Athlete Endorsers Research Articles

The effect of athlete endorsement on employees' organizational identification: a case study utilizing an Olympic athlete

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the effects of sponsorship on organizational identification among employees of companies that sponsor individual athletes from the perspective of internal marketing.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted in July 2021 targeting employees of Company A. Specifically, employees were invited to participate via email notifications sent through the company's intranet. To clarify the impact of company sponsorships for individual athletes on employee organizational identification, this study focused on the relationship between Company A and an athlete they support. Psychometric scales were used to measure the factors of the hypothetical model, such as sponsor fit and attitudes toward sponsorship. The analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS 28.0 and AMOS 25 Graphics, and the hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsWe collected a total of 365 survey responses in two weeks. All the hypotheses in this study were supported, indicating that athlete identification and brand knowledge had a significant positive effect on perceived sponsor fit. In addition, attitudes toward the employer significantly have positive relationships with brand commitment and organizational identification. This study showed that perceived sponsor fit plays an important role in employee perceptions of sponsorship. Athlete endorsement is effective from an internal marketing perspective.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this study is the selection of the research subject. Conducting the same survey targeting individual athletes with different characteristics may lead to discoveries about the impact of corporate sponsorship on employee organizational identification.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of this study is that business executives should also use sponsorship for individual athletes as a means to unify and motivate their employees. In selecting athletes for sponsorship, it is necessary to select individuals who fit the company image. In this process, listening to employees' opinions may help select the most suitable athlete who matches the company's image.Originality/valueMany studies conducted on sports sponsorship have focused on the impact on potential customers, from external marketing. Even in studies examining the effects of sports sponsorship on employees, the sponsored subjects are typically teams or events. Therefore, the originality of this study lies in examining the impact of athlete endorsement on the company's employees from the perspective of internal marketing.

Impact of Ethnicity Match on Athlete Endorsement

Although direct linkages between sponsor brands and sports viewers were widely investigated in the context of athlete endorsement, few studies examined the effect of parasocial identification (PSI) on how sports viewers would perceive brands endorsed by athletes of color. A two (Black vs Asian athletes) by two (Black vs Asian viewers) mixed factorial experiment was designed to examine the role of viewers’ PSI with athletes of color in interaction effects between viewers’ ethnicities and athletes’ ethnicities on their perceptions of athlete-endorsed brands. Results found that athletes’ ethnicities generated a main effect on viewers’ perceptions of athlete-endorsed brands. Although viewers’ ethnicities did not yield any significant impact, an interaction between viewers’ ethnicities and athletes’ ethnicities affected viewers’ perceptions of athlete-endorsed brands. Moreover, viewers’ PSI with athletes intervened this interaction effect on their perceptions of athlete-endorsed brands. The practical application of ethnic similarities was also discussed in response to athlete endorsement.

TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IN SPORTS

This article examines the rapidly evolving landscape of international business in sports. It explores the role of globalization, emphasizing sports' expansion into new markets and mega-events' global showcase. Technological advancements, including virtual reality, blockchain, and data analytics, are transforming fan engagement, performance analysis, and sponsorship. Changing consumer preferences for immersive experiences, sustainability, and social responsibility are reshaping business strategies. Additionally, the article discusses how political and geopolitical factors influence sponsorship, event hosting, and athlete endorsements. It aims to highlight the evolution of the most successful international business ventures, offering valuable insights for professionals and stakeholders navigating the dynamic global sports business ecosystem.

An examination of the role of gender in athlete endorsement effectiveness

<p>Many companies use athletes to endorse their products and services in advertisements. This is because the model used in advertisement can influence consumer behaviour. However, given the gendered nature of sports, it is unclear whether the gender of the model affects the effectiveness of the advertisements. 63 respondents were recruited to view an advertisement featuring either a male or female athlete. Independent t-tests showed that there was no significant difference in the perception of quality (t(61)=1.61, p>.10) and purchase intention (t(61)=1.27, p>.10) between the two groups. Further analysis showed that while the male athlete captured more attention and encourage consumers to take a closer look at the advertisement and the advertised brand, it did not lead to a more positive evaluation of the advertised product. The study concludes that the process from visual attention to behavioural intention can be complex and require further study. </p> <p> </p>

The role of famous athlete endorsement in Consumers' Attention to Sports Products: Alpha and Beta Brain Waves

Neuromarketing techniques have expanded significantly in recent years. Therefore, in the present research, the role of endorsement strategy on the consumers’ attention to sports products is investigated by examining alpha and beta brain waves. The research method was done experimentally. The statistical population consisted of 20 males and females in the age range of 25 to 35 years. Images according to the endorsement strategy used with Enobio, a 20-channel electroencephalography device to record waves and measure attention. Frontal (F3, F4, FZ), central (C3, C4, CZ), temporal (T7, T8), occipital (O1, O2) and parietal (PZ) brain regions examined. In order to extract waves from quantitative electroencephalography data, Matlab 2013 b software was used. Mann–Whitney U test used to analyze the data using SPSS 22 software. The results showed that there is a significant difference between alpha and beta waves between two groups, without endorsement and with endorsement images, so the endorsement strategy reduces the amount of alpha waves and increases the amount of beta waves in different areas of the brain. Endorsement can attract the attention of the consumer significantly. It can be employed as an effective method to attract the attention of consumers and promote them to purchase sports product.

The effects of pre-scandal associations of athlete endorsers and scandal types on consumer blame and eWOM

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine how pre-scandal associations and scandal types interactively influence consumer judgment and negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM).Design/methodology/approachDrawing from cognitive dissonance theory and associative memory network model, the online experiments (Amazon Mechanical Turk; Nexperiment 1 = 146 and Nexperiment 2 = 189) were conducted to examine the effects of positive pre-scandal associations (performance vs pro-social) and scandal types (performance-related vs -unrelated) on consumer blame and eWOM toward scandalized athletes. Data were analyzed by employing t-test (experiment 1), Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and PROCESS Model 8 (experiment 2) to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings highlight that positive pre-scandal association demonstrated both protecting and backfiring effects depending on the types of scandals. Specifically, when performance-related scandals emerged, consumers made more negative blame judgment of athletes with salient performance association, relative to pro-social association. Inversely, when performance-unrelated scandals occurred, athletes with salient pro-social association were more likely to be blamed. Regarding eWOM, consumers generate more negative eWOM when athletes with pre-performance associations are involved with performance-related scandals. This pattern of the result was not observed when athletes' pro-social association and performance-unrelated scandals were prominent.Originality/valueThe current work adds consumers' negative eWOM toward scandalized athletes to the literature as a predictor of how athletes' pre-scandal association with consumers and scandal types are related. The findings indicate that consumers feel greater dissonance and generate more negative eWOM when athletes' pre-scandal associations and scandal types are closely related.

Endorsement and promoting sport and physical activity to young people: exploring gender and the career status of athlete endorsers

ABSTRACT Rationale/Purpose We investigated the role of gender (both endorser and audience) and career status on young people’s attitude, participation intention and perception of fit in the context of a social marketing campaign promoting sport and physical activity participation. Design/Methodology/Approach In a 2 × 2 × 2 experiment, the eight conditions were based on endorser gender (female and male), endorser career status (current and former) and participant gender (female and male). Participants were aged between 16 and 24 years. Findings Endorser’s gender, career status and participants’ gender had no significant effect on attitude and intention related to the social marketing campaign. However, endorser gender significantly influenced participants’ perceptions of gender fit, and perceptions of career status fit. Either a current or former female athlete was perceived as a better fit than a male athlete endorser. Furthermore, the career status of an endorser significantly impacted perception of career status fit, but only for participants who were highly involved in sport and physical activity. Practical Implications Using former athletes is a more-than-viable strategy, and both male and female endorsers are equally likely to facilitate behaviour change in young adults. Research Contribution Social marketing campaigns promoting promote sport and physical activity can leverage the celebrity capital of retired athletes.

Potentially Misleading Weight Loss Advertisements Targeting Men: Examining Influence of Celebrity Athlete Endorsement on Ad Believability and Purchase Intentions

Given the prevalence of false or exaggerated claims in advertisements for weight loss products, as well as risks associated with use of unproven dietary supplements and exercise plans, they are subject to heightened scrutiny from regulators. However, celebrity athlete endorsers are increasingly featured in advertisements promoting weight loss products targeting men. This study employed a 2x2 (athlete endorser vs. non-celebrity; plausible vs. unrealistic advertising claim) experimental design, whereby participants (n= 292) were exposed to one of four ad conditions. Results suggest the athlete endorser was perceived as more credible than a non-celebrity, being rated as more expert. Significant differences were observed in ad believability, fit perceptions, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions. Findings suggest, the presence of a celebrity athlete endorser made weight loss advertisements more believable to consumers, even when ads contained obviously false claims. Given the health risks associated with certain weight loss behaviors and supplements, the impact of celebrity endorsers on consumer choices is important. Implications for potential consumers, regulators, and celebrity athlete endorsers are discussed.

Elite athletes more authentic?: Diet and exercise effects of athletes v. models in ads

ABSTRACT People automatically determine the authenticity of an advertisement, with more authentic ads resulting in more positive advertising evaluations and subsequent behaviors. Building on these past findings, this study sheds light on the exposure of women to images of elite female athletes and athletic-ideal models and subsequent attitudes and behavioral intentions. The study (N = 444) found that elite athletes are seen as more authentic and more influential on health outcomes. Our results suggest opportunities for sports, health, or athletics advertisers (or general advertisers) to capitalize on the potential of elite or professional athlete endorsers in an effort to increase positive health-related behaviors and suggest intent to use products advertised.

Impact of athlete performance and brand social value on product involvement: a mediation role of celebrity endorsement in social media

PurposeNowadays, star athletes are global brand personalities. The increased popularity of the professional sport has contributed to elevating exceptional athletes to international star status. This empirical study aims to assess the impact of athlete performance and brand social value on product involvement with the mediation effect of celebrity athlete endorsement.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative survey was conducted with 399 Chinese participants. PLS-SEM is adopted to examine the associated paths and the mediating effect of celebrity endorsement.FindingsThe results demonstrate the significant impact of athlete performance and brand social value on product involvement. Celebrity endorsement partially mediates the effects of athlete performance and brand social value on product involvement.Originality/valueThis study extends understanding of celebrity athlete endorsement and provides insight into the strategic implications for Chinese social media-based marketing initiatives in the context of the recent Olympic Game in Tokyo 2021.

Publicity about Athlete Endorsers Affects Responses to Ads via Motivational Activation

Abstract: This research addresses how positive and negative publicity about athlete endorsers influences motivational mechanisms (appetitive and aversive) underlying cognitive and affective processing and evaluation to ads. Participants viewed an ad for a soft drink brand that featured an athlete endorser while psychophysiological measures of cognition, emotion, and arousal were collected. Each ad was preceded by a news story that contained either positive or negative information about the athlete’s off-field behavior. Results indicate that cognition and arousal were enhanced in response to ads paired with negative news stories compared to ads paired with positive news stories. Findings suggest that aversive motivational activation elicited by the negative news stories transfers to processing and evaluation of the ads.

Putting the First Amendment in Play: Name, Image, and Likeness Policies and Athlete Freedom of Speech

Following a unanimous defeat at the Supreme Court in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) v. Alston and facing an impending start date for various state laws that would force action on athletes’ ability to profit off their name, image, and likeness (NIL), the NCAA recently made the decision to simply allow states and member colleges and universities to promulgate NIL restrictions on their own. But while such a delegation helps the NCAA stave off relevant antitrust action against them, placing regulatory authority over college athlete endorsement and sponsorship deals in the hands of government actors like state legislators, governors, and public educational institutions brings constitutional analysis into play in a way that has not previously been seen in sports due to the wholly private natures of sports leagues and the NCAA.
 Along these lines, this Article applies First Amendment jurisprudence to three recurring NIL restrictions imposed by states and schools: (1) restrictions on athlete deals that conflict with institutional endorsement deals; (2) restrictions on athlete deals with vice industries like gambling and alcohol; and (3) broad restrictions on deals that conflict with undefined “institutional values.” To do so, we apply several First Amendment doctrinal frameworks—those concerning commercial speech, student speech, public employee speech, and the overbreadth doctrine—to provide a range of different means by which courts may interpret how the rights of college athletes are affected by NIL policies. In the end, we find that the nature of these restrictions as overbroad prior restraints of free speech creates significant doubt as to the constitutionality of many of these restrictions under the First Amendment. We conclude that such restrictions in no uncertain form “present a ‘realistic danger’ [that these actors] could significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections,” including the advanced protections for political speech.

An extended source attractiveness model: the advertising effectiveness of distinct athlete endorser attractiveness types and its contextual variation

ABSTRACT Research question According to past research, the effectiveness of athlete endorsements of advertised products is low on average and strongly depends on the context. This article extends the source attractiveness model to examine two research questions: (1) How do multiple unexplored types of an athlete endorser’s attractiveness affect customer equity drivers? (2) How do these effects vary by the fit of an athlete endorser with the endorsed product and with the consumer’s gender and sports experience? Research methods This research uses hierarchical linear modeling of 1319 consumer evaluations of athlete-endorsed ads in Japan. Results and finding Among multiple types of an athlete’s attractiveness, an athlete’s success appeal, personality appeal, and athlete-product similarity, but not sex appeal, positively affect customer equity drivers. Due to gender roles, success appeal and personality appeal have stronger effects and athlete-product similarity has weaker effects for male athletes. Contrary to conventional wisdom, sex appeal is not more influential for female athletes. Reflecting sexual preferences in opposite-gender evaluations, a female athlete’s sex appeal has a stronger positive influence on male consumers, whereas a male athlete’s success appeal has a stronger positive influence on female consumers. A consumer’s sports experience enhances the influence of an athlete’s success appeal. Implications This research identifies a set of contextual moderators (athlete-product fit; athlete-consumer fit in gender and sports experience) of the effectiveness of different attractiveness types in athlete endorsements of advertised products. It provides guidelines on how to enhance the effectiveness of athlete endorsements by using different types of athlete attractiveness in different contexts.

The moderating role of consumers' ad perception in athlete endorsement effectiveness

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the structural relationships among the variables of social cause involvement, attitudes toward the endorser, attitudes toward advertising, attitudes toward the brand and social cause behavioral intentions. Additionally, by using the persuasion knowledge model (PKM) as the guiding framework, the moderating effects of ad perception on the proposed relationship were investigated.Design/methodology/approachBy using Amazon Mechanical Turk, a total of 291 usable surveys were retained for analysis. Following the participants' exposure to the Nike commercial, they completed a survey containing questions about advertising perception and their consequent responses to the advertisement. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model. Multigroup analysis was also performed to discover any moderating effects of consumers' advertising perception in endorsement effectiveness.FindingsThis study highlights the extensive impact of social cause involvement in the domain of celebrity endorsements, while attitudes toward the endorser are not a significant antecedent of celebrity endorsement effectiveness in the sport contexts. Additionally, this study demonstrates and confirms the presence of the moderating effects of advertisement perception on the proposed relationship. This supports the general premise of the PKM that consumers' attitudes and thoughts are influenced based on consumers' judgment of persuasion attempts.Originality/valueThe current study extends the line of research on the role of advertising perception in the domain of celebrity endorsement. In particular, this study found that the PKM is a theoretically sound model that can be used to predict sports fans' attitudinal and behavioral responses.

Social Media Engagement as a Metric for Ranking US Olympic Athletes as Brand Endorsers

Athletes often use social media to help build their personal brand, communicate with stakeholders, and promote endorsements. Research suggests that athletes who elicit greater engagement on social media are more valuable to endorse brands than those who simply have a large number of followers. From a regulatory perspective, it is important for athlete endorsers to disclose the commercial nature of sponsored posts. Therefore, based on social influence theory (SIT), the purpose of this study was to examine Olympic athletes’ follower engagement on social media with a focus on brand mentions and disclosures of the relationships. Utilizing a content analysis of 190 US Olympic athletes’ tweets during the 2018 PyeongChang Games, findings revealed statistically significant differences in follower engagement based on the athlete’s gender. Non-brand-related posts received statistically significant greater engagement than brand-related posts, and only 12.90% of the posts that mentioned a brand disclosed a brand relationship. Implications and future research also are discussed.

Athlete Misconduct and Team Sponsor Stock Prices: The Role of Incident Type and Media Coverage

Companies engaging celebrity athlete endorsers or sponsoring sports teams experience negative stock price impacts if athletes engage in inappropriate behavior. Most previous research assumed homogeneity in the impact of misconduct on stock prices. The authors investigated the possibility that different types of misconduct generate different impacts on stock prices. Results from a number of event study models using 863 incidents of off-field misconduct by National Football League players revealed substantial heterogeneity in the impact of these incidents. Crimes that harmed others and incidents receiving media attention generated larger negative returns.

Putting the First Amendment in Play: Name, Image, and Likeness Policies and Athlete Freedom of Speech

Following their unanimous defeat at the Supreme Court in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) v. Alston and facing an impending start date for various state laws that would force action on athletes’ ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL), the NCAA recently made the decision to simply allow states and member colleges and universities to promulgate NIL restrictions on their own. But while such a delegation helps the NCAA stave off relevant antitrust action against them, placing regulatory authority over college athlete endorsement and sponsorship deals in the hands of government actors like state legislators, governors, and public educational institutions brings constitutional analysis in play in a way that has not been seen in sports due to the wholly private natures of sports leagues and the NCAA. Along these lines, this Article applies First Amendment jurisprudence to three recurring NIL restrictions imposed by states and schools: restrictions on athlete deals that conflict with institutional endorsement deals, restrictions on athlete deals with vice industries like gambling and alcohol, and broad restrictions on deals that conflict with undefined “institutional values.” To do so, we apply several First Amendment doctrinal frameworks—those concerning commercial speech, student speech, public employee speech, and the overbreadth doctrine—to provide a range of different means by which courts may interpret how the rights of college athletes are affected by NIL policies. In the end, we find that the nature of these restrictions as overbroad prior restraints of free speech creates significant doubt as to the constitutionality of many of these restrictions under the First Amendment. We conclude that such restrictions in no uncertain form “present a ‘realistic danger’ [that these actors] could significantly compromise recognized First Amendment protections,” including the advanced protections for political speech.

Brand Novelty and Publicity About Athlete Endorsers Affect Psychological Processing of Ads

Using a hierarchy of effects theoretical framework, the present study investigates psychological responses to positive and negative publicity about athlete endorsers. Furthermore, this research addresses the role of brand novelty on these processes. Participants were exposed to an ad for a soft drink brand (either novel or well-established) that featured an athlete endorser. Each ad was paired with a news story that contained either positive or negative information about the athlete’s off-field behavior. Participants’ cognitive, affective, and conative responses were assessed. Results indicate more cognition, affect, and conation to ads associated with positive publicity about the athletes and for established brands. Unexpectedly, publicity and brand novelty interacted such that established brands were more susceptible to the effects of publicity than were novel brands. Results are discussed in regard to furthering theory and practical implications.

Effect of celebrity athlete endorsement on sporting goods consumers' brand passion and loyalty

Although findings of prior studies have provided insights into brand–consumer relationships, there is a scarcity of investigation into the effect of an athlete endorser's credibility on consumers' brand passion and brand loyalty. Thus, we investigated the effects of an athlete endorser's attractiveness and expertise on both brand passion and brand loyalty of sporting goods consumers. Participants in our study were 178 Korean golf product consumers. Results revealed that athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise were both significant determinants of brand passion among golf product consumers. Results also confirmed that brand passion positively affected brand loyalty. Lastly, brand passion had significant positive mediating roles between athlete endorser attractiveness and expertise and brand loyalty. The study has contributed to advancing previous research on brand–consumer relationships by examining the effects of endorser source attractiveness and expertise on brand passion and brand loyalty among sporting goods consumers.

Creative Advertising Executions Encourage the Processing Advantages of Product Familiarity

Despite ease of processing from greater prior knowledge and expertise, high-familiarity consumers often fail to process product-specific information more than low-familiarity consumers. This paradox of familiarity makes reaching consumers particularly difficult for new brands of familiar products. A creative execution corollary proposes that sufficiently engaging executions should motivate advertising engagement such that high-familiarity consumers’ experience and well-developed associative networks permit them to locate and retain relevant information better than low-familiarity consumers. Two experiments demonstrate that sufficient creative executions (i.e., humor and/or athlete endorsers) enhance attention, processing, and recall of brand-relevant information for a familiar versus unfamiliar product, but no difference when advertisements feature insufficient or no creative executions.