Status of effectiveness research on ambush marketing

Apart from analysing the effectiveness of measures instituted by of¿cial sponsors,
various studies on sports event sponsorship also examine – sort of “by the way”
– the ef¿ciency of ambush marketing by the direct competitors of the sponsors. In
contrast, studies that were initiated speci¿cally for the purpose of researching
ambush marketing are exceedingly rare.
8.1.1 Theory of effectiveness research

Based on the communications objectives of raising awareness and image
enhancement, two primary objectives of sports sponsorship and ambush marketing
in general should be emphasised in terms of their targeted impact (Bruhn 2010;
Nufer 2012).
Ɣ effect on knowledge and recall; and

Ɣ effect on image and attitude.
8.1.1.1 Process for measuring effectiveness

Recognition tests in the context of sports sponsorship or ambush marketing are
conducted so that test persons are questioned as to whether they recognise
previously seen sports advertising messages when they are shown again. However,
in literature recognition tests are generally considered as not totally validated in
terms of their methodology (Deimel 1992).
Effectiveness studies typically ascertain recall values for sponsors and, if
relevant, for ambushers. In unaided recall tests the test persons are asked to recall
(or name) company or brand names they may have noticed at speci¿c sports
events, without the bene¿t of memory aids. On the other hand, in aided recall
Empirical research on the impact of ambush marketing 99
tests, for example, the interviewees are given lists of names of sponsors as well as
those of ambushers and non-sponsors as memory aids or for selection. It should be
noted that recall values do not indicate the awareness level (or name recognition)
of a company or a brand, but the association of a sponsor or ambusher with an
event (Walliser 1995, 1997).
The measurement of changes in the level of awareness requires the performance
of a baseline measurement before (ex ante) as well as a comparative or control
measurement during or after (ex post) the sports event. The impact of the sports
event sponsorship or ambush marketing can be determined by calculating the
difference. The problem here is that the inÀuence of disturbance variables can
almost never be precisely eliminated, so that the achievement of an isolation of the
effectiveness is only approximate (Deimel 1992; Bruhn 2010).
Analogous to advertising effectiveness research, the measurement of changes
in attitude in the target audience or the substantiation of an image transfer from
the sports event to the company/brand via sports sponsorship or ambush marketing
can be performed with a single or multi-dimensional scaling procedure. This
approach also requires ex ante/ex post research design or the use of a control
group (Deimel 1992; Bruhn 2010).
To date, measurements of purchase intention are not widely used in effectiveness
research for sports sponsorship and not at all in ambush marketing effectiveness
research. Due to the fact that they are relatively easy to collect, in practice the
impact criteria generally applied consist of contact or reach benchmarks analogous
to those used in media research. The contact ¿gures evaluated in terms of cost are
often erroneously compared to the per mille contact prices of classical advertising
without giving even rudimentary consideration to the differences in media-speci¿c
impact of different communications tools (P¿ster 1989; Deimel 1992).
8.1.1.2 Problems in measuring effectiveness

To some extent, the theoretical procedures for impact measurement explained
provide very vivid descriptions of the diverse effectiveness categories. But when
it comes to the speci¿c measurement of these effects in practice, extensive
problems arise that are basically not sponsorship or ambush marketing marketing-
speci¿c, but actually apply to effectiveness research of all communications tools.
The set of problems that occur at the interface between theoretical and practical
effectiveness research outlined below currently impede a realistic resolution of
issues regarding effectiveness (Drees 1992; Hermanns and Glogger 1995;
Hermanns 1997; Bruhn 2010; Nufer 2012).
PROBLEMS OF INTERDEPENDENCE
The effects of sports sponsorship and ambush marketing do not work independently
of the implementation of other tools. The interdependences of classical and non-
classical communications tools on one hand or actually even the interdependent
relationships between product, price, communications and distributions policy
100 Empirical research on the impact of ambush marketing
measures on the other can be substitutive or complementary. These
interdependences are subject to very little control in the context of effectiveness
measurement.
CLASSIFICATION PROBLEMS
As the effects of the totality of implemented measures can hardly be isolated, they
cannot be traced to speci¿c individual measures. For sponsorship effectiveness
research in particular this represents enormous dif¿culties, as sponsorship is
frequently used to complement the arsenal of classical communications tools and
constitutes a correspondingly small share of integrated corporate communications.
SPILLOVER EFFECTS
Not all measures or activities that are undertaken affect solely the targets for
whose achievement they were initially intended. When the impact of certain
measures radiates out to or spills over to factors beyond those they were intended
to inÀuence, these are designated as “spillover effects” that compromise the
effectiveness measurement of the individual activities. Moreover, speci¿c
communications measures are subject to time-related spillover effects that may,
for example, be manifested in a “time lag” or “decay effect”, a “carry over effect”
or, as a matter of fact, a combination of both of these.
EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE FACTORS
Every company is subject to myriad inÀuences from its environment, and as

uncontrollable variables they also affect the course of communications measures.
With reference to sports event sponsorship and ambush marketing this can, for
example, involve adverse weather conditions at an open air event or technical
problems related to an accompanying multimedia deployment.
8.1.2 Overview of empirical studies on ambush marketing

Up to now empirical research of the ambush marketing phenomenon has been
conducted primarily in the Anglo-American space. What is notable here is that the
subject of these Anglo-American studies is almost exclusively the Olympics.
Table 8.1 contains a compilation of the most important empirical studies to date
that have addressed ambush marketing.
The majority of the studies take the view that of¿cial sponsors are perceived
more favourably than ambushers. However, McDaniel and Kinney (1996, 1998)
demonstrated that the recall of of¿cial sponsors does not differ signi¿cantly from
the values for ambushers in all product categories. Individual studies document
confusion among consumers when differentiating sponsors from ambushers as
well as with regard to their knowledge concerning existing sponsorship categories.
The attitude towards ambush and sponsorship activities is predominantly one of
Table 8.1 Overview of empirical research on ambush marketing
Authors (year) Sports event Main results

analysed (sample
size)
Sandler and Shani 1988 Winter • Ambushers are perceived more poorly than
(1989) Olympic Games sponsors
(n = 210) • Ambushers are perceived as not superior
to dummies
• Positive correlation between perception of
sponsors and frequency of following
reporting of the event
Sandler and Shani 1992 Summer • Ambushers are perceived more poorly than
(1993) Olympic Games most of the sponsors
(n = 400) • Ambushers are seen as superior to
dummies
• More positive attitude towards sponsorship
than towards ambush marketing
McDaniel and 1994 Winter • Per product category, ambushers are
Kinney (1996, 1998) Olympic Games perceived more poorly than sponsors
(n = 215) • In the post-test, sponsors are perceived as
better than in the pre-test in all product
categories
• Attitudes concerning brands do not depend
on whether they represent a sponsor or an
ambusher
Shani and Sandler 1996 Summer • Knowledge of usage rights for the
(1998) Olympic Games Olympic logo but not of the advertising
(n = approx. 13% of rights for television coverage
1,500) • Great confusion concerning the
categorisation of sponsors
• Indifferent attitude to sponsorship vs.
ambush marketing
• No correlation between involvement and
attitude towards ambush marketing
• No correlation between involvement/
viewing behaviour and knowledge of
sponsorship rights/ambushing
Lyberger and 1998 Super Bowl (n • Knowledge of usage rights for the Super
McCarthy (2001) = 486) Bowl logo but not about the advertising
rights for television coverage
• Ambushers are perceived in superior
fashion to sponsors
• Low level of knowledge about degree/type
of sponsors’ support
• Indifferent attitude towards sponsorship
vs. ambush marketing
• No correlation between knowledge of
degree/type of sponsorship and
involvement/interest in the event
Table 8.1 Overview of empirical research on ambush marketing (continued)
Authors (year) Sports event Main results

analysed (sample
size)
Zanger and Drengner 2004 Football • Per product category ambushers are more
(2005) European poorly perceived than sponsors
Championship and • Men can differentiate better between
2004 Summer sponsors and ambushers than women
Olympic Games • Correlation between involvement/viewing
(n = 364+141) behaviour and degree of confusion
regarding sponsorship/ambush marketing
• No correlation between degree of
confusion regarding sponsorship/ambush
marketing and knowledge of sponsorship
rights/ambushing
• Indifferent attitude towards sponsorship
vs. ambush marketing
Nufer (2010) 2006 Football • In-depth analyses of the causes for
World confusion of ambushers with of¿cial
Championship sponsors
(n = 2,109) • Determination of confusion of ambushers
with of¿cial sponsors and generation of
confusion clusters
• Bivariate analyses of the determinants of
confusion of ambushers with of¿cial
sponsors (analysing the impact of different
involvement categories)
• Development of multivariate models to
explain the confusion of ambushers with
of¿cial sponsors (e.g. factor analysis,
cluster analysis, etc.)
indifference. There are also varying results with regard to the inÀuence of
sponsorships on purchase intentions. Overall, the results of empirical research that
exists up to now vary greatly.
8.1.3 Description, key ¿ndings and critical assessment of selected empirical

studies on ambush marketing
In the following, two selected and previously mentioned empirical studies are
elaborated in more detail.
8.1.3.1 Study of Shani and Sandler of the 1996 Summer Olympics

One of the ¿rst and by now frequently cited empirical studies on ambush marketing
comes from the Americans Shani and Sandler (1998), with its subject matter
being the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
APPROACH
The study focuses on the following topics:
1 Knowledge of consumers concerning the rights of sponsors and with regard

to the existence of ambush marketing.
2 Knowledge of consumers concerning the sponsors’ rights associated with the
various sponsorship categories.
3 The attitude(s) of consumers towards ambush marketing.
In order to examine the related issues, immediately following the close of the
1996 Olympics 1,500 questionnaires were sent out to randomly selected persons
across the United States, with the request that these be ¿lled out and returned
within two weeks. The composition of the ¿nal sample was as follows: the age of
the interviewees ranged from 17 to 77 years with an arithmetic median of 47
years. Two-thirds of the respondents were female, the reasons for this given by the
authors being the exceptional interest of women in the Olympics. At US$60,000,
the income of the interviewees was above average by American standards. The
education level of the respondents (over 75 per cent had at least a college
education) was also above the population average.
CORE RESULTS
(1) Knowledge of of¿cial sponsors and ambush marketers

In order to determine the level of knowledge of sponsorship, the interviewees
were presented with two statements that they could agree or disagree with (see
Table 8.2).
Whereas the knowledge concerning the use of the Olympic logo may be
categorised as high, there is confusion among consumers with regard to TV
advertising during the Olympic Games. The authors read the results of the survey
in such a way that it indicates that one-third of the interviewees assume that every
company that runs TV commercials during the television coverage of the Olympics
is also an of¿cial sponsor of the event. Therefore, television advertising within the
scope of the television coverage of a sports event is an effective ambush tactic.
(2) Knowledge regarding various sponsorship categories

For the 1996 Olympics the IOC introduced a new sponsorship category: that of an
“of¿cial partner”. This category – also in terms of the related ¿nancial support –
resides between the category of the global “TOP sponsors” of the Olympic Games
and the group of “of¿cial sponsors”. Both of the statements in Table 8.3 address
the question of whether the respondents are actually aware of this tiered approach.
Almost two-thirds of the interviewees have no knowledge of the gradation into
different sponsorship categories. Furthermore, over one-third of these consumers
do not know that ambush marketing is practised in the context of the Olympics.
An additional option for ambush marketing can be derived from this fact:
companies becomes sponsors in less privileged sponsorship categories so that
Table 8.2 Knowledge of of¿cial sponsorship according to the study of Shani and Sandler
(source: Shani and Sandler (1998: 376))
Statement Correct response Comments

The Olympic logo can be used by any 86.5% (n = 202) “No” is the correct
company during the Olympic Games response
Only commercials of Olympic sponsors 67.4% (n = 193) “No” is the correct
can be shown during the Olympic response
telecast
Table 8.3 Knowledge of the various sponsorship categories according to the study of
Shani and Sandler (source: Shani and Sandler (1998: 376))
Statement Correct response Comments

Companies that are of¿cial sponsors of the 37.0% “No” is the
Olympic Games provide a higher level of (n = 187) correct response
support than companies that are of¿cial
partners
Some companies try to present themselves as 64.5% “Yes” is the
of¿cial sponsors without paying the fee to be (n = 181) correct response
of¿cial sponsors
based on the ignorance of the target persons, they can enjoy the same status as a
TOP partner with the latter.
Overall, it becomes clear from results summarised in Table 8.2 and Table 8.3
that a signi¿cant share of consumers have little or no basic knowledge with regard
to sponsorship rights and the various sponsorship categories. Subsequent
additional surveys come to the conclusion that this lack of knowledge extends
equally across all those sampled with no signi¿cant sociodemographic aberrations.
The results also indicate that in the context of the TV coverage of the sports event
too little information is conveyed that could help the audience obtain knowledge
concerning the support of the sports event by sponsors and their rights.
(3) Attitudes to ambush marketing

The authors used a seven-tier scale to measure the attitudes of consumers to
ambush marketing, (1 = “strongly agree”, 7 = “strongly disagree”). The respondents
were to provide their opinions on four statements (see Table 8.4).
With the exception of the third statement, the interviewees appear to have an
indifferent attitude to ambush marketing. Approximately 50 per cent of the test
persons do not consider ambush marketing unethical, 40 per cent do not believe that
ambush marketing is unfair and 55 per cent are not bothered by companies who
practise ambush marketing. Thus, in no way do ambush marketers encounter
consumers who are fundamentally hostile to ambush marketing activities. Just the
statement “Non-sponsors should not lead consumers to believe that they are of¿cial
sponsors of the Olympic Games” triggers strong approval among the interviewees.
From this Shani and Sandler deduce that the event organisers should primarily be
Table 8.4 Attitudes to ambush marketing according to the study of Shani and Sandler
(source: Shani and Sandler (1998: 378))
Statement Mean Score Agree n

(1–7)
The practice of associating with the Olympic 3.3 51 206
Games without being an of¿cial sponsor is
unethical
It is fair for companies to associate themselves 3.0 62 207
with the Olympic Games without being (reverse
of¿cial sponsors. coded)
Non-sponsors should not lead consumers to 2.2 79 209
believe that they are of¿cial sponsors of the
Olympic Games
I am annoyed by companies trying to associate 3.5 44 202
themselves with the Olympic Games without
being of¿cial sponsors
enlightening spectators as to the fact that they are being misled by ambush marketing
– and not attack ambushers or condemn their approach as unethical.
Additional analyses examined whether persons who professed great interest in
the Olympic Games had a different attitude to ambush marketing than the less
interested test persons. With the exception of the third statement, the results
produced no signi¿cant differences among the various groups in this regard. Once
again, the results for the third statement turned out to be surprising: the group of
those with an interest in sports approved this statement to a signi¿cantly greater
degree, i.e. it is the Olympics fans, of all people, who have an even more indifferent
attitude to ambush marketing. This result is in line with the previously analysed
level of knowledge of consumers regarding sponsorship and ambush marketing.
CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
The study of Shani and Sandler represents one of the ¿rst ever empirical studies
on the subject of ambush marketing. Numerous later publications on ambush
marketing refer back to the insights of Shani and Sandler, and notably many
subsequent empirical studies are guided by their research design.
Although the authors do not explicitly elaborate on the issue, based on the number
of responses to individual questions speci¿ed and included, the comparatively low
response rate becomes apparent (about 13 per cent). Thus, the ¿ndings are ultimately
based on a sample of only about 200 test persons. In addition, based on the described
distribution of sociodemographic variables or the distortions contained therein, the
study cannot be designated as representative for the United States. The authors
themselves pointed to additional limitations of their study: to begin with, they warn
against international generalisation of their ¿ndings, as they interviewed only
American consumers – that the knowledge regarding sponsorship and the attitude to
ambush marketing may vary signi¿cantly both internationally and cross-culturally.
Their core proposition that a high degree of confusion among consumers bene¿ts
ambush marketing was not directly studied, but rather derived from the study’s
results with regard to other issues. Finally, untested scales were used for measurement
– in the future valid scales are necessary in order to measure the knowledge of
sponsorship and ambush marketing.
8.1.3.2 Study of Zanger and Drengner of the 2004 Summer Olympics

Zanger and Drengner (2005) are among the ¿rst German-language authors who
conducted empirical research on ambush marketing. Their study of the 2004
Summer Olympics in Athens ise presented in the following.
APPROACH
Based among others on the study of Shani and Sandler study, Zanger and Drengner
focus especially on the following research topics:
1 The perception of sponsors and ambushers.

2 The knowledge concerning the rights of sponsors.
3 The attitude towards sponsorship and ambush marketing.
The data collection for the 2004 Summer Olympics took place in the second week
of the sports event. A total of 141 interviews were conducted in the context of a
lecture at the Chemnitz University of Technology. The average age of the test
persons was 25.4 years. The sample consisted of 40.4 per cent female and 59.6 per
cent male interviewees.
CORE RESULTS
(1) Perception of sponsors and ambushers

Five companies among the top ten of the noted brands are not of¿cial sponsors of
the Olympic Games (see Figure 8.1): Nike and Puma were two ambushers who
succeeded in arousing a strong association to the event among the interviewees.
Besides that, Payback and OBI were capable of achieving relatively good recall
values as “Olympic Partners Germany” and additionally as TV moderators. The
recall values of MasterCard are remarkable, since the company appeared neither
as a sponsor nor as an ambusher during the event, but was actually the dummy in
this study. The authors explain this surprising result with the decay effect. Since
MasterCard sponsored the immediately preceding 2004 Football European
Championship in Portugal, one can speculate that for the ¿nancial services
provider this had a delayed positive effect on the study of the Summer Olympics.
(2) Knowledge concerning the rights of sponsors

The share of correct responses turned out to be relatively low (see Table 8.5): the
test persons were able to provide mostly correct responses to only two of the ¿ve
70
aided (%)
60 unaided (%)
56.0
50
41.1 40.4
40 39.7
37.6
33.3
30 29.8
27.0 25.5
22.7
20 17.7 16.3 17.0
15.6 15.6 15.6 14.2
13.5 10.6 10.6
10 9.9
7.8
5.7
2.8
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0
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Figure 8.1 Perception of sponsors and ambushers according to study of Zanger and
Drengner (adapted from: Zanger and Drengner (2005: 24))
Table 8.5 Sponsorship knowledge according to the study of Zanger and Drengner (adapted
from: Zanger and Drengner (2005: 39))
Statement Share of correct

responses (%)
The of¿cial logo may only be used by of¿cial sponsors (correct) 73.8
Of¿cial sponsors of athletes are simultaneously also of¿cial 57.4
sponsors of the 2004 Olympics (incorrect)
Only of¿cial sponsors can use the 2004 Olympics for advertising 48.9
purposes (correct)
Only of¿cial sponsors are permitted to advertise at live 34.0
broadcasts (incorrect)
All of¿cial sponsors enjoy the same rights (incorrect) 33.3
questions. Only the fact that the logo of the Olympic Games may be used
exclusively by of¿cial sponsors was known to a clear majority. The results indicate
that very few consumers are suf¿ciently informed as to the rights of sponsors.
This undoubtedly improves the opportunities for ambushers to achieve their goals.
According to the results of the study, it is particularly the strategy of programme
sponsorship that promises success for ambushers.
(3) Attitude towards sponsorship and ambush marketing

Basically, the interviewees consider the idea of event sponsorship a positive one.
However, at the same time this does not appear to have a negative effect on the
appraisal of ambush marketing. The test persons don’t care if companies practise
ambush marketing, with some of them even considering this a clever strategy. The
Table 8.6 Attitude towards sponsorship or ambush marketing according to the study of
Zanger and Drengner (adapted from: Zanger and Drengner (2005: 40))
Statement Median value

(1 = “fully agree” to
5 = “do not agree at all”)
I think it’s a good idea that there are companies that support a 1.5
sports event through sponsorship
Companies that are not of¿cial sponsors of the sports event 1.7
should not lead consumers to believe that they are of¿cial
sponsors
If companies are not of¿cial sponsors of the sports event but 2.3
act as though they were, I ¿nd that to be unfair to the
of¿cial sponsors
I don’t care whether a company that advertises with a sports 2.8
event is an of¿cial sponsor or not
If companies are not of¿cial sponsors of the sports event but 3.0
act as though they were, I consider that clever
A company that is not an of¿cial sponsor should not be 2.7
permitted to use the sports event for its advertising
Advertising with sports events should be prohibited for those 3.3
who are not of¿cial sponsors
If a company is not an of¿cial sponsor of the sports event but 3.2
acts as though it were, I lose respect for such a company
If a company is an of¿cial sponsor of the sports event, that has 3.3
a positive inÀuence on my attitude towards that company
majority reject a prohibition of ambush marketing. Sports event sponsorship only

has a minimal positive effect on the attitude of consumers towards the sponsor.
Ambush activities tend not to have a negative inÀuence on the attitude towards the
individual company (see Table 8.6).
CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
It should be deemed positive that the study of Zanger and Dregner is one of the
¿rst comprehensive empirical analyses to focus squarely on dealing with the
phenomenon of ambush marketing (not only peripherally). Moreover, the authors
compare the research results they describe for the 2004 Olympics with the results
of their similar study on the 2004 Football European Championship that took
place in the summer of the same year.
What must be criticised on one hand is the very small size of the sample with
its 141 interviewees. On the other hand, the authors themselves admit that their
approach constituted a “convenience sample” (their own students were surveyed),
that should be viewed critically per se (Pechtl 2007). Thereby, the results have no
claim of being representative for the total German population.
8.1.4 Current status of research and research requirements with regard to
ambush marketing
The question as to whether and to what extent ambush marketing constrains the
effectiveness of sports event sponsorship cannot be conclusively answered on the
grounds of empirical studies conducted to date. Various studies arrive at conÀicting
results concerning the effectiveness of ambush marketing. One can proceed on the
assumption of an “overshadowing effect”, as the attentiveness of the target group
to the sponsorship message is distracted by the ambushers’ communications
measures. The speci¿c impact of this effect, however, is still largely unexplored.
Overall, there is a worldwide lack of empirical research on ambush marketing
– notably of those whose subject matter is not the Olympic Games. In further
studies it will be necessary to analyse in greater detail to what extent companies
can achieve success with ambush marketing in the context of sports events or to
what extent ambush marketing has the ability to cannibalise the commitment of
of¿cial sponsors.
8.2 Empirical research on the effects of ambush marketing

The following analyses are based on a comprehensive primary statistical data
collection that was conducted in the frame of the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup
in Germany. As part of this survey 2,109 persons were interviewed before, during
and after the World Cup (Nufer 2010).
8.2.1 Methodical approach of the empirical study

For the selection of the sampling units, a process of simple random sampling was
used and was based on additional standards in order to guarantee the comparability
of the individual subsets and survey waves. Three standard attributes were de¿ned
for the empirical survey: age, sex and education of the interviewees.
Adolescents in Germany constitute the speci¿c survey target group. Previous
empirical surveys have shown that younger groups are particularly receptive to
sports advertising, achieving above average results primarily with high school and
college students (von der Lippe and Kladroba 2002). This study therefore
concentrates on teenagers aged 13 to 18 years and includes the same number of boys
as girls. Furthermore, care was taken to include students of all three major schools
types in Germany – grade school (Hauptschule), technical high school (Realschule)
and college preparatory high school (Gymnasium) in the sample. What was called
for was an identity for the subsets and interview waves in terms of the parameters of
these demographic characteristics in order to obtain largely structurally identical
groups, thereby enabling a meaningful comparison of effects to be conducted.
The empirical data collection was performed in three independent waves. The
reference measurement took place in March/April 2006, i.e. two/three months
prior to the start of the Football World Cup. The comparison measurement during
the World Cup was performed in the third week of the tournament, at the exact
point in time when the group stage had been completed and thereby 48 of the total
of 64 games had been played. The follow-up survey was performed in September/
October 2006, i.e. the same interval to the World Cup (two/three months) as the
¿rst survey prior to the World Cup. In order to obtain independent subsets for the
statistical data analysis, stringent care was taken to interview each test person only
once, as the ¿rst round of questions regarding recollection of sponsoring activities
sensitises the attention of the test persons with the result that a follow-up interview
with the same person can no longer be considered independent (Stenger 1986;
Opfer 1997).
8.2.2 Changes in likeability values in comparison before, during and after the
World Cup
In the context of this analysis, the test persons were given a list of 16 selected
brands to check off. Of the of¿cial sponsors, those companies it could be assumed
that the young consumers would basically know and use were speci¿cally chosen.
Among these were ¿ve main sponsors, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Yahoo, Deutsche
Telekom and adidas as well as OBI, a national German sponsor for the 2006
World Cup. The other ten brands that were presented were non-sponsors, i.e.
direct industry competitors of the World Cup sponsors who were either ambush
marketers or simply placed there as a distraction (dummies) and can be classi¿ed
as follows:
Ɣ Based on their communications policies before, during and after the World
Cup, Nike, Puma, nutella, Vodafone, Media-Markt and Burger King can be
categorised in the group of ambush marketers.
Ɣ On the other hand, Google, Pepsi, Reebok and Snickers are simply dummies
who did not use the topic of football in general or the World Cup speci¿cally
in their marketing during the time period of the survey.
In the analyses below, the levels of likeability for the selected brands are compared
to one another at three different time points. The levels of likeability were compiled
in terms of rating scales (1 = “very likeable” to 6 = “very unlikeable”). The use of
the ¿lter question “Are you watching the World Cup on television?” (second
wave) or “Did you watch the World Cup on television?” (third wave) allows the
classi¿cation of the consumers in these two waves into an experimental group (E)
and a control group (C) (see Table 8.7). One can assume that the responses of the
test persons in the experimental group who watched the World Cup on television
were particularly inÀuenced by the effects of sports sponsoring and ambush
marketing, whereas this is not to be anticipated among the consumers in the
control group who speci¿cally indicated that they did not follow the World Cup
(of¿cial main sponsors are highlighted in dark grey, while national German
sponsors are highlighted in pale grey).
These levels of likeability compiled at different points in time were then
compared with one another based on signi¿cance tests (Mann-Whitney U tests for
two independent samples in the case of non-metric variables) (see Table 8.8).
Table 8.7 Levels of likeability before, during and after the 2006 World Cup
During After
Likeability Before Experimental Control Experimental Control
group group group group
Coca-Cola 2.12 1.98 2.64 2.06 1.92
Pepsi 3.03 2.87 3.29 3.13 2.75
McDonald’s 2.57 2.38 3.31 2.35 2.48
Burger King 3.58 3.18 3.41 3.53 3.91
Yahoo 3.64 3.45 3.78 3.48 3.94
Google 1.86 1.74 2.07 1.65 2.05
Telekom 2.97 2.88 3.46 2.88 2.83
Vodafone 2.82 2.58 2.68 2.77 2.64
adidas 2.03 1.85 2.59 2.02 2.92
Nike 2.11 1.88 2.54 2.08 2.50
Puma 2.19 1.98 2.57 2.09 2.54
Reebok 3.17 3.09 3.33 2.98 3.15
Media-Markt 2.73 2.51 3.11 2.42 2.67
OBI 3.69 3.34 3.81 3.24 3.30
Snickers 2.78 2.73 3.04 2.79 2.74
nutella 2.29 2.10 2.44 2.04 3.08
Table 8.8 Signi¿cance tests regarding likeability values before, during and after the 2006
World Cup
Likeability Before: E After: E Before versus Before (e) Before versus
versus C versus C during (E) versus after after (E)
(E)
Coca-Cola 0.035* 0.717 0.048Ĺ* 0.223 0.514
Pepsi 0.257 0.285 0.067 0.003Ļ** 0.194
McDonald’s 0.005** 0.806 0.045Ĺ* 0.706 0.018Ĺ*
Burger King 0.583 0.280 0.000Ĺ*** 0.000Ļ*** 0.702
Yahoo 0.281 0.230 0.036Ĺ* 0.659 0.102
Google 0.054 0.355 0.015Ĺ* 0.500 0.002Ĺ**
Telekom 0.065 0.978 0.295 0.835 0.224
Vodafone 0.622 0.650 0.010Ĺ** 0.040Ļ* 0.704
adidas 0.003** 0.002** 0.135 0.014Ļ* 0.318
Nike 0.063 0.131 0.006Ĺ** 0.001Ļ*** 0.638
Puma 0.018* 0.260 0.021Ĺ* 0.145 0.451
Reebok 0.542 0.735 0.363 0.198 0.032
Media-Markt 0.069 0.578 0.009Ĺ** 0.206 0.000Ĺ***
OBI 0.037* 0.900 0.000Ĺ*** 0.234 0.000Ĺ***
Snickers 0.156 0.673 0.742 0.272 0.481
nutella 0.291 0.000*** 0.028Ĺ* 0.889 0.019Ĺ*
* p <= 0.05 signi¿cant

** p <= 0.01 very signi¿cant
*** p <= 0.001 highly signi¿cant
The tests that were conducted produced the following insights:
Ɣ Eleven of the 16 brands viewed are perceived as signi¿cantly more likeable

during the World Cup than in the time prior to the tournament. However, only
four of these are of¿cial World Cup sponsors: Coca-Cola, McDonald’s
Yahoo and OBI. The same feat is also accomplished by the non-sponsors
Burger King, Nike, Puma, Media-Markt and nutella.
Ɣ Nevertheless, in the during and after comparison, 11 of the 16 brands were
able to retain their World Cup levels. The remaining ¿ve suffer signi¿cant
loss of likeability ratings.
Ɣ The before and after comparison is signi¿cant for only ¿ve brands: only the
sponsors McDonald’s and OBI were able to increase likeability. The same
was also accomplished by the non-sponsors Media-Markt and nutella. The
likeability values of the other brands are at the same level in autumn 2006 as
they were in spring, before the World Cup.
Ɣ The following brands show signi¿cant differences between the experimental
and control groups during the World Cup: the World Cup sponsors Coca-
Cola, McDonald’s, adidas and OBI are rated as signi¿cantly more likeable by
those test persons who watched the World Cup; the same applies to the non-
sponsor Puma.
Ɣ Post-World Cup similarly signi¿cant differences between the experimental
and control groups can be observed only for the sponsor adidas and the non-
sponsor nutella.
8.2.3 Perception of brands and companies in the context of sports

Brand perception is the basic prerequisite for the success of communications
activities. The following analyses concerning perception of World Cup sponsors
and ambushers are based on the data collected in the second survey wave. Only
those test persons who indicated that they are watching or watched the World Cup
are included.
8.2.3.1 Unaided recall

Unaided recall is measured in terms of perceived of¿cial World Cup sponsors.
Consequently, only naming the 15 of¿cial main and the six national sponsors is
correct. These 21 brands and companies were displayed on stadium billboards and
therefore visible to television viewers.
Figure 8.2 provides an overview of the procedure and the responses upon
which the determination of unaided recall is based.
Table 8.9 depicts the top 50 responses with reference to unaided recall, i.e. all
companies and brands that were named by at least ¿ve test persons in the study
conducted during the World Cup. The brands are ranked according to the frequency
with which they were named during the World Cup (¿gures highlighted in bold
print) and, for purposes of comparison, the frequency with which they were named
2,109 cases
816 cases 678 cases 615 cases

(before) (during) (after)
640 of these watched the World Cup on TV
95 explicitly admit 523 mention 22 did not answer

not recalling any brand at least one brand the question
A total of 113 various A total of 2,697

brands mentioned: mentions made:
21 World Cup sponsors (correct) 1,807 correct mentions
92 non-sponsors (incorrect) 890 incorrect mentions
Figure 8.2 Overview of unaided recall
Table 8.9 Results for unaided recall
Rank Brand During After Change Signi¿cance

(%)
Absolute Relative Absolute Relative
(%) (%)
1. McDonald’s 381 59.5 268 46.1 –13.4 0.000Ļ***
2. adidas 332 51.9 257 44.2 –7.7 0.008Ļ**
3. Coca-Cola 298 46.6 208 35.8 –10.8 0.000Ļ***
4. Telekom 184 28.8 149 25.6 –3.2 0.224
5. Nike 129 20.2 101 17.4 –2.8
6. nutella 120 18.8 148 25.5 6.7
7. Puma 114 17.8 84 14.5 –3.3
8. Hyundai 108 16.9 33 5.7 –11.2 0.000Ļ***
9. OBI 91 14.2 86 14.8 0.6 0.773
10. MasterCard 87 13.6 40 6.9 –6.7 0.000Ļ***
11. Yahoo 68 10.6 31 5.3 –5.3 0.001Ļ***
12. Vodafone 60 9.4 54 9.3 –0.1
13. Bitburger 57 8.9 33 5.7 –3.2
14. Philips 40 6.3 3 0.5 –5.8 0.000Ļ***
Toshiba 40 6.3 4 0.7 –5.6 0.000Ļ***
16. Media-Markt 35 5.5 25 4.3 –1.2
17. Postbank 34 5.3 23 4.0 –1.3 0.263
Table 8.9 Results for unaided recall (continued)
Rank Brand During After Change Signi¿cance

(%)
Absolute Relative Absolute Relative
(%) (%)
18. Gilette 24 3.8 9 1.5 –2.3 0.018Ļ*
19. Emirates 20 3.1 2 0.3 –2.8 0.000Ļ***
20. Continental 19 3.0 16 2.8 –0.2 0.822
Reebok 19 3.0 10 1.7 –1.3
22. O2 18 2.8 3 0.5 –2.3
23. Fuji-Film 17 2.7 11 1.9 –0.8 0.374
Burger King 17 2.7 13 2.2 –0.5
Google 17 2.7 10 1.7 –1.0
26. EnBW 16 2.5 8 1.4 –1.1 0.158
Pepsi 16 2.5 17 2.9 0.4
28. Budweiser 14 2.2 2 0.3 –1.9 0.005**
Canon 14 2.2
30. Allianz 13 2.0 13 2.2 0.2
Mercedes 13 2.0 13 2.2 0.2
x-box 13 2.0
33. Avaya 12 1.9 6 1.0 –0.9 0.223
Premiere 12 1.9 6 1.0 –0.9
35. Sony 11 1.7 16 2.8 1.1
Warsteiner 11 1.7 10 1.7 0.0
37. Deutsche Bahn 10 1.6 14 2.4 0.8 0.287
Siemens 10 1.6 7 1.2 –0.4
Snickers 10 1.6 12 2.1 0.5
40. Deichmann 9 1.4
41. Kreissparkasse 8 1.3 8 1.4 0.1
42. Oddset 7 1.1 0 0.0 –1.1 0.012*
Bwin 7 1.1 30 5.2 4.1
Erima 7 1.1
Krombacher 7 1.1 7 1.2 0.1
46. Yellow Strom 6 0.9
47. Hamburg- 5 0.8 2 0.3 –0.5 0.313
Mannheimer
Axe 5 0.8 3 0.5 –0.3
Intersport 5 0.8 4 0.7 –0.1
Samsung 5 0.8 4 0.7 –0.1
in the post-World Cup survey are indicated alongside. In addition, the change in
the during and after comparison has been calculated and the difference regarding
World Cup sponsors assessed for its signi¿cance (Mann-Whitney U tests for two
independent samples with non-metric variables.) Of¿cial World Cup sponsors
continue to be highlighted in dark or pale grey, while all other companies listed
have been named erroneously.
The results for the unaided recall survey conducted during the World Cup vary
considerably for the 21 World Cup sponsors:
Ɣ The top three brands (McDonald’s, adidas and Coca-Cola), which were
mentioned by about half of the interviewees, can be particularly pleased with
their results.
Ɣ Among the main sponsors, the lowest rates in the adolescent target group
were scored by Fuji Film, Budweiser and Avaya with under 3 per cent.
Ɣ The average unaided recall value of the 21 World Cup sponsors is 13.4 per
cent (main sponsors: 17.1 per cent; national sponsors: 4.2 per cent).
Ɣ As far as the unaided recall values are concerned, it appears that the non-
sponsors Nike, nutella and Puma easily join the ranks of the of¿cial sponsors
and achieve individual values of up to 20 per cent. Vodafone, Bitburger and
Media-Markt are also erroneously named more frequently than many actual
World Cup sponsors.
If one compares the unaided recall values attained by the World Cup sponsors
during the World Cup with their scores three months after the end of tournament,
the following is striking:
Ɣ In most cases a signi¿cant decline in unaided recall is apparent in the during

and after comparison for the World Cup. Only the main sponsors Deutsche
Telekom, Continental, Fuji Film, Avaya and the national sponsors OBI,
Postbank, the energy group EnBW, the rail operator Deutsche Bahn and the
insurance company Hamburg-Mannheimer tend to maintain their summer
levels.
Ɣ On average, the recall capacity for World Cup sponsors falls by 3.8 per cent
(main sponsors: –5.2 per cent, national sponsors: –0.4 per cent).
The companies named erroneously can be explained as follows:
Ɣ Nike and Puma were and still are active as sports equipment providers for
numerous teams. Therefore, although they were not represented on stadium
billboards, they did have a strong presence on the playing ¿eld (e.g. players’
shirts and shoes).
Ɣ As the programme sponsor, Bitburger presented all public service television
broadcasts on the ARD and ZDF channels. The Bitburger commercials were
aired immediately prior to kick-off, in the halftime break and following the
¿nal whistle of all game broadcasts on German television.
Ɣ Nutella has been running advertising with German national players for an
extended period of time, including the time frame of the survey. Vodafone
has been operating as the sponsor of European Champions League Football
for years. In its 2006 marketing communications, Media-Markt focused on
the theme “We will be world champions”. It becomes clear that these brands
and companies are very closely linked with the themes of football and the
World Cup, which evidently led to confusion among the test persons.
Ɣ Other companies are erroneously named when the test person recalls the
sponsor’s sector but not the speci¿c name and then err when they provide a
response. The fact that Nike, Puma, Reebok, Vodafone, O2, Bitburger, Burger
King, Google and Pepsi were named can be explained in this manner.
Ɣ Mercedes-Benz is occasionally named erroneously, since the automobile
company has been active as the sponsor of the German national team for
many years.
Approximately one-third of all responses are erroneous. Furthermore, it is

astonishing that of the 640 test persons who indicated that they were following
games during the World Cup, 95 openly admitted they were unable to recall any
brands. Another 22 test persons did not respond to this question, which leads us to
the conclusion that they too were unable to recall any brands. A total of 18.3 per
cent of people interviewed during the World Cup appear not to have been affected
in any way by sports-related advertising.
8.2.3.2 Aided recall

Representative aided recall values were also determined for the same 16 companies
and brands for which the likeability ¿gures presented above were compiled. In
Table 8.10 these brands are arranged in a ranking based on their aided recall
values (during the World Cup). The differences in the during and after comparison
were again tested for their signi¿cance (Mann-Whitney U tests for two independent
samples with non-metric variables).
The main results are:
Ɣ The ¿rst four places are occupied by four main sponsors. The national sponsor
OBI is mid-table. Yahoo is the sole main sponsor to only attain a very low
rank.
Ɣ With an average recall of 57.5 per cent, the selected World Cup sponsors
achieve good results (by way of comparison, the average value is 23.0 per
cent for non-sponsors).
Ɣ All ¿ve of the main sponsors included (adidas, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s,
Deutsche Telekom and Yahoo) are more or less able to distinguish themselves
from their non-sponsor industry competitors Nike/Puma, Pepsi, Burger King,
Vodafone and Google by a signi¿cant margin.
Ɣ Additional interesting aspects are revealed by a comparison of aided recall
measured during the World Cup with that compiled several months thereafter:
Table 8.10 Results of aided recall
Rank Brand During (%) After (%) Signi¿cance

1. adidas 81.3 76.6 0.046
2. McDonald’s 79.2 77.5 0.454
3. Coca-Cola 78.0 77.5 0.829
4. Telekom 56.4 53.0 0.234
5. nutella 49.5 64.4 0.000Ĺ***
6. Nike 41.4 42.2 0.787
7. Puma 40.3 38.0 0.416
8. Vodafone 30.9 35.3 0.107
9. OBI 29.2 24.6 0.070
10. Media-Markt 23.6 21.3 0.347
11. Yahoo 20.8 14.3 0.003Ļ**
12. Google 11.9 13.4 0.415
13. Pepsi 10.2 8.6 0.354
14. Burger King 9.8 9.6 0.904
15. Reebok 8.4 11.2 0.106
16. Snickers 4.4 5.7 0.296
the results are largely identical. In 14 of 16 cases there is no signi¿cant

difference in the during and after comparison. Of the World Cup sponsors
considered, only Yahoo had to deal with a very signi¿cant reduction of its
score. On the other hand, the non-sponsor nutella managed a real feat: even
after the World Cup, the brand was able to very signi¿cantly increase its
already excellent score.
8.2.4 Analysis of the reasons for confusing ambushers with of¿cial sponsors
In the following, the focus is on the data collected during the World Cup and
circumscribed in terms of the ¿lter variable “followed the World Cup”. The
analyses below are based on the study of whether and, if so, to what extent, the
interviewees were able to differentiate World Cup sponsors from ambushers and
dummies among the great variety of brands and companies included on the list
presented to determine aided recall (Walliser 1997; Zanger and Drengner 2005).
8.2.4.1 Determination of confusion and generation of confusion clusters

In order to do this, the number of World Cup sponsors correctly identi¿ed by each
interviewee is initially added up. An individual quotient of correctly identi¿ed
World Cup sponsors in proportion to the number of all of¿cial World Cup sponsors
contained in the question regarding aided recall may be calculated from this (in
this case, six). This sponsor quotient therefore features a range of values from 0
(worst possible result: none of the six sponsors is identi¿ed) to 1 (best possible
result: all of the sponsors are identi¿ed).
World Cup sponsors identified
Sponsor quotient =
World Cup sponsor queried
Similarly, a calculation is made for each interviewee as to how many non-sponsors

he or she erroneously considered to be World Cup sponsors. Based on this, a
second quotient is generated that relates this value to the total number of ambushers
and dummies (in this case, a total of ten) appearing on the list. The non-sponsor
quotient also features a range of values from 0 to 1, whereby in this case, however,
0 is the best possible result (the interviewee did not confuse any of the ten non-
sponsors with a World Cup sponsor) and 1 is designated as the worst possible
result (the interviewee incorrectly declared all non-sponsors as of¿cial sponsors).
non-sponsors incorrectly declared as World Cup sponsors

Non-sponsor quotient =
ambushers and dummies queried
Subsequently, an individual confusion coef¿cient is calculated for each interviewee

(Zanger and Drengner 2005). Here, the difference between the sponsor quotient
and the non-sponsor quotient is determined. The result of this subtraction formula,
as per its de¿nition, Àuctuates within a value area of –1 to +1. The value –1
designates the worst case scenario, i.e. the test person did not recognise a single
World Cup sponsor as such, but mistook all the ambushers and dummies for the
of¿cial sponsors. The value +1, on the other hand, can be interpreted as the best
case scenario, i.e. all sponsors listed were correctly recognised and all non-
sponsors also identi¿ed as such. The confusion coef¿cient thus indicates the
extent to which each individual interviewee allowed him/herself to be misled by
ambush marketing or dummies.
Confusion coef¿cient = sponsor quotient – non-sponsor quotient
With regard to the evaluations below, the interviewees are grouped in different
confusion clusters depending on their individual confusion coef¿cients, in terms
of the value area (see Table 8.11).
Table 8.11 Characterisation of the confusion clusters
Confusion cluster Speci¿city of the Share of the Characterisation

confusion coef¿cient sample (%)
1 <0.5 to 1 28.3 slightly confused
2 <0 to 0.5 57.2 confused
3 <–0.5 to 0 14.5 severely confused
4 –1 to –0.5 0 very severely confused
It becomes apparent in the context of the present empirical study that only clusters
1 and 3 occur, thus a mistaken identi¿cation in the sense of very severe confusion
has not been determined for a single interviewee. The majority of the interviewees
are to be assigned to cluster 2.
The purpose of the following observations is to ascertain what factors led to the
confusion of the World Cup viewers and are therefore substantially responsible
for non-sponsors being mistaken for of¿cial World Cup supporters. Answering
this question allows us to extrapolate what inÀuences on the interviewees promote
the effectiveness of ambush marketing and thereby possibly compromise the
effectiveness of the World Cup sponsors’ activities.
8.2.4.2 Bivariate analyses

Initially, an analysis was conducted of the inÀuence of a total of 21 recorded
variables on the extent of the interviewees’ confusion, evaluated in terms of their
af¿liation to various confusion clusters. In Table 8.12 the results of all bivariate
analyses that were conducted regarding the state of confusion or mix-up are
aggregated in one overview. The smaller the p-value, the stronger the inÀuence of
the individual factor, which is indicated by the number of asterisks. In addition,
the direction of the effect of signi¿cant inÀuences is verbally interpreted.
Table 8.12 Results of the bivariate tests regarding ambush marketing
InÀuencing Variables Correlation to confusion

factors Signi¿cance Interpretation
Individual Age 0.006* Correlation exists, but no clear trend
attributes
Sex 0.017* Confusion among girls more
prevalent than among boys
Education 0.000*** The lower the level of education,
the more frequent the confusion
Sports Interest in football 0.003** The greater the interest in football,
type-speci¿c the rarer the confusion
involvement
Play football 0.011* Correlation exists, but no clear trend
Interest in World 0.114 No correlation

Cup
Number of World 0.020* The more games watched live on
Cup games watched television, the less confusion occurs
Product or Use Coca-Cola 0.466 Overwhelmingly no correlation
company- Use McDonald’s 0.408
speci¿c Use Yahoo 0.469
involvement Use Deutsche 0.060
Telekom 0.150
Use adidas 0.004**
Use OBI
Table 8.12 Results of the bivariate tests regarding ambush marketing (continued)
InÀuencing Variables Correlation to confusion

factors Signi¿cance Interpretation
Sports Attitude to sports 0.716 No correlation
advertising- advertising
speci¿c
Intention to 0.041* Correlation exists, but no clear trend
involvement
purchase based on
sports advertising
Event Knowledge of event 0.000*** The greater the knowledge of the
knowledge event, the rarer the confusion
Sponsorship Knowledge of 0.000*** The greater the knowledge of
knowledge sponsorship rights sponsorship rights, the rarer the
confusion
Attitude I don’t care if a 0.458 No correlation
towards company that uses
sponsorship the 2006 World
and ambush Cup in its
marketing advertising is an
of¿cial sponsor or
not
Only companies 0.028* The greater the approval, the rarer
that support the the confusion
World Cup
¿nancially as
of¿cial sponsors
should be allowed
to advertise using
the World Cup
Companies who are 0.487 No correlation
not World Cup
sponsors should not
use their advertising
to create the
impression that they
are somehow
involved with the
World Cup
If a company is not 0.212 No correlation
a World Cup
sponsor but uses its
advertising to
pretend that it is, I
think that it’s smart
and savvy
However, the explanation for the confusion of World Cup sponsors with ambush
marketers or dummies cannot be merely monocausal. The fact is that the confusion
is inÀuenced by a variety of determinants in parallel or their interdependencies. In
the following paragraphs, an attempt will be made to classify these single effects
in terms of an overall context. In the exploration of the causes for the confusion of
the interviewees with the aid of multivariate procedures, the focus of the research
below will be on the three different confusion clusters. What are the differences
between slightly confused, confused and severely confused consumers? Which
variable-characteristics are essentially relevant for af¿liation to the three diverse
confusion clusters?
8.2.4.3 Factor analysis

The analysis of the factors is a procedure whereby a relatively large number of
variables are ascribed to a relatively small number of independent inÀuencing
variables (factors). Those variables that are highly correlated to one another are
aggregated into one factor; variables of different factors have low correlation to
one another. The objective of the analysis of the factors is to determine factors that
explain the observed relationships between the given variables as fully as possible
(Backhaus, Erichson, Plinke and Weiber 2003; Fantapié Altobelli 2011).
An effort will be made to reduce and organise the large number of variables
whose inÀuence on the confusion was analysed separately in terms of the bivariate
tests in the previous paragraph. Consequently, all 21 potentially confusion-
causing variables will be taken into consideration in the following factor analysis.
Initially, the given variable values are standardised (z-transformation);
subsequently, the standardised values are used to calculate the correlation
coef¿cients between the variables involved. The eigenvalues and the associated
eigenvectors are determined for the construction of the correlation matrix. The
eigenvalues are sorted in descending order, whereby usually as many factors are
extracted as eigenvalues with a value greater than 1 are present. The eigenvectors
associated with these eigenvalues constitute the factors; the elements of the
eigenvectors are the factor loadings that are to be seen as correlation coef¿cients
between the applicable variables and the factors. The principal component
analysis was selected for the extraction process. The rotation problem will be
solved with orthogonal rotation according to the varimax rotation method (Bühl
2006, 2011).
In the resulting scree plot, a strong increase can be observed for a factor number
of three; accordingly, three factors are used as the basis for the creation of the
model. Furthermore, the Bartlett test checks for sphericity to test the null
hypothesis, i.e. to ascertain whether it could be that despite the existing correlation
coef¿cients in the sample all coef¿cients of the population have a value of zero.
This can be excluded based on its highly signi¿cant value (p = 0.000). The Kaiser–
Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy (KMO) is to be considered as an
aggregating test measure and cannot exceed the value 1. The high value of 0.735
indicates that the present variables are well suited to a factor analysis.
The ¿rst factor determined thus explains 18.2 per cent of the total variance, the
second factor 9.3 per cent, the third 7.4 per cent. The factor loadings are correlation
coef¿cients between the respective variables and the factors. The allocation of the
variables to the three factors is unambiguous and produces the following results.
FACTOR 1
Ɣ play football;
Ɣ interest in football;
Ɣ number of World Cup games watched;
Ɣ sex;
Ɣ use adidas;
Ɣ intention to purchase based on sports advertising;
Ɣ interest in World Cup;
Ɣ knowledge of event;
Ɣ attitude towards sports advertising.
FACTOR 2
Ɣ use OBI;
Ɣ education;
Ɣ use Deutsche Telekom;
Ɣ knowledge of sponsorship rights;
Ɣ use McDonald’s;
Ɣ age;
Ɣ use Coca-Cola;
Ɣ use Yahoo.
FACTOR 3
Ɣ Opinion on the statement “I don’t care if a company that uses the 2006 World
Cup in its advertising is an of¿cial sponsor or not”.
Ɣ Opinion on the statement “Only companies that support the World Cup
¿nancially as of¿cial sponsors should be allowed to advertise using the World
Cup”.
Ɣ Opinion on the statement “Companies who are not World Cup sponsors
should not use their advertising to create the impression that they are somehow
involved with the World Cup”.
Ɣ Opinion on the statement “If a company is not a World Cup sponsor but uses
its advertising to pretend that it is, I think that it’s smart and savvy”.
The last step in the factor analysis is to now trace the content-related coherence of
the factors and substantiate them with a relationship:
Ɣ The ¿rst factor aggregates items that characterise the relationship of the
consumer to sports in general or to football in particular (the supposedly
“exotic” use of adidas can be easily integrated into this category). Therefore,
the short designation selected for factor 1 is “af¿nity to football”.
Ɣ The second factor contains variables that are especially affected by the
maturity of the consumers. In addition to age and education, knowledge
concerning sponsorship rights as well as experience in using all of the other
included brands reappears here. Accordingly, factor 2 shall be called
“maturity/experience”.
Ɣ The third factor aggregates all items that characterise the attitudes of the
interviewees to sponsorship and ambush marketing. Thus factor 3 designates
the “attitude to event marketing”.
There are clear divergences within the diverse confusion clusters with reference to
the three extracted factors of af¿nity to sports, maturity/experience and attitude to
event marketing:
Ɣ Slightly confused: an overall mix of persons with an af¿nity to football, more

mature/experienced and have an attitude to event marketing that differentiates
them from the other two clusters.
Ɣ Confused: clearly those with the lowest af¿nity to football; maturity/
experience and attitude to event marketing tends to be of a rather average
nature.
Ɣ Severely confused: clearly exhibit the least maturity/experience, but frequently
also have an af¿nity to football and have a particularly “unique” attitude to
event marketing.
8.2.4.4 Cluster analysis

The cluster analysis generates groups of cases based on predetermined variables.
The variable attributes of members of a group or a cluster should be as similar as
possible, whereas those of members of different groups should be dissimilar
(Backhaus, Erichson, Plinke and Weiber 2003; Fantapié Altobelli 2011).
The two-step cluster analysis differs from the traditional methods of cluster
analysis (hierarchic cluster analysis, cluster centre analysis) in that it is permissible
to simultaneously process categorical and continuous variables (Bühl 2006, 2011).
The two-step cluster analysis is particularly well suited to the material under
discussion because all 21 variables (partially metric, partially non-metric and
with confusion-generating potential) that have already provided the basis for the
factor analysis can be included.
The two-step cluster analysis uses the likelihood method to compute the
distance of parameters. Linkage between groups serves as the process by which
they are merged. The cases constitute the objects to be grouped, whereas the
included variables represent the attributes upon which the grouping is based.
Since cluster analysis is an exploratory process, it was actively applied to the
underlying data, i.e. various solution alternatives (e.g. different cluster ¿gures)
were initially subjected to a comparative analysis. The decision in favour of the
comparatively superior model, in this case the solution with three clusters, was
based on interpretations of content.
In the description of the clusters, one must differentiate between two versions:
the interpretation of the external pro¿le (horizontal perspective: what are the
characteristics that differentiate the individual clusters from one another?) and the
internal pro¿le (vertical perspective: what attributes are particularly characteristic
of the cluster?) (Bühl 2006, 2011).
To begin with, the external pro¿le will be described and the signi¿cance of the
variables analysed in this context. The interpretation of the content of the clusters,
based on the analyses performed, may be summarised as follows:
Ɣ Cluster 1: predominantly girls, higher education levels dominate.

Characterised by a relatively lower than average degree of involvement
focused on sports types and sports advertising.
Ɣ Cluster 2: exclusively boys, middle and higher education levels, characterised
by above average sports type-speci¿c involvement, frequent use of the adidas
brand, high level of event and sponsorship knowledge.
Ɣ Cluster 3: exclusively boys, lower education level. Average involvement
focused on sports types, relatively high degree of involvement focused on
sports advertising, distinctive attitude to sponsorship and ambush marketing.
The most important variables differentiating the three clusters from one another
thus include the individual attributes of gender and education, all characteristics
of sports type-speci¿c involvement, use of the sports brand adidas as well as event
and sponsorship knowledge. The labels appropriately characterising the content
of the various clusters are “girls plus” (since this cluster comprises predominantly
but not exclusively girls) for cluster 1, “male football experts” for cluster 2 and
“male grade school students” for cluster 3.
In the ¿nal step of the analysis, the internal pro¿le will be subjected to a closer
examination and the relationship of the individual groups to the existing variable
confusion clusters explored in this context. Does af¿liation with this cluster affect
the confusion of the consumers? In order to answer this question, a cross-classi¿ed
table was created and a χ2-independence test performed. The independence
hypothesis cannot be sustained (p = 0.000***), i.e. the two variables are
independent of one another. The following correlation can be determined:
Ɣ Among the slightly confused there is a disproportionately high number of

members of cluster 2: approximately half of the “male football experts”
belong to this group (approximately another 40 per cent of this cluster are
confused, although this group is rarely severely confused).
Ɣ The confused are very distinctly (almost 70 per cent) dominated by the “girls
plus” of cluster 1.
Ɣ In the severely confused category it is striking to note an above average percentage
of cluster 3 “male grade school students” (in addition, these may also be found
in the “confused” category, but rarely in the “slightly confused” category).
The results therefore show a high degree of overlap of the confusion clusters that
were previously formed on the basis of the correct or incorrect mentions for aided
recall and of the recently formed clusters based on the 21 variables that were used
to explain the confusion.
8.2.5 Limitations of the study

To date there have been very few empirical analyses as to the effects of ambush
marketing, both in business administration and sports economics. In the context of
the comprehensive study that has been conducted, of which only selected results
have been presented here, an effort has been made to close that gap. However, the
results of this study cannot be generalised for a variety of reasons:
Ɣ The object of the research was a speci¿c sponsorship event, namely the 2006
FIFA Football World Cup.
Ɣ In the context of the present study, only psychological target variables were
measured.
Ɣ The analysis focused exclusively on the target group adolescents aged 13 to
18.
Ɣ The study focused primarily on the of¿cial main sponsors and selected
ambushers. It is not really surprising that the brands that were able to achieve
the best effectiveness ratings were often those with which the adolescents are
most likely to have contact.
Ɣ Adolescents in Germany were interviewed for this study. One can assume the
fact that the 2006 World Cup was held in Germany did have some impact on
the results of the study (the interviewees’ high degree of interest in an event
held in their own country, strong accompanying media coverage).
9 Critical assessment of ambush
marketing
In this chapter, the diverse interests of ambushers and sponsors are clari¿ed, and
arguments in support of both perspectives gathered prior to the presentation of a
concluding nuanced discussion of the subject.
9.1 ConÀict of interest of two diametrically opposed positions

In a critical assessment of ambush marketing, one is confronted with two opinions
in diametrical opposition to one another: on the one hand there is the disparaging
view of ambush marketing that is legally and/or ethically founded. On the other
there is the deferential assessment of ambushers who distinguish themselves by
innovative, creative marketing and are successful in circumventing the high fees
of sponsorship. Thus, ambush marketing is situated at the intersection of two
opposing spheres of interest waging a distribution battle for the marketing
potential of a sports event (Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Pechtl 2007).
On one side there are the organisers and the of¿cial sponsors and licensees.
The latter seek to obtain exclusive exploitation of the marketing potential of the
sports event in return for their sponsorship and licensing fees. This also bene¿ts
the organisers who are able to thus obtain higher revenues from the sponsorship
and licensing business. Thereby, as viewed from this perspective, it is legitimate
to want to protect this common and converging interest in exclusivity by taking
advantage of all the available legal options (Wittneben and Soldner 2006; Pechtl
2007).
On the other side there are the ambushers who also seek to participate in the
marketing potential of the sports event, but do not contribute sponsorship fees to
its execution. Ambush marketing conforms to the healthy competitive notion of
not letting pro¿t and sales opportunities go untapped. The lack of a company’s
performance in support of a sports event, yet seeking to participate in its marketing
potential is not unethical per se. Also, a sports event should not be run by its
organisers and participating sponsors as a “private function” (Wittneben and
Soldner 2006; Pechtl 2007).
From the perspective of a legal-statutory position, organisers have the better
starting position with regard to the exploitation of the marketing potential of a
sports event. Due to the power of their market position, they can extend their own
Critical assessment of ambush marketing 127
rights to areas outside of the event (for example, by linking the award of broadcast
rights to the concession of additional rights for of¿cial sponsors). Yet, just as third
parties must accept the additional rights conceded by the organisers, the organisers
and sponsors must hazard the consequences of a backlash. Just the fact that
ambush activities diminish the advertising impact of of¿cial sponsors does not
make ambush marketing anti-competitive. Moreover, an ambusher is not obliged
to go above and beyond the demands of fair and undistorted competition by being
more considerate of the interests of sponsors (Berberich 2006; Müller 2006).
9.2 Summary of arguments

As pointed out, from the perspective of the organisers and sponsors ambush
marketing represents a threat; from the perspective of the ambushers it creates an
opportunity. The following arguments can be made for and against ambush
marketing.
9.2.1 Opportunities and application options for ambush marketing

Due to the high cost of of¿cial sponsorship and the assurance of industry
exclusivity by the organisers, a dwindling number of companies are able to
participate as of¿cial sponsors at mega sports events. Ambush marketing conforms
to the competitive notion of not letting pro¿t and sales opportunities go untapped.
The lack of a company’s own performance in support of a sports event and the aim
of still taking advantage of its marketing potential is not unethical per se. A sports
event should not be conducted as a “private function” by the organisers and the
participating sponsors.
In recent years an increasing tendency to “monopolise” large-scale sporting
events has also been observed. This is sometimes manifested in “regulation
frenzies” that are, if anything, exaggerated and perpetrated by the organisers with
regard to the use of their event-related hallmarks. This is not always discernible to
a broader public and occasionally even generates certain sympathies for
ambushers. At the same time, a rigid approach to dealing with ambushing also
endangers having a modicum of advertising freedom (Wittneben and Soldner
2006; Pechtl 2007).
Jerry Welsh (2002: w.p.) is considered to be one of the most active champions
of ambush marketing:
When you own and license Kermit you have only given the rights you own to
one speci¿c frog, and maybe not even to all green ones … ambush marketing,
correctly understood and rightly practiced, is an important, ethically correct,
competitive tool in a non-sponsoring company’s arsenal of business- and
image-building-weapons. To think otherwise is either not to understand – or
willfully to misrepresent – the meaning of ambush marketing and its
signi¿cance for good – and winning – marketing practice.
128 Critical assessment of ambush marketing
The proponents of ambush marketing de¿ne ambushing as a legitimate, creative
power that helps the sponsorship market by providing greater ef¿ciency. They
believe that ambush marketing is only possible if the sponsors do not suf¿ciently
protect their activities or do not completely exploit their potential (Welsh 2002;
Portmann 2008). Ambush marketing could thus be considered a new and
innovative instrument in the marketing mix.
9.2.2 The risks and limitations of ambush marketing

In return for their sponsorship and licensing fees, the of¿cial sponsors want to
have the exclusive capacity to fully exploit the marketing potential of the sports
event. This also serves the interests of the organisers as they can command higher
revenues from the sponsorship and licensing business. From this perspective it is
therefore legitimate to take advantage of the available legal options to protect this
common interest with exclusivity. The infringement of intellectual property rights
of of¿cial sponsors, in particular, is subject to legal action. Based on the general
sense of justice it can be argued that only companies who have made a ¿nancial
contribution to the implementation of the sports event can reap its economic
rewards (Wittneben and Soldner 2006).
Moreover, ambushers infringe on the bylaws of diverse company and agency
organisations, whose aim it is to promote fair and ethical marketing (e.g. the
“Standards of Practice” of the American Marketing Association of Advertising
Agencies and the “Code of Ethics” of the Business Marketing Association). In
this regard ambush marketing constitutes deception of consumers (Payne 1998;
Bruhn and Ahlers 2003; Wittneben and Soldner 2006). A negative image transfer
from the ambushing actions to the initiating company is also possible and is a
particular threat if the target group sought compares the positive promotional
ideas of the of¿cial sponsors with the possibly even destructive-aggressive
practices of the ambushers – something that can climax in a reaction by the
targeted consumers.
Opponents of ambush marketing condemn ambushing as illegal theft of high-
priced advertising rights. A statement made by former IOC marketing director
Michael Payne (cited in Sportlink 2003: 4) sums up the opinion of many critics:
Ambush marketing is not a game. It is a deadly serious business and has the
potential to destroy sponsorship. If ambush, or “parasite” marketing is left
unchecked, then the fundamental revenue base of sports will be undermined
… ambush marketers are thieves knowingly stealing something that does not
belong to them.
These arguments can be further consolidated as follows: what would happen if all
companies were to prefer ambushing to their commitments as of¿cial sports
sponsors?
9.3 Concluding critical evaluation of ambush marketing
As an innovative tool of guerrilla marketing, ambushing can be observed wherever
sports events enjoying a high level of public interest take place. The phenomenon
of ambush marketing is the manifestation of intensi¿ed competition and a growing
aggressiveness in the sport sponsorship markets that will continue to increase in
the future. Based on the considerations above it is clear that ambush marketing is
and remains controversial.
9.3.1 Results of a nuanced contemplation of ambush marketing

Overall, ambush marketing should by no means be relegated to the status of a
“dirty word” in sports marketing per se based on its controversial nature. Instead,
ambush marketing should be classi¿ed as a competitive tool in conjunction with a
sports event. The fact that ambush marketing is often a “race between the tortoise
and the hare” in which the organisers take on the role of the hare should therefore
be viewed as a sign of functioning competition in which all the participating
players deploy their speci¿c “weapons” (of¿cial sponsorships versus creativity).
For the ambushers themselves ambush marketing can occasionally also represent
a dangerous competitive strategy. While the ambusher can ¿ght only with
marketing weapons, the organisers and sponsors/licensees have another option –
and thus an additional arsenal of tools – of waging the battle for the marketing
potential of a sports event with their legal position. This could have legal recourse
in terms of turning investments in ambush marketing into “sunk costs” for the
ambushers (Pechtl 2007).
Although the spheres of interest of organisers and of¿cial sponsors on one side
and those of ambushers on the other stand in competitive confrontation to one
another, indirect positive effects may also be ascribed to ambush marketing (Nufer
2005; Müller 2006; Pechtl 2007):
Ɣ Ambush marketing has resulted in more professional management by both

organisers and of¿cial sponsors.
Ɣ The organisers are taking more consistent advantage of the legal remedies
available to them.
Ɣ Sponsors have realised that sponsorship alone does not guarantee market
success, since gaps left by careless organisers and inef¿ciently operating
sponsors are ruthlessly exploited by ambushers. Therefore, sponsors continue
to get better at protecting themselves from assaults of ambushers by means of
integrated communications policies.
Ɣ The increasing competitive pressure also causes sponsors to deal with the
crucial question as to whether the commitment as an of¿cial sponsor actually
represents a pro¿table strategy or whether the ¿nancial resources that
sponsorship requires would not be better invested in alternative
communications policies.
Ɣ Conversely, the attempts by organisers to inhibit ambush marketing drive the
ambushers to increasingly creative efforts, which may be deemed an
enhancement of quality and an advancement of communications policies in
sports.
Thus, there is no way to make a general judgement of ambush marketing. In order

to present a concluding overall critical evaluation of ambush marketing, it is
imperative to differentiate among the various ambushing categories.
In direct ambush marketing a direct “hijacking” of protected legal positions of
the actual elements of sponsorship takes place. This is equally true for ambush
marketing motivated by both product policy and by communications policy. As
these types of ambush activities generally operate in a grey zone of legitimacy or
deliberately violate it, this ambush marketing case group must be criticised as
unlawful.
In general, the obstruction or destruction of the impact of sponsorship can
hardly be proved to be an intentionally planned interference, so legal prosecution
of dominant destructive–aggressive ambush marketing is extremely dif¿cult. On
the ethical–moral level, however, a distinct conclusion may be drawn: planned
attacks on sponsors with the aim of diminishing or even destroying the impact of
of¿cial sponsorship should be condemned as immoral.
The situation is a different one for indirect ambush marketing. As yet there are
hardly any constraining regulations for both case groups, and the justice system
often has little at its disposal to counter the actions of creative advertisers. Whereas
due to effective retaliatory measures by sports event organisers, in practice
ambush marketing by intrusion is becoming increasing irrelevant, the more
commonly encountered ambush marketing by association can rarely be legally
prevented, since these types of ambush measures are generally staged so
ingeniously that infringements of the current legal system are dif¿cult to prove. In
terms of ethical–moral issues, it is usually dif¿cult to allege valid claims against
indirect ambush marketing and the creative advertisers that initiate it. Thus, the
interim conclusion here says: “It all depends …”. Organisers of major sports
events must accept the fact that taking advantage of opportunities that present
themselves or the association with an event – without violation of rights – is also
an option for non-sponsors.
9.3.2 Recommendations thus deduced

As demonstrated, ambush marketing operates in a grey area between permissible
and prohibited actions and between fair and unfair competition. Therefore, an
evaluation of ambush marketing must necessarily apply legal as well as ethical–
moral standards. In the following, the insights derived from the above examination
are revisited and combined with the results of a legal and ethical–moral evaluation
(see Table 9.1).
Table 9.1 Results of a nuanced contemplation of ambush marketing
Results of the legal Legally preventable Legally unpreventable or

evaluation virtually unpreventable
Results of the
ethical–moral evaluation
Morally objectionable Containable: Controversial:
Direct ambush marketing Indirect ambush marketing
by intrusion, dominant–
aggressive ambush
marketing
Morally unobjectionable or Tolerated: Innovative:
virtually unobjectionable Local ambush marketing Indirect ambush marketing
by smaller businesses by association
The four ¿elds of the matrix can be characterised as follows.
“Containable” ambush marketing

This group consists of ambushing actions against which the organisers are not
defenceless in terms of legal repercussions and, above and beyond this, are also
morally objectionable. On the one hand, the organisers can counter the infringement
of their rights with legal action. On the other hand, such cases of ambushing can
be averted or at least greatly constrained with the use of appropriate preventive
measures. This category is primarily characterised by direct ambush marketing.
“Controversial” ambush marketing

This group encompasses measures that, while fundamentally legitimate or legally
unpreventable or virtually unpreventable, must nonetheless be subject to critical
assessment in terms of ethical–moral aspects. At this point dominant–aggressive
ambush marketing must be mentioned. However, cases of indirect ambush
marketing by intrusion can also be subsumed under this category. Organisers
frequently have no ex ante legal recourse to inhibit these forms of ambush
marketing or to counter with ex post intervention.
“Tolerated” ambush marketing

Practices that are basically open to legal challenges by the organisers, but at the
same time appear relatively harmless in ethical terms, can be placed in this area of
the matrix. These are cases that can be interpreted as unauthorised ambush actions
but generally do not incur legal action by the organisers, i.e. they are tolerated
because they do not result in a weakening of of¿cial sponsorship. Such actions are
often initiated by smaller, local operations. Thus, in the year of the 2006 Football
World Cup a German baker was allowed to offer his “World Cup rolls” without
being prosecuted and a barkeeper continued to offer public TV watching in his
establishment without having paid for a licence to do so. Basically, this can
involve direct or indirect ambush marketing. After initial irritations, it appears
that the prevailing approach of organisers of large-scale sporting events such as
FIFA is to focus their attention on “big” companies who practise ambush
marketing in the context of their events and to generally allow the “little guys” to
act unchecked – which is also certain to bene¿t their own image building with the
broader public.
“Innovative” ambush marketing

This area refers to ambush marketing that is neither legally nor ethically–morally
objectionable and is open to all creative ambushers. The prime example for this
group is indirect ambush marketing by association. As long as the rights of
organisers and of¿cial sponsors are not infringed upon, there are no objections to
agenda setting, fun ambushing (and maybe even philanthropic ambushing). These
creative and frequently amusing approaches may even be rated as innovative
communications policies that enrich advertising practice.
Figure 9.1 summarises the essential insights set out above in an overview. The
dominant implications are illustrated with arrows (dotted arrows indicate possible
but subsidiary consequences).
All told, the concept of ambush marketing per se has a negative connotation
and at ¿rst glance inevitably produces a negative estimation of this phenomenon.
One could extrapolate that there are ambushing forms that are basically not
objectionable, neither in legal–statutory nor ethical–moral terms. The overall
conÀict potential that ambush marketing generates may be summarised as follows:
the interests of the organisers in monopolising the marketing rights for a sports
event exist in a relationship of legal tension with the advertising freedom of
companies who seek to use the event for advertising even without making a
Ambush Marketing
Dominant
aggressive
containable tolerated controversial innovative
Figure 9.1 Case groups and results of ambush marketing

sponsor’s contribution. Therefore, a closer contemplation of ambush marketing
must always differentiate. A limited extent of event protection would be a proper
and appropriate solution. Ultimately, this involves a political value judgement as
to what is to be considered the higher ranking interest (Wittneben and Soldner
2006). It is important to determine an adequate median, so that the ¿nancing of
sports mega events is secured and at the same time fairer competition among
advertiser companies is enabled, as per the saying “if you don’t stand out from the
pack, you’re out” (Schulte 2007: 138), for, as an instrument of guerrilla
marketing, ambush marketing has a huge inherent potential to enrich
communications policy with innovative and at times amusing approaches.
10 Final observations
10.1 Summary
The objective of this study was to discuss the tangibly existing phenomenon of
ambush marketing from a scienti¿c perspective and to conduct empirical research
on its impact. In the fundamental Chapter 2 of this study, ambush marketing was
extensively characterised as an alternative to sports event sponsorship and
categorised as an instrument of guerrilla marketing. Chapter 3 served the purpose
of describing selected examples of ambush marketing in practice. In order to
structure the strategies and manifestations of ambush marketing, a new, integrated
structuring model was developed in Chapter 4 that resulted in producing the most
comprehensive systematisation of the range of ambush marketing, including 21
differentiated cases that can be subsumed in diverse categories and case groups.
As a result of the analysis of the consequences in Chapter 5, the interdisciplinary
evaluation in Chapter 6 and the contemplation of approaches for the prevention of
ambush marketing in Chapter 7, it became abundantly clear that neither the use of
legal–statutory powers nor the argumentation in terms of ethical–moral principles
would be capable of completely eliminating ambush marketing in the future.
Chapter 8 dealt with an empirical examination of the impact of ambush marketing.
A total of over 2,000 teenagers aged 13 to 18 years were interviewed.
Comprehensive analyses were conducted to ascertain the effects of ambush
marketing. Chapter 9 discussed the tension-fraught relationship that exists
between the interests of organisers in monopolising the marketing rights of a
sports event with the advertising freedom of companies seeking to use sports
events in their advertising without making a contribution as sponsors.
The results may be summarised as follows: on the one hand, ambush marketing
helps non-sponsors to achieve comparable or even greater impact than the of¿cial
event sponsors. On the other hand, ambushing campaigns above all compromise
the effectiveness of sponsorship, as of¿cial sponsors are forced to share the
attention of the target group with additional advertisers as freeriders using
the theme of the event for their own bene¿t. Ambush marketing is situated at the
intersection of two opposing spheres of interest waging a distribution battle for
the marketing potential of a sports event. On one side there is the disparaging view
of ambush marketing that is legally and/or ethically based. On the other there is
Final observations 135
the deferential assessment of ambushers who distinguish themselves with
innovative, creative marketing. In conclusion, a critical total evaluation of ambush
marketing cannot be done in an across-the-board manner but in fact a differentiation
must be made among the individual ambushing categories or case groups.
10.2 Perspectives
Ambush marketing remains controversial and will continue to be the subject of
contentious discussions. From the perspective of the event organisers and sports
sponsors it represents an understandable threat, while from the perspective of the
ambushers it offers the opportunity to reach the target audience in an attractive
environment and at affordable cost. However, ambush marketing may by no
means be relegated to the status of a “dirty word” of sports marketing per se on the
basis of its controversial nature. Instead, ambush marketing should be classi¿ed as
a competitive tool in the context of a sporting event. The fact that ambush
marketing is often a race between the tortoise and the hare in which the organisers
take on the role of the hare should therefore be viewed as a sign of functioning
competition in which all the participating players deploy their speci¿c “weapons”:
of¿cial sponsorship versus creativity (Pechtl 2007; Nufer 2010).
In order to lay the foundation for future decisions and for the purpose of gaining
additional insights on the subject, theoretical and empirical effectiveness research
on ambush marketing must be developed further. There is a need for action, most
notably in the following areas:
Ɣ Most of the studies on sports sponsorship and ambush marketing refer to

mega events such as the Olympics or the Football World Cup or European
Championships. In the future more attention should be paid to smaller-scale
sports events, which for medium-sized companies in particular could present
important alternatives in their communications policies.
Ɣ The course of longitudinal analyses and long-term studies already embarked
upon in this study should be expanded in order to research the long-term
impact of sponsorship and of ambush marketing.
Ɣ In addition to the empirical examination of knowledge and recall effects,
notably the analysis of attitude and image effects should be addressed in
greater depth. Also, additional previously little-addressed target dimensions
should be researched, with brand updates or employee motivation coming to
mind.
Ɣ Furthermore, the impact of sports event sponsorship or ambush marketing
should be more intensively studied in terms of the aspect of integrated
communication. It is not by chance that in this study those companies do best
that believe in integrated communications and strengthen the communicative
exploitation of a sports event with supporting measures.
Ɣ Finally, an intensive collaboration between science and real world practice
is needed in terms of applied research, for that is the only way to achieve
substantiated results in communications effectiveness.
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Author biography
Gerd Nufer is Professor of Business Administration

specialising in Marketing and Sport Management at the
ESB Business School of Reutlingen University, Germany,
as well as Associate Professor of Sport Economics and
Sport Management at the German Sport University
Cologne, Germany.
He studied business administration at the University of
Tübingen, Germany, and at the State University of New
York at Stony Brook, United States. He developed his
doctoral thesis at the University of Tübingen in cooperation with adidas and a
scholarship at San Diego State University, United States. He initially worked as
Project Manager at the international management consultancy Simon-Kucher &
Partners in Bonn, Germany, and as Key Account Manager in Market Research at
the Information Resources GfK in Nuremberg, Germany. Later he completed his
training at the German Sport University Cologne.
Gerd Nufer is Director of the Institute for Marketing, Market Research &
Communications and founded together with Prof. Dr. André Bühler the German
Institute for Sport Marketing at the Knowledge Foundation @ Reutlingen
University.
His teaching, research and consulting specialisations are sport marketing, event
management, marketing communications, and international market research.
Contact information:
Prof. Dr. Gerd Nufer
Reutlingen University
ESB Business School
Alteburgstrasse 150
D-72762 Reutlingen
Germany
Tel: +49 7121 2716011
Fax: +49 7121 271906011
E-mail: gerd.nufer@reutlingen-university.de
Index
Actimel 64 Ahlers, G. 48–51, 56

adidas 16, 65, 78, 89–90; “+10” aided recall 78, 98–9, 116–17
campaign 39; empirical research Allianz 19, 114
107, 110–17, 119, 122–3 altruism concept 74; see also
advertising: ambient marketing 29; philanthropic ambushing
ambush marketing by association ambient marketing 29, 30
55–6; ambush marketing by ambush marketing 2, 31–7; altruism
intrusion 55; autonomy of concept 74; assessment of model
associations 86; Bruhn and Ahlers’ 66–7; attributes of 33; brand asset
approach 48, 49; domiciliary rights concept 71–2; Bruhn and Ahlers’
85–6; empirical research 103; with approach 48–51; cases observed
event brands 58, 60–1, 68; event during 2010 Football World Cup
location 58, 64, 68, 75; event- 67–9; consequences of 76–80;
related objects 52, 53; event country focus concept 75; critical
sponsorship 36; exclusivity 95; assessment of 126–33; de¿nition of
Football World Cup (2010) 67; 32; differentiated strategies 69–71;
geographical environment 58, empirical research 3, 77–8, 98–125,
61–2; island position concept 73–4; 135; ethical and moral
media environment 58, 62, 79; considerations 81, 87–90; ¿nal
misleading 84; objectives of observations 134–5; as form of
ambush marketing 34; on-site 52, guerrilla marketing 21–2; indirect
53; Pechtl’s approach 54; perimeter positive effects of 129–30;
11; programme sponsorship 7; integrated structuring model 56–67;
share of income from 19; share of island position concept 73–4; legal
voice 77; sponsorship distinction and statutory considerations 81–7;
10–11; sports events 18; television Meenaghan’s approach 46–8;
47, 49, 50, 58, 62, 68, 70, 95; Noth’s approach 51–3; objectives
testimonials 74; themed 47, 50; 34; opportunism concept 72–3;
venues 51–2, 58, 61, 68; see also Pechtl’s approach 53–6; in practice
sponsorship 38–45; prevention of 91–7; reasons
agencies 13, 21 for the emergence of 32–3;
agenda setting 55–6, 59, 66, 69, 72, theoretical foundation 4–37
81, 132 American Express 54, 65, 77
150 Index
AOL 61 Bortoluzzi Dubach, E. 32
Aquinas, Thomas 89 brand asset concept 71–2
Aristotle 89 brand names 36
association, ambush marketing by brands: advertising with event brands
53–4, 55–6, 59, 66; brand asset 58, 60–1, 68; ambush marketing by
concept 72; critical evaluation of intrusion 55; empirical research
130; ethical and moral 109–25; Pechtl’s approach 54;
considerations 81; Football World perception of 112–17;
Cup 69; fun ambushing 64; unauthorised use of event brands
“innovative” ambush marketing 58, 59–60, 68
132; legal and statutory broadcast rights 13, 18, 33, 60, 127
considerations 87 Bruhn, M. 5, 48–51, 56, 76
association pyramid 18–19, 91 budgeting 8, 9, 69–70, 72
associations, autonomy of 86–7, 91 Budweiser 114, 115
athletes 11, 49, 52, 74; ambush Bühler, A. 10
marketing by intrusion 55; contract Burger King 39, 40, 64, 78, 110–17
management 92; individual rights Bwin 114
86; nutella campaign 42; “players
pool” contributions 47; see also Canon 114
testimonials catering, unauthorised 58, 60
ATP World Championship 17 celebrity endorsements 58, 64, 68; see
attack strategy 23 also athletes; testimonials
attention 66, 67 Champions League 17
attitudes 99, 101, 102, 104–5, 107–8, Christie, Linford 62
120, 123 classi¿cation problems 100
attributive designations 11, 18 Coca-Cola 78, 107, 110–17, 119,
Audi 16 122
audiences 12–13, 79; see also target communications 21, 66, 96–7, 130,
groups 133; event marketing 35; guerrilla
autonomy of associations 86–7, 91 communications policy 26;
Avaya 114, 115 integrated 6, 9, 129, 135; legal and
awareness 6, 17, 34, 66, 69; awareness statutory considerations 81;
building strategy 14; brand asset opportunism concept 72;
concept 72; effectiveness research psychological objectives 59;
98, 99; guerrilla marketing 27 sponsors 5, 76–7; strategy 58, 63,
Axa Colonia 56 68
Axe 114 competition 76–7, 127, 129, 130, 133;
attack strategy 23; domiciliary
Barkley, Charles 50 rights 85–6; increasing intensity of
Bavaria 43–5, 55, 73 33; objectives of ambush marketing
Beckham, David 50 34; regulation of 83–4; sponsorship
Bentham, Jeremy 87 market 1
Bitburger 62, 113, 115, 116 competitive advantage 17
The Blair Witch Project (¿lm) 28 confusion 117–25
Bon Jovi 7 consultants 13
Index 151
contact benchmarks 99 dominant destructive-aggressive
“containable” ambush marketing 131, ambush marketing 57, 58, 59, 65,
132 66; “controversial” 131; ethical and
contests 52 moral considerations 81, 130;
contextual sports leitmotif 58, 63, 68, frequency of observed cases 68
70, 71 Drengner, J. 102, 106–9
Continental 114, 115 Drogba, Didier 75
contracts 12, 86, 87, 91–2 Drypers 26
control 8, 10 Du Toit, M. 57, 59
“controversial” ambush marketing duty ethics 88–9
131, 132
Converse 77 ecological sponsorship 6–7
cooperation agreements 69; see also economic objectives 6, 34, 59
partnerships education strategies 93
copyright law 82 effectiveness research 98–109, 135
corporate social responsibility (CSR) Emirates 114
6, 7, 74 employees 6
costs 1, 20, 129 EnBW 114, 115
Couchman, N. 82 endorsements 58, 64, 68; see also
counterfeit materials 82 athletes; testimonials
country focus concept 75 environmentalism 7
covering up of sponsor’s brand name/ equipment 11, 49, 58, 63, 70, 87;
logo 50, 57, 65 altruism concept 74; brand asset
creativity 45, 129, 135 concept 72; contract management
cross-instrument integration 96 92; country focus concept 75;
cultural sponsorship 6–7 frequency of observed cases 68;
Customer Relationship Management “of¿cial out¿tters” 19
(CRM) 96 Erima 114
ethical and moral considerations 31,
D’Alessandro, D.F. 1 87–90, 128, 130–1
deception 88, 89, 90, 128 European Championships 4, 17, 48,
decision making 5, 11 60; anti-ambush marketing laws 87;
Deichmann 114 dependence on sponsors 19;
Deutsche Bahn 114, 115 empirical research 102; ¿nancing
Deutsche Telekom 110–17, 119, 122 80; rights protection programmes
differentiation 21, 33 36
direct ambush marketing 53–4, 57–9, event-associated products 59–60
66; brand asset concept 72; event brands: advertising with 58,
“containable” 131; critical 60–1, 68; unauthorised use of 58,
evaluation of 130; island position 59–60, 68
concept 73; legal and statutory event location 58, 64, 68, 75
considerations 81, 82, 87; event marketing 34–7
“tolerated” 132 event materials, unauthorised use of
distribution policy 26 58, 60
domiciliary rights 45, 84–6 event sponsorship 35, 36, 37
152 Index
event symbols 51 free riding 32, 51
exclusivity 33, 34, 35–6, 45, 50, 77, freedom of competition 84
126, 128; contract management Frey, H. 32
91–2; island position concept 73; Fuji Film 46, 47, 50, 55, 63, 114, 115
marketing potential 18; personal fun ambushing 58, 59, 64–5, 66, 132;
contracts 86; television advertising ethical and moral considerations
95 81; frequency of observed cases 68;
Express Mail 77 opportunism 72; positive attitude
towards ambusher 69
fair trade 83–4
fascination 17, 31 geographical environment 58, 61–2,
FC Barcelona 7 75
FC Bayern Munich 16 German Football Association 38, 62,
Federal Express 77 65, 71–2
Ferrero 41–2 gifts 52
¿t, ambusher-event 70 Gilette 114
Folger’s 77 goodwill 6, 34, 54, 66, 88
Football World Cup (FIFA) 4, 17; Google 110–17
dependence on sponsors 19; guerrilla marketing 2, 21–31, 133;
empirical research 3, 102, 109–25; characterisation of 22–3; critical
¿nancing 80; France (1998) 20, 62, assessment 30–1; developmental
78, 89–90; fun ambushing 64–5, trends 31; island position concept
72; Germany (2006) 3, 19–20, 73; low-budget 27; marketing mix
38–45, 54–6, 61, 63–4, 71, 85, 92, 24–6; new media 27–9; out-of-
109–25, 131–2; legal protection home 27, 29–30; strategies 23–4
teams 92; Nike campaign 61, 75,
89–90; “off-limits” area 85; hallmarks 18, 54, 59–60, 82–3, 127
partnerships 64; Pepsi campaign Hamburg-Mannheimer 56, 114, 115
50; positive mood 70; product Harrington, D. 82
launches 63; programme Harry Potter books 26
sponsorship 62; public TV Heart Attack Grill 24
watching 71; rights protection Heermann, P. 81
programmes 36; simulation of Hide and Seek (¿lm) 29
sponsorship 61; social Hornbach 56
responsibility 74; South Africa hospitality 6, 18, 96
(2010) 19, 43–5, 64–5, 67–9, 72, Hyundai 107, 113
73, 74, 75; stakeholder analysis
89–90; testimonials 64; “tolerated” image 31, 66; af¿nity with 14;
ambush marketing 131–2; sponsorship 5, 6, 14, 16; transfer 1,
trademark law 83 20, 34, 54, 64, 72, 96, 99, 128
Formula 1 17, 20 images of people 86
Foster’s 48 implementation 93, 95–7
Four Jumps Tournament 17 indirect ambush marketing 53–4,
free availability 83 55–6, 57, 58, 59, 66; brand asset
free gifts 52 concept 72; “controversial” 131;
Index 153
critical evaluation of 130; ethical legal issues 52–3, 81–7, 128, 129,
and moral considerations 81; 130–1; autonomy of associations
Football World Cup 69; 86–7; competition and fair trade
“innovative” 132; legal and 83–4; copyright law 82; domiciliary
statutory considerations 81, 87; rights 84–6; guerrilla marketing 31;
“tolerated” 132 individual rights 86; island position
“innovative” ambush marketing 131, concept 74; legal protection teams
132 92; sponsorship planning 95;
integrated communications 6, 9, 129, trademark law 82–3
135 Levinson, J.C. 22, 23, 31
intellectual property rights 82, 128; Lewis, Carl 47
see also trademarks licences 18–19, 126; broadcast 60;
interdependence problems 99–100 trademark law 82
Internet: integrated into media strategy likeability measures 110–12
71; sports events 17; viral limited editions 70
marketing 27–8, 69 logos 36, 49; autonomy of associations
Intersport 114 86–7; copyright law 82; covering
intra-instrumental integration 96 up sponsor’s 50, 57, 65; empirical
intrusion, ambush marketing by 53–4, research 101, 103, 106; on-site
55, 59, 66; “controversial” ambush advertising 52
marketing 131; critical evaluation Lufthansa 38–9
of 130; ethical and moral Lyberger, M.R. 101
considerations 81; island position
concept 73; legal and statutory marketing: autonomy of associations
considerations 81; services 62–3 86; event 34–7; potential 17–18,
island position concept 73–4 76, 78, 93–5, 126, 128, 134; sports
events 1, 19–20; sports
Jacobs 7 management 1; see also
Jaeschke, L. 82 advertising; ambush marketing;
J.C. Penney 77 guerrilla marketing
Johnny Walker 28 marketing mix 24–6, 69, 128
Jordan, Michael 50 Mars 78
Jung, H. 31 MasterCard 106, 107, 113
Maxwell House 77
Kahn, Oliver 39, 64 McCarthy, L. 101
Kant, Immanuel 88 McDaniel, S.R. 100, 101
Kinney, L. 100, 101 McDonald’s 39, 47, 64, 78, 107,
KISS (keep it simple, stupid) 31 110–17, 119, 122
Kmart 77 measurement: effectiveness 98–100;
Kodak 46, 47, 50, 55, 63, 107 individual measures regarding
Kreissparkasse 114 sponsorship 8, 9; likeability
Krombacher 7, 114 measures 110–12
Kulula 64–5, 72 media 12–13, 17, 19, 58, 62, 68;
consequences of ambush marketing
Lee jeans 29 76, 79; Football World Cup (2010)
154 Index
68; multiplier effect 1, 20, 55; Barcelona (1992) 50; contract
Pechtl’s approach 54; prevention of management 91; dependence on
ambush marketing 97; programme sponsors 19; direct ambush
sponsorship 6–7, 46; sponsorship marketing 54; empirical research
planning 95; target group 101, 102–8; ethical and moral
consumption behaviour 70–1; see considerations 88; ¿nancing 80;
also broadcast rights; television Kodak/Fuji competition 46, 47, 50,
Media-Markt 42–3, 63, 110–17 55, 63; legal and statutory
Meenaghan, T. 32, 46–8, 56, 77, 88–9 considerations 87; Los Angeles
Melwitz, N. 82 (1984) 46, 49, 50, 55, 64, 77;
Mercedes 49, 114, 116 monitoring 92; Olympic Rings 51;
merchandising items 60, 76; rights protection programmes 36,
counterfeit 82 45; Seoul (1988) 47, 54; Sydney
Mill, John Stuart 87 (2000) 61, 65; themed advertising
mobile technologies 28–9 47; Turin (2006) 93, 94; UPS 49
monitoring 92 on-site advertising 52, 53
multiplier effect 1, 20, 55 opportunism concept 72–3
Murphy, P. 87 organisers 97, 126–7, 128, 129, 135;
conÀict potential 132;
name rights 19 consequences of ambush marketing
niche strategy 23–4 on 76, 78–9; contract management
Nike 48, 50, 63, 65; advertising with 91–2; domiciliary rights 85, 86;
event location 64; billboard ethical and moral considerations
campaign 77; empirical research 89; monitoring 92; public relations
106, 107, 110–17; Football World 93; trademark law 82, 83
Cup 61, 75, 78, 89–90; out-of-home O’Sullivan, P. 87
advertising 49; sensation marketing out-of-home marketing 27, 29–30, 49,
30; themed advertising 47 62
Noth, M. 51–3, 56, 82
Nufer, G. 10, 102 packaging 67
nutella 41, 42, 71–2, 110–17 Pampers 26
Panasonic 107
O2 114, 116 participants 52, 54; see also athletes
OBI 106, 107, 110–17, 119, 122 partnerships 16, 58, 64, 68; see also
objectives: ambush marketing 34, 66, cooperation agreements
67; effectiveness research 98; Payback 106, 107
sponsorship 5, 6, 8 Payne, Michael 128
Oddset 114 Pechtl, H. 53–6, 57, 59, 78, 92
“off-limits” areas 85 Pelé 40
Olympics 4, 17; Albertville (1992) 47, Pepsi 50, 78, 110–17
77; ambush marketing by performance 5, 15
association 56; anti-ambush perimeter advertising 11
strategies 93, 94; association philanthropic ambushing 58, 59, 65,
pyramid 18; Athens (2004) 51–2, 66, 132; altruism concept 74;
56, 62; Atlanta (1996) 62, 93; ethical and moral considerations
Index 155
81; frequency of observed cases 68; Rewe 65
positive attitude towards ambusher rights 4, 32, 35–6, 95–6; ambush
69 marketing as illegal theft of 128;
Philips 113 broadcast rights 13, 18, 33, 60, 127;
placement location 48, 49 contract management 91–2; direct
planning 5, 8–10, 31, 93, 95 ambush marketing 54; domiciliary
“players pool” contributions 47 45, 84–6; individual 86; name 19;
Podolski, Lukas 65 rights protection programmes 36,
positive mood 70, 72 45; sponsorship 15, 18; subcategory
Postbank 113, 115 sponsorship 61
Premiere 114 Rivaldo 50
price policy 26 Ronaldo, Cristiano 63
printed material 11 Rugby World Championship 48
Procter & Gamble 26
product af¿nity 14 sales promotions 35, 49, 96
product launches 58, 63, 68, 69, 70, 75 Samsung 107, 114
product policy 25, 59, 66, 81, 130 Sandler, D.M. 96, 101, 102–6
pro¿t 6, 66 Schulte, T. 26, 133
programme sponsorship 6–7, 46, 50, scienti¿c sponsorship 6–7
53, 58, 62, 70; ambush marketing Sears 77
by intrusion 55; Bruhn and Ahlers’ selection of sponsorships 9, 14, 16
approach 49; empirical research sensation marketing 29–30, 31–2
107; frequency of observed cases services 58, 60, 62–3, 68
68; pre-emptive rights 91; shaming strategies 93
sponsorship planning 95 Shani, D. 96, 101, 102–6
promotional aspect of sponsorship 5 share of voice 77
psychological objectives 6, 34, 59 Siemens 114
public relations (PR) 93, 96 simulation of sponsorship 58, 61
Puma 39–41, 62, 106, 107, 110–17 situation analysis 8
purchase intention 99 Sixt 30
small and medium-sized companies
radio 17, 39, 52, 67, 71 24, 27, 135
reach 1, 16, 20, 99 Snickers 78, 110–17
realisation 8, 10, 11 Söbbeke 65
recall 98–9, 100, 106, 112–17 Soccerade 63
reciprocal services 15 social responsibility 6, 7, 74
recognition tests 98 social sponsorship 6–7
Reebok 47, 50, 110–17 Soldner, A. 53, 57, 81–2
regulation 20–1, 33; competition and Sony 114
fair trade 83–4; sponsorship 1–2, 5; spillover effects 100
see also legal issues sponsor quotient 117–19
relationship marketing 16 sponsorship 1–2, 4–21; challenges
reputation 16 confronting sponsors 93–7;
research 3, 77–8, 98–125, 135 consequences of ambush marketing
reserve trademarks 83 on 76–8, 79–80; contract
156 Index
management 91–2; covering up technology 27–9
sponsor’s brand name 50, 57, 65; television 7, 13, 19, 52, 70; advertising
critical assessment 20–1, 126, 128; during event coverage 58, 62, 68,
de¿nition and attributes of 5–6; 70; advertising exclusivity 95;
developmental trends 21; dominant ambush marketing by intrusion 55;
destructive-aggressive ambush Bruhn and Ahlers’ approach 47, 49,
marketing 57, 59; empirical 50; empirical research 103;
research 77–8, 98–125; equipment Football World Cup (2010) 67;
58, 63, 68, 70, 72, 74, 75; ethical public TV watching 71; share of
and moral considerations 88; income from 19; sports events 17;
features of sports events 16–20; unauthorised use of event materials
¿nal observations 134–5; growth of 60; see also broadcast rights; media
32–3; high cost of 127; indirect testimonials 11, 37, 58, 64, 69, 70;
positive effects of ambush altruism concept 74; autonomy of
marketing 129; individual rights 86; associations 87; brand asset concept
management of 13–16; 72; frequency of observed cases 68;
manifestations of 11–12; objectives individual rights 86; nutella 42
of 5, 6, 8; participants in 12–13; Thorpe, Ian 65
Pechtl’s approach 54; planning timing 70
process 8–10; “players pool” tipp3 64
contributions 47; simulation of 58, title sponsorship 11
61; sports sponsorship 6–7; TNT 49, 61
subcategories 47, 49, 58, 61; types tobacco products 20
of 6–8 “tolerated” ambush marketing 131–2
sports economics 1 Toshiba 113
sports management 1 Tour de France 17
Spreewaldhof 25 Townley, S. 82
stakeholder analysis 89–90 trademarks 54, 59–60, 61, 82–3
Steinlager Brewery 48
strategy 8, 9, 14, 69–71; brand asset Umbro 61
concept 71; communication 58, 63; unaided recall 98, 112–16
guerrilla marketing 23–4; unauthorised catering 58, 60
Meenaghan’s approach 46–8 unauthorised use of event brands 58,
subcategories, sponsorship of 47, 49, 59–60, 68
58, 61 unauthorised use of event materials
Super Bowl 101 58, 60
Swatch 107 unfair competition 83–4, 130
sweepstakes 52 UNICEF 7
symbols 51, 59–60, 82, 83 UPS 49, 61, 77
utilitarianism 87–8
target groups 8, 9, 12, 79; advertising
pressure on 77; af¿nity with 14, 70; venues 51–2, 58, 61, 68; country focus
ambush marketing 33; empirical concept 75; domiciliary rights 85;
research 109; media consumption legal protection teams 92
70–1; sports sponsorship 14 Veron, Juan Sebastian 50
Index 157
viral marketing 27–8, 69 Wendy’s 47
virtue ethics 89 Wimbledon 17
Visa 65, 77, 107 Wittneben, M. 53, 57, 81–2
Vodafone 110–17
Volkswagen 7 x-box 114
von Matt, J.-R. 31 Xerox 107
Wal-Mart 77 Yahoo! 110–17, 119, 122

Warsteiner 114 Yellow Strom 114
websites 96
Welsh, J. 32 Zanger, C. 102, 106–9
Welsh, Jerry 127 Zerr, K. 22
Weltbild 26

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Ambush Marketing in Sports

Ambush marketing is a strategy by which a company or organisation uses their

Gerd Nufer is Professor of Business Administration, specialising in Marketing

• sub-disciplines within sports marketing: for example, branding, marketing

Available in this series

Marketing and Football

Consumer Behaviour in Sport and Events

Relationship Marketing in Sports

Sport Public Relations and Communication

Ambush Marketing in Sports

2 Theoretical foundation of ambush marketing 4

4 Structuring the strategies and manifestations of ambush

6 Interdisciplinary evaluation of ambush marketing 81

7 Prevention of ambush marketing 91

8 Empirical research on the impact of ambush marketing 98

9 Critical assessment of ambush marketing 126

10 Final observations 134

1.1 Structure of the approach and course of the study 3

2.1 Differentiation of event sponsorship from event marketing 35

1.1 Presentation of problem and objectives

Ɣ Description: survey and assessment of the entire problem area of ambush

1.2 Structure of the approach and course of the study

Consequences Evaluation Prevention

Sports Sponsorship Ambush Marketing

Figure 1.1 Structure of the approach and course of the study

For many companies, it is major international sporting events in particular, for

2.1 Sponsorship as the basis of ambush marketing

2.1.1 Fundamentals of sponsorship

2.1.1.1 De¿nition and attributes of sponsorship

Ɣ Analysis, planning, execution and control of all activities

Ɣ Sponsorship is based on the principle of performance and consideration: the

2.1.1.2 Objectives of sponsorship

Ɣ level of awareness objectives (increase or stabilisation of corporate or brand

The description of these objectives in literature is largely consistent. Empirical

2.1.1.3 Types of sponsorship

Ɣ Sports sponsorship can be broken down in terms of criteria such as type of

2.1.1.4 Planning process for sponsorship

(1) SITUATION ANALYSIS

(2) ESTABLISHING OBJECTIVES

The subsequent formulation of the objectives of the sponsorship is based on the

Objectives simultaneous Target Groups

In parallel to the formulation of objectives, the target groups to be addressed by

(4) ESTABLISHMENT OF STRATEGY

(6) SELECTION OF SPONSORSHIPS

The selection of sponsorships is made on the basis of the sponsoring strategy. In

(7) DEVELOPMENT OF INDIVIDUAL MEASURES

(8) INTEGRATION OF THE SPONSORSHIP INTO THE COMMUNICATIONS MIX

The coordination of the sponsorship with the other tools of corporate

This process model is a theoretical, typically ideal sequence of phases. In the

2.1.2 Sports sponsorship

Professional sports sponsorship is a business-related partnership between a

Of all the different types of sponsorship, sports sponsorship has a dominant

2.1.2.1 Manifestations of sports sponsorship

1 the choice of the sponsorship object;

(1) FORMS IN TERMS OF THE OBJECT OF SPORTS SPONSORSHIP

The following dimensions determine the scope of a sports sponsorship object:

Ɣ sport type (e.g. football, Formula 1, cycling, ski jumping, etc.);

(2) FORMS IN TERMS OF THE USAGE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SPORTS SPONSORSHIP

Basically, the following core measures can be differentiated in terms of the

Ɣ branding or labelling of equipment (e.g. advertising on jerseys);