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Abstract

The concept of brand personality (BP) has become a popular topic of study among academicians in the sport management field. The current study moves beyond the construct conceptualization and scale development of BP, and begins to investigate existing BP profiles for various professional sports (BPS). Specifically, this research examines the existing BPS dimensions across various Big Four professional leagues. The study utilized the BPS instrument (Braunstein & Ross, 2009) and MANOVA procedures to determine ratings of BP dimensions and any differences between sports. Results indicated that on the BPS factors that were measured (Success, Sophistication, Sincerity, Rugged, Community-Driven, Classic), sports differed on four of the six factors. For the factors that significantly differed by sport (Success, Sincerity, Rugged, and Classic), the majority of the highest mean scores associated with hockey and baseball. Conceptualizations and scale development of BPS will be discussed along with positioning and segmentation strategies for sport marketers. This paper begins to shift the focus from the concept of BPS to its application. As such, it fills an identified need to determine if there are differences in the "personalities" (i.e., characteristics) of leagues and, ultimately, how these elements can factor into sound and targeted marketing practices.