Abstract:
This study examined the brand sponsorship of the 2019 Winneba Masquerade
Festival (WMF). It specifically explored the motivating factors of festival organizers
for seeking sponsorship from certain selected brands and also examined why some
brands sponsored the 2019 WMF. The design was a case study and it was
underpinned by the tenets of the Social Exchange Theory. Data was gathered
through semi-structured interviews and observations. The findings were thematically
analyzed. The findings revealed three categories of sponsorship for the Winneba
Masquerade Festival which comprised of: MTN Ghana as the official sponsor or title
sponsor; Fan Milk Limited as the sponsor, and Guinness Breweries Ghana accredited
as supporting sponsor. The study also revealed that organizers of the 2019 WMF
sought sponsorship from some selected brands because of visibility, prominence of
the organization, perceived sponsor benefit and evidence of previous successful
sponsorship of other festivals. Also, it was realized from the data that organizations
sponsored the 2019 WMF for these reasons: increase visibility, enhancement of
reputation, the creation of marketing opportunities. The study concludes that unlike
Fan Milk Ghana that had sponsored the event over a decade, both MTN, and
Guinness Breweries Ghana Limited were first time sponsors to the annual event.
Secondly, the track record of each sponsoring organization was important for
making informed decisions on them and providing them the space to assert their
presence. The study recommends that organizations and brands should be interested
in supporting such events to promote the cultural heritage of Ghana. Thus, Ghana
Tourism Authority should develop keen interest in improving of masquerade
festivals by granting incentives to large corporations who are ready to sponsor.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of Communication and Media Studies, Faculty
of Foreign Languages Education and Communication Submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Business Communication)
in the University of Education, Winneba
JULY, 2020