The Influence of Brand Slogan-Sponsored Event Congruity on Brand Trust: The Mediating Role of Attitude towards Sponsorship

Abstract

Despite the prevalent practice of sponsorship globally, there is currently little academic research on the relationship between brand slogans and sponsored events, and how this association impacts consumers’ brand trust indirectly through their attitude towards sponsorship. The present research investigates this issue by employing the theory of congruity in an experimental study involving 330 consumer participants. The present study intends to achieve these objectives: 1) To investigate if brand slogan-sponsored event perceived congruity (BSSEC) impacts consumers’ attitude towards sponsorship (ATS); 2) To examine if BSSEC influences consumers’ brand trust (BT); and 3) To explore to what extent consumers’ ATS mediates BT. To obtain the answers, a one-way ANOVA was performed, and the results demonstrated that the higher the consumers’ BSSEC, the more positive their ATS. Besides, the data was also analysed using Hayes’s PROCESS Macro Model 4 and it was discovered that the total effect model for BT was statistically significant, with an F-value of 122.2529 and a p-value of .000, accounting for 27.15% of the variation in BT. The significant overall impact of BSSEC on BT, considering both direct and indirect paths, indicates that the effect of BSSEC on BT is mediated by the consumers’ ATS, although partially. The data apparently highlights the significance of matching brand messages with sponsored events to improve perceived congruence and, therefore, produce more favourable sentiments from consumers, ultimately impacting brand trust. Thus, marketers should select a brand slogan that reflects the brand’s core values and resonates with the target audience while ensuring the sponsored event aligns with the slogan’s message, theme, and emotional appeal to create a seamless and authentic brand-event connection.