A Verification of Athlete Sponsorship Effectiveness Using Intervention Time Series Analysis

The purpose of this study was to empirically analyze the effectiveness of athlete sponsorships in the sports industry. While companies pursue various outcomes through sports sponsorship—such as enhancing brand awareness, eliciting emotional engagement from consumers, and fulfilling corporate social responsibility—empirical and quantitative analyses of these effects remain limited. To this end, Interrupted Time Series Analysis(ITSA) was applied to the total revenue time-series data of global sports brands Nike and Adidas. The results show that Nike achieved revenue increases of 469.37%, 452.38%, and 432.74% following sponsorships with basketball, tennis, and soccer athletes in 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively. Adidas demonstrated sponsorship effects of 86.34% (athletics, 2004), 121.68% (soccer, 2006), and 52.82% (basketball, 2015). Notably, Nike exhibited the highest effectiveness in basketball sponsorships, while Adidas showed the strongest impact in soccer sponsorships. The significance of this study lies in its objective and practical assessment of sponsorship effects using corporate revenue—a direct performance indicator. The study concludes with implications and suggestions for future research.