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This paper looks at how two clubs, the Toronto Maple Leafs (TML) hockey club and Football Club Barcelona (FCB), have built and leveraged their brand equity. Brand issues play a major role in professional sports teams' marketing strategies. Indeed, the development of a strong brand often allows a sports team to instil trust and trigger fan loyalty, which in turn helps the team leverage its brand equity and generate additional revenues through the sale of goods and services, both within and outside the sports arena.Even though the level of success on the field of a professional team may have an impact on brand development, ultimately strong brand equity should overcome losing records through the establishment of

Building on previous research, the academic contribution of this research lies mainly in the conceptualisation of the internationalisation of a sports team brand as well as with an explanation of how a sports team can position itself as an international global brand. In this paper, we articulate a model on the internationalisation of a sports team brand. After a thorough analysis of the literature, we propose four strategies, which are relevant to the sports arena: i) Brand Reputation (think local, act global / the brand reputation specialist); ii) Brand Affinity (think local, act global / the brand affinity specialist); iii) Brand Challenger (think local, act global / the brand recognition specialist); and iv) Brand Conquistador (unifying local brands / the brand recognition specialist).

Purpose How could a city, a region or a country succeed in its attempt to use sport to (re-)define, position and promote itself? Consequently, what do jurisdictions and brand managers need to consider when using sporting events as a leverage to market themselves abroad? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws from a combination of an extensive literature review and secondary data collection in order to build a conceptual framework, entitled the “diamond” of place branding through sport. Findings Managers and politicians of cities, regions and countries should espouse a holistic approach when developing their place branding strategy through sport. This holistic approach can be articulated around four dimensions: sport, economic, commercial and social. Research limitations/implications Drawing mainly from a literature review, with the support of concrete examples, this is a first step within the confines of an exploratory research. A future study could analyze the specific cases of jurisdictions and how these fit within the conceptual framework articulated in this paper. Originality/value A place branding strategy through sport should be translated into a socio-economic legacy, with private and public benefits for the community. Ultimately, place branding through sport is one of the components of the overall place branding strategy of a jurisdiction.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to understand the overall consumer experience, while highlighting the means through which consumers live and take possession of what they consume. Design/methodology/approach – Holt’s typology serves as the theoretical background. Choosing a netnographic framework, we analyze the coffee experiential universe of 41 Canadian consumers of Tim Hortons' coffee by studying their personal stories posted on the company’s website. Findings – Individuals predominantly associate the consumption of coffee with ritual, happiness, joy, travel companion and extended relationship. These categories relate to mystique (ritual); pleasure (happiness and joy); travel (travel companion); and love (family-like relationship). Research limitations/implications – We acknowledge that there is a danger of bias in our data considering that we used the narratives that recorded the highest hits. However, these narratives represent a socially constructed reality which was validated by Tim Hortons’ fans themselves. Practical implications – To maintain a strong market position, it is no longer sufficient to understand the associations linked to the overall experience of a product’s consumption. The company must also have ways of accessing or appropriating the consumer experience. Originality/value – The study shows that it is possible for today’s consumer products to become symbolic representations in the minds of consumers, provided that the consumer has a strong attachment to the brand. It is essential to understand the appropriation practices of consumers’ experiences, as these hold significant theoretical and managerial implications.