Marketing strategies require a stringent and fully controlled implementation while trying to avoid the risks and utilizing financial resources which could not be clearly defined as investments. Market strategies primarily serve the purpose of authenticity of product and brand.

Sports sponsoring as part of marketing can only be used very conditionally for the objective of marketing strategy. In many cases, sports sponsoring is associated with many risks and a pure waste of money. If the Postal Service is sponsoring cycling to express that they serve their customers fast and with an eye on the customer, such a measure might be counterproductive if a customer has to wait for days for his correspondence to arrive or stand in line at the counter of the postal shops.

How should a consumer be able to believe that a brand, which was introduced to him via a soccer club, offers a good cost/performance ratio, where especially the whole business with soccer has turned into one big “money-obliteration-machine”. Soccer, at least in the rich countries of the First World, has only a small resemblance to sport. Rather it is entertainment.

Sports sponsoring can even be counterproductive. Currently we can see that with car racing. A noble chassis is driving in the second or third row because the car is only second or third rate. What good will all the disclaimers in regards to increasing complaints concerning the quality of the series-production vehicle do?

One would not want to turn down sports sponsoring lock, stock and barrel, but this kind of expenditure of money should be viewed critically by each business because the cases where there actually emerges a benefit for the brand are rather the exception. The UEFA Euro 2004 shows that the best performances have been from teams of countries who are not yet subject to drowning in moneys from sports sponsoring.

Protagonists of sports sponsoring like to quote the range of coverage through TV coverage as criteria for assessment for success and the development of the high profile of a brand, which were showcased through sports sponsoring. For us, this is not very convincing because the notoriety of a brand can not be equated with sales volume. And that is what really counts.