PurposeThis study aims to examine how sport fans' intention to donate to college athletics differs by the type of communication and by the interactivity of communication when a college athletic department uses a social cause for marketing.Design/methodology/approachTo discover differences in donation intention, the study adopts a two (social media/newspaper) by two (interactive/non-interactive) factorial experiment in which the study's created scenario is randomly presented to subjects. Participating in the online survey are 184 collegiate sport fans at a university in the American Midwest. Collected data are analyzed on the analysis of variance.FindingsResults show that fans demonstrating the highest donation intention are those in the group of fan-interactive marketing on social media. Those showing the lowest are in the group of non-interactive marketing on newspaper. Between marketing interactivity and marketing platform, no interaction effect is found.Originality/valueThe study tests the effectiveness of marketing communication in the context of collegiate sports and identifies the impact of social media on college sport fans' donation intention. For collegiate athletic administrators designing a cause-related marketing campaign, this study provides practical information on how to use social media in delivering fan-oriented activities.
The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (Gateway Arch) is a National Park Service (NPS) monument in St. Louis, Missouri, that serves as a symbol of westward expansion and frontier life in America during the 19th century. Most of the nearly 2.5 million annual visitors are interested in learning about its history and significance. Although the Gateway Arch is an international tourism destination, few attempts have addressed the language requirements of foreign visitors. This study evaluated thematic-based interpretation at the Gateway Arch using a sample of Korean visitors. A total of 148 subjects were recruited from the Asian Affairs Center (AAC) at the University of Missouri (MU) and assigned to one of three conditions: control group (n=42), watching a DVD prior to the visit (n=62), or participating in an on-site, ranger-led tour (n=44). Individuals were asked to evaluate five interpretive themes developed by NPS staff (by condition) using a questionnaire that was translated into Korean and checked for accuracy. Results indicated that theme perception was relatively poor in the control group, but improved significantly ( p < 0.05) after watching a DVD and attending a NPS ranger-led tour. Managerial implications of this study focused on improving visitor experiences for international audiences, especially Koreans.
Mobile marketing has become a powerful tool to attract consumers. In terms of delivering customized messages to a specific segment, one of the most effective technologies is Quick Response code. QR code enables sport organizations to develop diverse marketing activities online. The purpose of this study is to reveal the behavioral patterns of sport consumers in scanning QR codes. Using Major League Baseball spectators in a Midwestern area, the study carries out a self-administered survey; a total of 175 samples were collected. To uncover sport consumers' behavioral patterns concerning scanning and to identify attributes that influence intentions to scan sport-related QR codes, the study employs hierarchical regression analysis. The hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that important attributes that affect sport consumers' intentions to scan sport-related QR codes were ease of use, sport fanship, content attractiveness, and attitude toward new technology. This study suggests that to attract sport consumers' intentions to use sport-related QR codes, mobile marketers should offer them simple and instant benefits with appropriate name, size, and location of QR codes.
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