The impact of event sponsorship on portuguese children's brand image and purchase intentions: The moderator effects of product involvement and brand familiarity

The goal of this study is to understand the influence of event sponsorship on children and their ability to fully understand its persuasive intent. A wide range of research addresses the effects of sponsorship on adults, but not much looks at children. We study the effects of sponsorship on a new target: children between the ages of 7 and 11. We analyse effects on the sponsor's brand image and on purchase intentions, and study the moderator effects of product involvement and brand familiarity. A structured questionnaire was completed by a sample of 334 children in the defined age range. Findings suggest that sponsorship can influence children's image of the advertised brand and their purchasing intentions, especially in the case of non-familiar brands. Additionally, our research suggests that sponsorship can affect the purchasing intention for low-involvement products, while brand image is more affected in the case of high-involvement products, contrary to our expectations. Moreover, results show that the majority of children do not recognize sponsorship's persuasive intent, and therefore our research has important managerial implications, highlighting the caution that should be used in the case of sponsoring activities with children.