Out with the old and in with the new: a study of new kit sponsorship and brand associations in the Barclays Premier League

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of brand associations and the formation of attitudes towards a new sponsor. Specifically, the paper evaluates the Under Armour brand and its anomalous position in the Barclay’s Premier League. Design/methodology/approach – The research design is longitudinal, qualitative and interpretivistic, utilising 26 online focus groups with 213 participants over a 24-month period encompassing the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 Premier League seasons. Findings – The results indicate that Under Armour’s lack of football (soccer) presence in the context of the Premier League offered significant differentiation, as it diminished “common ground” with other fans, offered the opportunity to create personal identities beyond the club and the consumption of kit apparel, and was seen as positive given the articulation that brands such as Nike and Adidas were “forced” onto fans. Additionally, for the first time in the sports sponsorship literature, the findings reveal fans engaging with brands in a utilitarian manner, expressing concerns relating to cost, durability, functionality and value for money. Research limitations/implications – This study is exploratory in nature and highly contextualised, and a larger-scale study of the phenomenon is desirable. This study extends the literature on fans’ perceptions of sponsoring brands and shows that a new sponsor, without prior league or club associations, can generate significant brand interest and elicit consumption behaviours beyond team apparel. Practical implications – The findings suggest that there are considerable opportunities for “outside” brands to garner a market share and instigate loyalty through sponsorship. Subsequently, kit manufacturers should consider strategies that encompass entry into new sporting areas. Originality/value – The study reveals that fans seek uniqueness and differentiation in a sponsoring brand, with brand image paramount in relation to the club and to both social and personal identity.

New challenges in brand management

“…Business partners, such as retailers and suppliers, are actively playing roles with the aim of contributing to the development of the brand identity and the decisions made in the brand team (Törmälä and Saraniemi, 2017). Linked entities, such as endorsers (Dwivedi et al, 2015), other brands (Davies et al, 2006;Delgado-Ballester and Hernández-Espallardo, 2008;Thomas, 2015) or products are sold under the same brand name, such as own labels (Marques dos Santos et al, 2016) and the country or origin (Lu and Xu, 2015;Yousaf and Li, 2015;Brodie and Benson-Rea, 2016). What the press and the media report about the brand and all the publicity produced by what is perceived as reliable sources are not unnoticed when consumers evaluate brands (Gendel-Guterman and Levy, 2017).…”

From social activism to active socialization: The evolution of football ideology in community‐owned football clubs

“…During the analysis, we considered that these extracts represent a palpable indication of how community clubs socialized young fans to move away from the traditional football development, that is, the affective bond with the team (Thomas, 2015, 2018) into a more progressive and ultimately advanced mode of fandom that is partially based on the affective bond with the team, but enhanced by the affective bond with others. The following extract, from P15FCUM10F, clarifies this proposed paradigmatic shift:

If we hadn't started coming here, I would never have got involved with Refugee Week […].

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Modelo de transferencia del valor y la experiencia para el turista deportivo.

“…Eje central: valor percibido y experiencia, transferencia del evento a la marca El modelo se basa en los Modelos de Transferencia (Gwinner, 1997). La asociación entre evento y marca conducen al visitante al evento a trasladar las percepciones del evento a la marca que lo patrocina (Meenaghan, 2001;Grohs y Reisinger, 2005;Küster, Vila, Aldás y Rodríguez, 2009;Gijsenberg, 2014;Mazodier y Quester, 2014;Carrillat, Solomon, y d'Astous, 2015;Cornwell, 2015;Thomas, 2015). En concreto, el modelo propuesto se aplica a la transferencia del valor percibido y a la transferencia de la experiencia.…”