User-generated branding via social media: An examination of six running brands

The increased global popularity of social media has led many consumer brands to increasingly turn to consumer-to-consumer marketing methods in recent years. One such method, user-generated branding (UGB), is defined as “the strategic and operative management of brand related user-generated content (UGC) to achieve brand goals” (Burmann & Arnhold, 2009, p. 66). Other disciplines have identified potential benefits of UGB such as cost effectiveness, the ability to track consumers, and immediate feedback regarding a brand and its products or services (Burmann, 2010). Hambrick and Kang (2015) also posited that UGB might be effective in developing stronger relationships between brands and consumers and eliciting greater engagement with consumers on social media. This study sought to fill the gap on UGB research within the sport management field. Utilising Porter’s (1985) generic strategies as a theoretical framework, the Instagram accounts of six purposefully selected running brands were examined to determine to what extent brands utilised user-generated content on their Instagram accounts and whether differences existed in audience engagement based on the type of content posted. A quantitative content analysis method was employed, and results indicated that those brands utilising a differentiation strategy and posts with an overt focus on the product or brand were most successful in eliciting engagement from followers. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed in greater detail in the paper.     

Exploring sport brand development strategies to strengthen consumer involvement with the product – The case of the Australian A-League

The branding of sport leagues represents an emergent area of scholarship. The current research capitalised on an opportunity to explore the strategies sport leagues can implement to develop their brand and consequently better satisfy their consumers. The Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) was used to guide the examination of sport brand development strategies recommended by consumers of a sport league. Mixed method data were collected from football consumers in Australia (N = 230). Seven themes were uncovered through qualitative content analysis representing three brand development strategies – market penetration, market development and product development. The study contributes to sport management literature by (1) identifying strategies that can be used to position sport brands; (2) indicating how these strategies may be used to influence consumers’ brand associations; (3) demonstrating the close brand relationship between leagues and their clubs and (4) enhancing market research sampling knowledge. The study also provides sport managers with strategic brand management directions.     

试论体育产业的市场定位与品牌确立措施

体育产业作为文化产业的内容，已成为当今世界经济发展中最引人注目的现象。体育产业的市场定位要把握文化消费的状况，建立品牌地位，因为体育品牌的确立是体育产业市场定位的基本保证。文章提出体育品牌确立的4项基本措施，即选择形象代言人、追求品牌效益、强调信息化和个性化。     

体育品牌原产地困惑对品牌特性和品牌偏好的影响

根据消费者对品牌原产地存有的困惑,通过实证法研究了品牌原产地困惑对于消费者体育品牌特性和品牌偏好的影响,并利用SPSS软件对数据进行了对比分析。研究表明在中国环境下,当境外体育用品品牌被误认为是本土品牌时,消费者会形成更差的品牌特性认知以及更不偏好;当中国本土体育用品品牌被误认为是境外品牌时,则发现消费者对不同类型的本土体育品牌在品牌特性认知以及品牌偏好上的比较出现截然不同的结果。     

冰雪体育用品品牌形象对消费意愿的影响:基于双中介变量

目的基于消费者心理层面,探析如何提升冰雪体育用品消费者的消费意愿,深度挖掘冰雪体育用品品牌形象与消费者消费意愿之间的影响路径关系,以及感知价值与信任在二者之间的影响机制。方法运用质性与量化研究方法。结果与结论1)企业形象、使用者形象、产品/服务形象、感知价值、信任以及消费意愿之间呈显著正相关关系;2)感知价值对信任具有正向影响作用,感知价值、信任对消费意愿具有正向影响作用;3)感知价值、信任以及感知价值和信任在品牌形象对消费意愿的影响关系中具有中介效应,并且均为部分中介效应。     

How can Country-of-Origin image be leveraged to create global sporting goods brands?

While much marketing research has focused on brand creation and management, less is known about the creation of sport brands. This paper complements the stakeholder model of branding and brand creation, which highlights the role of a firm's stakeholders in the analysis of brands, by including country-specific factors based on location and Country-of-Origin (CoO). Using a sample of innovative New Zealand-based firms, our qualitative study uses a comparative case method in two subsector settings to investigate how they have built outdoor sport brands based on that country's particular country-specific factors. We show how firms are able to leverage New Zealand's strong sport product category-country associations to create brand value. Our findings confirm that CoO image together with sport product category-country associations enables the creation of brands in sport product categories. Our paper contributes to theory and practice by extending understanding of brand creation by demonstrating the importance of location and product category. Further research directions are suggested.     

基于观众视角的体育赛事品牌资产测量研究

随着体育赛事在国内快速发展，体育赛事品牌资产的构建与测量成为重要的研究课题。针对驱动我国体育赛事品牌资产的构成要素特征，构建了基于观众感知的体育赛事品牌资产测量量表，利用问卷调查对测量模型进行了实证检验，量表的信度和效度通过了检验。研究结果表明：体育赛事品牌资产由赛事品牌形象和赛事品牌认知两个维度构成，其中赛事服务、场馆社区、品牌标志、组织属性、社会互动和赛场消费优惠是构成我国体育赛事品牌形象的重要驱动要素，而观众对体育赛事的心理承诺和身份认同是影响赛事品牌认知的主要因素。研究结论弥补了我国体育赛事品牌资产管理研究不足，为我国体育赛事品牌资产管理提供了有价值的理论指导和实践指南。     

Exploring sport brand double jeopardy: The link between team market share and attitudinal loyalty

Marketers are charged with the responsibility of attracting consumers and encouraging loyalty for their brands. Double jeopardy, a marketing law observed across numerous product and service settings, contends that loyalty is largely influenced by a brand's market share. There have been suggestions that sport may be one of the few areas immune to such effects, providing researchers with an opportunity to test how sport brand loyalty may be impacted by market share. The current research capitalises on this opportunity by assessing the effects of market share on attitudinal loyalty reported by a sample of 794 Australian sport fans. ANOVA tests revealed that fans of high market share brands displayed higher levels of attitudinal loyalty towards their favourite teams in comparison to small market share team fans. Further tests revealed that differences existed in terms of the brand association perceptions held by high and small market share team fans, and how these contributed to predicting attitudinal loyalty. Consequently, sport marketers should be cognisant of double jeopardy effects when evaluating sport brands and formulating marketing strategies, though future research is needed to determine the full applicability of double jeopardy within the sport context.     

The effect of familiarity on associated sponsor and event brand attitudes following negative celebrity endorser publicity

This research examined how familiarity with a brand influences how negative publicity related to a celebrity endorser is perceived. Specifically, the current research determined if familiarity with event and sponsor brands may temper any negative consequences of being linked with negative celebrity endorser publicity. Two studies were conducted to investigate this aim. Study 1 (n = 136) used unfamiliar brands and indicated attitudes towards the selected sponsor and the event brands were significantly reduced after negative publicity surrounding an associated celebrity endorser emerged. In contrast, individuals not exposed to negative publicity did not report reduced attitude scores. Study 2 (n = 272) used unfamiliar and familiar brands and found that negative publicity surrounding celebrity endorsers has the capacity to weaken attitudes towards associated event and sponsor brands. However, any negative impact was tempered by an individual's familiarity with the respective brand, indicating brand familiarity has a moderating effect on brand attitudes within the sports marketplace. This research furthers understandings related to sport sponsorship theory by assessing the role of brand familiarity in tempering information transference. Additionally, the paper provides insights to the events category which has not been researched previously. Brand managers can use this information to develop proactive and reactive strategies to employ to protect their brands when celebrity endorsers attract negative publicity.     

Confirmatory Analysis of the Athletic Team Merchandise Model

Although sales of athletic team merchandise (ATM) contribute to the overall consumption of sport, a research effort that comprehensively measures aspects that trigger the consumption of ATM is lacking. In light of the gap, utilizing multiple theories and other concepts that describe product consumption, the authors of this article empirically examined a theoretical model to explain ATM purchasing intention. Seven hundred thirty-six individuals who had previously purchased ATM participated in the surveys. The confirmatory factor analyses suggests that the ATM model, consisting of personal values, team identification, brand attitude, past expenditure, perceived product attributes, expectancy disconfirmation, satisfaction, and purchase intention, has good psychometric properties, and is a good measurement for the purchase intention of ATM. Comprehensiveness of the model suggests researchers should measure factors explaining various commonly occurring consumption activities at a domain level.     

职业运动球队品牌权益建构的理论探讨

职业运动能够引起体育迷们强烈的情感反应,这一情感联系要优于其他所有产业.职业体育组织也努力利用这种情感联系来构建其品牌权益.由于职业体育产业的特殊属性,建立品牌权益的相关研究对其发展具有重要的价值.本研究提出修改自Gladden and Mline (1999)及Richelieu(2004)的职业运动球队品牌权益建构的理论模型,研究结果认为,职业运动球队可以利用其同球迷强烈的情感联系,通过有计划的品牌管理构建品牌权益,并为球队带来可持续的竞争优势与利益.     

从职业足球赛事女性球迷的视角探索品牌关系与行为意向

研究以品牌关系质量理论和消费行为理论作为逻辑起点,通过社会网络分析法(SNA)发现男性球迷和女性球迷在参与职业足球赛事品牌消费时的消费行为存在意向差异,在沿着女性球迷社会角色和文化特征为主线的情况下,整理女性球迷参与下的品牌关系质量特征,将职业足球赛事品牌关系质量划分为满意、信任、承诺3个方面,并运用路径分析构建并验证女性球迷参与下的职业足球赛事品牌关系质量与口碑传播意向间的路径关系,以探究女性球迷参与职业足球赛事品牌消费的行为意向特点。结果表明,女性球迷更倾向于通过口碑接收和传播来表达她们对赛事品牌的参与意向,并且女性球迷在职业足球赛事品牌关系中的品牌满意是影响女性球迷口碑传播意愿的关键因素。     

冰雪体育广告对消费行为的影响研究:基于态度的调节效应

体育消费者的消费行为决定了体育产业的发展趋势,其对推动体育消费增长、体育产业结构升级以及实现体育产业经济效益的最大化均具有重要的影响。该研究从冰雪体育消费者视角出发,从媒介传播的角度切入,通过构建冰雪体育广告对消费行为影响效果的概念模型,着重探讨了不同类型的冰雪体育广告对消费行为的影响以及态度在这个影响过程中的调节效应。研究主要采用逐步回归分析、简单斜率分析等方法对相关研究假设进行了检验,结果发现电视网络广告、印刷广告、广播广告以及场地广告均可以正向影响冰雪体育消费者的消费行为;态度调节了电视网络广告或场地广告与冰雪体育消费者消费行为之间的关系,具体表现为,高态度条件下电视网络广告或场地广告对冰雪体育消费者消费行为的正向影响效果均大于低态度条件;态度在印刷广告或广播广告影响冰雪体育消费者消费行为的过程中并不存在显著的调节作用。     

Governing the (un)healthy child-consumer in the age of the childhood obesity crisis

In recent years, multinational food and drink corporations and their marketing practices have been blamed for the global childhood obesity ‘crisis’. Unsurprisingly, these corporations have been quick to refute these claims and now position themselves as ‘part of the solution’ to childhood obesity. In this paper, I examine how and why corporations fund, devise and/or implement ‘healthy lifestyles education’ programmes in schools. By using a critical ethnographic research approach alongside Foucault’s notion of governmentality, I interrogate what those with the ‘will to govern’ (such as corporations) wanted to happen (e.g. fight obesity, change marketing practices and increase consumption), but also what actually happened when these corporatised education programmes met their intended targets in three New Zealand primary schools. I critically examine these programmes by focusing on the ways in which three technologies of consumption – product placement, transforming children into marketers and sponsorship – attempt to govern children to be lifelong consumers of the corporate brand image and their allegedly ‘healthy’ corporate products. Although students were not necessarily naïve and easily coerced into becoming mindless consumers of corporate products, students and their teachers readily accepted that sponsorship, product placement and marketing in schools were normal, natural, necessary and mostly harmless. Healthy lifestyles education programmes represent a new ‘brand’ of health, health education and corporation. The child-citizen is governed to become the child-consumer. Corporations’ anxieties about being blamed for childhood obesity are fused with technologies of ‘healthy consumption’: the consumption of corporate products, corporate philanthropy, the corporate brand and corporate ‘education’.     

我国体育用品产业集群的区域品牌建设研究

辨析产业集群与区域品牌的关系,对我国体育用品产业集群的总体现状作出分析,从中筛选出8个典型的产业集群进行区域品牌的重点研究.结果表明,产业集群的区域品牌经历了区域产品、区域认知、区域美誉和区域文化4个阶段;区域品牌存在市场集中度低、知名品牌缺乏、品牌经营费用投入增速缓慢、产品官传方式单一、品牌创新能力薄弱等问题.因此,在区域品牌建设路径上,首先应当全力打造龙头企业,大力实施名牌战略,不断加快体育产业园区建设,最终打造区域联动下的共同区域性品牌.     

Introducing branded communities in sport for building strong brand relations in social media

Brand communities have become an important aspect for brand management in social media. However, many brands have failed to establish a successful online brand community. In this study, we introduce branded communities as an alternative concept to brand communities. In contrast to brand communities, a branded community does not revolve around a specific (sport) brand, but around any interest or need. However, a specific brand makes use of the community for marketing purposes by sponsoring or operating the community. We emphasize the suitability of sport as an interest around which branded communities can be built as well as links of branded communities to sport sponsorship. We empirically studied the factors which influence the success of this phenomenon and the effects of operating or sponsoring such a community for a brand by using an online survey (N = 501) of members of a branded online community relating to football. The results demonstrate the relevance of topic interest (i.e., identification and involvement with football) and the quality of the community as determinants of interest in and loyalty towards a branded community. The brand owner benefits from an increase in brand loyalty for those community members who are aware of the brand as the operator of the community, whereby awareness of this sponsorship does not decrease loyalty towards the community. Our research contributes to previous knowledge by proving that branded communities are both an effective means for companies to deploy sponsorship and branding strategies in social media and provide a promising opportunity for sport managers to generate value.     

Can alcohol sponsorship be diluted by health messaging?

Concerns surround the association between alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption amongst audiences. Research has examined the link in broadcast sports, yet limited attention is directed towards newer media. This paper examines whether there is a link between alcohol sponsorship in sports games and alcohol brand recall, recognition and choice, and whether in-game health messages moderate this association. Simulated games designed specifically for this study are used to observe whether in-game alcohol sponsorship combined with embedded health messages affect the player’s brand awareness. Findings highlight the influence of in-game alcohol sponsorship placement on brand awareness, yet embedded health messages do not impact consumer behaviours. This research provides evidence suggesting regulations in games may be warranted and further examination of health messaging in sponsor brand placement necessary.     

体育对社会经济发展的影响的研究--兼谈品牌对体育产业发展的作用

在界定体育产业与体育品牌概念的基础上，阐明了体育对社会经济发展的影响，认为发展体育可以提高社会的经济效益，能够创造更多的就业机会，对许多与体育有关产业亦有很好的促进作用。同时，还论述了品牌对体育产业发展的作用以及创造体育品牌对体育产业发展的作用以及创造体育品牌的途径。     

Beyond Tippekampen: the origins and maintenance of Scandinavian support for the Liverpool FC

Professional sport is a highly marketable product, whereby favourite teams often become ‘overseas sweethearts’ for millions of satellite supporters and their imagined community of like-minded fans. Scandinavia has historically proven to be a fertile market for English football and is home to some of the largest supporter groups for English clubs, in particular the Liverpool FC. This article examines the origins of Scandinavian identification with the Merseyside club and how satellite supporters in the region maintain a connection with the famous brand. Scandinavian supporters highlighted the importance of the media, especially the popularity of state-run television programmes such as Tippekampen, the team’s playing style and the presence of star players in their initial support for Liverpool FC and explained how they had turned to a virtual ‘third place’ to regularly connect and engage with fellow fans and the brand in cyberspace. In a global marketplace, satellite supporters are critical for the future of many brands and this article offers a valuable case study for those who seek to exploit these markets, monetize these consumers and build equity for their team brands.     

Who is more influenced by customer equity drivers? A moderator analysis in a professional soccer context

Despite the recent progress in understanding consumer moderators, much of this work has focused on the satisfaction-behavioral intentions link. There is a lack of research regarding the potential moderating effects of consumer variables on the relationship between the three dimensions of customer equity (value, brand, and relationship equity) and behavioral intentions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine how the effects of value, brand, and relationship equity on consumer behavioral intentions are enhanced by demographic (age and gender) and relational (season-ticket purchase) moderators. Furthermore, this study views brand equity as a psychological moderator and attempts to investigate the moderating effects of brand equity on the relationships between value equity, relationship equity, and behavioral intentions. Data were collected from spectators at a professional soccer event in Japan (n = 383). The results indicate that the effect of brand equity on behavioral intentions is positive and significant, while relationship equity has positive effects on both brand equity and behavioral intentions. A series of moderator analyses using the multi-group SEM method revealed that the influences of brand and relationship equity on behavioral intentions are stronger for younger consumers, men, and season-ticket holders than for older consumers, women, and non-season-ticket holders. Moreover, the moderator analyses verified that the effect of value equity on behavioral intentions was positive and significant only for those spectators belonging to the low brand equity categorization. The research findings, contributions, and directions for future research are discussed.