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This research used three experiments in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) to analyze how featuring rival or hometown team imagery in league-wide Cause-Related Sports Marketing (CRSM) campaigns impacts fans' support for the cause. The findings demonstrated that perceived sincerity of the league-cause relationship is a strong predictor of increased support for the cause effort. However, the effect of team imagery was conditional and often detrimental: Exposure to the rival team in MLB significantly suppressed intentions to support the cause and reduced perceived sincerity. In the NBA, rival exposure reduced support but did not affect sincerity. One study showed that rival player involvement with the cause could be particularly damaging to sincerity, suggesting fans attribute insincere motives to the activation tactic. The study concludes that a "one size fits all" promotional approach is inadequate, and sports leagues must exercise due diligence when promoting CRSM using specific team imagery.

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This page is a summary of: Rival team effects in cause-related sports marketing, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, September 2019, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/ijsms-01-2019-0010.
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