Neuromarketing in Sports

Abstract

In recent years, an interdisciplinary field —Neuromarketing has emerged, helping to uncover the neural underpinnings of consumers׳ behaviors, encompassing decision-making, emotions, attention, and memory in response to marketing stimuli, such as brands and advertisements. Stepping into the 21st century, the global sports sponsorship market demand continues to escalate, positioning sport as a vital marketing tool and scenario. However, conventional marketing research methods, like surveys or focus groups face constraints in accessing participants׳ unconscious decision-making processes, leading to diminished clarity and accuracy in research outcomes. In the present day, a promising path has emerged, wherein scholars have applied neuromarketing methods in sports-related research, presenting a clear trajectory for future developments in sports research. This paper firstly gives an overview of neuromarketing and present its application in the domain of sports marketing. Focusing on neuromarketing techniques in sports, it explores these emerging technologies and considers how they can help in sport business research. Featuring the work of sport business and marketing researchers from around the world, this manuscript shines new light on key aspects of sport marketing such as brand development, consumer behavior and marketing communications, illustrated with informative figures throughout, it presents recent research on sports marketing covering topics including the sponsorship and advertising; sports apparel and equipment.