Abstract: This paper utilizes two experiments to study the influence of sponsorship following on the evaluation of following brands and important influencing factors. The results show that compared with the low primacy effect of competitive brand sponsorship events, the high primacy effect of following brand sponsorship events can enhance the brand evaluation of following brands; Compared with the low recency effect of competitive brand sponsored events, it is higher than following brand sponsorship events. Asymmetric brand relationship and following positioning play regulatory roles in the process of sponsoring following. The research conclusion of this paper enriches the relevant theories of sponsoring effect evaluation from the perspective of sponsorship competition, and provides a theoretical reference for late sponsor companies to obtain better sponsorship effect with less sponsorship investment.

Key words: sports sponsorship marketing, sponsoring following, following company, sponsoring competition, sponsorship evaluation