The impact of brand associations on brand loyalty in the football industry

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of brand associations on brand loyalty of fans toward professional football clubs in developed and emerging football markets (EFM). In particular, the following research questions are answered: how important are different determinants of brand associations for fans from developed football markets (DFM) and EFM? Are there any major differences in the importance of different brand associations and their influence on brand loyalty between fans from DFM and EFM? Design/methodology/approach Based on the customer-based brand equity framework the impact of brand associations on brand loyalty is tested with a sample of 3,587 fans from DFM – Germany, England, Spain, Italy, and France (2,032) – as well as fans from EFM – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the USA (1,555). Findings Structural equation modeling is applied and shows a negative impact of brand attributes on attitudinal loyalty, whereas brand benefits positively impact attitudinal loyalty. Furthermore, significant differences between fans from developed and EFM are revealed. Implications for the management of football teams and for research on brand management are derived. Originality/value This study extends the work of Gladden and Funk (2001) by expanding the model used to assess brand loyalty and analyzes it empirically in different football markets. When looking to foster attitudinal loyalty, marketers should concentrate on benefit associations instead of attribute associations. Most importantly, marketers should be aware that when focusing on developing brand loyalty amongst EFM fans, they should not simply apply the same strategies that proved to be effective in DFM and vice versa.

Fan Loyalty Toward International Football Team: The Role of Brand Image

“…The term "fan loyalty" refers to the output of consistency and dedication to support and show a commitment to a team (Johnston, 2004). Specifically, current sports marketing literature (Maderer et al, 2016) describes the characteristics of fan loyalty in three approaches: cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral.…”

“…Football has become a fast-growing global brand commodity due to the increased sport commercialization as well as a benchmark professionalism or other types of sports (Fujak, Frawley, McDonald, & Bush, 2018;Thompson, Martin, Gee, & Geurin, 2018). It is indicated by the growth of fan club bases, which are not only in the country where the team originated but also from overseas (Maderer, Holtbruegge, & Woodland, 2016). Further, the globalizing of this sport also restructures the concept of fanship, from just being a supporter of a team to becoming an integral source of club revenue (Ferrari, 2017).…”

“…Thus, how brand image influences fan's behaviour loyalty remains unclear. Therefore, scholars (Maderer et al, 2016) suggest exploring how brand image influences fan loyalty toward football club.…”

“…The attention of Asian football fans toward the international team has been proliferating due to media coverage (i.e., TV broadcast). However, the sport-literature has poorly addressed this market for a research base need (Fuller, 2015;Maderer et al, 2016). Cho (2013) argues that it is imperative to examine the behavior of Asian fans toward the international football team to generate a novelty understanding of this diverse and dynamic market.…”

End of Ban on Women Driving in Saudi Arabia- Implications for Automobile Brands

“…Brand association relates to the features of a product (Maderer et al, 2016) and is considered to be a dimension of brand equity and can be anything which links to the memory of a brand (Aaker, 1991). Association to a brand is a differentiator (del Rio, Vazquez, & Iglesias, 2001), as it helps in the recall of brand information, provides a purpose of purchase, and evokes positive feeling (Aaker, 1991;Narteh, 2018).…”