Literature Review #5

McFarland, Allison J. "What's in It for Us?" Rethinking Corporate Sponsorships in Interscholastic Athletics. 2002-03-00. 22p. Opinion Papers. Print

The article talks about the importance big corporations now put on interscholastic athletic activities across the nation, from very early on to national college level. It informs the reader of their importance, and a lot of marketing methods used by a lot of them to pull in more revenue and also help schools build more funding meanwhile. It also alerts the reader to some of the dangers in what is happening as well.


 Allison J. McFarland- Professor and Chair Department of Business & Economics, Bethel College. During the past several years, Dr. McFarland has presented over 60 workshops on the topic of Millennials to human resource professionals regionally, statewide and nationally.

Key Terms: Commercial opportunism- which refers to the opportunity to market their brand by sponsoring activities and events that would lead many to partake of their product and hopefully make it a practice.
Purchasing influence- The influence these corporations have on such young ones to consume or use their product, and build brand loyalty from early on

"Athletic departments across the country are selling
broadcast opportunities to local radio and television stations; connecting with corporate
sponsors for special events and promotions; seeking corporations who will agree to make
a substantial financial contribution in return for naming rights to a local facility; signing
deals with soda companies to distribute their product exclusively in exchange for new
electronic scoreboards, uniforms, or equipment; and soliciting advertising revenue from

game programs, field, arena, bus and rooftop signage, and halftime promotions"
"most companies are in a race to establish brand loyalty with young consumers before their competitor does" (Thompson, 2000, p. 30).
"Research has demonstrated that the commercialization of athletic programs and the high schools in which they exist have become a major focus of strategic corporate marketing plans"

I think it's crucial to understand just how far these companies have gone to impress on youth what they should drink when they get older. It's also interesting to note that any exposure is a good exposure when both sides are winning, and usually it is the big corporations that get the upper hand on these deals, much to the apathy of schools who just want more money for their staff and to fuel their programs and gain even more attention.

A picture of Allison McFarland