Why do companies sponsor arts events? Some evidence and a proposed classification

Corporate philanthropy towards the arts is of long standing in the United States. There is no such tradition in Europe, but corporate sponsorship of the arts has been in place since the 1960s (see Frémion, 1994). This paper will discuss the differences and similarities between these two forms of business support to the arts and then concentrate primarily on corporate sponsorship. The motivations for companies to sponsor arts events are examined in the context both of the literature relating to the motivations for corporate philanthropy and corporate promotional/marketing expenditure. Results from a survey of 69 companies that had sponsored 129 arts events in Ireland are presented and compared to the limited results from similar surveys elsewhere. It is suggested that the motivations for such sponsorship can usefully be reduced to four: promotion of image/name, supply-chain cohesion, rent-seeking and non-monetary benefit to managers/owners. The evidence for this from the survey, either directly available or implicit in the responses to some other questions, is significant. © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.