Antecedents of the attitude toward the athlete celebrities' human brand extensions

Abstract

PurposeThe present study aims to examine how consumers evaluate the extended human brands of athlete celebrities beyond their unique brand personality associated with sports. Athlete celebrities' unique image in sports is used as a human brand, and attitude toward the athlete brand extensions is investigated when the athlete's name is included in a new non-sport brand. The concepts of brand extensions were employed to develop the ideas of human brand extensions.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 198 participants answered online survey questions before and after being informed of athlete brand extensions. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is utilized to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe survey results indicated that athlete–product fit and image transfer positively influenced attitude toward the extension. In addition, attitude toward the athlete brand extensions was significantly influenced by consumers' pre-existing attitude toward the celebrity; however, not by celebrity's expertise.Originality/valueThe research findings imply that some brand extension concepts are applicable to human brands to understand the effectiveness of athlete brand extensions for non-sport products.

Athlete apparel: the impact of team brand awareness and apparel brand awareness on athletes' brands, logos, and merchandise

“…Walsh and Williams discussed the consumer perceptions of potential brand extensions that athletes may utilize, noting the significant fit perceived by consumers regarding athletic apparel. Koo (2022) further confirmed the importance of athleteproduct fit and used athlete logos in conjunction with signature shoes/cleats as the stimuli in their investigation of consumer perceptions of athlete brand extensions. The previous literature provides the necessary framework for the current study, considering the usage of athlete logos and brand extensions has already been utilized, and the importance of athlete apparel as a high-fit extension has been established.…”

“…Some scholars have also investigated factors related to the use of athletes as endorsers (Carlson and Donavan, 2008; Frank and Mitsumoto, 2021). An additional area of athlete branding studies that provide insight into the pertinent information of the current investigation are those that evaluate athlete brand extensions (Walsh and Williams, 2017; Koo, 2022). Walsh and Williams discussed the consumer perceptions of potential brand extensions that athletes may utilize, noting the significant fit perceived by consumers regarding athletic apparel.…”