Brand Personalities across the Big Four: Positioning Leagues for Differentiation

Abstract

The concept of brand personality (BP) has become a popular topic of study among academicians in the sport management field. The current study moves beyond the construct conceptualization and scale development of BP, and begins to investigate existing BP profiles for various professional sports (BPS). Specifically, this research examines the existing BPS dimensions across various Big Four professional leagues. The study utilized the BPS instrument (Braunstein & Ross, 2009) and MANOVA procedures to determine ratings of BP dimensions and any differences between sports. Results indicated that on the BPS factors that were measured (Success, Sophistication, Sincerity, Rugged, Community-Driven, Classic), sports differed on four of the six factors. For the factors that significantly differed by sport (Success, Sincerity, Rugged, and Classic), the majority of the highest mean scores associated with hockey and baseball. Conceptualizations and scale development of BPS will be discussed along with positioning and segmentation strategies for sport marketers. This paper begins to shift the focus from the concept of BPS to its application. As such, it fills an identified need to determine if there are differences in the “personalities” (i.e., characteristics) of leagues and, ultimately, how these elements can factor into sound and targeted marketing practices. 1 Braunstein-Minkove and Ross: Brand Personalities Published by Digital Commons @ Kent State University Libraries, 2013 Braunstein-­‐Minkove & Ross 112 A true test of effective communication is the consumer's clear and consistent understanding of the producer's (intended) message. According to Reis and Trout (1969), it is the marketer’s role to alter the product in the consumer’s mind rather than the product itself through the branding or “positioning” process. Evolving from the idea that marketing is most effective when the characteristics of the brand match those of the endorsers and/or consumers (e.g., Kamins, 1990; Lynch & Schuler, 1994), Aaker (1997) developed five dimensions of brand personality (BP; i.e., Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, Ruggedness) in order to strategically approach this process. Beyond Aaker’s original development, academics have studied BP to determine its use and effectiveness in various circumstances (e.g., de Chernatony, 2001; Keller, 2003). As such, sport marketers have begun to adapt and adopt the study of brand personalities (i.e., brand personality in sport or BPS; Braunstein & Ross, 2009), or character traits associated with a product (both developed and perceived), in order to effectively understand and, therefore, communicate the sport brand. As a result of the crowded nature of the sport marketplace, ensuring that this message is appropriately received, and understood in the way it is intended, is often vital to the success of a sport entity.