品牌經理若試圖改變品牌形象，運動贊助是一種可行的選項，因為運動贊助比其他類型的行銷傳播，更有利於將運動本身的特性、符號，移轉到出資贊助的企業。本研究以自發特質移情理論為基礎，來解釋在短暫的贊助商曝光和淺層訊息處理情境下，如何產生贊助效應(包含品牌個性和年齡)。本研究提出假說，認為運動本身的個性和年齡之符號特徵，均可能移轉至出資贊助企業。研究的結果為運動贊助之研究開闢了新的思維，也為行銷管理人員提供新的策略與行銷模式。
If managers want to change brand image, sport sponsorships are a promising choice, because sport sponsorships is better suited than other types of marketing communication for linking the associations to a brand in consumers’ memory. The study proposes spontaneous trait transference theory as a mechanism that can explain sponsorship effects under conditions of brief sponsorship exposure and shallow information processing. Spontaneous trait transference can explain sponsorship effects on both a sponsor brand’s personality and age perceptions. We proposed the hypothesis that spontaneous trait transfer occurs for both sport personality and age traits. Practical implications of our findings open up new avenues for research on (sport) sponsorship (e.g., on the effectiveness of sponsorship disclosure).
