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  The World Science Festival Brisbane

Event Overview and Background

The World Science Festival was conceptualized by Brian Greene and Tracy Day, a Physics Professor and Emmy award-winning journalist respectively. The event is held annually in New York. The first World Science Festival was held in 2008 while the first World Science Festival Brisbane was held in 2016. The World Science Festival Brisbane is the only one held outside New York. The event appreciates the relationship between art and science through theatre, workshops, demonstrations and conversations. The event targets researchers in all fields of science, innovators and children.

The overall purpose of the World Science Festival Brisbane is to celebrate science and art. The organizers of the event aim to make everyone feel that science could be for them. The event is very hands on so that people may experience and interact with science at a personal level. The main goal of the event is to promote STEM literacy. The event also aims to inspire children to study science by showcasing the various career fields in science. Another goal of the event is to provide researchers in science with a platform to share their findings with the world. The main stakeholders of the event are the Australian Government, the city of Brisbane, Tourism and Events Queensland, The University of Queensland, Griffith University, the BHP Foundation, 9Now, ABC News, James Cook University, Shell QGC and Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Our Partners, 2019).

2019’s World Science Festival Brisbane was held at the Queensland Museum between March 20^th and 24^th. The event’s program was launched by Leanne Enoch who is the Queensland Minister for Science. The theme of this year’s event was the space. The organizers of this year’s event were keen on stimulating conversations around climate change, global food security and the Great Barrier Reef.

The main activity of the event was turtle hatching. Visitors were allowed to observe as turtles hatched in their incubation chambers and were later released into the sea water. Another activity at the event was a night at the museum. Children were given an opportunity to explore the Queensland Museum from dusk. There were also science demonstrations and live music. The event also incorporated a science extravaganza which allowed the public to interact with science. The extravaganza lasted two days and was free for all members of the public.

In this year’s edition of World Science Brisbane, there were also talks on space travel and insects. The talk on space travel was delivered by Dr. Andrew Thomas. Dr. Thomas, born in Adelaide, is Australia’s first astronaut doctor. Dr. Thomas has gone to space 4 times, with the first visit made in 1992. The talk on insects was delivered by Susan Wright, a member of the Queensland Museum staff. The talk was based on the ability of insects to survive in spite of their being trampled on by humans and other animals. Visitors at the festival were also treated to the sight of the oldest Monarch butterfly in Australia after which Ms. Wright unveiled this year’s insect collection.

Sponsorship Programme and/or Sponsorship Portfolio

The most notable sponsorship relationship at the event was between the World Science Festival and the Queensland Museum which hosted the event. There were also banners bearing the logos of the other sponsors. The representatives of the media partners including ABC News, Popular Science, Science Channel and the Society for Science & the Public were present at the festival to cover the event. The event was aired officially by 9Now.

The event’s current sponsorship programme consists of approximately 20 sponsors. The sponsors range from educational institutions and scientific research organizations to media companies and charity organizations. The event’s management has categorized their sponsors into five categories: university partners, media partners, sponsors, founding benefactors and major supporters.

The founding benefactors include the John Templeton Foundation, Simons Foundation and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Media partners include ABC News, Popular Science, Science Channel and the Society for Science & the Public. The University Partners are New York University, The Rockefeller University, The City University of New York and Columbia University in the City of New York. The category of the major supporters includes Consolidated Edison Company of New York, the Bezos Family Foundation, The Kavli Prize, Della Pietra Family Foundation, New York University and Ann Ziff.

Commercial sponsorship is a very powerful promotional tool both for organizations and events ( Chien, Cornwell & Pappu, 2011). Corporate sponsorships have become a part of major events such as the World Science Festival Brisbane. The level of sponsors varies and the World Science Festival Brisbane has embraced a four-tier sponsorship programme. The highest level of sponsorship is the partners. This event has two types of partners; the media partners and the university partners.

The suitability of sponsorship programmes is a significant element of sponsorship literature (Fleck and Quester, 2007). The World Science Festival Brisbane draws attention to three features of sponsorship. Sponsorship relationships rarely involve one sponsor and one sponsored entity (Cornwell, 2008). Typical sponsorship programmes include more than one sponsor. The second feature is that there are different levels of sponsorships and each comes with different levels of exposure for the event (Bruhn & Holzer, 2015). Finally, sponsorships do have an effect on the event that is being sponsored and the impact is often on the brand that the event represents. It is also important to note that the image of the event can significantly affect the brand of the sponsors. According to the schema congruent theory, an unsuitable sponsor often has adverse effects on the brand of the sponsored event (Mandler, 1982; Meyers & Tybout, 1989). The categorization theory states that “the size of the sponsorship portfolio can also attenuate the negative effect an incongruent (unfit) sponsor has on the brand equity of the sponsored enterprise (Rosch & Mervis, 1975).

The term “sponsorship” refers to “an investment, in cash or in kind, in an activity, person or event, in return for access to the exploitable commercial potential associated with that activity, person or event by the sponsor” (Meenephan, 1991). Congruence, on the other hand, simply implies a fit between an activity, event or person and the sponsor. Congruence affects how consumers react to sponsorships and thus the event or sponsor (Groza, Cobbs, & Schaefers, 2012). Typically (as evidenced by the World Science Festival Brisbane, organizations and indeed events are involved in several sponsorship affiliations such that some relationships within the sponsorship portfolio may be considered congruent while others may be considered incongruent.

The sponsorship portfolio of World Science Festival Brisbane is made up of all those organizations that are affiliated to the event in the capacity of a sponsor. Currently, none of the sponsors are affiliated with the event at title level. However, the Queensland Museum partners with the event at presenting level. The presenting level is right below the title level. As Gwinner (1997) says, the level of sponsorship affects how consumers perceive the sponsoring relationship. Thanks to the partnership, the Queensland Museum records a higher number of visitors each year.

It is true that the title level of sponsorship bears the highest level of exposure but the World Festival Brisbane does not have a title level sponsor. The title level also comes with significant risk of incongruence which the event has averted so far. However, it is necessary that the event managers consider acquiring a good title sponsor to further improve how the event is perceived by consumers. For instance, the event can acquire a title sponsor that is a well recognized and reputable force in the field of science.

Evaluating and measuring sponsorship effects and/or ambush marketing 

As the events progressed, the staff of the various sponsors were walking around and talking to people about their services and products. We were also given some questionnaires to fill out about how we felt about specific companies. I noticed that these were the same companies that were sponsoring the event. I did not see any unofficial sponsor at the event. All the official sponsors seemed to know their position and worked seamlessly with each other.

The use of sponsorship to promote companies and events has increased tremendously in recent years. However, some researchers suggest that a number of companies lack the necessary procedures to determine how effective their sponsorship programmes are (Copeland et al, 1996). The chief reason for this according to Javalgi et al (1994) is that the concerned parties are unwilling to put their careers at risk by uncovering a low ROI.

Cornwell et al (1998) identify two methods that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of sponsorship events: tracking technique and the exposure based technique. The tracking technique is used to monitor the how consumers perceive the sponsors and their services or products. On the other hand, the exposure-based technique measures the free exposure the sponsor receives from the sponsorship relationship against the amount of exposure the sponsor would receive if they used other methods of marketing (Dees, Gay, Popp & Jensen, 2018).

Meenaphan (1991) argues that there are four methods that can be used to measure the effectiveness of sponsorships. The four methods, according to Meenaphan are communication effects, sales effectiveness, media coverage and continuing appropriateness. Sales effectiveness is popular among a majority of organizations. Such organizations entirely judge the effectiveness of sponsorships according to the increase or decrease in the number and value of sales. Media coverage relates to duration of coverage on television and other media of communication. The communication effects method measures how customers perceive a sponsor and its services/products. Finally, Meenaphan (1991) states that the final method of continuing appropriateness is concerned with the general perception of the event.

Both Meenaphan and Cornwell’s models for evaluating sponsorship events have limitations. Sponsorship effectiveness is a complex process and yet there is no prescribed method of measurement that would best bring out the objectives of sponsorship programmes. The biggest challenge in measuring sponsorship effectiveness lies in the stipulation of clear objectives. The World Science Festival Brisbane uses three methods to evaluate sponsorship effectiveness; purchase intention, brand awareness, sales.

Individuals who believe in a sponsorship often demonstrate higher purchase intention than those who do not. Furthermore, people who have used a brand’s products or services have been found to have a higher purchase intention and vice versa. Some studies have indicated the existence of a strong correlation between purchase intention and the belief of a sponsorship arrangement. A company’s corporate image also has a significant impact on the purchase intention of consumers. By measuring corporate image, brand awareness and purchase intention, The World Science Festival Brisbane is able to adequately evaluate sponsorship effectiveness.

The second method used by sponsors of the World Science Festival Brisbane to measure the effectiveness of sponsorship effectiveness is brand awareness. Brand recognition is a major indicator of brand awareness. This method combines both brand recognition and brand recall to measure sponsorship effectiveness.

The final method that might be used to measure the sponsorship effectiveness of the event is Sales. In this method the number of sales is used to determine whether or not sponsorship is effective. For example, an increase in sales would suggest that sponsorship is successful. There is a problem with this method however. According to Thompson and Quester (2000), it may be difficult to separate the sales due to sponsorship from the sales due to other factors.

The World Science Festival Brisbane (2019) was not ambushed by a non-official sponsor. All the sponsors were predetermined and included in the programme for the event. Ambush marketing is whereby one or more non-official sponsors use an event to promote themselves thereby confusing people about who the actual sponsor of the event is. This is done by certain brands to diminish the brand awareness of other brands. Ambush marketing reduces the effectiveness of sponsorship relationships.

Ambush marketing may have significant adverse effects on an event and the sponsors of the events. Firstly, it leads to the accumulation of many messages which interferes with the focus of the consumers. This is referred to as stimuli overload. Secondly, it leads to the existence of many like messages in terms of slogans and even products. Thirdly, it leads to the ambiguity of information because the consumers are bombarded with conflicting information. All these three situations cause customers to be confused (Dickson, Naylor & Phelps, 2015).  The general goal of sponsorship programmes is to promote brands. Customer confusion hinders this goal because it causes consumers to misclassify the brands supporting the event. In the long run, ambush marketing would water down the success of any sponsorship event including the World Science Festival Brisbane.

It is impossible to foresee the possibility of ambush marketing at an event. However the organizers of the World Science Festival Brisbane can take a few measures to help reduce the risk of ambush marketing at future events. The first method is by providing trade mark protection to the official sponsors (Urban, 2017). The organizers can also issue photo and broadcast rights to specific companies or individuals to limit access of ambushers. The organizers must notify each sponsor of their individual rights and the rights of the other sponsors as well (Burton & Chadwick, 2018).  There must also be clear and mutually accepted contracts to govern sponsorship rights so as to prevent confusion.

Sponsorship Leveraging

The university sponsors had set up stands at the event where they showcased scientific experiments. Universities also displayed awards they had won in science and research competitions. Students from various universities assisted the children to carry out fun scientific experiments and encouraged them to consider careers in science. The older children were allowed to ask questions about the various science programmes offered in these universities. The charity organizations involved in the event also had separate stands where they invited members of the public to sign up as volunteers.

Sponsorship leverage refers to the amount a sponsor spends on a sponsorship event. The leverage is often the amount that the sponsor gives after paying the sponsorship fee. Sponsorship leveraging is often done by the sponsor but sponsored events have the freedom to support sponsors in developing the best leveraging strategies. Sponsored events can assist sponsors by bringing sponsors together so that they can form mutually beneficial arrangements (Smith, Pitts, Mack & Smith, 2016).  For instance, the World Science Festival can encourage Ann Ziff and the Queensland Museum to cross-promote since they both deal in art.

The event may also suggest such strategies as family days, celebrity appearances and volunteer programs to further the relationship between sponsors and their consumers. For example, a sponsor may get a well-liked celebrity in the area to attend the event wearing the sponsor’s logo. Another sponsor may have its staff volunteer to help out at the event while wearing t-shirts bearing the company logo. Another sponsor may fund and manage a family fun day at the event.

The event may also promote sponsor leveraging by using its social media platforms to announce its affiliation with the various sponsors. In addition, the event could encourage its sponsors to use the name of the event in its own social media pages for instance by stating that “we are proud sponsors of the World Science Festival Brisbane.” The event might also consider printing out T-shirts that bear both the logo of the event and its individual sponsors and giving these out at the event.

Another avenue for sponsorship leverage is the use of visual techniques such as banners and posters to show that a certain company is indeed part of the event. Sponsors may also be given the authority and space to set up their stalls where the public can enquire about the sponsor and their products or services. Such set-ups would allow the public to interact with the brands on a personal level and perhaps increase their purchase intention.

Conclusion

      The World Science Festival Brisbane (2019) not only provided an incredible learning experience for the public but also gave companies a great chance to build brand awareness and foster fruitful relationships between themselves and consumers. The event provides sponsors with a global, if not national, audience where they can send out just the right message about their brand. Overall, the event has a strong sponsorship portfolio that is well managed and fairly effective in promoting the concerned sponsors.