Executive summary of “Licensing a sports brand: effects of team brand cue, identification, and performance priming on multidimensional values and purchase intentions”

Executive summary of “Licensing a sports brand: effects of team brand cue, identification, and performance priming on multidimensional values and purchase intentions”

Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Product & Brand Management, Volume 24, Issue 3

This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the material present.

In recent years, brand licensing has expanded considerably around the globe. Firms recognize the huge scope that licensing offers to increase revenues and boost the image of a brand and its equity.

Licensing is prevalent in various domains. It enjoys a strong presence in sporting contexts covering logos, images and other trademarks of leagues, teams and individual players. In the USA, major professional leagues account for most of the sports licensing market.

A similar picture is evident within the hugely popular collegiate sports. Licensing is a major source of revenue for various universities and sporting organizations, to an extent that profits in excess of $10 million per annum are not uncommon. Revenues from licensing even exceed levels generated by some professional sports leagues and associations. Agreements in this arena typically involve college teams linking with Adidas, Nike and other licensees which are able to offer a range of utilitarian and symbolic products.

Various studies investigating consumer choice have focused on the influential role of consumer needs. Although different theories have emerged, the broad consensus appears to be that basic needs can be classified as follows:

• Functional: Regarded as the “primary driver” of choice pertaining to consumption.

• Symbolic: These needs reflect internal desires to enhance such as self-image, position or ego.

• Experiential: Yearning for “sensory pleasure, variety, and/or cognitive stimulation” is how these needs are defined.

Consumer choice behaviors are also explained through various types of consumer values. Central to this approach is the notion that several value dimensions influence the decisions consumers make. When purchasing licensed products in a sports team scenario, consumers are motivated by values typically associated with socializing or entertainment. In this context, it is proposed that motivation of fans can largely be attributed to three value dimensions:

1. Functional value: The level of which is determined by the utilitarian or physical performance of the product. When a consumer’s “task-related needs” are met, he or she will experience this form of value.

2. Emotional value: This category is subjective and reflects value in the shape of “experiential benefits”. Hedonic consumption is linked with multi-sensory aspects captured in feelings of enjoyment, fun, excitement, adventure and escapism among others. It has been argued that emotional value can be extracted from functional products, such as when the inclusion of a personally relevant logo inspires a sense of pride.

3.Social value: Products which are “highly visible” are most relevant to this dimension. Individual perception of utility is obtained if the product is linked with at least one particular social group. Value is also generated when a product helps enhance relationships or social identity, like when someone wears apparel bearing their favorite team’s colors.

Consumer evaluation of products bearing their team’s logo depends on how emotionally attached the individual is to the team. Another key aspect of brand licensing in a sporting context is rivalry. Analysts have pointed out the likelihood that supporters will be more favorable toward a product bearing their team’s logo than to the same product adorned with the logo of a rival team. Intensity of identification with their team will further influence the evaluation process.

Processing of product-related information is aided by the presence of heuristic cues which reduce the amount of cognitive effort that an individual has to expend. It is widely accepted that brand name functions as an important heuristic. A favored brand signals product quality and reliability and, thus, influences purchase decision-making. Brand logo is posited to have a comparable effect and its presence on merchandise can instigate belief that an item has greater value than a product without the logo.

Certain scholars believe that product category also serves as a heuristic and is positioned on a continuum bounded by utilitarian and symbolic features. Its relevance to product evaluation is founded on the premise that perceptions are influenced by the presence or absence of a team-brand cue and whether the product is functional or hedonic.

Kwak et al. point to “performance priming” as the third key heuristic in this context. This refers to the notion that perceptions of the licensed product will vary depending on team performance. Such tendencies are evident even though the functional capabilities of said products will be identical, regardless of on-field results.

Two studies were carried out to explore these issues further. The first involved 104 students from a large Midwestern US university being randomly assigned to one of two print advertisements for an 8GB USB flash drive. In the favorite team condition, the logo of their successful university football team was printed on the licensed product. A rival team’s logo was printed on the licensed product for the rival team condition. All other information was identical on both advertisements. Following exposure to the advertisement, participants answered questions about product values, team identification, purchase intention and demographics.

Analysis confirmed that:

• Subjects evaluated the product bearing their favorite team’s logo considerably more highly than the product incorporating the logo of a rival team.

• Compared to less identified fans, those highly identified with the team exhibited even greater positive bias toward the licensed product containing their own team’s logo and negative bias against the product bearing the rival team’s logo.

Students and alumni from a large Midwestern US university who indicated that they were highly involved with the university’s football team participated in the second study. The 285 subjects were then randomly assigned to a positive, negative or control article speculating about the team’s prospects for the upcoming season before providing their thoughts on the article. Following this, they were exposed to one of four print advertisements combining either a utilitarian product or symbolic product with the presence or absence or the team’s logo on the product. A pilot study had identified a USB flash drive as the functional product and a luxury watch as its symbolic counterpart. Questions about the three value dimensions and demographic items completed the experiment.

Findings revealed that a favorite team’s logo on a non-sports product considerably increases perceived value on all dimensions and purchase intention. Kwak et al. express surprise that subjects thus believed the logo’s presence would make the licensed product function better than the non-licensed alternative. The strength of emotional attachment is forwarded as an explanation for this unanticipated bias.

Where product category is concerned, the impact of team logo was greater for the flash drive. The authors purport that the lower impact on the watch illustrates that hedonic products are less influenced by performance priming due to possessing inherent “value-expressive propositions”. Results also indicated that consumer purchase intention toward the licensed products increased when reports were positive regarding team performance.

Marketers are reminded of the potential value of using team brand logos as a “simple heuristic”. A particular focus on emotional value is warranted, given that this dimension was most strongly affected by the logo’s inclusion. Kwak et al. suggest that the product becomes imbued with “hedonic feelings”. Another proposition is that results here might help sports teams involved in co-branding activities with their sponsors.

Additional examination of consumer choice regarding functional or symbolic products is recommended. Studies might also explore different levels of team identification and further consider team performance and its effects on, such as “fair-weather” supporters. Other value dimensions, product cues like price, and the significance of manufacturer brands provide more research possibilities.

To read the full article enter 10.1108/JPBM-05-2014-0579 into your search engine.

(A précis of the article “Licensing a sports brand: effects of team brand cue, identification, and performance priming on multidimensional values and purchase intentions”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)