A Conceptual Framework for Retro Marketing in Sport

Retro marketing has become a staple in sport marketing practices. Teams and leagues are attempting to connect their fans to the past in a magnitude of ways. Despite the influx of retro marketing in sport, there has been no examination of it to date. This study examined the various usages of retro marketing in sport and through an inductive approach created a framework that categorized and broadly defined each usage. The five practical areas of retro marketing in sport were constructed: imagery, merchandising, venue, gameday promotions, and advertising. The authors shaped and framed retro marketing in sport through these five dimensions, as they encompassed the retro marketing practices examined and are often relied upon marketing elements. Further, the authors suggest multiple avenues for future research on this topic, including understanding a sport organization’s usage of these practices and the impact they have on sport consumers

Investigating the negative fan behaviors of a branded collegiate basketball student section

Branded collegiate student sections (e.g., the Cameron Crazies at Duke University) have been identified as the most committed supporters of the team. The marketing benefits of these groups have been documented yet the potential negative consequences have gone unexplored in the literature. This study aimed to understand what types of behavior fans in this context engaged in, why they engaged in these actions, and attempts to link some of these observations to relevant theory on fan violence. A multiple method design was employed in order to obtain both breadth and depth of the phenomenon as well as for data triangulation. Ten members of a large, collegiate basketball fan group participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews and extensive fieldwork of the fan group was conducted over the course of a season. Finally, 197 members of the same college basketball fan group responded to a survey questionnaire. The results of this study indicated there are negative consequences linked to the behavior of members of the branded student section. University officials should be aware of the potential danger of these branded student sections and strengthen relations and authority over these groups to minimize the likelihood of negative fan behavior

The Impact of Brand Equity Drivers on Consumer-based Brand Equity in the Sport Service Setting

The importance of brand equity to a firm has been well documented by previous literature. Brands with high equity allow a firm to charge a premium price as well as garner a larger market share in relation to competitors (Simon & Sullivan, 1993). From the consumer’s perspective, previous research has failed to explain precisely how consumers perceive and become loyal to specific brands. Therefore, this study constructed and tested a consumer-based brand equity model based on Keller’s (2003a) brand equity pyramid that explains how consumer perceptions influence brand resonance. Data were collected from a general consumer sample (n = 787) in a mid-sized southeastern community in order to validate the consumer-based brand equity model. The results from an examination of the structural model confirmed a significant relationship between brand awareness and brand associations as posited by previous research. Brand associations were found to have a significant impact on a consumer’s cognitive evaluation (brand superiority) and affective response (brand affect) to a focal brand in the service realm. Further, this study highlighted the important role that emotions play in the process of building strong brand equity. Cumulatively, these findings revealed that two attitudinal constructs (brand superiority and brand affect) played a differential role in the brand association-brand resonance relationship in the services context

Antecedents and consequences of sponsor-stadium fit: Empirical evidence from a non-historic stadium context in Japan

PURPOSE: Integrating several streams of theoretical reasoning such as social identity theory, congruity theory and the customer gratitude approach, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model of the antecedents and consequences of sponsor-stadium fit and examine the hypothesized relationships. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Data were collected from professional football spectators in a non-historic stadium context (n=342). Through a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, the authors assessed the antecedents and consequences of sponsor-stadium fit. FINDING: Based on the results, team identification and prior sponsor attitude were found to be the dominant factors in enhancing sponsor-stadium fit. Furthermore, the indirect effects of team identification on purchase intentions through sponsor-stadium fit and gratitude towards the sponsor were positive and significant. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: When renaming non-historic stadiums of relatively new sport teams, sponsors that present a team-related brand identity can create a reference and image fit with stadiums. The findings serve to advance the literature on stadium sponsorship particularly at non-historic stadiums. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: In its conceptualization of sponsor-stadium fit, the current study extends previous research that has focused primarily on sponsor-event fit.This research was funded by the Japanese Professional Football League (J. League)

Investigating the Differences in Twitter Content and Effectiveness Between Individual and Team Sport Athletes

While the existing literature has categorized Twitter conversations and examined gender differences in professional athletes¡¯ online self-presentation initiatives, researchers have neglected to examine the differences in Twitter presentation between individual and team sport athletes. This study examined the differences in self-promotional content and effectiveness of Twitter activity between individual and team sport athletes. The authors utilized content analysis to categorize Twitter activity while a comparison not only between different types of athletes but also within categories was conducted by analyzing composite variables. While the findings confirmed the existence of content contrasts in the promotional category, no significant differences were observed in the remaining tweet categories. The analysis of fan perceptions identified team athlete tweets as more effective aside from the promotional category. Independently, the professional category was found to be most effective amongst team athlete tweets, while the athlete exchange category was deemed most effective amongst individual athlete tweets. The current study contributed to the understanding of self-promotional tactics utilized by two categories of athletes (i.e., individual and team) through the investigation of content of tweets and fan perception analysis. Key implications for the academic field and the sport marketing industry and recommendations for future research were discussed

The Development of Brand Association Measures in Multiple Product Categories: New Findings and Implications for Goods and Service Brands

Being able to determine the equity of a service or goods brand is of paramount importance to marketing practitioners and scholars alike. One way to determine the equity of a brand is through the measurement of brand associations. Few studies have constructed brand association measures in the context of either goods or service brands and most have been constructed to measure traditional goods brands. As Vargo and Lusch (2004) have indicated, the characteristics of a good differ greatly from those of a service. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a separate brand association measure for the services and goods contexts. This study employed a mixed methods approach to generating and empirically testing brand association measures in both contexts. Thought-listing procedures with a sample of consumers (n=72) were utilized to generate survey items for the service-based brand associations measure. To test the psychometric properties of the brand association measure, a sample of service consumers (n=459) was utilized. Factor analysis procedures via MPlus 3.1 were utilized to examine the dimensionality of the service-based as well as the goods-based brand association measures. The result of this study was the construction of brand association measures that can be utilized in the goods or services contexts. It represents one of the first attempts to construct and compare brand association measures in both the goods and services contexts. Goods and services marketers can utilize these measures to determine how their consumers view their brand and they can track the success of their positioning efforts

Lessons Learned from Conducting Volunteer-Based Urban Forest Inventories on the Gulf Coast

Volunteer-based urban forest inventories are a common activity among Extension professionals; however, project facilitators often end up duplicating mistakes experienced previously by others. This article shares lessons learned from conducting several volunteer-based urban forest inventories. The lessons revolve around the themes of volunteer recruitment, communication with the public, private property access, project scope and time line, volunteer management, and efforts to increase efficiency. Through awareness of these lessons, Extension professionals can implement and adapt our successful strategies yet not repeat our mistakes. In turn, readers will increase the likelihood of successfully developing baseline measures while engaging the public in urban forest management

Student-Athlete School Selection: A Family Systems Theory Approach

The primary focus of this study was to examine the role family members play in the college selection process for NCAA Division III student-athletes. The role of family members in the college selection process has been studied for nonathletes, NCAA Division I athletes, NCAA Division II athletes, and at a cross-divisional level for specific NCAA sports. In such research related to intercollegiate student-athletes, research has primarily been conducted quantitatively with the use of survey techniques. Little research exists specifically exploring the role of family members in the college selection process for NCAA Division III athletes. Based on the lack of research, the overarching Division III philosophy, the pure participation rates of NCAA Division III athletes (more than 180,000 current Division III athletes), and the ideal fit of Family Systems Theory to this selection process, this research study is fitting. In this project, sixty-nine student-athletes participated in semistructured interviews at eleven different NCAA Division III institutions. Five prompts directly related to potential family influence were asked. Data were analyzed using open coding based on a priori and emergent themes. Responses are collectively summarized and representative responses are presented verbatim. Results are also discussed through the framework of Family Systems Theory and related back to previous literature on the role of the family in the college selection process

Brief report: Cause of death among people discharged from infective endocarditis related hospitalization—West Virginia, 2016–2019

Background and Objectives Compare proportion of all-cause and cause-specific mortality among West Virginia Medicaid enrollees who were discharged from infective endocarditis (IE) hospitalization with and without opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnosis. Methods The proportions of cause-specific deaths among those who were discharged from IE-related hospitalizations were compared by OUD diagnosis. Results The top three underlying causes of death discharged from IE hospitalization were accidental drug poisoning, mental and behavioral disorders due to polysubstance use, and cardiovascular diseases. Of the total deaths occurring among patients discharged after IE-related hospitalization, the proportion has increased seven times from 2016 to 2019 among the OUD deaths while it doubled among the non-OUD deaths. Discussion and Conclusions Of the total deaths occurring among patients discharged after IE-related hospitalization, the increase is higher in those with OUD diagnosis. OUD is becoming a significantly negative impactor on the survival outcome among IE patients. It is of growing importance to deliver medication for OUD treatment and harm reduction efforts to IE patients in a timely manner, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic persists