Measuring event sponsorship effects in a government-to-business (G2B) relationship domain

Within the marketing literature, an untapped context for investigating event sponsorship effects (based on dollar or in-kind support) is that of government-to-business (G2B) marketing. Government strategies to attract or build relationships with inter-state or off-shore corporate investors sit within this domain. Investor-directed marketing strategies, not unlike a company's B2B marketing, can benefit from mega-event sponsorship, most especially when this sponsorship is accompanied by a well-planned relationship leveraging strategy. Given the rising public pressure for governments to be accountable for events investment, the measurement of market-related sponsorship effects by government entities represents an interesting, but unexplored research topic. This paper outlines a proposed framework for measuring event sponsorship effects within a government's investor relationship portfolios using an Australian state government's involvement in Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2003 as a case.