The evolving sophistication of ambush marketing: A typology of strategies

Abstract

Abstract At sporting mega‐events, there is increasingly intense competition off the field of play as well as on it, with big brands battling it out for the attention of consumers. Some of these brands are associated with official event sponsors; others are associated with commercial rivals that have no official association with events such as the Olympic Games or the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup. The latter group is increasingly engaging in what is termed “ambush marketing”‐for instance, by seeking to deliberately persuade or mislead consumers into thinking they have an official association with a sporting mega‐event. The emergence of ambush marketing emanates from the centrally controlled sale of a small number of rights packages by bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and FIFA, which effectively exclude non‐rights holders from associating with an event. Brands that have no official legal right of association often therefore seek to access similar benefits to official sponsors by engaging in a range of activities, including targeted promotions and the creation of rival tournament properties. The focus of this article is fourfold: (1) to explain how ambushing has emerged, (2) to define ambush marketing, (3) to identify various types of ambushing, and (4) to discuss some of the management issues and challenges posed by ambush marketing. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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