Consumer‐brand relationships in sport: brand personality and identification

TLDR

The study investigates how a sports team’s brand personality influences consumer identification and retail spending. A field study of game viewership and retail spending was analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the relationships among brand personality, identification, and spending. The analysis revealed that wholesomeness and successfulness, mediated by prestige, predict identification, while imaginativeness and toughness boost identification and successfulness reduces it; identification in turn drives higher viewership and retail spending, suggesting teams can enhance image to boost engagement and sales.

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between the brand personality of a sports team and the related consumer outcomes of identification and retail spending. Design/methodology/approach A field study was conducted with games watched and retail spending as outcomes. Structural equation modeling was used to explore the relationships among constructs. Findings The two brand personality dimensions of wholesomeness and successfulness are mediated through prestige to predict the consumer's identification with the team. The two brand personality dimensions of imaginativeness and toughness positively influence identification with the team while successfulness has a negative influence on identification with the team. Once a consumer identifies with the team quasi‐brand, retail spending and viewership increase. Practical implications Sports teams can utilise information gleaned from this study to better promote an attractive image, thereby increasing the number of games watched and retail spending. Originality/value This paper presents an original twist on personality research by looking at the influence of the brand personality of an intangible sport brand on consumer identification and retail spending.