Title: What communication methods work for sports events? An analysis of the FedEx St. Jude Classic

Authors: Kurt E. Schimmel, John S. Clark, Richard Irwin, Tony Lachowetz

Addresses: School of Business, Marketing, Robert Morris University, 6001 University Boulevard, Moon Township, PA 15108, USA. ' School of Business, Sport Management, Robert Morris University, 6001 University Boulevard, Moon Township, PA 15108, USA. ' University of Memphis, Bureau of Sport and Leisure Commerce, Memphis, TN 38152, USA. ' Family and Consumer Sciences, Hospitality Tourism, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8077, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA

Abstract: This paper applies the concept of the marketing communications audit to one company|s involvement with a Professional Golf Association (PGA) tournament event. According to Hargie and Tourish (2000), communications audits aid a firm in evaluating and improving the effectiveness of marketing communications strategies. The current paper applies the audit to Federal Express (FedEx) and the St. Jude Classic. FedEx|s involvement in the tournament as the title sponsor serves the firm|s business on multiple levels; business-to-consumer; business-to-business; and, firm to community. The audit reveals the FedEx marketing communication messages resonate well with the various targeted segments; yet, based on the audit|s results, FedEx could improve on the effectiveness by reallocating resources to the most effective media.

Keywords: communications audit; marketing communications; media analysis; Professional Golf Association; PGA tournaments; sport marketing; sponsorship; resource allocation; media effectiveness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2007.012407

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2007 Vol.2 No.3, pp.301 - 315

Published online: 11 Feb 2007 *

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