Consumer Split Identification: The Case of Sponsorship

Via sponsoring as a communications platform, brands reach audiences in sports, arts, and entertainment. Instead of using traditional advertising directed to consumers, brands may sponsor a sports team with which consumers identify and communicate with audiences via that partnership. This creates a multifaceted relationship in marketing communications where conflicts may arise. A person can be a fan of a sports team but disavow the team’s sponsor. The current work extends research from management to marketing communications by focusing on split identification, in which an individual separates worthy from unworthy elements of a target of identification. Across four studies, we demonstrate how partnering with a poor fitting sponsor can result in split identification with the focal organization and negative outcomes for the sponsoring brand. We explore potential mitigation of negative effects via changes to the structure of the sponsoring relationship.