In addition, Owens-Corning’s publicity material described the common link in values between the sport and the company: ‘Freestyle is off the beaten path of tradition and the sport’s unique qualities of panache, courage, and skill are directly transferable to the corporate style of Owens-Corning.’ Recognising the resource that they had, the company was determined to hang on to it. It therefore set about developing the relationship into one that would prove beneficial for both parties. Owens-Corning first helped the sport gain Olympic status, then assisted with the development of a national training centre. It has also developed one of the best video libraries in the world on the sport and even helps train athletes to deal with life after retirement. The effort has worked. The two parties are in weekly contact,● discussing new ideas that might be beneficial to one side or the other. As the Marketing Director told us, ‘they give back to us everything we give to them; they love us as much as we love them’. The formal agreements between the two sides, which were first signed in 1986, have been renewed ever since, with little sign of any parting of the ways.

Source: J. Amis, N. PLant and T. Slack (1997), Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage: a resource-based view of sport sponsorship, Journal of Sport Management, 11(1), 80–96.

Sponsorship Contribution to an activity by an organisation. Although sponsorship may be purely altruistic, it is normally undertaken with the expectation of achieving benefit for the sponsor, e.g. in achieving corporate or marketingrelated objectives.

company (Meenaghan 1996). In View 25.1, for example, shows how an insulation company was able to create a sense of adventure and excitement about itself and its products by sponsoring freestyle skiing, one of the most thrilling of the Winter Olympic sports.