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Purpose – Sponsorship has undeniably become one of the fastest growing global marketing practices. Business corporations seek sponsorship opportunities to actualize their overall organizational objectives, marketing goals, and promotional strategies, particularly to enhance brand equity. This study aimed to examine the influence of consumers' involvement, emotions, and attitude toward Beijing Olympic Games on the branding effects of the event. Design/methodology/approach – Participants (N=556) were university students in China who had watched at least some coverage of Beijing Olympic Games. Two duplicate versions of a questionnaire were formulated and respondents were randomly selected to evaluate perceived branding effects of Beijing Olympic Games to be sponsored by two brands – Li-Ning and Nongfu Spring. Findings – An analysis of the structural model, relating brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand association/awareness to respondent's involvement, emotional responses, and attitude toward the event, revealed that the proposed model fit the data well (CFI=0.96, TLI=0.98, RMSEA=0.048, WRMR=0.93). The findings revealed that branding effects were positively associated with consumer's attitude toward the sponsored event, which was partially determined by consumer's involvement and emotions. Originality/value – This study examined the relationships among respondent's affective and cognitive involvement, negative and positive emotional responses, and attitude toward the Beijing Olympic Games on the perceived branding effects of event sponsorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to modify and extend the Sport Video Game Motivation Scale (SVGMS). Design/methodology/approach – The original scale included seven factors (Competition, Diversion, Enjoyment, Fantasy, Interest with Sport, Social Interaction, and Sport Knowledge Application) with a total of 20 items. Initial modification and revision were conducted through a review of literature, adoption of pertinent theories, and a test of content validity by a panel of experts and a sample of sport video game (SVG) players. The scale was modified with additional items and three additional motivation factors, resulting in ten factors with 34 items. The revised SVGMS was administered to gamers (n=232) who played two popular SVGs. Findings – In total, eight factors were determined in a confirmatory factor analysis (Competition, Diversion, Enjoyment, Fantasy, Social Interaction, Sport Interest, Sport Knowledge Application, and Team Identification). Originality/value – Overall, the modified SVGMS showed good validity and reliability, providing good measurement evidence for the scale to be adopted for future investigations of motivations associated with sport video gamers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – As a fixture in the mainstream media landscape, athletes, coaches, and sport celebrities are regularly used to promote products from sports equipment to high-end watches. With an intrinsic connection between athlete endorsers and sport-related products, it is the use of these endorsers to promote non-sport products that raises questions about their appropriateness as a marketing tool. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop an explanatory model that analyzes athlete endorser effectiveness in promoting non-sport products. Design/methodology/approach – An holistic approach was taken, examining the structural relationships of identification with an athlete and his/her sport to product-endorser congruency, perceived value, and purchase intentions, providing a preliminary overview of key socio-psychological factors that may influence the purchase intentions of endorsed products. Findings – This paper provides empirical insights about the effectiveness of athlete endorsers for non-sport products. The result was a 42-item, five factor model (i.e. Athlete Identification, Sport Identification, Match-Up, Perceived Value, and Purchase Intention) that fit the data adequately well. Research limitations/implications – This model provides academicians with a synthesized review, and application of the various factors that play a role in athlete endorser selection and viability. This model serves as a framework for future analysis. Practical implications – The paper includes a tactical approach that, when re-evaluated, can provide a model to adapt and adopt in the selection of product or brand endorsers. Originality/value – This paper fulfills an identified need to develop a model to test the oft adopted, yet highly risky, method of selecting an athlete to endorse products that do not have an intrinsic link to the sport in which he or she is employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few studies examining the marketing characteristics of intercollegiate women's volleyball spectators. The purpose of this paper is to examine intercollegiate women's volleyball spectators from the perspectives of sociodemographics, market demand and consumption. Spectators (N=265) from sevenintercollegiate women's volleyball games at three National Collegiate Athlete Association Division-I universities participated in the study. The findings indicate that there is a need to emphasise the market demand factors when marketing intercollegiate women's volleyball games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensions of athletic star power associated with Generation Y sports consumption. Multivariate analyses revealed that athletic star power factors (Professional Trustworthiness, Likeable Personality, Athletic Expertise, Social Attractiveness and Characteristic Style) were positively (p<.05) predictive of the sport consumption factors (Event Consumption and Merchandise Consumption). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the quality of special programmes and services for season ticket holders and their predictability to game consumption. Participants were season ticket holders of an NBA team, who responded to a questionnaire that included six demographic variables, eight consumption variables and 15 special programme and service variables in two versions: importance and perception. The findings further emphasise the importance of providing quality programmes and services to season ticket holders, and point out specific programme and service areas for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between general market demands and consumption levels of professional sport consumers. This study was accomplished through: (a) validating the theoretical constructs of general market demand variables by conducting a confirmatory factor analysis; (b) examining the predictability of general market demand factors to consumption levels of live and televised sporting events; and (c) investigating the relationships between sociodemographic and general market demand factors. Five hundred and twenty-five residents of a major southern US city were interviewed using a questionnaire that included eight sociodemographic variables, 12 market demand variables under three factors (Game Attractiveness, Economic Consideration, and Marketing Promotion), and 10 professional sporting event consumption variables. The factor structure of the general market demand variables was confirmed. Regression analyses revealed that market demand factors were positively (p < .05) predictive of professional sport consumption. Sociodemographic variables were significantly (p < .05) related to the market demand factors. The findings imply that professional sport teams should highlight the market demand variables and adopt differential marketing procedures for various sociodemographic segments in their marketing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between image congruence, tourist satisfaction and intention to revisit in marathon tourism. The results show that both affective image congruence (AIC) and cognitive image congruence (CIC) have a positive influence on tourist satisfaction and intention to revisit in the context of marathon tourism. The results also reveal that demographic and behavioural characteristics have a significant impact on revisiting intentions; and past experience of marathon tourism controls the relationship between image congruence and tourist satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]