Facebook and Twitter in the context of customer-based brand equity : analyzing Liverpool FC's posts and comparing the perceptions of UK and Greek fan clubs

The growth and penetration of social media provide professional sport clubs with a powerful tool to communicate their brand to a worldwide fan base. This study aimed to provide an understanding of how Liverpool FC uses Facebook and Twitter in terms of communication tools and brand attributes and how its fan base engages to this usage in terms of key responding features of Facebook and Twitter. In addition, it aimed to analyze and compare UK and Greek fan clubs in terms of engagement, perceived brand benefits and effects in their consumption behavior. A mixed method case study design has been applied using content analysis, online questionnaires as well as focus group and one to one interviews. The research confirms the literature models of sports brand image in terms of identified product and non-product related brand attributes and brand benefits and enhances the literature on customer-based brand equity of sport clubs by taking a combined view of the usage of Facebook and Twitter by a professional football club as well as its fans in this context. From a practical standpoint, the study offers an evaluation of the clubs’ social media presence by its fans, providing valuable insights as far as the design of the most appropriate marketing strategy is concerned. In addition, the study confirms the existence of a positive relationship between social media usage and professional football club revenues either through the impact of brand attributes on sport consumer buying behavior or through increased sponsorship value

Branding in Pictures: Using Instagram as a Brand Management Tool in Professional Team Sport Organisations

Research question/purpose –Instagram has become an increasingly popular tool for sport organisations to share visual content. This study aims to examine how professional team sport organisations use Instagram for branding purposes and to explore the given meaning of Instagram followers’ reactions to the organisations’ Instagram activity. Research methods – The study was conducted in two phases. First, we analysed 2017 Instagram photos of two football teams from the English Premier League. Photos were categorised on product- and non-product-related brand attributes. Employing a quantitative content analysis technique, statistical analysis involved intra-case and inter-case relationships between brand attributes and Instagram’s key fan engagement features (Comment and Like). Second, we analysed 2100 Instagram comments from a qualitative perspective in order to gain further insight into the fans’ meanings associated with such posts. Results and findings – The findings offer significant insights to sport marketers in their efforts to increase fan engagement through social media. For both of the examined football teams, product-related attributes were used significantly more often than non-product-related attributes and encouraged greater engagement from online followers. Against these brand attributes, fans’ interaction through one of the Instagram’s key engagement features is expressed through ‘aspiring’-, ‘belonging’-, ‘criticising’- and ‘loving’-based comments. Implications – The study shows that Instagram facilitates co-branding, while giving fans a more active role in the branding process through comments. We recommend a culture change whereby teams become more market-focused and communications-driven by employing a greater understanding of the semiotics of images and fan comments through the use of social media

Linking sport team sponsorship to perceived switching cost and switching intentions

Research question/purpose – Although literature has focused on the impact of sponsorship on the customers’ purchase intentions, the impact of sport team sponsorship on switching intentions on service providers remains a largely overlooked research topic. The study addresses this gap by examining the effects of sport team sponsorship on the switching intentions of service customers, who at the same time are sport fans. Research methods – The study draws on a sponsorship agreement between a mobile telecommunication company (sponsor) and a European professional football team (sponsored team). Through a survey, 261 responses were collected and subsequently analysed using structural equation modeling techniques. Results and findings – The results suggest that enhancing the relationship of fans with the team and its sponsor – as well as increasing their level of involvement with the sport – can contribute to increasing the perceived switching cost of the fans regarding mobile telecommunications services. Similarly, strengthening the fans’ attitudes towards the sponsor can reduce their likelihood of switching to another telecommunications provider. Implications – As the first study to examine the effects of sport team sponsorship on the switching intentions of service customers who at the same time are sport fans, this paper adds to academic understanding of the impacts of sport (football) involvement, team-brand attitude, sponsor-brand attitude, and sponsorship fit on switching intentions and on perceived switching cost of the sponsor’s customers. In doing so, the study also investigates how team identification and sponsor affiliation moderate the influence of the aforementioned attributes

Stakeholder communication in 140 characters or less: a study of community sport foundations

Community sport foundations (CSFs), like other non-profit organizations, are increasingly employing social media such as Twitter to communicate their mission and activities to their diverse stakeholder groups. However, the way these CSFs utilize social media for communicating such practices remains unclear. Through a mixed-method approach of content analysis of tweets from 22 CSFs established by English professional football clubs and interviews with key individuals within these CSFs (n = 7), this study examines the extent to which CSFs’ core activities are being communicated through Twitter and identifies the strategies employed for doing so. Reflecting the target audiences CSFs are seeking to reach through Twitter and the challenges associated with communication about projects involving marginalized groups, tweets largely concern programs related to sports participation and education. The most frequently employed communication strategy is to inform, rather than interact or engage with stakeholders. However, CSFs with higher organizational capacity attempt to go beyond mere informing towards engaging with stakeholder groups that relate to their social agenda, highlighting the importance of trained and dedicated social media personnel in optimizing CSFs’ use of Twitter for communication

Social Media and Sponsorship in Sport

After reading the chapter, you will be able to do the following: Understand the implications of social media on sponsorship Discuss the sponsorship activation process in the social media environment Recognize the role of social media in ambush marketing Discuss the recent developments in celebrity endorsements Identify the different forms of influencers and their role in sponsorship and athlete endorsemen

“You’ll Never Tweet Alone”: Managing Sports Brands through Social Media

The emergence of social media has had a profound impact on the way companies communicate and connect with their customers. Indeed, brands across different industries have started utilizing social media as part of their marketing strategies. However, the way in which businesses using social media for branding purposes has been limited. This study aims to address the above-mentioned gap by drawing on the professional sports industry. Employing a case study approach, the study analyzes the use of Twitter by a professional football organization in order to examine brand attributes (both product-related and non-product-related) and their relation to Twitter’s key engagement features (Reply, Retweet, Favorite). The results extend the current knowledge base of social media brand management in the sports industry, while offering significant insights for practitioners as far as the interaction of online followers to the communicated brand attributes is concerned