Int. J. Sport Management and Marketing, Vol. 15, Nos.

1/2, 2014 75

Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports

branding and sports sponsorship

Kenneth Cortsen
Department of Sport Management and
Department of Business Communication,
University College of Northern Denmark,
Aalborg, Denmark
and
Business and Social Sciences,
Aarhus University,
Aarhus, Denmark
Email: [email protected]

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to develop a toolkit for academics and
practitioners, which elaborates on how strategic application of corporate social
responsibility (CSR) may guide sports branding initiatives and sponsorship
partnerships and lead to increased levels of brand capitalisation. Inspired by
Shank’s (2009) notion of the sports brand building process, i.e.: 1) brand
awareness; 2) brand image; 3) brand equity; 4) brand loyalty, the interacting
nature of sports brands exemplified by how sports brands at the corporate level
interact with sports brands at the personal and product levels is integrated in the
article. This is done to propose how these interactions may increase the effect
of the work with strategic CSR on corporate sports brands.

Keywords: strategic corporate social responsibility; CSR; emotional equity;

brand equity; ROI, sports management; sports marketing; sports branding;
sports sponsorship.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Cortsen, K. (2014)

‘Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding and sports
sponsorship’, Int. J. Sport Management and Marketing, Vol. 15, Nos. 1/2,
pp.75–97.

Biographical notes: Kenneth Cortsen is working at University College of

Northern Denmark (UCN) and helped develop and implement the first
professional (applied sciences) Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management in
Denmark as well as other educational and research activities related
to sport economics, sport management, and sport marketing. This includes
collaboration with and consulting for various sport organisations and
personalities in Denmark and abroad, which has provided a better framework
for sport management research in Denmark.

Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

76 K. Cortsen

1 Introduction

Sports-related organisations, which some people may refer to as sports entities, is a term
used throughout this article. The term includes entities having sport as a core function,
i.e., sports events, athletes, professional sports teams, sports governing bodies, sports
leagues, sports clubs, sports gear manufacturers etc.; it also includes entities where sport
is not a core function, but merely something to be used as a communication, marketing,
branding, sponsorship, or promotional platform to create ‘added value’, i.e., Carlsberg,
Mastercard or Rolex. This view is backed by Fullerton and Merz (2008, p.90) and Pitts
and Stotlar (1996) who stated that, “in order to fully appreciate and understand the
dynamics and differing perspectives of sports marketing, it is imperative that the task of
marketing through sports also be accepted as an integral component of the industry”. Pitts
and Stotlar (2002, pp.3–4) define sport management as “the study and practice involved
in relation to all people, activities, businesses, and organizations involved in producing,
facilitating, promoting, or organizing any good that is sport, fitness and recreation related.
Sport products can be goods, services, people, places, or ideas”. Their definition fits my
definition of sports-related organisations.
A powerful sports brand is capable of building brand equity (Boone et al., 1995;
Apostolopoulou and Gladden, 2007) by means of strategic communication; this is true
not only for the brand itself but also for allied sponsor brands (Mueller and Roberts,
2008). That reflects the impact of sports branding. It also allows room for strategic
corporate social responsibility (CSR) (McElhaney, 2008; Babiak and Wolfe, 2009; Bruch
and Walter, 2005; Bradish, 2006; Babiak and Sheth, 2009; Kott, 2005; Kent and Walker,
2009; Van de Ven, 2008) as a defining element in building brand equity, which is vital
for financing sports operations. Hence, building a sports brand has numerous positive
effects on the allied partners, e.g., influencing consumer behaviours by improving
attendance, merchandising sales, or participation in sports (Shank, 2009). Brand
satisfaction is associated with brand equity and so is the economic value of the brand and
those partnering with the brand by linking brand equity to brand-loyal stakeholders that
secure value or incoming cash flows via repeated purchases (Shank, 2009; Berry, 1999;
Funk and Gladden, 2001; Miloch, 2005; Ruekert et al., 1994). As a result of increased
focus on brand management (Beech and Chadwick, 2007; Miloch, 2010; Fiedler and
Kirchgeorg, 2007; Meffert and Bierwirth, 2005; Wheeler, 2006; Sherry, 2005; Eagleman,
2010), there has also been a rapid increase in the importance of building relationships
with stakeholders (Shank, 2009).

2 Defining theory

The interrelationship between sports branding, sports sponsorship and strategic CSR
makes sense based on the fact that strong sports brands produce emotional reactions that
will rub off on a sponsor’s products since the actors engage in a ‘hybrid sports branding
marriage’ where brand values interact (Cortsen, 2013); this is also true in interactions
with other sports brands or partners at various levels. CSR has a similar emotional appeal,
which motivated this article’s aim to interrelate these concepts.
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 77

2.1 Sports branding

Sports branding can be defined as:

“a long-term, intensive, and successful partnership between a sponsor and a

sponsoree in which both parties are equal and have brand status at their
disposal. This partnership is based on trust. Both partners have a high mutual
identification and pursue mutual strategic goals.” [Adjouri and Stastny (2006),
p.116] (Translated from German into English by the author)

While it is also relevant to consider sports branding as “a name, term, design, symbol, or
any combination that a sports organisation (or individual athlete as is the case with David
Beckham) uses to help differentiate its products from the competition” [Shank, (2009),
p.206]1, Adjouri and Stastny’s definition of sports branding is in harmony with the aims
of this article as it is closely linked to sports sponsorship. That is interesting because this
article takes the interrelationship between sports branding and strategic CSR to a
capitalisation level through the integration of sponsorship. This stems from the perception
that the involvement of strategic CSR for sports branding purposes most often requires
the establishment of partnerships based on positive associations.
Bedbury (2003) and other researchers argue for the importance that sports-related
organisations communicate their core brand messages given the fact that consumers are
most likely already educated on product features (Funk and Gladden, 2001; Madrigal,
1995; TianShiang et al., 2004; Godin, 2002; Holt, 2004) and Miloch (2010, p.3)
supplements in stating that “Brand perception plays a key role in the financial vitality and
long-term success of sport companies”. Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) elaborate on
shifts in branding practices over time. Years ago, the strategic feature of branding was
often set aside or ignored whereas the shift in focus from brand image towards brand
equity indicates that a strong branding process becomes a significant asset for
organisations; an asset that may lead to competitive advantages and sustainable
profitability (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000; Ourosoff, 1994). FC Barcelona
exemplified this when assessing the club’s partnership with UNICEF meant to improve
the conditions for children worldwide. This is a good fit between UNICEF’s mission and
FC Barcelona’s slogan ‘More than a Club’. The toolkit presented later in this article goes
beyond the fact that people know the products of corporate sports brands by displaying
the vitality of communicating what the organisations behind these products stand for.

2.2 Strategic CSR

Ever since the work of Carroll (1979), CSR has been a developing practice and research
field. However, this article strategises CSR by emphasising its application in connection
with corporate strategy for what reason McElhaney’s (2008, p.5) definition of strategic
CSR is applied, i.e., “a business strategy that is integrated with core business objectives
and core competencies of the firm and from the outset is designed to create business
value and positive social change, and is embedded in day-to-day business culture and
operations”.
78 K. Cortsen

From this viewpoint, strategic CSR is essential in a corporate branding setting when
seeking to combine maximisation of business value with positive social change
(McElhaney, 2008). In a sports context, CSR has also developed and started to take up
space in the minds of strategic management as demonstrated by Bradish and Cronin
(2009). With the role of sports in society, cf., affecting masses of people, and CSR having
influenced strategic managerial agendas in the general corporate world for decades, it is
something to pay attention to for sports-related organisations.

3 Research methodology

Empirically, this research is based on two qualitative semi-structured focus group

interviews with ‘purposively selected’ respondents working with sports-related
organisations to clarify the connotation of their experiences with strategic CSR and
building and managing sports brands at the corporate level (Brinkmann and Kvale, 2009;
Botan et al., 2000). This research embraces a qualitative approach under an interpretative
paradigm (Gratton and Jones, 2004; Guba, 1990). The dialogical and interactionist
approach emphasises the importance of covering respondents’ opinions and
understandings of the application of strategic CSR in a sports setting (Mead and Morris,
1934; Blumer, 1986; Fast, 1996). This design is relevant because to derive meaning, to
fully understand and to develop theories linked to phenomena in sports branding is a
process, which requires a qualitative research methodology (Smith and Stewart, 2001).
Techniques inspired by qualitative open coding are applied to analyse the interview data.
The focus group interviews facilitate this research methodology by portraying concrete
understanding and qualities linked to cultural, daily and situated facets of human
learning, knowledge, thoughts, actions and self-understanding (Brinkmann and Kvale,
2009; Corbin and Strauss, 1990). Thus, conclusions are constructed from analysis based
on grounded theory (Eriksson and Kovalainen, 2008; Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Corbin
and Strauss, 1990; Strauss and Corbin, 1998) and from transcriptions and open coding of
the qualitative data from the focus group interviews to be able to characterise and mirror
ideas, thoughts, experiences and actions mentioned by the respondents (Charmaz, 2005;
Gibbs, 2007). Coding and interpretation of meaning is grounded in relevant theory and
knowledge and thus integrated in the process of generating knowledge, which is strongly
connected to contextualising and re-contextualising in connection with the junction
between sports branding, strategic CSR and sports sponsorship (Brinkmann and Kvale,
2009).
The interpretative school of thought and qualitative methodology may often lead to
more in-depth coverage of the same phenomena [Gratton and Jones, (2004), p.24]. The
goal of this article is to generate knowledge about phenomena in a circumscribed social
context (Golden-Biddle and Locke, 1997), cf., a sports-related marketplace. To account
for stringency in the scientific approach to this research, the concept of symbolic
interactionism is brought to life. This is exemplified in the form that human behaviour
should be perceived as dialogic developing from the interaction between self and other
(Goffmann, 1959; Blumer, 1986; Mead and Morris, 1934).
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 79

Table 1 Overview of respondents from the two focus groups

Focus group 1 – current sport management practitioners representing various high-profile

sports-related organisations:
• Keld Strudahl, Marketing Director at Carlsberg
• Jens Bekke, Communication Executive Officer at Carlsberg
• Louise Rømer Møgelvang, Project Manager – Business Development at Carlsberg
• Susanne Hedegaard Andersen, Director at TSE Consulting Scandinavia and former Director
at Team Denmark and former Olympic Coach in figure skating
• Rasmus Ingerslev, CEO at Wexer, European Council Member at IHRSA, Board Member at
Danish Fitness and Health Organization, Board Member at Anti Doping Denmark and
former CEO and Founder of Fitness DK
• Majken Gilmartin, Creator of Cph MOVES, CEO Sensational Football/Sensational Street
Soccer and Head of Sports at City of Copenhagen (worked with IOC Congress)
• Steen Ankerdal, Sports Journalist, Chairman for Danish Sport Journalists and former sports
editor for various national Danish media corporations.
Focus group 2 – current or former Danish sport management students (anonymous):
• Female, age 26
• Female, age 26
• Male, age 23
• Male, age 24
• Male, age 26
• Male, age 27
• Male, age 28

The two focus groups were conducted to achieve a deeper understanding of the
experiences related to how the process of applying strategic CSR may enhance sports
branding initiatives and sponsorship partnerships as it refers to improved levels of brand
equity and thereby better monetisation. Focus group 1 consists of sports business
professionals with extensive practical experience. Focus group 2 consists of current or
former sports management students with good academic and some internship and/or work
experience within sports-related organisations. Focus group 2 was chosen to differentiate
and supplement focus group 1. The focus group interviews were conducted as
semi-structured interviews in which the interview guide in Table 2 was used to stimulate
open answers.
The methodology is built to provide knowledge and understandings founded on the
platform of in-depth qualitative analysis based on various sport management practitioners
revealing their personal understandings of the application of strategic CSR to
commercially develop and manage sports brands. These understandings are then
examined and analysed in the circumstantial perception of my experiences with other
sports brands. Thus, the methodology creates an academic ground for an inductive
(Brinkmann and Kvale, 2009) style to determine and present a toolkit to be applied by
academics and practitioners working within this context. Lastly, quantitative data from
literature review and a series of well-known examples from the sports world are
incorporated to evidence some qualitative points and to illustrate essential themes. Thus,
80 K. Cortsen

the article’s presentation of reflections is manifested in an extensive literature review

followed by the inclusion of practical examples and empirical data. For that reason, a mix
of theoretical discussions, practical examples as well as empirical data built on sport
management practitioners’ and scholars’ discussions of the theoretical and practical
topics of interest leads to the article’s findings and conclusions.
Table 2 Questions applied in the two focus groups

1 Is it feasible to engage in CSR-based partnerships in sports (why/why not?) and what

stakeholders are essential to collaborate with?
2 How do you suggest overcoming the barrier of getting different cultures to collaborate about
a CSR-based initiative in sports and what is the meaning of culture (corporate or national)
when strategic CSR is to be applied to create a corporate sports brand?
3 What problem areas must organisations (corporations, sports governing bodies, associations,
clubs etc.) consider if they are to create partnerships based on the intersection between
sports and CSR?
4 Where is the limit in terms of what can be considered a CSR-based initiative and how
important is it to clearly articulate the social responsibility in a given initiative or
partnership?
5 What is the meaning of the relationship to media when aiming at creating successful
CSR-based partnerships in sports?
6 How do the framework for professional and amateur sport influence the work with
CSR-based initiatives, partnerships and branding?
7 Do you see a change in the number of sports-related organisations, which apply aspects of
CSR in their business activities and what are your expectations for the future?
8 Regarding CSR and sports branding, what is the meaning of stakeholder expectations
concerning sports-related organisations’ capabilities to leverage brand promises and how do
you perceive sports-related organisations’ appeal to stakeholders’ functional and emotional
benefits?
9 What factors are important when applying strategic CSR to create a corporate sports brand?

4 Creating corporate brand value via strategic aspects of CSR – finding a

toolkit

The categories below, cf., 4.1–4.5, are inductively derived via qualitative open coding of
the empirical data. This will help to structure the road towards a valuable corporate
‘sports branding/strategic CSR’ toolkit by applying the most meaningful categories to
highlight the application of strategic CSR for commercial sports branding purposes,
i.e., brand enhancement and brand capitalisation (the latter in relation to growing sports
sponsorship potential). The categories were identified based on how many times certain
topics were discussed, how specific the discussions were and the weight of the
interactions among participants. That forms the framework for the toolkit.

4.1 Is strategic CSR relevant in sports management?

Different scholars have emphasised CSR to be an important and beneficial tool for sport
organisations (Breitbarth and Harris, 2008; Bradish and Cronin, 2009; Kent and Walker,
2009; Smith and Westerbeek, 2007; Babiak and Trendafilova, 2009; Ioakimidis, 2007;
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 81

Kent et al., 2007; O’Reilly et al., 2009; Robinson, 2005; Wolff, 2007; Bradish et al.,
2008) and that sport is a suitable platform for CSR giving its attributes of being both a
social and an economic institution (Babiak and Sheth, 2009; Smith and Westerbeek,
2007).

4.1.1 Key empirical findings

Strategic CSR is important – sports-related organisations should see much significance in
applying strategic CSR for commercial purposes. The concept has come to stay and may
help any sports-related organisation to create better sports sponsorship concepts and
hence brand management processes.
This is supported by the following citations:
• Keld Strudahl comments on whether or not it is feasible to engage in commercial
CSR partnerships in a sports context by stating “If I look at things from a
commercial perspective, we spend tons of money on sports sponsorship. CSR is an
area, which has not been fully exploited – maybe due to the fact that the potential has
not thoroughly been pointed out but I see many opportunities now that it has come to
the surface”.
• Several respondents from focus group 2 indicate the flourishing nature of the
intersection between sports branding, sports sponsorship and strategic CSR,
e.g., “There has been a huge change within, at least, the last 10 years. From being
almost non-existing to flourishing everywhere”. Although there is widespread
agreement among the respondents that the intersection is developing rapidly, one
respondent from focus group 2 notes “It is not as much in Denmark as in foreign
countries”.
• The articulation, knowledge and understanding of the concept in relation to sports
branding is a key management constituent for the practice of sports branding, which
is supported by continuous dialogue in the focus groups, e.g., Keld Strudahl states
“CSR in sports has come to stay; that’s for sure. We have the potential and chance to
help shape this debate. At the moment, we are negotiating with Liverpool FC
(among others) and one of our objectives is not more tickets but merely to support a
good cause, which we can utilize in our work”.
• Conversely, there is interaction in the focus groups emphasising that sports-related
organisations are working with an area with much commercial potential, but there is
still work to be conducted to exploit it holistically, e.g., Keld Strudahl mentions “I
am sure that the area will develop and that it will create value for sports, the state and
municipalities”, while Susanne Hedegaard Andersen notes “CSR should also be
integrated in the internal perspective of corporations and not solely focus on support
of external activities but also include a focus on activities in a corporation’s internal
environment”.
• Accordingly, all parties must contribute in a CSR-partnership. That holds value for
all sports-related organisations interested in promoting the positive impact of sports
on various issues, e.g., health, education, and nutrition. Majken Gilmartin puts it this
way, “How everybody gets something out of it”, and Rasmus Ingerslev supplements
by introducing the idea of ‘commercial idealism’ when he wonders why “it cannot be
82 K. Cortsen

extremely visible that there is a connection between the idealistic and the
commercial”. Susanne Hedegaard Andersen indicates “And that’s where the big
challenge is for you (Carlsberg, KHC) that it is projects with integrated motives; it is
not only empty rhetoric. Like branding, you must be able to see that there are actions
behind the words[…]”.

• The future of sports management may see a growing number of more ‘active’ and
‘innovative’ two-way dialogical partnerships based on CSR and ‘active’ should be
perceived in the sense that partnerships should provide meaning for all parties,
e.g., Susanne Hedegaard Andersen adds “It is all about finding meaningful projects”.
Often the innovative and differentiating factor is found outside the elite sports
playing field and the established corporate structures, i.e., among fans and
grassroots. Steen Ankerdal states “If you want to find collaborative partners, you
must also be deeply engaged in what happens on street corners or in the cities”.
This spins off into the significance of the commercial interaction among engaged
partners as Keld Strudahl mentions “As a corporation, we are born to make a profit
for our investors and that can be accomplished in many ways no matter the size of
the corporation”. Keld Strudahl goes on by underlining “Everybody must chip in….
(the media) you have to communicate the good message and if the good message is
available then we hang on and benefit from it, but if we are constantly bombarded
with the message that it is no good, then we do not have the guts anymore and we are
no longer allowed to spend money on similar projects since it is perceived to be
waste of money”. A CSR-based partnership is a popular strategic factor for many
organisations and CSR-based partnerships in a sports setting have come to stay. The
latter may especially be true in a Danish context where application of strategic CSR
through sports may serve as an implicit response to public grants or subsidies.

• However, a critical voice raises awareness of the impression that it may be an

exception that professional sport is operated with a conscious social angle
(it is often more about creating a win-win situation), e.g., Steen Ankerdal says
“If we have to be objective, then it is an exception that sport is operated with a
conscious social angle. All managers and coaches will say that they do social work.
Basically, they do but that is not what is driving it. It is personal motives and
self-satisfaction, which drives it. There is not a lot romanticism behind it”.

4.2 A stakeholder perspective – commercial potential tied to pride and

emotional equity

The theory review advises that sports-related organisations trying to build their corporate
brands via engagement in strategic CSR-based initiatives must pay close attention to
internal and external stakeholders (Hatch and Schultz, 2001, 2008; Porter and Kramer,
2006; Barnett, 2007; Bruch and Walter, 2005; Balmer and Greyser, 2003; Freeman et al.,
2010; Christensen et al., 2005; Elberse, 2013; Lee, 2010a, 2010b, 2010c).
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 83

4.2.1 Key empirical findings

Optimal stakeholder management – sports-related organisations should keep the
stakeholder perspective in mind when engaging in CSR-activities. For instance, an open
dialogical approach where potential partners meet at an early stage is what private
corporations and hence potential sponsors often expect from sports-related organisations
wanting to establish a CSR-based partnership. That increases the chances that the
branding outcome of the partnership is optimised while leveraging authentic and
legitimate initiatives.
Pride and emotional equity – sports-related organisations should consider exploiting
the commercial potential tied to engagement in brand building activities, which integrate
sports sponsorship, emotional equity and pride. For instance, this gives sports-related
organisations the opportunity to take advantage of sports’ appeal to the masses, hybrid
sports branding and the balance between the emotional and functional side of a brand
when focusing on ROIs via concentration on stakeholder interests, strategic focus,
legitimacy and marketability.
This is supported by the following citations:
• Susanne Hedegaard Andersen refers to a discussion in national media about the
difficulties concerning measurement of CSR; she mentions the vitality of pride in
appealing to stakeholders, i.e., “We talk about a sponsorship from Carlsberg, then
you are also dealing with pride in terms of being a sponsor for something with a
social responsibility [...] You sponsor in a socially responsible way in sport and set
the standard for the sport, so I would estimate that you will also obtain a greater
sense of pride if employees feel pride due to you supporting Liverpool; not just
because it is Liverpool but merely because they do something in terms of social
responsibility”.
• A participant from focus group 2 says “We all have to do something about it and
there is somebody that must lead. And the sports clubs are some of the entities that
you could relate to in terms of starting this, so that you are socially responsible
through them”.
• Majken Gilmartin adds that sport is a powerful vehicle to drive strategic CSR
commercially, e.g., “A lot are looking up to the athletes and thus feel integrated in
the athletes and thereby they can have a good influence on people…” She also
suggests that the sports world in Denmark needs “Inspirational cases for Danish
sports clubs and municipalities so that they can understand the scope of opportunities
and thereby offer something”.
• The interactions revealed in the focus groups emphasise that the emotional side
(equity) may be transformed into something functional. A participant from focus
group 2 mentioned “It is emotional, but I also believe that you can turn the emotional
into the functional”. This relates to brand identification and another respondent from
that focus group repeats, “It becomes emotional as well as functional when you
apply it”.
84 K. Cortsen

• Sports-related organisations aim at minimising the risk of gaps by allowing

themselves a legal possibility to cancel a branding or sponsorship partnership if
specific areas of responsibility are violated. There are various examples from the
world of sports, e.g., golf star Tiger Woods was dropped by different sponsors as a
result of infidelity, swimmer Michael Phelps was dropped due to association with
marijuana, football quarterback Michael Vick lost sponsor revenues due to
involvement in dogfighting, and cycling legend Lance Armstrong’s commercial
revenue streams were hurt when he admitted to doping. Keld Strudal says “It is not
easy. We are quickly mentioned in the press as being cynics, just trying to exploit
things. But I still see big opportunities. We must also be willing to take higher risks.
To give an example, we have been co-hosting the homeless football tournament in
Copenhagen, which I thought was brilliant where others quickly say that it is our
fault that they are homeless. That may be the case but why shouldn’t we admit it and
then try to help them out of that situation. But there is no backing in our corporation
to go out and announce that we will do that”. Jens Bekke supports “We experience
from other corporations that when you become involved in such things you are
immediately suspected for not doing it honestly”.
• Sports-related organisations should possess the expertise to lay the groundwork for a
constructive dialogue in order for CSR-initiatives to happen. Majken Gilmartin
offers, “As a city and municipality, it is nice when Copenhagen bid for some events
and have an opinion about what opinions event people entering Denmark bring in
their luggage”. Susanne Hedegaard Andersen goes a step deeper when exemplifying
how strategic application of CSR may benefit sports branding or sports sponsorship
initiatives, e.g., “I have been in Odense today where I met at the city director’s
office; he started to talk about events in which the city should create something about
health [...] That’s fine, but it requires an organization, which can lift something about
health, otherwise it would be empty words. If there is a match and you decided to
support OB2 and created something about health with the municipality [...] That may
do that you think ‘wow’ something happens in Odense, something happens at OB,
something happens at Carlsberg – you think in a different way, we are proud of this
while you do something with your money”.
• Participants underline the importance of the collaboration needed among
governmental entities, municipalities, corporations and sports-related organisations
in taking a stand in terms of what opinions these potential partners carry. To enter
these partnerships, sports-related organisations must be sure to collaborate with
entities that can lift the task of establishing authentic and legitimate initiatives under
the principles of strategic CSR for sports branding and sports sponsorship purposes.
Susanne Hedegaard Andersen mentions, “It requires a lot and you cannot do it with
everything, but for that reason you must choose, not your failures with care, but your
victories with care in this matter and really analyze who can do what”. Louise Rømer
Møgelvang follows up, “Yes, there is a long way to recognition – it is difficult to get
approval, which is the entire problem. It is really about finding something, which
underpins your business and what is it that matches? It does not make sense that we
in Carlsberg support youth football and serve beer”.
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 85

• Many ‘best practice examples’ illustrate the points made in the focus groups. One
applicable example portrays FC Barcelona’s partnership with UNICEF in 2006
where the football club donates around $1.9 mio. per year to UNICEF plus exposes
thousands of fans to UNICEF’s logo via the club’s jerseys (UNICEF, 2006)3.
Another example is Hamburger Sport Verein’s (HSV) co-branding effort with the
city of Hamburg under the name ‘der Hamburger Weg’ (the Hamburg Way) in which
the club, the city of Hamburg and allied sponsors collaborate to strengthen
Hamburg’s reputation as a city of sports and to support various social initiatives
related to areas such as sports, education, and health (Hamburger Sport Verein,
2010). Respondents from focus group 2 elaborate on the points made by focus
group 1 by illustrating the importance of strategic CSR, i.e., “I also believe that there
are many that are not directly strategic but there are many who would like to be and
therefore just say ok”. Thus, it is underlined that some corporations may have the
intention of being strategic without actually meeting that intention whereas another
respondents demonstrate the opposite, i.e., “There is the ‘Hamburger Weg’ which we
have looked intensively at and that is a good example; they have had great success
and probably also made a lot of money on it. And also have had branding advantages
and economic advantages related to it”.

4.3 The meaning of ‘strategic match’ and ROIs when uniting corporate sports
branding and CSR

There is research pointing towards a positive relationship between CSR-initiatives and

financial performance (McElhaney, 2008; Margolis and Walsh, 2003; Lee and Cornwell,
2011; Babiak and Wolfe, 2009). Good strategic match is indeed a result of taking a
glance at the bigger picture. The depth found in using a dialogical approach when
working on sports- and CSR-related corporate branding implementations helps to secure
that (Babiak and Wolfe, 2006).

4.3.1 Key empirical findings

• Strategic match – sports-related organisations should emphasise the importance

of aligning CSR-activities with strategic direction and values. For instance,
sports-related organisations can enhance their strategic interests by investing in
CSR-initiatives: this concerns elements like brand recognition, brand equity,
reputation, ability to evoke emotions in stakeholders, stakeholder identification,
celebrity prestige, CSR expertise, ability to set up non-traditional partners, and sports
facilities but also when investing in the capability to generate sponsorship revenues.
The depth of the dialogical approach is essential to align these elements and internal
and external determinants. This will also consider cultural differences among the
various parties in the set-up.
86 K. Cortsen

• ROI potential – sports-related organisations should take advantage of their role in

society and engage in CSR-based partnerships to enhance their brand equity. For
instance, this allows sports-related organisations to provide for the better of society
while improving their financial bottom lines by linking these activities to branding or
sponsorship sales efforts. Meaningful, well-timed, active, innovative and
differentiated partnerships based on mutually beneficial dialogues and covering the
range from grassroots to professional sports are relevant. This is obtained when
finding the right mix between the public agenda and that of the partners at a time
where this leads to first-mover or differentiated branding effects.
This is supported by the following citations:
• A participant from focus group 2 says that getting sports sponsorship support may be
easier if “you have some good initiatives”. This forms an interesting interaction
between the sports world, the public sector, and the corporate world. Steen Ankerdal
adds “If municipalities are forced to cut down their subsidies for sports and cultural
activities because other things are a higher priority and there is less money and if
there is a business world, which has not been completely damaged then it may be the
case that these partnerships are established of simple necessity”. Keld Strudal
responds, “Whether you are Jensen the baker or Carlsberg, you ask yourself the
question what’s in it for me?” o Rasmus Ingerslev adds that “I do not have any
problems that it smells like money and good business”. Keld Strudal highlights that
this is not all about altruism but “as a corporation, we are born to make a profit for
our investors and that can be accomplished in many ways no matter the size of the
corporation”.4
• Keld Strudal got back to an earlier discussion about McDonalds, Team Denmark and
sports sponsorship when he stated “To return to the stuff about McDonalds. Is it then
also forbidden to start speculating in winning medals or where are we? McDonalds
can also choose to turn it and make good PR out of it, but then we are back at the
point where they are accused of doing it for their own benefit. Is that ok or not ok?” I
responded “For me that is fine. If I am in the position of Team Denmark’s Director I
will accept the money”. That shaped an interesting interplay when Susanne
Hedegaard Andersen (as a former Director of Team Denmark) said “I would not”.
Keld Strudal responded “If McDonalds went out and used their resources on getting
the youth to eat proper food. Is that shame on you if they chose to make good PR
based on that?” Several respondents said simultaneously “But they don’t”. And
respondents from focus group 2 also included McDonalds in their discussion, i.e.,
“Because I would agree with Christian, why would you collaborate at all with
McDonalds when its products are not exactly positive, in relation to CSR”.
• There are some potential pitfalls in the way that timing plays a major role in terms of
determining when specific partnerships are on the agenda; it is about hitting the right
spot regarding the public agenda and the agendas of the partners. Louise Rømer
Møgelvang states, “You must also not only focus on the corporation, but also on
uniting the sport organizations so that they also create meaning about what they want
to focus on so that the corporations can match the requests”. Keld Strudahl inserts
that if “Municipality x comes and says; now you have to give me 100 DKK to help
me in terms of CSR, but again what is it that I gain? They cannot answer this except
for mentioning that it is a good cause. But you are in a financial situation in the
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 87

corporation where you have to cut to the bone so you don’t do it because if you don’t
get anything for the 100 DKK why should I give them away? If we look at the US
then there is another attitude where you join actively, where there are both volunteers
and active people, where you want to give if you get something in return. You are
not afraid of going to school and boast that you have Baker Jensen’s logo on your
school uniform because I am proud of that and at the same time a part of the
community”.
• One respondent from focus group 2 continues about this tendency by stating “It is
clear that it has been more visible that you create these marketing events and they
also construct experience economy”. He adds “It has a lot to do with the cultural
differences, e.g., in the US where you establish events around anything. In the US, it
may be too much sometimes, right? And we must first learn that here – to do it in
their way”. Another respondent from focus group 2 emphasises that “we see how it is
that you have done with CSR and now we have the opportunity – what shall I say –
to exploit it or apply the opportunities, which are contained in the application of CSR
for branding”. A third respondent from focus group 2 points to the US where
“Everything is commercialised. As a professional you must be where there is
money”.
• HSV and Hummel are two sports-related organisations, which understand to make
use of competitive advantages linked to CSR and to connect with the financial
bottom line, cf., HSV selling sponsorships, jerseys etc. under the framework of ‘der
Hamburger Weg’ and Hummel sponsoring Tibet’s football team and having
celebrities such as Bono from U2 and Richard Gere wearing Hummel’s Tibet Jerseys
(Hamburger Sport Verein, 2010; Asian Football Business Review, 2007; Football
Shirt Culture, 2007). Steen Ankerdal tied this to an English setting by saying, “There
are in fact examples from Leeds, which made, in relation to the professional football
club, something with young people that could fall under this concept. There were
some that helped finance this project, also the public sector and the city”.
• The focus group discussions provide new meaning about strategic match and ROIs in
relation to strategic CSR in sports branding initiatives. Respondents from focus
group 2 offered this meaning derived through interaction about whether or not
sports-related organisations for strategic reasons simply buy the label that they are
being socially responsible while supporting sports at the same time. For example,
one respondent offers “If there is just enough money in it”. Another respondent
mentions, “I would agree with Christian, why would you collaborate at all with
McDonalds when its products are not exactly positive, in relation to CSR,
whereas – to mention Americans again – they may not think about it; there are
corporations that are worse than McDonalds”. A third respondent from focus group 2
responded, “It is also about culture, if you look at it. Other countries may not look at
Carlsberg as a part of the sports world”.

4.4 The importance of articulation of strategic CSR for branding purposes

Critical and media-savvy stakeholders (Yan, 2003) result in sports sponsorship and sports
branding initiatives being constrained by contractual issues due to the fact that the
exposure and articulation of these initiatives must be optimised.
88 K. Cortsen

4.4.1 Key empirical findings

Articulation to support branding – sports-related organisations should carefully
consider the influence of media and derived PR-effects in terms of their CSR-activities to
support brand management. For instance, sports-related organisations engaging in
CSR-based partnerships should focus on defining the common meaning in mutually
supported initiatives and thus be transparent about these and make sure to tell a
common story. Thus, it is more profitable to supplement charity and sports sponsorship
initiatives with the essence of strategic CSR for sports branding purposes. Proper
CSR-initiatives and brand communication should be aligned with the strategic
path to influence related revenue streams positively and this can be obtained
through formal and informal education, e.g., a CSR-policy, CSR user-guide,
CSR-matrix and so on to turn the idealistic grasp of this context into a form of
commercial idealism.
This is supported by the following citations:

• Steen Ankerdal highlights, “You can create sponsorship contracts in which it is listed
that you receive tickets etc., but nothing is mentioned about how to go into
something in depth, into the subject. But if you start to create contracts that are
CSR-based that the sport is not used to signing [...] In other words, there is a
mindset, which is moved around. The law of necessity may be that we initiate it. We
say: okay now we make a contract, which is about content and that is financed with
help from the respective corporations. But it takes time to move opinions and
perceptions. So you can only hope that there are more and more, who understand that
this is where the opportunities are. Old-fashioned sponsorship has gradually reached
its limits. You can almost not tantalise more effect out of it”.

• This allows for a dialogue with stakeholders and leaves room for the transparency so
important when sports-related organisations deal with CSR (Babiak and Wolfe,
2009). Thus, it is decisive that sports-related organisations perceive the media as a
fundamental stakeholder group (Wenner, 1998; Whitson, 1998; Smith and
Westerbeek, 2003) given the reason that communication of authentic and legitimate
CSR-initiates perks up the crossroad between strategic CSR and brand management.
Jens Bekke outlines, “It is important that both parties can vouch for the work and be
transparent about it. I also believe that if you have a common story then you can go
really far”. Steen Ankerdal adds “The borders for the partnership go as far as the
conditions in the contract allow”., which is backed by Keld Strudahl, who states
“We actually do that in more and more cases”.

• Steen Ankerdal acknowledges this by stressing how sports-related organisations may

engage the media, i.e., “You must interfere and see what kind of a project it is that
you launch together. And there you commit absolutely contractually and you have
not been used to that in sports. But then I also believe that if you do that then you can
simultaneously get the media and the press to understand that here is a new
approach”.
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 89

• The dialogical approach to CSR-based partnerships shines through in the diverse

environment of sports-related organisations collaborating with external entities with
the purpose of driving (corporate) branding efforts via strategic CSR. Jens Bekke
touches the importance of mutual collaboration in his statement above while Rasmus
Ingerslev supports this “At any rate, you need to clarify that the ones you work with
and yourself tell the same story”.
• The process of working with and articulating strategic CSR has the capability to
optimise CSR-based sports sponsorship and sports brand management. One
respondent from focus group 2 explains “We see how it is that you have also done it
with CSR and now we have opportunity to, what shall I say, exploit it or utilise the
opportunities that are integrated in applying CSR as branding”. Rasmus Ingerslev
explicates “I think that you can eliminate really many sport clubs because they do
not have people, who can sit and follow up on things. It requires work to acquaint
yourself with the scope and sign the contract and then give feedback etc”. Thus, the
problem area about the articulation of this context is present, which is also evident in
a statement by Steen Ankerdal, i.e., “You cannot even base this on professionalism
because they would always rather spend the money on a new player than spending
the money on educating those they have”. This described paradox from the
professional sports world is very relevant, also in the way of maintaining the close
cohesion between the sports-related organisation’s internal and external direction. In
the end, the ideal process is to educate and engage all members of the organisation in
the CSR-based branding initiatives, i.e., including employees from the administration
and the sporting side.
• Susanne Hedegaard Andersen says “The question is: wouldn’t it help if you had a
clear strategy so that you could communicate it and visualise it”, while Keld Strudal
adds “Thus, everybody must be ready to take the objective approach to it. It is
important that everyone takes part”. A good example of not clearly having defined
what CSR is and how to work with the concept for branding purposes includes Team
Denmark’s5 sponsor-partnership with McDonalds. The partnership has been the
victim of much public criticism for not living up to the standards of what to
expect from an elite sports governing body in Denmark because there is
a gap between what McDonalds and Team Denmark respectively stand for
(Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, 2008a, 2008b, 2008c).
• Employee buy-in seems to be very vital when wanting to build a successful corporate
brand in the sports industry. Steen Ankerdal touches upon this interplay, i.e., “In the
case of McDonalds, it directly goes against Team Denmark’s and the other sports
associations’ official policies and values that say that they want their members to eat
properly. You have had that total sports cafeteria problem about that the food sold
there is the worst junk”. Susanne Hedegaard Andersen responds “Then, the
intentions can be just as good, but if it is not authentic and if you buy that Team
Denmark burger as the only one in your family then they will just laugh at you. The
athletes also feel that they cannot be responsible for it so it is not a question about
being sacred but about being smart and having a connection between what you say
and what you do”.
90 K. Cortsen

• Linking this to the Team Denmark/McDonalds example, respondents discussed if

winning for any price is the right way to brand your sports-related organisation. They
came to the conclusion that this is a ‘grey area/zone’ due to the fact that some
sports-related organisations are put in the world to win and saying no to sponsorship
income may lead to losing. It is important for sports-related organisations to label
their CSR-efforts with concrete values signalling in what direction they want to go.
The expression of ‘commercial idealism’ was brought up in the empirical data as a
way of asking “why can’t we allow sports-related organisations to portray that there
is a cohesion between the idealistic in helping society via sports and the commercial
aspect of profiting from it?” This question seems to be a good parameter for showing
sports-related organisations a route to solid CSR-based corporate branding. Rasmus
Ingerslev declares “That is why I do not understand that it cannot be incredible
visible that there is a connection between the idealistic and the commercial. Because
you cannot afford to be more idealistic than the economic situation allows. If you are
not a competent businessman you do not have money to be idealistic”. This is linked
to the limit in terms of how idealistic commercial organisations can allow themselves
to be when bearing the economic implications. Therefore, it is underscored that
sports-related organisations must develop CSR-strategies and hence communicate
transparently and clearly.

4.5 Mixing professional and amateur sports – a look into the future
Danish conditions for sports are different than in more ‘commercialised sports
countries’, i.e., the US, England and Germany to mention a few, due to the fact that
sport in Denmark has a breeding ground on voluntary leadership (Danmarks
Idræts-Forbund/Danmarks Olympiske Komite, 2000; Brandt and Storm, 2008) for what
reason there is not much research aimed at exploiting the commercial values of corporate
branding efforts in sports-related organisations via CSR in Denmark. The slogan
‘Sport for all’ (The National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark,
2010) seems to be a great one, but it also leads to the importance of distinguishing
between professional sports settings and amateur sports settings when looking at
branding efforts via strategic CSR.

4.5.1 Key empirical findings

The difference between professional and amateur sports – sports-related organisations
should consider the surrounding context and acknowledge that there may be positive
learning transfers between professional and amateur sports. For instance, amateur sport
may utilise professional athletes as role models6 whereas professional athletes may win
CSR-legitimacy by engaging in this endeavour. This also holds a cultural dimension in
the sense that sports-related organisations in Denmark are affected by the permeating
voluntary character of the sports sector for what reason sports-related organisations do
seldom apply a professional approach to CSR and lack the effectiveness of
communicating with corporations in that regard. It presents the importance of two parts
of vital professionalism, i.e., the athletes and the administration.
 Capitalising on CSR-based partnerships in sports branding 91

This is supported by the following citations:

• There is a need to develop a better transfer between professional sports-related
organisations and voluntary-based sports-related organisations. Susanne Hedegaard
Andersen notes, “I really think that this is moving. For instance, take London
Marathon, it acts as a really good example and I believe that you look in that
direction”, while Majken Gilmartin adds “Yes, that is a gigantic cultural project”.
• This interchange is relevant since it provides two elements of professionalism in
sport, i.e., the athletes and the administration. Susanne Hedegaard Andersen states
that London Marathon “Started as an elite event. That is not what people are
interested in today. The profits go to good causes where you have a professional
organization. It is more about outfits and the cultural part and entertainment, and all
profits, after the professional organization has received its pay, etc., go to good
causes”.
• It is a trend that you have a good mix of professional athletes running the marathon
for years and amateurs wanting different kinds of experiences, i.e., a bridge between
professional and amateur sport service the greater good of society. The latter also
portrays the importance of commercialisation in this context (Slack, 2004). Susanne
Hedegaard Andersen talks about London Marathon’s turnover, i.e., “Huge turnover
and the trend is that you look in that direction”. Steen Ankerdal proposes “Here you
have the elite and the well-known that have implemented it for 10 years, but today
they are not the important ones”.
• Respondents suggest that companies want to be a part of it, i.e., helping to provide
people with great experiences and that seems like a modern and sustainable way to
conduct corporate branding via strategic CSR in a sports setting. Jens Bekke
mentions “I merely believe that we go out and become a part of such an event. We
are the ones who provide the water; that is the water that people experience, and that
is the way that we are part of it. It is not as a part of what we communicate externally
but it is the experience you have, Carlsberg joins. We have also worked with having
Red Cross on the water bottles but that does not give more sales”. The last sentence
in that citation underlines the importance of strategic match, which is backed by
Steen Ankerdal’s comment “But that does not connect either”.
• Professional sports-related organisations hold much power and hence should act as
role models for other participants in sport. So, some CSR-based partnerships in
sports like London Marathon may be chosen because that way the sports-related
organisations can target a broader audience, often the purpose of CSR-initiatives
(Neergaard, 2010). Basically the intersection between professionalism and
amateurism presents a scenario where sports branding via strategic CSR may be
more effective and thus affect more people and sponsors through a bridge from the
elite level to the non-elite level. It also emphasises that there is no elite sports
without the non-elite sports and vice versa. Susanne Hedegaard Andersen talks about
the importance of London Marathon’s elite athletes as role models in this regard, i.e.,
“They are important in terms of sending messages. They send some messages but
they are not the turnover”.
92 K. Cortsen

5 Conclusion and future outlook

Whatever focus is on sports-related organisations and their roles as either

profit-maximising organisations or organisations as societal or social actors without
profit-maximising intentions, it is important for sports-related organisations to
acknowledge their social responsibilities in various directions.
This article contributes to further development of the crossroad between sports,
strategic CSR, sports sponsorship, and brand building and brand management at the
corporate level. To sum up, strategic CSR is relevant in sports management; the
following elements linked to sports-related organisations’ areas of social responsibility
are vital for success: a strong link between commercial potential, ROIs, pride and
emotional equity, strategic match, appropriate articulation and combination of elements
from professional and amateur sports. Specifically, sports-related organisations can
implement this by developing CSR-strategies and communicate them transparently and
clearly while integrating the concept of ‘commercial idealism’ that secures a strong
platform to produce sustainable CSR-related sports sponsorships and sports branding
projects on a continuous basis. This presents a new way for how to work with strategic
CSR in a sports setting in Denmark and this may provide inspiration for sports-related
organisations elsewhere. This may also guide employees from the administrative and
sporting sides of sports-related organisations to obtain knowledge and skills to be
integrated in these processes. This is thought to establish new insights and interactions
tied to whether or not sports-related organisations really are socially responsible in their
actions or simply buying the label that they are; this interplay may drive more authentic,
legitimate and profitable projects.

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Notes
1 This definition is aligned with other definitions of the same concept from The American
Marketing Association, sport marketing scholars (Beech and Chadwick, 2007; Schwarz et al.,
2012; Fetchko et al., 2012) and branding gurus (Aaker, 1991; 2004; Keller, 1993; Kotler,
1991; Kapferer, 2008).
2 OB is the top professional football/soccer club in Odense.
3 FC Barcelona moved UNICEF’s logo to the back of their jerseys and sold the front of their
jerseys to Qatar Foundation to get a capital injection aimed at helping the club pay for its
sporting development (Rogers, 2011).
4 This is in alignment with Babiak and Sheth’s (2009) claims that sponsors do not give away
funds to disadvantaged entities just for any reason; on the contrary they work strategically to
make sure that their CSR-initiatives positively influence other sides of their own business
while at the same time affecting the local community positively.
5 Team Denmark is an entity under the umbrella of the National Olympic Committee and Sports
Confederation of Denmark that works to promote elite sports in Denmark, including their
conditions and results (Team Denmark, 2010).
6 This is in alignment with Smart (2005).