Sponsorship Activation Through Social Media the Case of the Norwegian Ski Federation Cross-Country in the Context of FIS Nordic World Ski Championship in Falun 2015
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Kandidat 124 Anders Lien Sponsorship activation through social media The case of the Norwegian Ski Federation Cross-Country in the context of FIS Nordic World Ski Championship in Falun 2015 Master thesis in Sport Sciences Department of Cultural and Social Studies Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, 2016 k MA500 1 Masteroppgave Page 3 av 123 Kandidat 124 Abstract Social media opens new opportunities for sponsors to activate their sponsorship and reach out to their target market. This study used a netnographic case study approach to study the Norwegian Ski Federation Cross-Country’s sponsors’ and ambushers’ activity on Twitter and Facebook during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship in Falun 2015. In addition, the role of the NSFCC and their athletes. Lastly, how consumers perceived their activity. The research methods used were content analysis and a student survey (n = 292). The content analysis consisted of 1155 tweets, 114 retweets, and 487 posts from sponsors, ambushers, athletes, NSFCC, and consumers. The results showed that sponsors had different activation strategies, but the tactics promotion and athlete encouragement stood out. The ambushers differed from the sponsors in terms of how they tried to reach the target market and create an association to the NSFCC. The posts with strong associations to past heavily debated situations generated the most brand awareness. Posts and tweets that contained the sponsorship property cues gave the strongest associations to be from a sponsor of the NSFCC. This study provide insight for practitioners on how consumers respond on different activation strategies on social media and suggestion for future research. 3 MA500 1 Masteroppgave Page 5 av 123 Kandidat 124 Acknowledgements Now, a journey that started in Ottawa back in 2014 has come to an end and what a journey it has been. I made friends from around the world and some great memories. Working on this master thesis has been inspiring, frustrating, and challenging. I have learnt much about the field of sponsorship, research in both theory and practice, and myself. Considering everything this last year has contained, to finalize this thesis gave a sense of achievement. I would like to thank several people that have helped me during this past two years. I have to thank my two supervisors, Per Øystein Hansen and Benoit Séguin. Per Øystein Hansen for providing me insight on ways to write and structure the thesis, and to challenge me. My co-supervisor, Benoit Séguin, for sharing his knowledge and experience within the field of sports marketing and sponsorship research. Then, I would like to thank my Canadian friend, Bryson Hayes, for very helpful proof reading and in general improving my English. In addition, my fellow master students at the masters’ office. All the challenging debates, moral inspiration, and social initiatives really help me complete this past year in the way I did. I do not know what I would have done without you. Next, I have to thank my family and friends for moral support and always being there for me. I would also like to thank the marketing staff at the NSFCC for providing me insight about their sponsorship programme. Lastly, thanks to all the respondents that completed the survey. Oslo, May 30th 2016 Anders Lien 4 MA500 1 Masteroppgave Page 6 av 123 Kandidat 124 Table of contents Abstract .......................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ....................................................................... 4 Table of contents ........................................................................... 5 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................ 7 1.1 Research question .................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Previous research .................................................................................................................. 9 2.0 Context ................................................................................... 15 2.1 NSFCC’s sponsorship programme .................................................................................... 15 2.2 FIS Nordic World Ski Championship 2015 ...................................................................... 17 2.3 About Facebook and Twitter ............................................................................................. 19 3.0 Theory .................................................................................... 23 3.1 Brand and communication theory ..................................................................................... 25 3.2 Activation ............................................................................................................................. 27 3.3 Sponsorship ROI ................................................................................................................. 31 4.0 Research method .................................................................. 32 4.1 Methodology and research method ................................................................................... 32 4.2 Content analysis .................................................................................................................. 34 4.2.1 Sample ........................................................................................................................... 34 4.2.2 Data collection .............................................................................................................. 36 4.2.3 Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 40 4.3 Survey ................................................................................................................................... 41 4.3.1 Questionnaire design ..................................................................................................... 42 4.3.2 Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 43 4.4 Strengths and Weaknesses .................................................................................................. 45 5.0 Results ................................................................................... 48 5.1 Content analysis .................................................................................................................. 48 5.1.1 Twitter ........................................................................................................................... 48 5.1.2 Facebook ....................................................................................................................... 52 5 MA500 1 Masteroppgave Page 7 av 123 Kandidat 124 5.1.3 Individual strategies and user engagement.................................................................... 56 5.1.4 Athletes and the NSFCC on social media ..................................................................... 61 5.2 Survey ................................................................................................................................... 62 5.2.1 The effect of different cues ........................................................................................... 65 6.0 Discussion ............................................................................. 71 6.1 Brand awareness ................................................................................................................. 72 6.1.1 The use of hashtags ....................................................................................................... 74 6.1.2 NSFCC-related posts’ impact on user engagement ....................................................... 77 6.1.3 The role of athletes and the NSFCC ............................................................................. 80 6.2 The effect of different cues ................................................................................................. 82 6.3 Differences between sponsor and ambushers ................................................................... 85 7.0 Conclusion ............................................................................. 87 7.1 Practical Implications ......................................................................................................... 89 7.2 Theoretical implications ..................................................................................................... 89 7.3 Future Research .................................................................................................................. 89 7.4 Limitations ........................................................................................................................... 91 References ................................................................................... 92 Tables ......................................................................................... 104 Appendices ................................................................................ 105 Appendix 1: Overview of sponsors of NSFCC’s sponsorship program including industry categories Appendix 2: Overview of Facebook and Twitter usernames Appendix 3: Coding scheme Twitter Appendix 4: Coding scheme Facebook Appendix 5: Questionnaire (Norwegian version) Appendix 6: Questionnaire (English version) Appendix 7: NSD approval Appendix 8: Summary in Norwegian 6 MA500 1 Masteroppgave Page 8 av 123 Kandidat 124 1.0 Introduction