Sports Marketing & Sponsorship - FIFA/CIES International University ...

ContentsAbstracts 196●●●●●●Editorial board 198● ●●●●●Editorial policy 263● ●●●●●The relationships between team attributes,team identification and sponsor imageYong-man KimSusan KimResearch among almost 1,000 fans ofprofessional soccer teams in Korea 215● ●●●●●CONTENTSEditorial“The transactional approachto sponsorship no longerhas relevance”Michel Desbordes, Editor 197InterviewOrlando Salvestrini, President of Marketing,Club Atletico Boca Juniors in ArgentinaNick Wilde●●●●●●“It is clear that we need to renegotiate the TV dealsigned by the Argentinian Football Associationin order to bring more money into the game” 199Research papersDrivers to divas: advertising imagesof women in motorsportSally R. Ross Lynn L. Ridinger Jacquelyn Cuneen● ● ● ● ●●Use of expertise and attractiveness to enhancedriver image and endorse products for theIndianapolis 500programme 204●●●●●●European football under close scrutinyChantal Rouvrais-CharronChristophe DurandMust a club’s actions now also demonstrateits ethical code? 230Can sponsorships be harmful for events?Investigating the transfer of associationsfrom sponsors to eventsJörg Henseler Bradley Wilson Dorien de Vreede●●●●●●The importance to event managers of trackingtransfers in order to maintain the desiredpositioning 244Case Study‘Give me a stadium and I will fill it’An analysis of the marketing managementof Stade Français Paris rugby clubGuillaume Bodet● ●●●●●Key factors for success in building brand equity –and pulling in the crowds252●●●●●●● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship 195

AbstractsABSTRACTSDrivers to divas: advertising imagesof women in motorsport 204●●●●●●Sally R. Ross Lynn L. Ridinger Jacquelyn CuneenAn analysis of the evolution of advertising’s portrayal ofwomen in motorsport. The construct of sourcecredibility is examined and used as a framework tobetter understand the limitations and opportunities offemale athlete endorsers in general and female racingcar drivers in particular. The advertising images ofpioneer drivers Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James andSarah Fisher are discussed and compared to that ofDanica Patrick, a media star in the Indy Racing League(IRL). Patrick has been successful in capitalising on herexpertise and attractiveness to enhance her image andendorse products. Attitudes towards using sex appealto sell products are presented and discussed.The relationships between team attributes,team identification and sponsor image 215Yong-man KimSusan Kim● ●●●●●This study tested the paths of a structural model thatwas conceptualised by hypothesising that teamattributes affect team identification, which in turnplays a mediating role in sponsor identification andimage transfer from event to sponsor. A questionnaireadapted items from relevant constructs in pastresearch and responses were collected from 991conveniently sampled fans of professional soccerteams in Korea. Data analysis using the SPSSWINstatistical program (v. 12.0) and the AMOS structuralmodelling program (v. 4.0) found that the data fittedthe conceptualised structural model.European football under close scrutiny 230Chantal Rouvrais-CharronChristophe Durand● ● ● ●●●Consumers are increasingly looking beyond products,and are expressing concern for the respect of societalvalues. This paper analyses how football organisationsand governing bodies in Europe are adapting theirmarketing strategies to reflect these concerns. ‘Ethicalcharters’ or ‘ethical codes of behaviour’ need to beredefined under close scrutiny from shareholders andstakeholders. Whether it is a deliberate decision or aforced change, football organisations must respond tosimultaneous commercial and political pressures.Can sponsorships be harmful for events?Investigating the transfer of associations fromsponsors to events 244Jörg Henseler Bradley Wilson Dorien de Vreede● ● ● ●●●This paper outlines how sponsorships can bebeneficial or harmful to events. Using an experimentaldesign and focusing on association transferssurrounding a snowboarding event, we illustrate thatthe sponsoring brand associations have a significanteffect on the associations of the event. Our resultsindicate that in this instance some associations aretransferred; others are not significant. Event managersmust track which of these association transfers areoccurring in order to understand and maintain theirdesired positioning.‘Give me a stadium and I will fill it’An analysis of the marketing managementof Stade Français Paris rugby club 252Guillaume Bodet●●●●●●This paper analyses the marketing strategy, marketingmix and brand development of SF Paris rugby unionclub, which succeeded in attracting huge crowds(around 75,000 spectators) for several regular seasongames and in building strong brand equity. Parallelswith American professional sports are drawn anddifferences from other European clubs highlighted.Finally, planning, consistency and in particularinnovation are identified as key factors for success inimplementation of the club’s marketing strategy.196 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

EditorialGlobal reach to reflect developments in sportThese are interesting times for the sports industry andits partners, as the economic downturn and thereducing availability of credit usher in a sea change inthe commercial confidence in sport. The importance ofsports marketing and sponsorship to the production andconsumption of sport cannot be overstated. Not sincethe start of the new millennium have these practicescome under such scrutiny for their value anddependability. However, this is where marketing andsponsorship can reinforce their value to sport’s myriadstakeholders. This should happen not just at theinternational and elite levels of sport but also in localcommunities, to prove that the transactional approachto sponsorship no longer has relevance and thatauthenticity and substance have become the hallmarksof the relationship approach that will hopefully dominatefuture practices.I am pleased to be taking over the stewardship of theJournal from Professor Simon Chadwick, who over thepast four years has continued the successfuldevelopment of this publication. Central to this has beenthe establishment of a double blind peer-review system,which has increased the Journal’s quality andreputation with each passing volume and seen itbecome one of the premier sports marketingpublications in an industry that is dynamic andinnovative.There are still challenges facing the Journal for itscontinued growth, and I am very happy to havePaul Kitchin alongside as a deputy editor to help me inthis work. His contribution has already been significantfor this issue and I am sure we will make a great team.Our first challenge is that despite being an‘international’ journal, our global evidence is stilldominated by work from Western Europe, Australasia,North America and the Far East. While this may wellcorrespond to the majority of sports management andmarketing programmes internationally, there is apressing need to increase submissions from Africa,South and South-East Asia and South America. Thestaging of the 2010 World Cup, the increasingpopularity of European football in Indonesia, Malaysiaand Thailand and, until recent developments, thepromising beginnings of the Indian Premier Leaguehighlight the development of sport in these regions. Ourpublication should begin to address the issues theyface. One of our aims, therefore, is to appoint regionaleditors to work with our European base to increase thequality and relevance of submissions.The second challenge is to enhance our contributionto sports marketing and sponsorship practice while alsoincreasing the Journal’s use as a resource for teaching.Becoming all things to all audiences is not ourintention, but by maintaining the quality of researchpublished we can provide the platform for thesecomplementary goals. We also aim to develop morecase studies to demonstrate good marketing andsponsorship practice to industry and to benefitacademics and students in the classroom. In 2009 weplan to host a conference in London to emphasise thevalue of such a platform for both practitioners andacademics, to build new bridges and encourage newresearch programmes.Professor Michel Desbordes, EditorEmail: michel.desbordes1@wanadoo.frPaul Kitchin, Deputy EditorEmail: p.kitchin@londonmet.ac.ukEDITORIAL● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship197

Editorial boardEditor Professor Michel DesbordesISC School of Management, Paris, France & University Paris Sud 11, FranceTel: +33 (0)1 69 15 61 57 Fax: +33 (0)1 69 15 62 37 Email: michel.desbordes1@wanadoo.frEDITORIAL BOARDDEPUTY EDITORPaul KitchinLondon Metropolitan Universityp.kitchin@londonmet.ac.ukCASE STUDY EDITORSProfessor Stephen GreyserHarvard Business School, USsgreyser@hbs.eduDr Frank PonsUniversité Laval, Canadafrank.pons@fsa.ulaval.caINTERVIEWS EDITORProfessor David SnyderState University of New York, USsnyderd@cortland.eduBOOKS EDITORDr John BeechCoventry University, UKj.beech@coventry.ac.ukEDITORIAL PANELDr John AmisMemphis University, USjohnamis@memphis.eduDr Carlos BarrosInstituto Superior de Economiae Gestao, Lisboncbarros@iseg.utl.ptDr Cheri BradishBrock University, Canadacbradish@brocku.caDr Sue BridgewaterWarwick Business School, UKsue.bridgewater@wbs.ac.ukProfessor Simon ChadwickCoventry University, UKsimon.chadwick@coventry.ac.ukDr Laurence ChalipUniversity of Texas, USlchalip@mail.utexas.eduProfessor Dae Ryun ChangYonsei University, South Koreadrchang@yonsei.ac.krProfessor Bettina CornwellUniversity of Queensland, Australiab.cornwell@business.uq.edu.auNigel CurrieChairman, European SponsorshipAssociation (ESA), UKncurrie@brand-rapport.comDr Geoff DicksonAuckland University of TechnologyNew Zealandgeoff.dickson@aut.ac.nzProfessor Harald DollesHeilbronn Business School, Germanydolles@hn-bs.deSvend ElkjaerSport Marketing Network, UKsvend@smnuk.comDr Francis FarrellyMonash University, Australiafrancis.farrelly@buseco.monash.edu.auNigel GeachSports Marketing Surveys, UKnigelg@sportsmarketingsurveys.comDr Paolo GuenziBocconi University, Italypaolo.guenzi@sdabocconi.itAdrian HitchenSponsorMetrix Ltd, UKadrian.hitchen@lineone.netMartin HornDDB Needham, USmartin.horn@ddb.comProfessor Hooi Den HuanNanyang Technological University, Singaporeadhhooi@ntu.edu.sgProfessor Frank GoErasmus University, Netherlandsfgo@rsm.nlDr Jorg HenselerNijmegen University, Netherlandsjoerg@henseler.comProfessor Thierry LardinoitESSEC, Francelardinoit@essec.frJamie MagrawSweat the Assets, UKjamiemagraw@hotmail.comDr Heath McDonaldDeakin University, Australiaheath.mcdonald@deakin.edu.auProfessor Tony MeenaghanUniversity College Dublin, Irelandtony.meenaghan@ucd.ieCharles NixonCambridge Marketing Colleges/Chartered Institute of Marketing, UKcharles@marketingcollege.comDr Francesc PujolUniversity of Navarra, Spainfpujol@unav.esDr Pascale QuesterUniversity of Adelaide, Australiapascale.quester@adelaide.edu.auMike ReynoldsSportsmatch, UKmike@sportsmatch.co.ukDr André RichelieuLaval University, Canadaandre.richelieu@mrk.ulaval.caProfessor James SantomierSacred Heart University, USsantomierj@sacredheart.eduDr Nicola Stokburger-SauerUniversity of Mannheim, Germanysauer@bwl.uni-mannheim.deProfessor Trevor SlackUniversity of Alberta, Canadatrevor.slack@ualberta.caProfessor Sten SödermanUniversity of Stockholm, Swedensod@fek.su.seDr David StotlarUniversity of Northern Colorado, USdavid.stotlar@unco.eduProfessor Alan TappUniversity of the West of England, UKalan.tapp@uwe.ac.ukDr Linda TrenberthBirkbeck College, University of London, UKl.trenberth@bbk.ac.ukDr Des ThwaitesUniversity of Leeds, UKdt@lubs.leeds.ac.ukIgnacio Urrutia de HoyosIESE Business School, Spainiurrutia@iese.eduProfessor Herbert WoratschekUniversity of Bayreuth, Germanyhj.woratschek@uni-bayreuth.de

Interview with Orlando SalvestriniPresident of Marketing, Club Atletico Boca Juniors in ArgentinaNick WildeSenior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Greenwichand visiting lecturer in Sports Marketing at Birkbeck University,University of Liverpool and ESEADE University in ArgentinaINTERVIEWNW: Orlando, when I have visited Argentinianmatches it is clear how different the occasion iscompared to football in other countries. For you,what makes Argentinian football so different from sayEuropean football?OS: There are several key reasons. One of them islinked to the economic history of Latin America. It isone of underdevelopment and economic crisis and thishas had a significant impact on Argentinian footballand its supporters. High unemployment and inflationare not the best climate for running this type ofbusiness.The fans also appear to be very different from thosethat I have seen at European games. When we talkabout ‘futbol’ it is giving people a channel into whichthey place their hopes and their passion. Footballtherefore becomes even more important not only forArgentinian fans but also for the government. I thinkthat a typical football fan at the stadium on a Sundayafternoon, psychologically feels safer.Football also appears to be more of an event for anArgentinian fan, an event which has two components.These are passion and show. In some cases the showis important in order to balance or even offset theintense passion of the spectator. The passion of oursupporters is such that there is always the danger thatit can boil over and become dangerous and theredoesn’t seem to be a logical explanation for this typeof behaviour. As a result of the economic crisis andthe value of our currency, clubs are almost obliged tosell their best players overseas in order to balancetheir books. In selling their best players, there is animpact on the show element of the game in Argentina.Invariably, most of the best players are sold toEuropean clubs, and during the World Cup nearly allof the Argentinian squad played for European teams.When you walk into an Argentinian game you areinstantly aware of the passion, the colourfulenvironment, which is very positive, and the negativeaspect of the game which is the dangerous, illogicalbehaviour of fans. Take my own team, Boca. On theone hand there is this intense passion which isbeautiful to see, but sometimes it is threatening. Ithink that if people haven’t experienced this then itcan be difficult to understand. You can confirm thiscan’t you?● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship199

Interview with Orlando SalvestriniINTERVIEWNW: Yes. I went to one of the Copa Libertadoresgames and the atmosphere was intense. It made thehairs stand up on the back of my neck and it seemedthat everybody in the ground wanted to contribute tothe spectacle, and I was in a seated area! Talkingspecifically about Boca Juniors, what do you thinkare its key brand attributes?OS: Let’s start with the role of the supporters, whichfor us is very important. We carried out some researchto compare the socio-economic background of ourfans with those of other clubs in Argentina. We founda high percentage of upper-middle class fans, a lowpercentage of middle class fans and then a highpercentage of working class fans. Other clubs had amuch higher percentage of middle class fans. It wouldappear that our working class and upper-middle classfans have no problem in showing their love of theBoca brand by wearing Boca colours. A Boca fan willalmost wear club colours in an exaggerated way inorder to show their passion. They paint their faces,wear wigs, wear yellow and blue clothing and carryscarves and Boca banners. The Boca brand thereforestands for loyalty, identification with the club andidentification with other fans who make up the Bocatribe. It also represents an escape from some of theeconomic and social problems that people face on adaily basis.NW: What would you say is Boca’s global appeal?OS: Boca is a global brand in its own right, and as aresult of winning the World Club Championship onthree occasions, it is one of the most important clubsin the history of football. Boca attracts fans from allover Latin America and many of its fans haveemigrated overseas in search of a new life. Boca’sgames are shown to audiences of 40 million people inChina and regularly shown on Japanese television.Perhaps our biggest overseas following is in Mexicoand the USA, principally in Los Angeles, Miami andNew York, where Boca has a presence throughtelevised games. The main problem for us is that wedo not have a global commercial presence, comparedto clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus, Barcelona,Manchester United, Milan and Chelsea. Footballpeople globally are aware of Boca’s heritage and theimportance of the classic derby which we play againstour great rivals River Plate. Gavin Hamilton wroteabout this game in the Observer in April 2004 andsaid that it was possibly the most passionate derby inthe world. We are also recognised by the fact that weare an Argentinian club and through the respect thatpeople have for our national side. We have a globalicon in the form of Diego Maradona, who not only is aglobal ambassador for us but also typifies the passionthat I talked about earlier. Diego Maradona and BocaJuniors are inextricably linked. We know also throughthe hits on our website that we have a significantglobal presence. It is this global appeal that we arelooking to further develop with an increased mediapresence.NW: How do the TV contracts negotiated in Europecompare to those signed in Argentina?OS: It is clear that we need to renegotiate the TV dealsigned by the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) inorder to bring more money into the game. BocaJuniors are on television nearly every weekend, andduring the week in cup competitions, but this isn’treflected in the money we receive as part of the deal.With more money we can keep some players, put onmore of a show and then look to compete in worldmarkets. The new TV deal signed in the PremierLeague is likely to mean that more Latin Americanplayers will be sold to British clubs, which will furtherweaken our squad. If you compare our TV revenueswith an equivalent club in the UK, like Arsenal orManchester United, who also play in the ChampionsLeague, they are insignificant.NW: Faced with the need to generate more revenue,where will your future income come from?200International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Interview with Orlando Salvestrini“We have enjoyed ten consecutiveyears of positive cashflow andincreased our net equity by 859% fromaround $4 million to $40 million.”their hometown clubs. In order to compensate for thelack of passion from their fans, they are very good atputting on a show. They are as much event managersas they are managers of sports clubs. The facilities areprobably the best in the world and we can learn agreat deal from their sports clubs and their innovationsin loyalty management schemes.OS: We expect to gain income from the sale ofinternational TV rights, some tours to overseas marketsto promote the club and through sales of clubmerchandise overseas. Every July and August we willembark on overseas trips in order to develop ourrelationship with overseas fans. Ticket sales inArgentina average only about $8 or £4, compared tothe £30–£40 for the Premier League. While we attractbig crowds, our total revenue from tickets is minusculecompared to all clubs in the Premier League and eventhe Championship. We are also continuing ourinternational expansion and have set up aninternational division to help increase our presenceand maximise revenue in overseas markets. While wedon’t want to have to sell players, we are confidentthat we will continue to develop excellent playersthrough our development centres. We are proud of ourability to spot and nurture young talent.NW: You spent some time living and working in theUnited States and I know that you admire the waythat professional sports leagues are run, but whatcan we learn from their sports business?OS: I think it is important to bear in mind thatprofessional sport in the USA also benefits fromlucrative TV deals. Nevertheless, there are other thingsto admire about sports marketing there. Theirphilosophy is clearly based on managing consumerrelationships as a way of generating loyalty. Theyseem able to attract new fans to their sports. Americanpeople appear to be more mobile in the pursuit oftheir careers and are attracted by the sports brandsthat have been created and seem to be less loyal toNW: Can you tell us more about the changes at BocaJuniors over the past ten years? I understand thatyou have enjoyed considerable success.OS: Yes, we are very proud of our achievements overthe last ten years. We have enjoyed ten consecutiveyears of positive cashflow and increased our net equityby 859% from around $4 million to $40 million. Ourmarketing revenues have increased by 286% from $2million to $8 million, with a 47% increase in newmembers from 40,000 to 58,000 and an increase inseason ticket holders of 111%, from 7,000 to15,000. We set out a clear plan to turn round theclub and we are pleased with the results so far, butthere is still a long way to go. You also have to bear inmind that our clubs are owned by members, so it isn’tcurrently possible for private investors to buy our clubsand inject capital.NW: I know that you have invested a considerableamount of time in developing merchandising at theclub, but are you able to share the results with us?OS: Certainly. As I said earlier the Boca brand has ahuge following and we have set in placemerchandising strategies to enable more people to buyBoca merchandise. Our research tells us that of all thefootball merchandise sold by Argentinian clubs, wesell an incredible 75% or around $70 million. Wehave around 115 licensees, an increase of 56% inthree years and a range of 935 products. We have adedicated merchandise truck that travels aroundArgentina selling merchandise to Boca fans, a fleet oflicensed taxis, a themed club bar, retail outlets andeven our own cemetery! Our museum has alsoINTERVIEW● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship 201

Interview with Orlando SalvestriniINTERVIEWreceived 800,000 visitors in about 5 years. We alsohave a co-branding agreement with Warner Bros soeven Bugs Bunny is a Boca supporter and wears aBoca Juniors shirt. As I said earlier, we are planningto further develop our merchandising.NW: There has clearly been a significant increase inyour revenue, but how are you faring in your battleagainst piracy?OS: It is sometimes difficult for people to understandthe scale of the problem that we face in Argentina. Itis possible that for every official product sold there is acounterfeit good sold. We saw this as a problemwhich we had to tackle. We launched an advertisingcampaign in which we pointed out to fans thatcounterfeit goods cost the club lost revenue, andasked them to make us aware of any counterfeitingoperations. We appealed to their love of the club andgave them a dedicated number for them to reportpirated goods. We knew that it was better to educateour fans about counterfeiting rather than simply tellthem not to buy it. We also pointed out that profitsmade from merchandise are used to buy new players.Our fans have become our ‘brand guardians’, or putanother way, we have 17 million spotters in Argentina.We have had some success but the battle continues. Itappears to be a much bigger problem than clubsencounter in Europe and the rest of the world.NW: How important is sponsorship to Boca Juniors?OS: It is very important, just as it is for all sportingorganisations. Sponsors want to work with attractivefootball brands and are interested in the mediaexposure they receive. We are entering a new phase insponsorship. It is noticeable how many clubs in theUK now call their sponsorship managers ‘relationshipmanagers’, which reflects these changingrelationships. We have had success with sponsors butwithout a greater media presence it is harder toleverage the size of our sponsorship deals. As we“We have had success with sponsorsbut without a greater media presence itis harder to leverage the size of oursponsorship deals.”increase our global presence, we are sure that we willbe able to increase sponsorship revenues. Our biggestpartner is Nike, and while we attract big shirtsponsors our income from these deals is much lowerthan those secured in more developed economies. Weare aware of what we could achieve. So watch thisspace.NW: What do you think the future holds for footballclubs around the world?OS: I think that the biggest challenge is to maximiseTV revenue, while at the same time selling every ticketin the stadium. There are very few clubs who seemable to do that at present, and certainly ManchesterUnited is one of those teams. I think that increased TVexposure will lead to a fall in attendances at games aswe have witnessed in Spain, Italy and Germany and toa certain extent in the United Kingdom.The new stadia of the future will probably holdaround 40 to 50,000 people. There might come atime when people are admitted for very low entrancefees to make the game more of a spectacle for theglobal TV viewer. I know that some Premier leaguesides already offer heavily discounted tickets for someof their less attractive league games and I expect thistrend to continue. We can’t rule out the possibility ofan international club competition similar to theEuropean Champions League and the CopaLibertadores in South America, but again this is likelyto be driven by TV companies. I am amazed at thenumber of live games that are shown on TV everyweekend just in the UK. I wonder if this will have animpact on live attendances.202International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Interview with Orlando SalvestriniNW: Given that TV revenues are the biggest sourcesof income for many European football clubs, do youthink that so many televised games will have animpact on stadium attendances? After all we haveseen attendances fall in Italy, Germany and Spain.OS: I think that the future of football is in television.Somebody once told me that in the future, sports willbe played in television studios, and the stadia will onlyhold a few thousand people. I personally don’t believethat this scenario will help the game, but it will besimilar to the NBA, where most people watch on TV. Ithink that attendances will eventually start to fall.NW: From your visits to the UK, what are yourimpressions of the English Premier League?and everything seems to be very well organised. Ithink also that the TV contracts are very wellnegotiated and give your clubs a big advantage in theglobal football market.NW: You talked about the ownership of Argentinianclubs. Do you think that there will come a time whenthe structure of the clubs changes to allow privateownership and private investment?OS: Our clubs are set up as not-for-profit and manypeople work on a volunteer basis, only contributing afew hours a week. This means that it is very difficultto take decisions, other than through a vote. It wouldbe good to be able to restructure the organisation ofthe club, but this is unlikely to happen.INTERVIEWOS: I have enjoyed the games that I have watched inEngland at Manchester United and at Tottenham. Itwas interesting to see a brand new stadium at Arsenaland compare it to an older stadium like the one atTottenham. I have also visited a number of groundsNW: Well Orlando, thanks for taking the time to talkto me and enjoy the rest of your stay in England, andgood luck with your future projects at Boca Juniors.© 2009 International Marketing Reports● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship 203

Drivers to divas: advertising imagesof women in motorsportRESEARCH PAPERKeywordsmotorsportwomensource credibilityadvertising imagesSally R. RossAssistant ProfessorSport Management, Recreation, and Tourism DivisionSchool of Human Movement, Sport & Leisure StudiesBowling Green State University, Ohio, USAEmail: salross@bgsu.eduLynn L. RidingerOld Dominion University, Virginia, USAJacquelyn CuneenBowling Green State University, Ohio, USAPeer reviewedAbstractThis study presents an analysis of the evolution ofadvertising’s portrayal of women in motorsport. Theconstruct of source credibility is examined and used asa framework to better understand the limitations andopportunities of female athlete endorsers in general andfemale racing car drivers in particular. The advertisingimages of pioneer drivers Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. Jamesand Sarah Fisher are discussed and compared to thatof Danica Patrick, a media star in the Indy RacingLeague (IRL). Patrick has been successful incapitalising on her expertise and attractiveness toenhance her image and endorse products. Attitudestowards using sex appeal to sell products are presentedand discussed.Executive summaryThis study extends the work of Cuneen et al (2007)by applying the framework of source credibility(Ohanian, 1990) to investigate advertising images ofwomen in motorsport. The researchers examinedissues of the official Indianapolis 500 programme thatfeatured advertisements with female drivers. The totalnumber of advertisements in the Indy programmesthat depicted women in motorsports was 18.Content analysis was used to evaluate eachadvertisement for its emphasis on two components ofsource credibility: expertise and attractiveness.Findings revealed that the endorsement portrayals ofpioneer women auto racers Janet Guthrie andLyn St. James focused on their expertise. A shift in the204 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Drivers to divasimage portrayal of female drivers was first seen withSarah Fisher in 2003 and became quite evident in2006 with Danica Patrick. While most of theadvertisements in the official Indy programme thatfeatured contemporary female drivers still containedaspects of expertise, there was the added dimensionof attractiveness used to promote products. Adiscussion of views about using sex appeal to sellproducts is presented, and it is argued that sourcecredibility is most effective when expertise is combinedwith attractiveness. Female athletes who are able tocapitalise on both of these factors may experience themost success in garnering endorsement opportunities.Further research is recommended to empirically testthe influence and interaction of these two componentsof source credibility.IntroductionAdvertising is an important art form with significantfinancial implications for many businesses. Millions ofdollars, thousands of hours and a profusion ofcreativity are used in developing each print andelectronic advertisement we see and hear becausedesigners want to make their work meaningful toviewers on a personal level. Those in the advertisingindustry know that consumers respond best when theycan identify with themes and/or characters in ads, andthey realise that using celebrities to promote productsis an effective means by which to influence consumersto identify with certain brands (Irwin et al, 2002;Petty et al, 1983; Ohanian, 1990).The fame and popularity of athletes makes themappealing choices as celebrity endorsers (Boyd &Shank, 2004). The use of athletes as productendorsers has principally been a strategy to reach themale market. Sutton and Watlington (1994) explainthat men, more than women, respond to the “heroworship” associated with celebrity endorsements.Women in sport have traditionally endorsed productstargeted at females, and the athletes themselves haveprimarily been those who participate in activities‘appropriate’ for females such as figure skating, tennisand golf (Cuneen, 2001; Cuneen & Claussen, 1999;Cuneen & Sidwell, 1998; Cuneen & Spencer, 2003).Not only were these traditionally feminine, genderappropriatewomen athletes matched with productsassociated with female consumer markets, but femaleathletes were usually portrayed in posed, rehearsedpositions wearing feminine ‘street’ clothes and not intheir game gear or in an athletic pose (Lumpkin,2007; Media Education Foundation, 2002;Spencer, 2003).Social ideals of masculinity and femininity havelimited female athletes’ endorsement opportunities andearning potential (Cuneen, 2001; Cuneen & Claussen,1999). Thus one would assume that women whosesporting interests challenge society’s definition ofgender appropriateness, such as those in the maledominatedsport of auto racing, would lacksponsorship.Interestingly, an examination of advertising imagesof pioneer women racers indicates that a variety ofcorporate sponsors have enlisted women drivers topromote their products. Furthermore, in contrast toother female athletes, these women were recognisedas drivers first, and the product advertisementsfocused on their talent or expertise rather than on theirfemininity. The treatment of early women racers insponsorships and endorsements appeared to be moreequitable in the male-dominated stronghold of Indycar racing than in other sporting realms. Some of theadvertising portrayals of more contemporary femaledrivers, however, have increasingly included moreemphasis on their femininity and attractiveness.Cuneen et al (2007) conducted a content analysisof advertisements depicting female drivers thatappeared in the official Indianapolis 500 programmesfrom 1977 to 2006. The advertisements wereanalysed for pose, connotation, role portrayal andcamera angle. Results from the study were reported asdescriptive statistics, with no attempt to explain theirmeaning based on a theoretical framework.The purpose of this study is to broaden and extendthe work of Cuneen et al (2007) by examining theRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship205

Drivers to divasRESEARCH PAPERsame advertisements of women in motorsport andapplying the concept of source credibility (Ohanian,1990) to gain a better understanding of the portrayalof female athletes as celebrity endorsers. In this paper,we will show how the advertising image of femaledrivers has changed over time. Furthermore, we willargue that in today’s media culture, attractivenesscoupled with expertise can result in successfulendorsement relationships.The endorsement game: how does onebecome a credible spokesperson?Advertisements are designed to touch consumers’emotions and tune into their identities by depictingcharacters in stereotypical settings that induceconsumers to buy a product (Kilbourne, 1999;Shields, 2001; Smithsonian World, 1991). Sportscelebrities are popular as ad characters (i.e. productendorsers) because fans identify with their favouriteathletes and will readily identify with products praisedby their favourite players (Irwin et al, 2002). Researchhas linked celebrity endorsers with positive consumerbrand attitudes towards products (Petty et al, 1983),intention to purchase (Ohanian, 1991), and positiveexpected future profits for a company (Agrawal &Kamakura, 1995).Millions of corporate dollars are paid to athleteendorsers and billions more are spent on promotingthe association between the athlete and the company(Boyd & Shank, 2004). Yet most of theseendorsement opportunities are for male athletes. Intheir analysis of sports and non-sports broadcasts,Turner et al (1995) found that only 3% of athleticfigures employed in television commercials werefemale. Nevertheless, endorsement opportunities forfemale athletes may grow as sports consumers andsponsors look for more positive athletic role models. Itis widely believed in the marketing and advertisingindustries that there is a significant link between thepersuasiveness of a message and the character of thespokesperson (Ohanian, 1990).The concept of source credibility provides a usefulframework for examining the use and portrayal offemale athletes as product endorsers. Sourcecredibility is a term used to imply a communicator’spositive characteristics that affect the receiver’sacceptance of a message (Ohanian, 1990). Afterfinding inconsistencies in the literature and a lack ofpsychometric assessment of scales regarding theimpact of communicator credibility, Ohanian (1990)developed a valid and reliable scale to measure sourcecredibility.This 15-item semantic differential scale comprisesthree distinct dimensions: expertise, trustworthinessand attractiveness. Expertise is based oncharacteristics such as experience, knowledge,qualifications, skill and expertise. Trustworthiness isoperationalised as a composite of being perceived asdependable, honest, reliable, sincere and trustworthy.The attractiveness dimension consists of items toassess whether the source is considered classy,handsome/beautiful, elegant, sexy and attractive.These three dimensions of credibility can makeindependent contributions to the effectiveness of thesource as well as combine to influence the overallimpact of the message (Ohanian, 1991).Boyd and Shank (2004) explored how the gender ofthe athlete endorser and the type of product they areendorsing relates to perceptions of credibility. Theyused Ohanian’s (1990) Source Credibility Scale toanalyse respondents’ perceptions of magazineadvertisements with female and male athleteendorsers, and found that athlete endorsers are mosteffective when the target market is male, the athlete ismale and the product is sports-related. Their resultsalso suggest that when the gender of the target marketis the same as that of the endorser, credibility isenhanced due to greater trustworthiness.206 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Drivers to divasAttractiveness and expertise: the newwinning combination?Till and Busler (1998) examined how physicalattractiveness of a male athlete affected attitudestowards an endorsed brand. When a profile created fora fictitious male athlete endorser was matched with anattractive image, undergraduate business students at anumber of universities had more positive brandattitudes and stronger purchase intentions than whenthis profile was matched with an unattractive image.However, Till and Busler (1998) also found that theperception of expertise regarding a male athlete wasmore important than good looks alone. If a competentmale athlete was endorsing a product related in someway to athletic performance, consumers envisioned anenhanced endorsement fit.Research has found that attractive and traditionallyfeminine women athletes gain more media coverageand endorsement opportunities than those who areseen as less attractive and less feminine, regardless oftheir level of skill (Spencer & McClung, 2001).However, for women athletes, attractiveness alone hasnot been found to be especially influential inproducing endorser-endorsement fit.Fink et al (2004) examined how characteristics of aspokesperson influence attitudes towards an athleticevent and intentions to purchase a ticket to that event.These researchers tested the hypothesis that athleteattractiveness would be positively related to perceivedfit as an endorser of an athletic event. They sought todetermine if athlete attractiveness or expertise wasmore important in determining fit. In creating afictional softball player, the researchers controlled forattractiveness and expertise to investigate how likelyrespondents were to attend an NCAA softball event.Similar to the findings of Till and Busler (1998), theydetermined that highlighting expertise was moreconvincing in influencing purchase intent thanfocusing on attractiveness.Garu et al (2007) addressed the frequency thatfemale athletes appeared as product endorsers inmagazine ads, and whether the portrayals emphasisedathletic ability (i.e. expertise) or beauty and sex appeal(i.e. attractiveness). In content analyses of six types ofmagazines, Garu et al (2007) assigned advertisementsinto categories of suggestive, partially nude or demure.The researchers analysed advertisements in magazineswhich included sports publications, generalmagazines, men’s magazines, women’s magazines,women’s fitness magazines and women’s teenmagazines. Out of 169 advertisements that featuredathletes, 91.7% of these ads contained male athleteswhile only 21 ads (12.4%) contained female athletes.Out of the 21 ads featuring female athletes, 15 wereclassified as suggestive and 2 were classified aspartially nude. Overall, 81% of the advertisementswith women athletes focused on their attractiveness.Only four (19%) were classified as demure.Incidentally, male athletes were demure in 61% of theadvertisements in which they were portrayed. Clearly,male athletes had more opportunity to serve asproduct endorsers, and their portrayals inadvertisements were based on athletic competency farmore often that were the portrayals of women athletes.MethodFor the present study, the construct of sourcecredibility is applied to the findings of Cuneen et al(2007) to better understand the focus of advertisers intheir portrayal of female racing car drivers. Specifically,two factors of source credibility – expertise andattractiveness – were assessed. The third componentof Ohanian’s (1990) Source Credibility Scale,trustworthiness, was not examined in this particularstudy because the chosen methodology of contentanalysis is not a means to measure consumerconfidence in the source.Content analysis is a qualitative research design thatis used to describe observations and search for coremeanings (patterns and themes) that emerge from adocument (Patton, 2002). Content analysis has beenused in several studies on sports-related advertising(Cuneen, 2001; Cuneen & Claussen, 1999; Cuneen &RESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship207

Drivers to divasRESEARCH PAPERSidwell, 1998; Cuneen & Spencer, 2003) and wasthe method chosen by Cuneen et al (2007) to assessadvertisements that depicted female drivers in theofficial Indianapolis (Indy) 500 programme. Theresearchers examined souvenir programmes from1977 to 2006 and found that female drivers appearedin only six issues of the official programme over that29-year period. There were three advertisements withJanet Guthrie, three with Lyn St. James, two withSarah Fisher and 10 with Danica Patrick. The units ofanalysis included pose, connotation, role portrayal andcamera angle.For this study, the same advertisements examined inCuneen et al (2007) were assessed for sourcecredibility in terms of expertise and attractiveness.Expertise was determined by a combination of factors:an active pose, a strong connotation or undertone ofthe ad photo (suggesting competence), a role portrayalwith an athletic component, and whether the productbeing endorsed was racing-related. Attractivenessbased on traditional femininity was also determined byseveral factors including a passive pose, a weakconnotation and a role portrayal consisting of a nonsportstraditional gender role and/or sexualsuggestiveness.Resulting application of source credibilityThe three advertisements in the official Indy programmethat featured Janet Guthrie, two in 1979 and one in1980, all indicated expertise by containing an athleticcomponent in the role portrayal and promoting racingrelatedproducts (Indy Hall of Fame and Texaco Oil).One of the advertisements also included an active poseand strong connotation suggesting a strong emphasis onexpertise. The other two Guthrie advertisements werepassive poses and neutral connotations which suggestsome interest in attractiveness, but overall, the Guthrieadvertisements were more focused on expertise as thesource of credibility.Lyn St. James, who was an endorser in two Indyprogramme advertisements in 1993 and one in 1996,was portrayed as athletic in all three advertisements.Two of the advertisements had non-sports companiessponsoring racing-related products (Bank One Rookieof-the-YearAward and the JC Penney & Nike RacingTeam) while the other advertisement was for LifetimeTV. Two of the advertisements included active posesand strong connotations of competence. Theadvertisers who featured St. James were primarilyfocused on gaining credibility via expertise.In 2003 Sarah Fisher was a spokesperson in twoadvertisements in the official Indy programme, one forTag Heuer Watches and the other for RaybestosBrakes. Both advertisements depicted Fisher in apassive pose with a neutral connotation wearing herracing gear, but in one of the advertisements, therewas some sexual suggestiveness through an alluringfacial expression and body position. Thus there wasless emphasis on expertise and more on attractivenessin comparison to advertisements featuring earlierracers, Guthrie and St. James.The 10 advertisements featuring Danica Patrick inthe 2006 Indy programme included a mix ofadvertisers, half of them endorsing racing-relatedproducts. She was in an active pose in only oneadvertisement, but displayed a strong connotation ofcompetence in four of the advertisements and aneutral connotation in all of the others. She waswearing her racing gear in eight of the advertisements.She was wearing a formal length dress and stilettoheels in an advertisement for Secret deodorant andjeans and a tank top in a promotion for Peakantifreeze. An advertisement for Tissot Watchesincluded three head-and-shoulder shots of Patrick, onein her racing suit and the other two in a tank top.Sexual suggestiveness was evident in four of theadvertisements featuring Patrick. Some advertisersemphasised Patrick’s expertise while others zeroed inon her attractiveness or highlighted both expertise andattractiveness as sources of credibility.208 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Drivers to divasDiscussionPioneer female drivers at IndyDanica Patrick has been credited with boosting themarketing and sponsorship of women drivers (Sabo,2005). However, other women blazed a trail for her inmotorsport, including Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. Jamesand Sarah Fisher. While Guthrie, St. James and Fisherlagged behind male drivers in levels of endorsementsand sponsorships, the women’s portrayals in theirsponsors’ advertisements, like the men’s, most oftenfocused on their trade and competency rather thantheir gender.Texaco Oil sponsored the first female Indy RacingLeague (IRL) driver, aerospace engineer Janet Guthrie.Texaco’s advertisements portrayed Guthrie as anathlete, dressed in racing gear, often in or near her car(Cuneen et al, 2007). Guthrie’s portrayals wereanalogous to those of her male counterparts, whowere featured in correspondingly designed ads.Guthrie’s late 1970s racing career ended due to a lackof multi-sponsorship prospects (Guthrie, 2005).In the 1980s, when Lyn St. James entered the Indycar circuit, she received sponsorship from JC Penney,Nike, Ford Motor Company, Secret antiperspirant,Yellow Freight, New Essentials, Jantzen and LifetimeTelevision (Cuneen et al, 2007). St. James, likeGuthrie, was portrayed as a driver in her ads, in wayssimilar to the portrayals of male drivers for this era.She was athletic, in control and wearing racing gear inor near her car. Even an artistic rendering of St. Jamesthat was featured in the 1992 Bank One Rookie-ofthe-Yearad was designed in the identical fashion andscheme as previous and subsequent ads featuringmale drivers such as Robby McGehee, HelioCastroneves and Kosuke Matsuura. Clearly, St. Jameswas portrayed in ways that emphasised her expertiseas a racer. St. James was very aware of her brandimage and made a conscious effort to guide hersponsors so that they did not step over the line in theirportrayal of her. According to St. James (personalcommunication, 11 September 2007), her sponsors,aware of her sensitivities, never asked her to pose in aprovocative manner in ads. She said, “I alwaysbelieved that it was better for a tasteful image to speakfor the fact that I was a woman, rather than having tosay ‘woman/female race car driver’.” When asked tocomment on her opinion of the ways in whichadvertisements portray current women racing cardrivers, St. James provided an insightful answer: “I’mvery ‘brand’ and ‘image’ conscious and myrecommendation to anyone is to know who you are –that you are a brand – and to be authentic with howyou allow anyone to promote you. Also, know thatwhatever choices you make come with consequences.“Women race car drivers are at a severedisadvantage in being taken seriously, so everythingthey do impacts their ability to garner support. It’s avery delicate balance when there is more interest andexposure from being a female in the sport, soeverything you do is under scrutiny by the media, thefans, the sponsors, the competitors, everyone.”(Personal communication, 11 September 2007).Sarah Fisher, who first raced at Indy in 1999, alsohad racing- and non-racing related endorsements.Fisher appeared in ads for Honda, Firestone, theAmerican Automobile Association, AAMCOtransmissions, Raybestos, pitstopshop.com and otherproducts. However, equitable portrayal of the gendersbegan to take a turn in 2005 with Fisher’s sexuallysuggestive Tag Heuer advertisement. While many ofher previous advertising portrayals had been strongand athletic, similar to those of Guthrie and St. James,her Tag Heuer watch advertisement appeared to bethe change agent ushering in a new era for portrayalof women drivers (Cuneen et al, 2007). Tag Heuerfeatured Fisher sitting in front of her car, dressed inher racing gear, legs bent, helmet in her lap, with analluring facial expression. Her internet site(sarahfisher.com, 2006) featured Fisher in a similarpose, with her feet spread wide apart, helmetpositioned between them. Fisher’s Tag Heuer adportrayal, nevertheless, was docile considering whatwas to come.RESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship209

Drivers to divasRESEARCH PAPERDanica and the changing imageof female driversGuthrie, St. James and the majority of Fisher’sprogramme advertising depictions prior to 2003featured the drivers as strong and athletic, controllingtheir own movements, with their photographs shotfrom straight, even planes (Cuneen et al, 2007) withonly Fisher’s Tag Heuer advertisement venturing closeto being sexually suggestive. However, a new era infemale drivers’ advertising portrayals arrived withDanica Patrick in the early 2000s. In 25 years ofofficial Indy programmes, between 1979 (Guthrie’srookie race) and 2003, only eight advertisementsfeatured women drivers: Guthrie (N = 3), St. James,(N = 3) and Fisher (N = 2). After Patrick’s 2005rookie performance, where she took the speedway,racing world and media by storm, the 2006 Indyprogramme contained 10 ads featuring a female driver– all were of Patrick. She endorsed products thatwould be expected of a racer, such as Firestone tyres,Run-Rite car care maintenance products and Peakantifreeze, as well as non-racing products such asTissot watches and Secret antiperspirant. However,while Guthrie, St. James and most of Fisher’s raceandnon-race related ad portrayals featured them as‘drivers first’ without objectifying them as females,Patrick’s portrayals in 40% of the 2006 Indyprogramme ads featured her in sexually suggestiveportrayals (Cuneen et al, 2007).Currently, Danica Patrick and her marketing teamcontinue to present her in campaigns that focus on atraditionally feminine appearance, but with a twist.Not only is Patrick’s attractiveness highlighted, hercompetence in the masculine environment of the IndyRacing League is also emphasised. In a recentadvertisement for Motorola, with whom she has athree-year, $21 million sponsorship agreement (Miller,2006), Patrick is standing, facing the camera, avertical line splitting her into two distinct images. Herright side is clad in a shiny blue and black racing suit,a helmet covering half her face, with the ‘MOTO’ ofthe Motorola logo visible. The left side of Patrick’shead shows her with her hair styled away from herface, wearing makeup, with a seductive gaze on herface. In this half of the image, Patrick is clad in anevening gown. The material is silver satin, and thecut, while not revealing, is significantly lower than thecut on the racing suit. Patrick’s arms are hanging ather sides in both halves of the image. The racing suitarm and hand is gloved, while her other hand has anextremely large diamond ring. On the half of the adfocusing on Patrick’s feminine appearance, rather thanwearing a large earring with her elegant gown, asmight be expected, her earring is small and she issporting a Bluetooth on her ear, one of Motorola’ssignature products. Patrick is clearly portraying twodistinct images; one, a competent athlete in her sport,and the other, a traditional feminine image (with aBluetooth device on her ear).At present, Patrick seems comfortable withportraying images that emphasise her femininity andgood looks as well as relishing in the opportunity toemphasise her skill as an Indy driver. It was in a 19March 2003 article in USA Today that Patrick spoke ofthe images she felt were necessary for her to constructto promote herself and her sport. She defendedprovocative publicity photos and a spread in FHM (ForHim Magazine). Addressing her image based on sexappeal, Patrick shared: “Eventually I hope to lose it,but I’m going to use it to my full advantage, just likeanybody else would who has a niche… At the end ofthe day, when I take the helmet off, I’m still a girl”(Fogarty, 2003, p.13c).In an attempt to move Patrick away from these earlyimages she developed, Players Group, one of hermarketing consultants, designed its promotionalstrategy to focus on her as a driver and successfulperformer. Their plan was to avoid deals emphasisingPatrick’s femininity in favour of deals highlighting herathleticism. Ratto (2005) contended that Patrickneeded wins on the track in order for the strategy topay off and keep her from falling into the trapassociated with Anna Kournikova, the now-retired210 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Drivers to divasRussian tennis player, known more for her sex appealthan her on-court success. Kournikova's name issynonymous with unfulfilled potential, yet Patrick isnot insulted to be placed in her company.She wasn’t all that bad, Patrick says good-naturedly.“She was pretty darned good at tennis and obviously apretty girl. That’s where people seem to think if you’rereally popular and famous, you’re supposed to bedoing certain things. Other people set the rules onhow successful you’re supposed to be and it’s not thateasy. As a result, some people are under-publicised forhow good they are and some people are overpublicised,but we can’t control that as athletes. I dofeel badly for [Kournikova]. It’s sad that her [sexappeal] overshadowed her career. But she still wasvery successful financially. And why shouldn’t shehave [capitalised on that]?” (Isaacson, 2007, p.1)Interstate Bakeries Corporation realised thecommercial potential of an association with DanicaPatrick and their Hostess brand of packaged snacks,and Patrick welcomed Hostess as a sponsor (Reyes,2005). Hostess was eager to make the most of thephenomenon of females in motorsport by launching acomprehensive campaign introducing the ‘HostessDivas’. The Divas comprised IRL driver Patrick,National Hot Rod Association driver Melanie Troxel,and Leilani Munter, who raced NASCAR until herAugust 2007 IRL debut.The Divas were featured on Hostess brand snackboxes, point-of-purchase displays and in a number ofother formats. Hostess believed the Divas were eachexcellent ambassadors for their sports and couldinspire a diverse fan base, giving the company aleverage opportunity to connect their brand with theDivas’ prominence and the enthusiasm that surroundsmotorsport (Reyes, 2005). There is an effort in theHostess campaign to show athletic expertise byportraying the Divas in their racing uniforms onpackages of Hostess goods. The women also depict atraditionally feminine/attractive image, with styled,wind-blown hair, make up and jewellery.Conclusion: driving in reverse?An examination of women in motorsport over time(1979-2006) shows that pioneer racers such as JanetGuthrie and Lyn St. James were portrayed as expertdrivers with little or no emphasis on traditionalfemininity. In the current age of celebrity, theattractiveness of drivers such as Sarah Fisher andDanica Patrick has become more of a focal point oftheir endorsements. By moving from endorsementportrayals that focus on the expertise of women driversto those that place a much greater emphasis onphysical attractiveness, are women in motorsportdriving in reverse in terms of advertising images forfemale athletes? Is Patrick harming the reputation offemale athletes or has she found a combination ofcredibility factors that can work together to enhanceher image as well as positively promote the corporatebrands she is endorsing?Many of the advertising images of contemporarywomen racing car drivers contain a dual-role portrayalthat connects attractiveness with some element ofathleticism and a strong connotation of competence.Strong and competent women athletes are becomingincreasingly accepted by society (Castelnuovo &Guthrie, 1998; Dworkin, 2001; Kane, 1995), butperhaps more so than strong and competent maleathletes, they are also judged by their attractiveness.Researchers examining the portrayal of femaleathletes by the media have expressed concerns thatwomen are often objectified when they are depicted inpassive, non-sporting and gender-stereotypical ways(Blinde et al, 1991; Jones et al, 1999; Lynn et al,2002; Lumpkin, 2007; Lumpkin & Williams, 1991).The current stance of the Women’s Sports Foundationregarding the ‘sex sells’ attitude towards women’ssports acknowledges “a remarkable insensitivity to theharmful effects of sexist stereotyping. The advertisingor sports media should not perpetuate harmful,limiting images towards any group of individuals.Saying ‘This is what the audience wants’ and ‘This iswhat sells’ would not be tolerated if the imagesperpetuated racist or anti-Semitic stereotypes. TheRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship211

Drivers to divasRESEARCH PAPERposition should not be tolerated if the imagesperpetuate the stereotype of women as sex objects”(Women’s Sports Foundation, 2007).Roth and Basow (2004) adamantly opposed thepresentation of athletic women’s bodies as sexy,judging that one way to limit and de-emphasisewomen’s physical power and capabilities is toassociate female athleticism with female sex appeal.The Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Womenin Sport has piloted a research project examining the‘sex sells’ approach to marketing. This research,partially funded by the Women’s Sports Foundation,recognises a gap in the understanding of howrepresentations of women athletes in the media areinterpreted by consumers. In examining intent to viewor attend a women’s sporting event, Kane andMaxwell (cited in Blount, 2007) stated that their initialfindings from surveys of men aged 18-34 did notsupport that promoting sexy images of women athletesattracts men to games. In fact, Kane and Maxwellbelieve this approach may be counterproductive andmay also alienate women as consumers. Theirresearch suggests that selling out women to sexiststereotypes does nothing to advance the cause ofwomen’s sport.Nevertheless, attractiveness is an importantdimension of source credibility, and research hasshown that physically attractive communicators aremore successful in altering beliefs than those who areunattractive (Chaiken, 1979; Ohanian, 1991), andattractive endorsers have positive effects on brandattitude and purchase intent (Till & Busler, 2000). Theconstruct of physical attractiveness is not unidimensionaland can be operationalised in a variety ofways. Attractiveness is often described in terms ofphysical appearance, but it can also be interpreted assimilarity of the source to the receiver of the message,familiarity or whether the source is liked or admired(Boyd & Shank, 2004). Attractiveness alone, however,may not be enough to convince consumers. Expertisehas been found to be a significant component ofcredibility (Boyd & Shank, 2004; Ohanian, 1991).Attractiveness and expertise, as two sources of sourcecredibility, can work independently or together toenhance the effectiveness of the source. Thus anattractive spokesperson with knowledge about aproduct is likely to be a successful endorser.Highlighting attractiveness without diminishing awoman athlete’s expertise may not constituteexploitation. In fact, an expert woman athlete whotakes advantage of her attractiveness may be thoughtof as a savvy businesswoman capitalising on her ownendorsement potential while increasing efficacy for hersponsors. Danica Patrick aptly summed up theprevailing attitude that a woman athlete’sattractiveness and expertise are both importantaspects that influence endorsement success: “You usewhat you have… I’m a girl, I can promote products,and I’ll use that to my advantage. But in the end itboils down to speed” (Inkrott et al, 2002, p. 38).Directions for future researchThis paper has focused on two factors of sourcecredibility – expertise and attractiveness – to examineadvertising images of female athletes. It explored theevolution of how women in motorsport have beenportrayed in product advertisements. Surprisingly, theendorsement portrayal of the pioneer women autoracers who broke into the male bastion of motorsportwas more equitable than for female athletes in othersports realms. Early endorsement opportunities formost female athletes highlighted femininity rather thanathletic competence. Women racing car drivers, on theother hand, were treated as athletes, and advertisingimages most often focused on their trade andcompetency rather than their gender.A new era in female drivers’ advertising portrayalsarrived with Danica Patrick. She has unapologeticallyused sex appeal to promote herself and the productbrands that she endorses. Nevertheless, she and hermarketing team realise that attractiveness alone is notenough to maximise her effectiveness as a productspokesperson; expertise is the most persuasive212International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Drivers to divascomponent of source credibility (Boyd & Shank, 2004;Fink et al, 2004; Ohanian, 1991; Till & Busler, 1998)and is needed to garner respect as an athlete andconvince consumers to buy endorsed products.Is Danica Patrick on the right track? Do the factorsof attractiveness and expertise work synergistically toenhance the image of the spokesperson and theproducts being endorsed? Or does the use of sexappeal in advertising reduce the impact of themessage by objectifying the endorser? How doesgender affect this equation? Do consumers responddifferently to advertisements featuring female athletesversus male athletes? Does the type of sport make adifference? Future empirical research is needed toinvestigate these and other questions related toadvertising images of athlete product endorsers. Abetter understanding of the interaction and influenceof source credibility factors will enable sportsmarketers, corporate sponsors and athletes to developmore successful endorsement relationships.© 2009 International Marketing ReportsBiographiesSally R. Ross is an assistant professor of sportmanagement at Bowling Green State University.Her research interests include sport and gender,and experiences and opportunities of girls and womenin sport.Lynn L. Ridinger is an associate professor of sportmanagement at Old Dominion University. Her researchinterests include sports consumer behaviour andinvolvement with women’s sports.Jacquelyn Cuneen is a professor of sport managementat Bowling Green State University. Her researchinterests include sports and event promotion andsports management professional preparation.ReferencesAgrawal, J. & Kamakura, W.A. (1995) The economic worth ofcelebrity endorser: an event study analysis, Journal of Marketing59(3), 56-63.Blinde, E.M., Greendorfer, S.L. & Shanker, R. J. (1991) Differentialmedia coverage of men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball:Reflection of gender ideology, Journal of Sport and Social Issues15(2), 98-114.Blount, R. (2007, April 16) ‘Selling sex and sports isn’t working’,Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. Retrieved September 25, 2007from: http://www.startribune.com/10073/story/ 1125048.htmlBoyd, T.C. & Shank, M.D. (2004) Athletes as product endorsers:the effect of gender and product relatedness, Sport MarketingQuarterly 13(2), 82-93.Castelnuovo, S. & Guthrie, S. (1998) Feminism and the femalebody: liberating the Amazon within. Boulder: Lynne RiennerPublishers.Chaiken, S. (1979) Communicator physical attractiveness andpersuasion, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 37(2),1387-1397.Cuneen, J. (2001) Advertising sports-products to girls and womenin a new era: a farewell to genderised visuals connotingstereotypical messages? International Journal of Sport Management2(2), 101-107.Cuneen, J. & Claussen, C.L. (1999) Gender portrayals in sportsproductpoint-of purchase advertising, Women in Sport andPhysical Activity Journal 8(2), 73-102.Cuneen, J. & Sidwell, M.J. (1998) Gender portrayals in SportsIllustrated for Kids advertisements: a content analysis of prominentand supporting models, Journal of Sport Management 12(1), 39-50.Cuneen, J. & Spencer, N.E. (2003) Gender representations relatedto sport celebrity portrayals in the milk moustache advertisingcampaign, Sport Marketing Quarterly 12(2), 140-150.Cuneen, J., Spencer, N.E., Ross, S.R. & Apostolopoulou, A. (2007)Advertising portrayals of Indy’s female drivers: a perspective on thesuccession from Guthrie to Patrick, Sport Marketing Quarterly16(3), 147-160.Dworkin, S. (2001) Holding back: negotiating a glass ceiling onwomen's muscular strength, Sociological Perspectives 44, 333- 350.Fink, J., Cunningham, G. & Kensicki, L.J. (2004) Utilising athletesas endorsers to sell women's sport: attractiveness versus expertise,Journal of Sport Management 18 (4), 350-367.Fogarty, M. (2003, March 19) ‘Photogenic Patrick one of the guyson track’, USA Today, 13c.RESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship213

Drivers to divasRESEARCH PAPERGaru, S.L., Roselli, G. & Taylor, C.R. (2007) Where’s TamikaCatchings? A content analysis of female athlete endorsers inmagazine advertisements, Journal of Current Issues andResearch in Advertising 29 (1), 55-66.Guthrie, J. (2005) A life at full throttle. Toronto, ON:SPORTClassic Books.Inkrott, J., Kennedy, K. & Deitsch, R. (2002) Hot wheels, SportsIllustrated, 97(9), 38.Irwin, R.L., Sutton, W.A. & McCarthy, L.M. (2002) Sportpromotion and sales management. Champaign, IL: HumanKinetics.Isaacson, M. (2007, September 9) ‘The Kournikova of the IRL?Danica isn’t taking offence’, The Virginian-Pilot, Sunday Sports,1, 16.Jones, R., Murrell, A.J. & Jackson, J. (1999) Pretty versuspowerful in the sports pages, Journal of Sport & Social Issues23 (2), 183-192.Lumpkin, A. (2007) A descriptive analysis of race/ethnicity andsex of individuals appearing on the covers of Sports Illustrated inthe 1990s, Physical Educator 64(1), 29-37.Lumpkin, A. & Williams, L.D. (1991) An analysis of SportsIllustrated featured articles 1954-1987, Sociology of SportJournal 8, 16-32.Lynn, S., Walsdorf, K., Hardin, M. & Hardin, B. (2002) Sellinggirls short: advertising and gender images in Sports Illustrated forKids, Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal 11(2), 77-101.Kane, M.J. (1995) Resistance/transformation of the oppositionalbinary: exposing sport as a continuum, Journal of Sport andSocial Issues 19(1), 191-218.Kilbourne, J. (1999) Deadly persuasion: why women and girlsmust fight the addictive power of advertising. New York: Simon& Schuster Free Press.Media Education Foundation (2002) Playing unfair: The mediaimage of the female athlete [DVD]. Northampton, MA.Miller, R. (2006, August 8) ‘AGR snags Danica with $21 millionMotorola deal’, SPEEDtv.com. Retrieved September 4, 2006from: http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/ indycar/30630/Ohanian, R. (1990) Construction and validation of a scale tomeasure celebrity endorser’s perceived expertise, trustworthinessand attractiveness, Journal of Advertising 19(3), 39-52.Ohanian, R. (1991) The impact of celebrity spokespersons’perceived image on consumers’ intention to purchase, Journal ofAdvertising Research 31(1), 46-53.Patton, M.Q. (2002) Qualitative research & evaluation methods.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Petty, R.E., Cacioppo, J.T. & Schumann, D. (1983) Central andperipheral routes to advertising effectiveness: the moderating roleof involvement, Journal of Consumer Research 10(2), 135-146.Ratto, R. (2005, June 10) ‘All Danica, all the time’, ESPN.com.Retrieved June 10, 2005 from:http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?series=irl&id=2082322Reyes, S. (2005) ‘Hostess debuts race Divas to promote line ofcakes’. Retrieved June 26, 2007 from:http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001526535Roth, A.R. & Basow, S.A. (2004) Femininity, sports, andfeminism: developing a theory of physical liberation, Journal ofSport and Social Issues 28(3), 245-265.Sabo, D. (2005) ‘Time to drive: attitudes toward women inmotorsports’. Indianapolis, Indiana: Lyn St. James Foundation.Retrieved April 16, 2007 from:http://lynstjames.com/TimetoDrive_AttitudestowardsWomeninMotorsports.pdfSarah Fisher.Com. (2006) Sarah Fisher: the official website.Retrieved March 20, 2005 from:http://www.sarahfisher.com/sponsors/sponsors.htmlShields, V.R. (2001) Measuring up: how advertising affects selfimage.Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.Smithsonian World (1991) Selling the dream [videotape].Washington, DC: Smithsonian Books and Recordings.Spencer, N.E. (2003) America’s sweetheart and “Czech-Mate”: adiscursive analysis of the Evert-Navratilova rivalry, Journal ofSport and Social Issues 27(1), 18-37.Spencer, N.E. & McClung, L. (2001) Women and sport in the1900s: reflections on “embracing stars, ignoring players”,Journal of Sport Management 15(4), 318-349.Sutton, W.A. & Watlington, R. (1994) Communicating withwomen in the 1990s: the role of sport marketing, SportMarketing Quarterly 3, 9-14.Till, B.D. & Busler, M. (1998) Matching products withendorsers: attractiveness versus expertise, Journal of ConsumerMarketing 15(6), 576-584.Till, B.D. & Busler, M. (2000) The match-up hypothesis: physicalattraction, expertise and the role of fit on brand attitude, purchaseintent and brand beliefs, Journal of Advertising 29(3), 1-13.Turner, E.T., Bounds, J., Hauser, D., Motsinger, S., Ozmore, D. &Smith, J. (1995) Television consumer advertising and the sportsfigure, Sport Marketing Quarterly 4(1), 27-33.Women’s Sports Foundation. Retrieved August 1, 2007 from:http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/cgibin/iowa/issues/media/article.html?record=965214 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

The relationships between team attributes,team identification and sponsor imageKeywordsteam identificationteam attributessponsor awarenesssponsor imageimage transferAbstractYong-man KimProfessor, Department of Sport and Leisure StudiesDankook UniversitySusan KimProfessor, Department of Sport and Leisure StudiesKorea National Sport UniversityEmail: syk420@hanmail.netPeer reviewedThis study tested the paths of a structural model thatwas conceptualised by hypothesising that teamattributes affect team identification, which in turnplays a mediating role in sponsor identification andimage transfer from event to sponsor. A questionnaireadapted items from relevant constructs in pastresearch and responses were collected from 991conveniently sampled fans of professional soccerteams in Korea. Data analysis using the SPSSWINstatistical program (v. 12.0) and the AMOS structuralmodelling program (v. 4.0) found that the data fittedthe conceptualised structural model.RESEARCH PAPERExecutive summaryOrganisational identification is a manifestation of asocial identity, and by recognising that a professionalsports team is a type of organisation and that fans areits members, team identification can be seen as aform of organisational identification.Drawing partly on past research, many factors areeither proposed or empirically shown to affect teamidentification. Among these are attributes such asteam attractiveness, team similarity and teamfamiliarity. However, regardless of the factors thataffect it, team identification is recognised as a form ofevent involvement, and a high level of involvementwith a sponsored activity heightens sponsorawareness. This is so because highly involved fanscontinue to watch sports events, and sponsorawareness improves over time. Also, highly involvedfans are best able to comprehend meanings associatedwith sports events, and are therefore most capable oftransferring these values to the sponsor throughassociation. Gwinner (1997) proposed a model in● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship215

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageRESEARCH PAPERwhich meanings are derived from event type, eventcharacteristics and individual factors. By recognisingthe presence of a highly identified team or the level ofteam identification as a possible event characteristic orindividual factor, respectively, this paper bringstogether the notions discussed above andconceptualises a structural model in which teamattributes affect team identification, which in turnplays a mediating role in sponsor identification andthe image transfer from an event to its sponsor.This study is significant because it attempts toanalyse the relationships of all the constructs as awhole, as opposed to previous studies, whichanalysed only parts of the relationship. Specifically,the following hypotheses were made: (1) teamattractiveness, team similarity and team familiaritypositively affect team identification; (2) teamidentification positively affects sponsor identification;and (3) sponsor identification positively affects sponsorimage. For assessment, a questionnaire adaptingitems from relevant constructs in past research wasdevised, and responses were collected from a total of991 conveniently sampled fans at 10 professionalsoccer games in Korea. The hypotheses were thensimultaneously tested using the data and employingthe AMOS structural modelling program (version 4.0).It was found that the data fitted the conceptualisedstructural model, and consistency was found in theresults when the hypotheses were tested againindividually.IntroductionOne of the most important effects of sportssponsorship is the building of a positive image for thesponsor’s brand, product and/or company(Meenaghan, 1991), and this image building takes onthe form of establishing, strengthening or changing thesponsor’s image (Gwinner & Eaton, 1999). Today,competition for sponsorship has become very strong,such that an assessment of the strength of imagetransfer from an event to the sponsor has becomeincreasingly important in evaluating the effectivenessof a sponsorship (Grohs & Reisinger, 2005). While acommon method is to quantify the link between eventimage and sponsor image, very few studies have beenconducted in this area (Grohs & Reisinger, 2005).Instead, more studies have focused on explainingthe process by which sports sponsorship leads to theenhancement of the sponsor’s image. In one study,Gwinner (1997) asserted that meanings are derivedfrom the event type, event characteristics andindividual factors to build an event image, which istransferred to the sponsor’s brand image.Consequently, specific factors affecting the eventimage or the image transfer have been examined, andevent-sponsor fit and event involvement wereempirically found to be two important factors (Grohs &Reisinger, 2005).Grohs & Reisinger (2005) explained eventinvolvement’s positive effect on the strength of imagetransfer through the notion of the learning theory. Thetheory implied that increased event involvement leadsto greater processing of information, and greaterknowledge about the connection between the eventand its sponsor in turn boosts the image transfer. Thisis consistent with Pitts & Slattery’s (2004) finding thatrecognition (i.e. awareness and identification) ofsponsors improved over an extended period of time. Itis also consistent with Meenaghan’s (2001) assertionthat since highly involved fans are best able tocomprehend the meanings associated with sportsevents, they are most capable of transferring themeanings to the sponsor through the association.When one recognises the importance of eventinvolvement as a mediating factor in sponsorshipidentification, as well as the transfer of meanings tothe sponsor, the importance of identifying factors thatenhance event involvement becomes apparent. Teamidentification, defined as the level of psychologicalattachment felt by a sports fan towards his or herfavourite team (Branscombe & Wann, 1992), wasrecognised as one form of event involvement, and216 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageGladden & Funk (2002) suggested that teamattributes are the criteria for judging a sports team’svalue, which affects team identification. From pastempirical organisational studies, two of these attributeswere shown to be organisation attractiveness (Fisher,1998; Kelman, 1961) and organisation similarity(Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Dutton et al, 1994; Fisher,1998; Kelman, 1961). While no empirical evidencewas provided for the effect of organisation familiarity,Trail et al (2000) and Heere (2005) respectivelyidentified acquisition of knowledge and awareness andknowledge as factors possibly leading to teamidentification.Purpose of study and hypothesesBy recognising the presence of a highly identified teamor the level of team identification, respectively, as apossible event characteristic or individual factor inGwinner’s (1997) AMICIT model, this studyconceptualised a structural model in which teamattributes affect team identification, which in turnplays a mediating role in sponsor identification and theimage transfer from an event to its sponsor. Unlikeprevious studies, which analysed only parts of therelationship, this study aimed to analyse therelationships of all the constructs as a whole.Specifically, the following hypotheses were establishedand simultaneously tested: (H1) team attractivenesspositively affects team identification; (H2) teamsimilarity positively affects team identification; (H3)team awareness (i.e. familiarity) positively affects teamidentification; (H4) team identification positively affectssponsor identification (i.e. awareness); (H5) sponsoridentification positively affects sponsor image.Theoretical backgroundTeam identificationTeam identification has been defined as the level ofpsychological attachment felt by a sports fan towardshis or her favourite team (Branscombe & Wann,1992). Fundamental to this concept of teamidentification is the concept of social identity, becauseteam identification is a manifestation of social identity(Underwood et al, 2001), which is “that part of anindividual’s self-concept which derives from his or herknowledge of their membership in a social group orgroups together with the value and emotionalsignificance attached to that membership” (Tajfel,1981, p.255). This means that as sports spectatorsbecome affiliated with a team, they derive a sense ofidentity from the affiliation (Hirt et al, 1992; Wann &Branscombe, 1993). In turn, they perceive other fansof the same team as in-group members and fans ofother teams as out-group members (Melnick, 1993).This perception enhances their sense of belonging to ateam, which results in higher team identification(Underwood et al, 2001).This relationship between social identity and teamidentification is supported by earlier organisationalidentification studies. Katz & Kahn (1966) assertedthat the perception of belonging to an organisationinfluences an individual’s organisational identification,which Bhattacharya et al (1995) defined as “theperceived oneness with or belongingness to anorganisation of which the person is a member” (p.46).Thus, recognising that a professional sports team is aform of organisation and that fans are its membersenables team identification to be recognised as a formof organisational identification. With regard tomembership, Chen (2007) argued that fans aremembers of a team because they believe a team’ssuccess or failure to be their own personal success orfailure. Heere (2005), however, gave three differentreasons. First, fans can affect the quality of a product,as in the case of local fans’ support affecting theRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship217

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageRESEARCH PAPERoutcome of home games (Agnew & Carron, 1994).Second, fans can affect teams’ revenue income fromvarious sources, and third, fans can be shareholders offranchised teams.Meanwhile, many terms purport to measure thepsychological attachment of sports consumers towardstheir favourite sports teams (Kwon & Armstrong,2004). Among them, fan identification (Sutton et al,1997; Wann & Branscombe, 1993) and teamidentification (Fisher, 1998) are commonly used in thesports setting. It can be argued that the differencebetween the two lies in ‘who’ is identifying with‘what’. Fan identification emphasises the ‘who’, andteam identification emphasises the ‘what’, but since afan can identify not only with a team but also with aplayer, this study exclusively uses the term ‘teamidentification’, because the focus is on a team as asports organisation.Team attributes and team identificationEarly measures of team identification wereunidimensional (Wann & Branscombe, 1993), butmany researchers (e.g. Ashmore et al, 2001; Ellemerset al, 1999; Jackson & Smith, 1999; Luhtanen &Crocker, 1992; Sellers et al, 1998) provided supportfor the need of a multidimensional construct. Sinceperceptions regarding team attributes are attitudinaland attitude is a multidimensional concept, the viewof team attributes as factors influencing teamidentification recognises team identification as amultidimensional construct.One team attribute shown to affect teamidentification is team attractiveness, and one importantteam attractiveness factor is team performance orteam record. The relationship between team recordand team identification is described in several studiesas follows. Highly identifying sports fans are affectedby team performance because they tend to take ateam’s success and failure to mean personal successand failure (Hirt et al, 1992; Sutton et al, 1997).However, while the relationship between the highlyidentifying fan and a team becomes closer through theteam’s success, it does not deteriorate with the team’sfailure (Wann & Branscombe, 1990; Bizman & Yinon,2002). It is argued that this so because spectatorshave a tendency to attribute the victory of theirfavourite team to internal causes, while attributinglosses to external causes (Wann & Schrader, 2000).Nevertheless, recognition of a high level of teamidentification regardless of team performancesuggested a need to discuss attributes other than teamperformance.Wann et al (1996) found that players are anothersignificant team attractiveness factor that affects teamidentification. Trail et al (2000) agreed by proposingappreciation of the physical skill of athletes andphysical attraction to the athletes as possible factorsleading to team identification, and Matsuoka et al(2003) agreed by proposing that overall effort, skillfulplay and teamwork may be the other possible factors.Gladden & Funk (2002) also showed a relationshipbetween players and team identification, because theyfound that there was a tendency in sports consumerswho remember the statistics of players in theirfavourite team to show a strong and positive attitudetowards their team, which they explained in terms ofidentification. However, it is uncertain as to whetherthe memorisation brought about team identification, orteam identification brought about the memorisation.Other than attractiveness, Stotland et al (1961)proposed the notion of similarity to explain therelationship between individuals and groupidentification. According to this notion, fans of thesame team not only share many similar characteristicsbut also perceive the similarity between them. Kelman(1961) and Fisher (1998) also provided support tothe notion of similarity by reporting that both teamattractiveness and team similarity affect teamidentification. However, they disagreed on which wasthe more important variable. Later, Ashforth & Mael(1989) and Dutton et al (1994) gave further supportto the perception of similarity as a factor affectingidentification with an organisation.Meanwhile, Funk & James (2001) asserted that onemust be aware of a product to know about itsattractiveness. Although there is no denying the218 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageassertion, several researchers recognise familiarity notas a variable antecedent to but independent ofattractiveness. For example, Trail et al (2000) andHeere (2005) respectively identified acquisition ofknowledge and awareness and knowledge as factorsleading to team identification. Also, according to Keller(1993), customer-based brand equity occurs when theconsumer is familiar with the brand and holds somefavourable, strong and unique brand associations inthe memory, implying that familiarity andattractiveness are two separate concepts.Thus, the following hypotheses were made:H1: Team attractiveness positively affects teamidentificationH2: Team similarity positively affects teamidentificationH3: Team familiarity positively affects teamidentificationTeam identification and sponsor identificationDean (2002) reported that it is not necessarily theliking of a property that influences the propertysponsorassociation, but rather the intensity of theliking that heightens awareness of the propertysponsorassociation. In agreement with this,Meenaghan (2001) showed that awareness of thesponsor was highest among those most involved withthe sponsored activity, and mentioned that the resultwas “in line with evidence presented by Bennett(1999), Clark (1991), Diakopoulou (1990), Eilander& Koenders (1991) and Parker (1990, 1991)”(p.110). This relationship between team identificationand sponsor identification can also be approachedfrom the perspective that highly involved fans continueto watch sports events (Colleen & Kahle, 2006) andthat repeat attendance allows fans to become moreaware of long-term sponsors. This is supported byPitts & Slattery (2004), who showed that recognition(i.e. awareness and identification) of sponsorsimproved over an extended period of time. Thus, thefollowing hypothesis was made:H4: Team identification positively affects sponsoridentification (i.e. awareness)Team identification, sponsorship identification andsponsor imageMeanwhile, Pope & Voges (2000) asserted thatcorporate image is positively influenced bysponsorship awareness, and Meenaghan (2001)asserted that “highly involved fans/consumers, beingmost aware of the sponsor’s investment and thebenefits arising, were most favourably disposedtowards that sponsor” (p.110). These two studiessuggest that there is a possible relationship betweenteam identification and sponsor image.As for the relationship between sponsorship andimage building, Gwinner (1997) attempted to explainit through his Model of Image Creation and ImageTransfer (AMICIT). Here, Gwinner (1997) definedevent image as a representation of the overallsubjective meanings assigned by a particular market.He then proposed that event type, eventcharacteristics and individual factors affect eventimage, and that sponsorship activities bring about atransfer of the event image to the sponsors’ brandimage. This transfer of event image to the sponsorbecame evident in empirical studies (Ferrand & Pages,1996; Gwinner & Eaton, 1999), and moreexplanations were given about the process. Chien et al(2005), for example, asserted that sponsorship’sassociation of a brand with a specific event allowedthe brand to gain additional meaning and value, whileMeenaghan (2001) asserted that highly involved fansare best able to comprehend these meanings, and aretherefore also most capable of transferring thesevalues to the sponsor through association. Therefore,when one recognises the presence of a highlyidentified team or the level of team identification as apossible event characteristic or individual factor,respectively, the role of team identification in buildingan event image that is transferred to the sponsorRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship219

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageRESEARCH PAPERimage becomes apparent. Further support is offered byGrohs & Reisinger (2005), who showed that eventinvolvement has a positive effect on the strength ofimage transfer. They explained the finding through thelearning theory, which suggested that increased eventinvolvement leads to greater processing of information,and that greater knowledge about the connectionbetween the event and its sponsor boosts the imagetransfer. Thus, the following hypothesis was made:H5: Sponsor identification positively affectssponsor imageMethodRespondentsA total of 100 home fans were drawn from a homegame for each of 10 teams belonging to Korea’sprofessional soccer league, known as the K-League.Although there are actually 12 teams in the K-League,two teams were excluded from the study because asnewly established teams, they lacked sufficient time todevelop loyal fans. Specifically, the seating area for thehome team fans at each team’s home game wasdivided into four or five sectors depending on thenumber of assistants available, and an assistant wasassigned to each sector. Each assistant in turnapproached at their convenience any spectator whoentered their assigned sector before the game. Toguard against the possibility of non-home fansentering the home fan sector, each approachedspectator was asked whether or not he or she was afan of the home team, and only those who answeredthe question affirmatively were asked to complete thesurvey by the self-administration method.Each assistant was responsible for collecting 20 or25 acceptable surveys depending on whether thehome fan seating area was divided into five or foursectors, respectively. The surveys were judged to beacceptable at this point only when there were fewerthan three questions unanswered, and the number ofsurveys was limited so that 100 home fans could beequally drawn for all 10 teams. However, despitethese efforts, nine of the accepted surveys had to beexcluded from data analyses because either there wereactually more than three unanswered questions, or theresponse categories to at least 10 consecutivequestions were indicated by the same scale number.Therefore, for the generalisation purpose of this study,the data for the 10 teams were pooled to yield a totalof 991 surveys that were accepted for final analyses.The demographics of the respondents are as follows:666 (67.2%) males and 325 (32.8%) females;85 (8.6%) high school students, 273 (27.5%) collegestudents, 379 (38.2%) employees, 87 (8.8%) privatebusiness owners, 14 (1.4%) unemployed, 60 (6.1%)housekeepers and 93 (9.4%) others. Also, therespondents’ average age was 28.4 ± 8.9.Survey instrumentThe questionnaire included items on demographics,team attributes, team identification, sponsoridentification and corporate image. These items weremeasured on five-point Likert scales with responsecategories anchored by strongly disagree = 1 andstrongly agree = 5. Except for demographics, all items(see Table 2) were adapted from scales used in paststudies that were judged to be relevant, valid andreliable; therefore, the scales were not pre-tested. Thefollowing are the operational definition and source ofitems for each variable.Team attributesAmong the variables suggested by Gladden & Funk’s(2002) Team Association Model, professional sportsteam attributes in this study were limited to teamattractiveness, team similarity and team awareness.First, team attractiveness refers to how much a teamappeals to its fans, and six items were adapted fromFisher (1998) for the scale. Second, team similarityrefers to how much sports fans perceive their favouriteteam as being similar to themselves, and four itemswere adapted from Fisher (1998) for the scale. Finally,team awareness refers to how well one’s favouriteteam can be differentiated from other teams, and220 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageTABLE 1 Fit indices for 6 factorsFACTORSTEAM ATTRACTIVENESSITEMSSTAGE 1 STAGE 26 4x 22.467df2p.291RMR.006GFI.999AGFI.994NFI.999CFI1.000RMSEA.015TEAM SIMILARITY*43---------TEAM AWARENESS4454.7612.000.027.972.861.981.982.163TEAM IDENTIFICATION841.2342.540.006.999.997.9991.000.000CORPORATE IDENTIFICATION643.2802.194.006.998.992.9991.000.025CORPORATE IMAGE64108.3132.000.052.949.744.949.950.232TOTAL3423586.036215.000.036.951.938.966.978.042*saturated modelbased on studies by Yoo et al (2000), Park &Srinivasan (1994), Keller (1993) and Aaker (1991),four items measuring team awareness were adapted tofit the setting of a professional sports team.Team and sponsor identification. Team identificationrefers to the level of psychological attachment felt by asports fan towards his or her favourite team, and eightitems were adapted from Fisher (1998). Meanwhile,sponsor identification refers to how much sports fansperceive themselves as having a common fate with acompany, which in this study was the title sponsor ofthe K-League, and six items were adapted from Mael& Ashforth (1992).Sponsor image. Keller (1993) defined brand image as“perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brandassociations held in memory” (p.3). Here, sponsorimage refers to the spectators’ perceptions about theK-League’s title sponsor as reflected by associationsheld in the memory, and six items were adapted fromthe questionnaire first used by Javalgi et al (1994)and later used by Pope & Voges (2000).Data analyses and resultsTest of measurement model for fitFirst, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) wasconducted for all variables to determine how well thehypothesised model fitted to the data, and AMOS 4.0was used to perform this analysis. As a result, 11items (i.e. two team attractiveness, one teamsimilarity, four team identification, two corporateidentification and two corporate image) were found tocross-load with other constructs and were thereforeeliminated (see Table 2 for the deleted items). In turn,a second CFA was conducted to reveal an acceptablemodel fit. The measures used in the study to assessthe match of each factor’s structure to the sample datawere the goodness of fit index (GFI), the normed fitindex (NFI) and the root mean square residual (RMR).Generally, GFI and NFI values greater than .90 and anRMR value less than .10 represent a good fit of thedata to the model, and since all the factors met theabove-mentioned conditions as shown in Table 1, theywere retained in this study.Next, the reliability of the scale factors was assessedby observing the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, theRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship221

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageTABLE 2 Standardised regression weight and reliability for six factorsLATENT AND MEASURED VARIABLESSTD.SEALPHAAVETEAM ATTRACTIVENESSMEMBERS OF THIS TEAM HAVE HIGH STATUS.810.019MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM ARE ADMIRED.901.016MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM HAVE CHARACTERISTICS THAT OTHERS ADMIRE.875.017.905.688MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM ARE LIKED BY OTHERS.779.024MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM ARE POPULAR*MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM HAVE A LIFE OTHERS WOULD LIKE TO LEAD*TEAM SIMILARITYI HAVE A LOT IN COMMON WITH MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM.872.017I HAVE ATTITUDES THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE HELD BY MEMBERS OF THE TEAM.935.016.919.763THE MEMBERS OF THE TEAM AND I ARE ALIKE IN A LOT OF WAYS.864.018RESEARCH PAPERI AM SIMILAR TO MEMBERS OF THE TEAM*TEAM AWARENESSI HAVE AN IMAGE OF MY TEAM IN MY MINDI CAN QUICKLY RECALL THE SYMBOL OR LOGO OF MY TEAMI CAN EASILY INTERFACE TO INTERNET SITE OF MY TEAM.867.887.808.016.017.028.916.685I CAN RECOGNISE MY TEAM AMONG OTHER COMPETING TEAMS.874.017TEAM IDENTIFICATIONTHERE AREN'T TOO MANY DAYS DURING THE SEASON THAT I DON'T THINK OF THE TEAM.795.029SUPPORTING THE TEAM IS IMPORTANT TO ME.856.026I LOVE BEING A FAN OF THIS TEAM.827.021IF ASKED WHO I AM, ONE THING I'LL TELL IS THAT I AM A FAN OF THIS TEAMI AM A TEAM FAN*.750.036.879.568THE TEAM IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE*BEING A TEAM SUPPORTER IS PART OF WHO I AM*I THINK OF MYSELF AS PART OF THE TEAM*CORPORATE IDENTIFICATIONCRITICISM OF THE CORPORATE SPONSOR FEELS LIKE A PERSONAL INSULT.831.022I AM VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT OTHERS THINK ABOUT THE CORPORATE SPONSOR.886.017COMPLIMENT OF A CORPORATE SPONSOR FEELS LIKE A PERSONAL COMPLIMENTIF THE MEDIA CRITICISED THE CORPORATE SPONSOR, I WOULD FEEL EMBARRASSED.943.846.012.020.929.714THIS CORPORATE’S SUCCESSES ARE MY SUCCESSES*WHEN SOMEONE PRAISES THIS CORPORATE, IT FEELS LIKE A PERSONAL COMPLIMENT*222 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageTABLE 2 contLATENT AND MEASURED VARIABLESSTD.SEALPHAAVECORPORATE (TITLE SPONSOR OF K-LEAGUE) IMAGECORPORATE SPONSOR HAS GOOD PRODUCTS/SERVICES.850.021.870.612CORPORATE SPONSOR IS WELL MANAGED.906.018CORPORATE SPONSOR RESPONDS TO CONSUMER NEEDS.675.028CORPORATE SPONSOR IS A GOOD COMPANY TO WORK FOR.725.028CORPORATE SPONSOR ONLY WANTS TO MAKE MONEY*CORPORATE SPONSOR IS INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY*Note. * = items excluded after first confirmatory factor analysisStd.= standardised regression weight; SE= standard error of the variance; AVE= average variance extractedx 2 =586.036, p=

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageFIGURE 1 Identification: antecedents and sponsorship outcomesTEAM IDENTIFICATION ANTECEDENTS IDENTIFICATION SPONSORSHIP OUTCOMESTEAMATTRACTIVENESS.144 (4.509***).133 (5.058***)TEAMIDENTIFICATIONCORPORATEIMAGETEAMSIMILARITY.115 (3.297***).370 (11.694***)TEAMAWARENESS.758 (22.414***)CORPORATEIDENTIFICATIONRESEARCH PAPERTABLE 4 Summary of research hypothesisCONSTRUCTSHYPOTHESISPATH COEFFICIENTT-VALUETEAM ATTRACTIVENESSTEAM IDENTIFICATIONH10.1444.509***TEAM SIMILARITYTEAM IDENTIFICATIONH20.1335.058***TEAM AWARENESSTEAM IDENTIFICATIONH30.75822.414***TEAM IDENTIFICATIONCORPORATE IDENTIFICATIONH40.1153.297***CORPORATE IDENTIFICATIONCORPORATE IMAGEH50.37011.694***x 2 =708.863, p=

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageSimultaneous test of paths in the structural modelIn order to simultaneously test all the hypotheses, afull structural model was developed with a path fromeach of three team attributes (i.e. attractiveness,similarity and awareness) to team identification, apath from team identification to sponsor identification,and a path from sponsor identification to corporateimage (Figure 1). The model was tested using themaximum likelihood method of parameter estimation,and the fit indices for the model were found to beacceptable with x 2 =708.863 (p

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageRESEARCH PAPERstudy has greater significance because it allows one torecognise the presence of a highly identified team orthe level of team identification as a possible eventcharacteristic or individual factor, respectively.Limitations and recommendations for future researchTwo limitations of this study derive from the sampling.First, convenience sampling, as opposed to randomsampling, was used. Second, because the study drewits sample from professional soccer fans in Korea,application of the results to soccer fans in othercountries, to amateur sports and to other professionalsports requires caution. In addition, since the data werecollected at the game sites, application of the results tointernet and TV game viewers also requires caution.Similar research should therefore be conducted withsports fans in various settings to check the reliability ofthis study’s results, and this should include theextension of fans to include all types of game viewersfor generalisation purposes, or to examine potentialdifferences between the viewer segments.The role of gender may also be considered. Whilemales identify with being a sports fan significantlymore than females (Dietz-Uhler et al, 2000), anempirical study by Ross et al (2007) showed thatfemales recognised sponsors more than their malecounterparts. Ross et al (2007) explained their findingby arguing that males “might be paying closerattention to the game and may be missing the signageor contests associated with the sponsors more thanfemales” (p.304). The explanation was partly basedon Gantz & Wenner’s (1991) research, whichindicated that men and women tend to watch sportingevents for the excitement and social aspects of thegame, respectively, as well as on Myers-Levy &Mahewaran’s (1991) research, which indicated thatinformation processing by females usually involvessubstantial detailed examination of the messagecontent. Since research even indicates that males andfemales differ in their reasons for identifying as asports fan and for viewing sports games (Dietz-Uhleret al, 2000; Gantz & Wenner, 1991), it isrecommended that the different items males andfemales use to evaluate a team’s attractiveness,similarity and awareness be identified, and that thestructural model conceptualised in this study be testedfor each gender for comparison.Meanwhile, the magnitude of the image transferfrom event to sponsor is greater when the number ofsponsors is smaller and the level of sponsorship ishigher (Gwinner & Eaton, 1999). Since this study waslimited to the identification and image of the titlesponsor, it is recommended that this study beextended to other levels of sponsorship. Also, sinceconsumers’ decision-making for high-involvementproducts like automobiles and low-involvementproducts like soft drinks may be different, effort toconsider the product involvement level isrecommended, while extending the study tocompanies from more diverse service and/or productareas. Moreover, Pitts & Slattery (2004) showed thatsponsor identification improved over an extendedperiod of time. Taking this into consideration, thenumber of games watched may also be added inbetween the path from team identification to sponsoridentification (team identification may affect thenumber of games watched, which in turn may affectsponsor identification) so that the model can besimultaneously tested with six rather than five paths.In the case of team identification, this study adapteditems from Fisher’s (1998) research rather than usingthe existing sports spectator identification scale (Wann& Branscombe, 1993) or psychological commitmentto team scale (Mahony et al, 2000). While Wann &Pierce (2003) showed that the SSIS and PCT scaleswere highly correlated, it is not certain whetherFisher’s scale highly correlates with the others.Therefore, this study is limited by any lack of reliabilityand validity that Fisher’s (1998) scale might havecompared to the other scales, and examination of thecorrelation between Fisher’s scale and the others isdesirable. Finally, it is recommended that other teamattributes that potentially may affect team identificationbe explored.© 2009 International Marketing Reports226 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Team attributes, identification and sponsor imageBiographiesYong-man Kim received his doctoral degree fromDankook University, where he is now an associateprofessor. Currently, he is the Vice President and ChiefEditor of the Korean Society of Sport Management(KSSM), as well as an editor for the Korean Alliancefor Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance(KAHPERD).Susan Kim received a bachelors and masters inmanagement respectively from UT Austin andPurdue University and a doctorate in sportsmanagement from USSA. Currently, she is a professorat the Korea National Sport University and a Directorfor KSSM and the Asia Society for Physical Education,Sport and Dance.ReferencesAaker, D.A. (1991) Managing Brand Equity. New York: The FreePress.Agnew, G.A. & Carron, A.V. (1994) Crowd effects and the homeadvantage, International Journal of Sport Psychology 24(1),53-62.Ashforth, B.E. & Mael, F. (1989) Social identity theory andorganization, Academy of Management Review 14(1), 20-39.Bagozzi, R.P. & Yi, T. (1988) On the evaluation of structuralequation models, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science16(1), 74-94.Bhattacharya, C.B., Rao, H. & Glynn, M.A. (1995)Understanding the bond of identification: an investigation of itscorrelates among art museum members, Journal of Marketing59, 46-57.Bizman, A. & Yinon, Y. (2002) Engaging in distancing tacticsamong sport fans: effects on self-esteem and emotionalresponses, Journal of Social Psychology 142(3), 381-392.Boyle, B.A. & Magnusson, P. (2007) Social identity and brandequity formation: a comparative study of collegiate sports fans,Journal of Sport Management 21(4), 497-520.Branscombe, N.R. & Wann, D.L. (1992) Role of identificationwith a group arousal, categorization processes, and self-esteemin sports spectator aggression, Human Relations 45,1013-1033.Chen, J.L. (2007) Managerial factors affecting teamidentification. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The FloridaState University, Tallahassee.Chien, P.M., Cornwell, T.B. & Stokes, R. (2005) A theoreticalframework for analysis of image transfer in multiplesponsorships, Proceedings from the ANZMAC 2005 Conference:Advertising/Marketing Communication Issues, 17-25.Colleen, C. & Kahle, L.R. (2006) Relationship marketing insports: a functional approach, Sport Marketing Quarterly 15(2),102-110.Cornwell, T.B. & Coote, L.V. (2005) Corporate sponsorship of acause: the role of identification in purchase intent, Journal ofBusiness Research 58(3), 268-276.Cronbach, L.J. (1951) Coefficient alpha and the internalstructure of tests, Psychometrica 16, 297-334.Dean, D.H. (2002) Associating the corporation with a charitableevent through sponsorship: measuring the effects on corporatecommunity relations, Journal of Advertising 31(4), 77-87.Dietz-Uhler, B., Harrick, E.A., End, C. & Jacquemotte, L. (2000)Sex differences in sport fan behavior and reasons for being asport fan, Journal of Sport Behavior 23(3), 219-231.Dutton, J.E., Dukerich, J.M. & Harquail, C.V. (1994)Organizational images and member identification, AdministrativeScience Quarterly 39, 239-263.Ellemers, N., Kortekaas, P. & Ouwerkerk, J.W. (1999) Selfcategorization,commitment to the group, group self-esteem asrelated but distinct aspects of social identity, European Journal ofSocial Psychology 29(2-3), 371-389.Ferrand, A. & Pages, M. (1996) Image sponsoring: amethodology to match event and sponsor, Journal of SportManagement 10, 278-291.Fink, J.S., Trail, G.T. & Anderson, D.F. (2002) Environmentalfactors associated with spectator attendance sport consumptionbehavior: gender and team difference, Sport Marketing Quarterly11(1), 8-19.Fisher, R.J. (1998) Group-derived consumption: the role ofsimilarity and attractiveness in identification with a favoritesports team, Advances in Consumer Research 25, 83-88.Fornell, C. & Larcker, D.F. (1981) Evaluating structural equationmodels with unobservable variables and measurement error,Journal of Marketing Research 18, 39-50.RESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship227

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European football under close scrutinyKeywordsmarketingethicsdeontologyfootballgoverning bodiesstakeholdersAbstractRESEARCH PAPERChantal Rouvrais-CharronUniversité de Caen, IUT Département Techniques de CommercialisationBoulevard du Maréchal Juin, Campus 2, 14032 Caen Cedex, FranceEmail: chantal.rouvrais-charron@unicaen.frChristophe DurandUniversité de Caen, UFR STAPS,Boulevard du Maréchal Juin, Campus 2, 14032 Caen Cedex, FranceEmail: christophe.durand@unicaen.frPeer reviewedConsumers are increasingly looking beyond products,and are expressing concern for the respect of societalvalues. This paper analyses how football organisationsand governing bodies in Europe are adapting theirmarketing strategies to reflect these concerns. ‘Ethicalcharters’ or ‘ethical codes of behaviour’ need to beredefined under close scrutiny from shareholders andstakeholders. Whether it is a deliberate decision or aforced change, football organisations must respond tosimultaneous commercial and political pressures.Executive summaryThe commercial aspect of football is growinginexorably, and this requires the adaptation of itsvarious structures to the changing socio-economiccontext. Even though sporting authorities have alwayspromoted ethical attitudes, some of their rules havedemonstrated some weaknesses in terms of how theyrespect societal values. However, consumers areincreasingly looking beyond products, and areexpressing concern for the respect of societal values.This change in mentality seems praiseworthy whenthe organisation acts positively with regard to both itsown objectives and the values of society. As a newsocial standard, ethics does not claim to serve anideal, but is a means by which the interests of themajority can be satisfied. In terms of socialresponsibility, sport embodies an ideal. As the flagshipof an egalitarian society, it should be the emblematicexample for ethical conduct. The aim of this paper istwo-fold. First, it will analyse the framework withinwhich the system of ethics used by football authorities230 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

European football under close scrutinyhas been designed, and identify the pressures exertedby stakeholders. These pressures can take acommercial form (sponsors, broadcasters, spectators,fans, etc.) as well as economic and political forms,and are imposed by federal governments, communitiesand citizens. Second, it will examine how ethicalconcerns, which are vital to the future of sport, cancoexist with the increasing impact of commercialconcerns. The main question is whether ethicalconcerns and commercial imperatives are compatible,and whether they can successfully coexist while at thesame time respecting ethical values.Our approach, based on a documentary study andconcrete cases, falls within the framework of thestakeholder theory. It focuses on the normativedimension of this theory, as it examines theintroduction of an ethical dimension into the analysisof strategic management.The first section of this paper aims to examine theinterdependence of the concepts of ethics anddeontology. In response to various scandals, ethics hasbecome a rallying point in the communications madeby leaders in the worlds of business and sport. Weexamine the fragile equilibrium for the football industrybetween a market dimension and an ethicaldimension. From a matrix that takes into account theethical importance in the marketing strategy of footballorganisations and their identity-oriented or collectiveactions, four different approaches have been identified:an ethics of comparative responsibility; an ethics ofconviction; forced ethics; and egocentricity or selfcenteredness.The second section of the paper dealswith ethics as a new management tool. Pressured bytheir partners and stakeholders, football organisationsare forced to put ethical considerations at the centre oftheir communication activities. Ethics thus catalysesstrategy; the strategy of international sportingorganisations tends to oscillate between commitmentand opportunism. It is necessary for sportingorganisations to protect their relationships withconsumers, fans and sponsors if they want to ensuretheir commercial survival. The marketingconsequences cannot be ignored; actions must be incongruence with an ethical dialogue. Under pressurefrom stakeholders, football organisations have had toadapt their global strategies to the changing worldscene, and are under close scrutiny.IntroductionSporting event organisers, professional clubs andfederal sporting authorities, particularly in football, arebeing faced with both socio-economic changes in theirenvironment and mounting criticism. They havereacted to this by implementing marketing strategies inwhich ethics – in the broad sense of the term – playsa major part. This has led to a revision of ethicalcharters and the creation of new ‘professional codes ofbehaviour’. Under pressure from stakeholders (nongovernmentalorganisations, governments, suppliers,the media, sponsors and fans), football organisationshave had to adapt their global strategies to thechanging world scene. Indeed, clubs and federalsporting authorities act in an increasinglycommercialised environment, incorporating televisionand digital broadcasting rights,partnership/sponsorship contracts, corporate use ofsporting events for public relations purposes, andticket sales through establishments that are mainlyfunded by national or local taxpayers.The commercial aspect of football is growinginexorably, and this requires the adaptation of itsvarious structures to the changing socio-economiccontext. This issue is all the more important as highlevelsport is a combination of intense physicalcommitment, competition against an opponent, majormedia exposure and high financial stakes. Moreover,the world of sport has long sought to be identified withmainstream ethical values such as equal opportunitiesfor all, respect for the rules, the desire to exceed one’slimits, and the rewarding of talent, sustained effortand hard work. Football organisations thus need toopenly show their willingness to guarantee that thesevalues will be respected, and to implement and stickto a clearly stated deontology that is widely acceptedRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship231

European football under close scrutinyRESEARCH PAPERby all concerned. The feeling of disenchantment thathas taken over the world has shaken the world ofsport. These days, clubs and federal sportingauthorities need to redefine their codes of behaviourand devise methods to enforce them. They mustchoose whether to take deliberate steps for moral andcommercial reasons, or to respond to political andsocial situations.Using a descriptive approach related to the case ofEuropean football, the aim of this paper is two-fold. First,it will analyse the framework within which the system ofethics used by football authorities has been designed,and identify the pressures exerted by stakeholders. Thesepressures can take a commercial form (sponsors,broadcasters and spectators) as well as economic andpolitical forms, and are imposed by federal governments,communities and citizens. The ethical aspect of footballmarketing will thus be considered. Second, it willexamine how ethical concerns, which are vital to thefuture of sport (as well as in other sectors), can coexistwith the increasing impact of commercial concerns. Themain question is whether ethical concerns andcommercial imperatives are compatible, and whetherthey can successfully coexist while respecting theaforementioned ethical values.The paper is divided into two sections. The firstsection examines the general aspects of ethics. Ethicsis defined, and its growing demand from the corporateworld is reviewed. We look into the conditionsrequired for companies to develop ethical concerns,relying on the example of sporting equipmentsuppliers. In the second section, the part played byethics in European football is examined. First, there isa description of the marked shift to more commercialconcerns over the last 20 years, as well as anassessment of the consequences this has had onstrategies, especially marketing strategies. We look intothe role of ethics in this new context and ask thequestion of whether ethical preoccupations are a keyfactor of success. Finally, we examine the implicationsof sports ethical marketing managed by footballorganisations for consumers and sponsors.Where do ethical concerns fit in?Generally speaking, today’s sporting world is bathed inmoral principles in an attempt to counter thenumerous accusations of corrupt management,embezzlement, geographical inequalities andexploitation, among others. Ethics and its corollary,deontology, are often supposed to be clearly defined.An important point to bear in mind is that the sportingorganisations that support these ethical standards orprofessional codes either do so willingly, by deliberatechoice, or are forced to adhere to them due topressure from their stakeholders.From ethics to deontologyEtymologically, the word ‘ethics’ has two origins: theGreek word ‘ithos’, which refers to the attitude of thespirit, and ‘ethos’, which indicates the rules that resultfrom it. Louart (1999) identified two ways of thinking:Deontological approaches “judge that humans havethe duty to conform to the rules of nature and thecustoms or social contracts that are essential to them”.These have “determinist and normative contents”.Teleological approaches consider that “each actmust be assessed in terms of its results either by theactor (ethical selfishness) or by others (utilitarianism)”.However, current ethical thinking is not focused onthe causes and effects of social phenomena, butinstead aims to describe the normative foundations ofsocial actions (Rojot, 1992). As a new social standard,ethics does not claim to serve an ideal, but is a meansby which the interests of the majority can be satisfied(Mercier, 1999). From this perspective, the antagonismbetween ethics and the finality of an undertaking canbe superseded when an organisation functions betterby acting in accordance with both its own objectivesand an equitable development of the world (LeTourneau, 2000; Courrent & Mercier, 2000).Within this framework, teleology and deontologyremain inseparable as long as deontology hasprescriptive power, which can occur only if it is part ofa global ethical movement with clearly stated values(Vitell, 2003; Vitell & Paolillo, 2003). This observation232 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

European football under close scrutinyis particularly clear in the sporting world, which has along ethical tradition. Moreover, deontology has amarkedly professional character: it represents all therules that govern the relationships between members ofa given profession, both among the membersthemselves and between them and their economic orsocial partners. Establishing a code of behaviouramounts to identifying the good principles of actionand the bad ones, which plays a federalising role in theorganisation’s culture and more generally on the sectorin which it operates. This pragmatic dimension ofdeontology indicates the actions to be taken. In thissense, deontology defines who has authority; it evendefines the official body of a given sector of activity – abody which may have the power to impose sanctions.The transition from deontology to modes of definingrules and checking if they comply with them requiresa process that literature has termed ‘ethicology’. Thisword, borrowed from Louart (1999), refers to the setof rules related to a certain ethical domain. Indeed,the construction of a professional code of behaviourincludes a step that clarifies the way in whichindividuals justify their actions within the collectiveoccupational framework. The interdependence of theconcepts of ethics and deontology in both nature andcontent should be emphasised. Ethics provides thebasis for the general doctrine observed in thecorporate world, particularly in the sporting sector, asopposed to the moral philosophy, which is specific toeach individual.Deontology is the professional translation of a codeof behaviour ensuing from general ethics – which isitself a general standard aiming to satisfy the majority– adopted by an organisation. Consequently, theinternal rules and procedures express the contents of asector’s deontology.A call for more ethics: a world movement thatfootball must take into accountThe liberalisation of the economy that is drivingglobalisation has widened the gap between the marketand society. However, the market, in the broad senseof the term, needs society since it needs aninstitutionalised environment in which the variousactors are important (Barrientos, 2000). Moreover,without sufficient international government pressure infavour of regulatory mechanisms, the private sector isalways ready to take up the challenge and become thearchitect of world markets. In the sporting market,criticisms of sporting events, and particularly offootball, have been strengthened by new informationand communication technologies that are now used aspowerful media weapons. This has increased the risksfor sporting event organisers. Whether this criticism isjustified or not, organisers are now developing policiesof greater social responsibility. However, as seenthrough the prism of ethics, these organisations havebecome increasingly vulnerable.In response to various scandals, the harmful effectsof economic development and the consequences ofglobalisation, “ethics” has become a rallying point inthe communications made by leaders in the worlds ofbusiness and sport. There is, in fact, nothing newabout this, as ethics has a long philosophical andsociological history. Le Goff (1995) pointed out thatwhen a society lacks common references, moderncompanies, and in particular public or privateorganisations, become ethical communities, promotingand implementing the forgotten humanist values.Today’s omnipresent concern with ethics reveals thedeep anxiety of a society whose codes of behaviourare no longer defined by ideological or religiousreference points, or by strong authority figures (Canto-Sperber, 2001). Therefore, the organisation comes toperceive itself as a citizen, and insists on its share ofresponsibility in local and national affairs. It can nolonger turn away from the responsibility it has forsociety, and indeed is accountable to all of itsinterlocutors. This change in mentality seemspraiseworthy when the organisation acts positivelywith regard to both its own objectives and the valuesof society. Studies carried out in the United States (Cui& Choudhury, 2003) highlight the fact that the ethicalconsequences of organisational actions areincreasingly important to the fundamental beliefs ofindividuals. These beliefs are expressed in the searchRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship233

European football under close scrutinyRESEARCH PAPERfor social and moral equity, and in the desire forhonesty and justice. A beneficial combination ofphilosophy and morals could then give rise to abusiness ethics dominated by integrity, and sports ingeneral would not be exempt. Football in particular,because of the huge amounts of money involved andits intense media exposure, often experiences thesepressures.Since its creation, football has always portrayedcertain fundamental values such as courage,determination, performance, respect for rules and forothers, exceeding one’s limits, and the “beauty” oftrack and field. Moreover, sport has a symbolicfunction in that it is a reminder that sport is, above all,the activity of individuals who are members of asociety. In terms of social responsibility, sportembodies an ideal. As the flagship of an egalitariansociety, it should be the emblematic example forethical conduct. The sporting market is huge, andinternational brands convey images that combineyouth with the idea of a cosmopolitan andmulticultural society. The importance of such athought is demonstrated and exemplified byNahapetian (2004).Ethics used as a strategy: a deliberate choiceor a forced decision?As a rule, the responsibility of today’s organisations isthree-fold: a social responsibility to their employeesand consumers; a societal responsibility to thecommunity in which they operate; and anenvironmental responsibility in the broad sense of theterm (Caroll, 1979; Beji-Becheur & Bensebaa, 2004).Given this triple responsibility, our study concerns theincorporation and the application of ethics in thestrategies of these organisations. Furthermore,organisations that coordinate sporting events arehighly specialised and require a particularly focusedstudy, since this market is characterised by a specificethical claim, emphasised to the point of assertingthat these activities are the “sporting exception”.How can profit be reconciled with a respect for“what is right and good” from economic, social,societal and environmental points of view? Ethicalproblems also emerge when two duties conflict; forexample, the duty to ensure the continuing financialhealth of a capitalist enterprise and the duty to protectthe interests of society (Morin, 2004). This isundoubtedly the most acute issue. In combining ethicswith sport, football organisations find themselvesahead in the implementation of higher levels offunctioning, and could be seen as ideal examples fornon-sporting organisations. We can better illustratethis with the following examples. In 2006, the SeppBlatter Foundation Prize was awarded to the HandicapSport Association. This foundation aims to supportsporting projects, particularly in football. In the sameway, the Football Foundation, funded by the FootballAssociation and the British government, is one of thelargest sporting and social associations in the UK.These foundations are playing a key role in revitalisinggrass roots sport. Their main mission concerns socialdevelopment through the establishment andcommunication of the values traditionally associatedwith English football.Although once committed to satisfying theirshareholders, these organisations are today required tomeet the demands of their stakeholders, whether theybelong to these organisations (owners, managers,employees, volunteers) or not (competitors, fans,governments, lobbies, the media, community andnatural environment) (Mercier, 2001; Madsen & Ulhoi,2001; Gabriel, 2003) 1 . The report ‘Football and itscommunities’, carried out by Manchester MetropolitanUniversity over three years, outlines a new vision andunderstanding of how the football world can engagewith communities. It recognises the extensive effortsthat football, more than any other sport, has put intocommunity development. This stakeholder theory is theframework of much of today’s research onorganisational ethics (Caroll, 1979, 1999; Mercier,2001). This paper focuses on the normative dimension1 Maignan & Swaen (2004, p.55): “Stakeholders refer to individuals or groups who – directly or indirectly – influence the operations of the company orcan be influenced by them (suppliers, customers, employees, investors, local communities, governments, lobbies, trade associations, etc.)”.234 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

European football under close scrutinyFIGURE 1 Positioning of organisational management compared with ethicsIDENTITY APPROACHCOLLECTIVE APPROACHstrongETHICALORIENTATIONETHICS OF COMPARATIVERESPONSIBILITYETHICS OFCONVICTIONEGOCENTRICITYFORCED ETHICSweakof this theory, as it concentrates on the introduction ofan ethical dimension into the analysis of strategicmanagement – addressing the need to reconcile theconflicting interests of stakeholders to ensure theorganisation’s survival 2 . The commitment to thewellbeing of the community as a whole is implicit, andunderlies the idea of a joint project to which allstakeholders adhere.Another approach considers the ethical dimensionfrom the point of view of an organisation – aprofessional club, a sporting authority or an equipmentsupplier 3 – dealing with the importance it attaches toethics in its marketing strategy and its recourse toidentity-oriented or collective strategic actions (Figure 1).In Figure 1 we can see that sporting organisations,professional clubs or equipment suppliers can takefour different approaches:An ethics of comparative responsibility (Weber,1964, 1971), in which only results matter.Organisations such as Adidas 4 can be led tocompromises that have the sole aim of demonstratingtheir societal responsibility to their stakeholders. Ethicsbecomes a tool for marketing differentiation, like thebrand name itself. It also gives the company acompetitive advantage as it contributes to the positiveimage of the organisation (Tixier, 2004).An ethics of conviction (Weber, 1964, 1971),according to which action is taken out of a belief in amoral principle, regardless of the consequences (e.g.Patagonia, Timberland 5 ). This is a more philosophicalattitude that is marked by a harmonisation betweenwhat is thought, said, and done, through a doubleloopsocietal training process – a process that worksretroactively and integrates questions about theunderlying principles of an action (Gond, 2003).Forced ethics, which typifies organisations like Nike,the equipment supplier that always acts in response topressures from stakeholders 6 . Nike’s adaptation to itsenvironment could be considered as a ‘paradoxicalbalance’ insofar as it tries to reconcile itsRESEARCH PAPER2 The descriptive dimension highlights the relationship between the organisation and its environment; the instrumental dimension describes the stakeholders,not the shareholders, as factors making it possible for the company to achieve its goals (Donaldson & Preston, 1995, mentioned by Mercier, 2001, p.6).3 By supplier, we mean companies which have the role of providing clothing and equipment for players or teams needing to practise for a sportingcompetition (Desbordes, 2001, p.21).4 Adidas, through its slogan ‘Forever sport’, clearly shows its implication in traditional sporting values.5 Beyond the information registered on the labels of its products, Patagonia invests in environmental protection and advertises it widely (1% of itsturnover is devoted to the protection of the environment through the funding of associations that carry out concrete actions). Timberland, a forerunner inrespect for the environment, is the initiator of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship235

European football under close scrutinyRESEARCH PAPERorganisational goal (profit) with the general interests ofsociety as a whole. Its appropriation of ethics iscomparable to a single-loop societal adjustmentprocess (Gond, 2003). A strategy of cooperationprevails over confrontations.Egocentricity or self-centeredness, which is theattitude of organisations that do not care much forethics (e.g. Puma). Their development is ensured bytheir inimitable competence, due to which they keep adefinite advantage over their competitors.Indeed, ethical positioning, with regard to marketingstrategy, can be analysed in two ways. These combineaspects that have to do with deliberate strategies andfall under a contingent logic. The pressure of theenvironment plays a major part in this. The followingsection attempts to measure the relative roles of thesetwo concepts in professional football.European football and ethics: ethics as a majorelement in marketingThe integration of ethical considerations into sportingmanagement depends first on the commitment ofmanagers, who set the tone of the organisation’sgeneral policy (Mercier, 1999). Making their ethicalcommitment credible is a challenge for organisations,and the stakes are very high. This has become a newbattleground for competition, much like ‘quality’ was afew years ago. Although “ethics” may appear to be anew management tool, its successful use relies onintense work on the group’s values (Mercier, 1999),because any disagreement will lead to sanctions fromhigher powers. Passing on information will be a keyfactor in the area of communication, and will dependon the stakeholders. Such a marketing choice givesthe organisation a better rating over its competitors(Pautard, 2004). After briefly examining the radicalcommercial shift that football has undergone, we willshow the respect this sporting sector has for ethics,through a study of a selection of actions. In line withthis, commercial repercussions on consumers andsponsors are emphasised.The shift of the 1980s: towards a form of capitalistbusiness?In many countries, football carries so much social andpolitical weight that it has become a political force innational or local governing bodies. The changesfootball has gone through over the last 10 years haveled to many observers considering it as an emergingindustry. The major evolution to less state economiccontrol and a general trend towards more privatisedstructures and globalised trade has significantlyaffected the sector of sporting event production, andfootball has been the first sport affected in terms ofaudience. The European clubs can thus be comparedto sporting event producers working in the field ofentertainment.The rise in the economic stakes involved in sportingevents since the 1980s, linked with the opportunity tosell broadcasting rights, has attracted many privateoperators interested in investing in the sector. Somehave developed in the direction of industrial strategy,like the media, sport-oriented public relations agenciesand equipment suppliers. Some, only a few in fact,are solely motivated by financial gain. Others seem tobe driven by a need to maximise their own socialefficiency: they subsidise clubs to satisfy their personalpassion and to secure a strong reputation through thestrong media presence in football.The political economy of professional football haschanged radically over recent years. Andreff (2000)summarises this transformation as the passage froman ‘SSSL’ (Spectators-Subsidies-Sponsors-Local) modelof subsidising, which was the rule in the 1970s, to an‘MMMMG’ (Media-Magnates-Merchandising-Markets-Global) model in the 1980s.One of the major goals of the operators in footballtoday is a commercial one. They seek to diversify and6 Nike sells a rebellious state of mind – a festive lifestyle – more than sporting products. When in 2001, non-governmental organisations blamed theequipment supplier for making children work in sweatshops, it was its speech about “blossoming”, “going beyond”, the “Just do it” slogan, and the socialideas associated with them, that were targeted (Levy, 2003). Nike’s response was to keep a tighter control on its subcontractors and to give subsidies to anon-governmental organisation, Global Alliance for Workers and Communities, in partnership with the World Bank and the Gap clothing brand. Even if thereports on the audits carried out among the subcontractors were not positive, the group is taking on its responsibility and is rebuilding its image step by step.236 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

European football under close scrutinyexpand their sources of income, particularly outside ofsport. This strategy can be seen through thedevelopment of brands (Kapferer, 1996; Aaker,1994), illustrated by the plethora of products carryingteam logos, names and mascots being sold throughmajor distribution channels or specialised shopsacross the world. This overall commercialisationassociated with football is made quite obvious both tothe general public and to stakeholders, who witnesscostly transfers and contracts. Players, while benefitingfrom this commodification, have become goods to betraded and are sold to the highest bidder. Federalsporting authorities have also extensively developedtheir commercial activities. FIFA announced that thelast 2006 World Cup in Germany has generated arevenue of €1.86 billion and for 2008 a turnover ofUSD 957 million (€719,5 million) and a profit ofUSD 184 million (€138 million). UEFA hasannounced an estimated revenue of €1.3 billion forthe 2008 European Championship, mostly from thesale of television broadcasting rights (€900 million).We can therefore see that this mass marketing offootball is affecting sporting organisations that used tobe non-profit organisations. With this in mind, what isthe part played by ethics in the marketing strategies ofthese organisations?For sporting organisations, ethics is a key valueunder close scrutinyBeyond the general consideration of ethics in thebusiness world, some sporting organisations havemade it a central element in their strategy (Durand &Rouvrais-Charron, 2006). This choice involves aconstraint that is two-fold. With these organisationshaving social goals, it is imperative that they protectsporting values; ethics is a key element in theiridentity. In addition, pressure from their partners andstakeholders forces organisations to put ethicalconsiderations at the centre of their communicationactivities. Ethics thus catalyses strategy. In ethicalterms, we may suppose that international sportingorganisations tend to oscillate between commitmentand opportunism. We are then led to ask which of thedecisions taken are a result of giving in to pressure,and which ones come from a real desire to act. Wecan begin to answer this question if the internationalsporting movement is considered as an integral part ofsocietal evolution. Along these lines, we must firstclarify the dilemma sporting that organisations face,especially in football: adapt or die.While sporting myths may always have been a keyelement in this sector, a critical movement gainedmomentum in sport as a whole in the 1990s, andwas sometimes expressed in extreme words (Brohm etal, 2004): “By a quasi-mystical invocation of the‘eternal values of sport’, this ideology seeks selfprophesyingstatus by reducing the gap between thereality of capitalist practices in the production ofsporting events and the celestial sphere of the ‘grandidea of sport’.”As Bayle & Durand (2004) noted, there is “agrowing gap between ethics and behaviour” amonghistorical sporting authorities. As a result, thelegitimacy of international sport’s governing bodies canno longer be based on a rhetoric that has more to dowith ideology than with reality (Figure 2).Figure 2 represents a self-regulating system. Thecommunity sends two types of signal. The first targetsprivate actors. It defines some demands mainly guidedby commercial motivations. The second type of signalsconcerns social matters and is directed towards publicstakeholders. There is an attempt at a greater code ofethics from the sporting movement, and in particularfrom the world of football, for political reasons. Thesepressures oblige sporting figures, whose principles arerather similar, to apply suitable marketing tools torespond to these various demands. Moreover, thesemarketing tools relate to the actions on the morallevel, for example the fights against doping,corruption, xenophobia or violence in stadia. They alsoconsist of talks and communication operations withsocial figures. Therefore, for example, the officialreports of sporting authorities propose the role of sportas a tool for social integration and the protection ofbasic values before any other elements. It cantherefore be seen that sporting figures are compelledRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship237

European football under close scrutinyFIGURE 2 Pressure of ethics and effects on sporting actorsCOMMUNITY(fans, spectators such as consumers or citizens)PRIVATE SHAREHOLDERS AND STAKEHOLDERS(sponsors, owners, the media)PUBLIC STAKEHOLDERS(local governing authorities, states)MARKETING TOOLS(action & talks)RESEARCH PAPERCLUBS SPORTS GOVERNING BODIES PLAYERSCOMMERCIAL PRESSURE ETHICS SOCIAL & POLITICAL PRESSUREto act and communicate against doping, corruption ora disregard for human rights. The original dimensionsof football, such as respect, equal opportunities for alland courage, must be obvious to all.Moreover, ethics, as defined in the first part of thepaper, is to be found at the heart of the system.Authorities like UEFA, guardians of sport’s originalvalues, have adopted a more strict approach to theapplication of deontology in football; they impose theirdirectives on professional clubs as with players.Sporting authorities and professional clubs must nolonger limit their philosophy of action to a commercialframework, but must find their roots again. Dependenton sponsors (suppliers and various privateorganisations), who themselves experience thepressure of the community, sporting authorities andprofessional clubs can no longer shy away from thismoral constraint.The system presented in Figure 2 is regulated bylinking the pressures exerted. Private stakeholderstrade their financial contribution with the sportingsystem. Public stakeholders offer to take away theirlegitimacy and their prerogatives concerning footballfrom the sporting authorities. Hence, if matches arethe opportunity for small groups to express theirracism and violence, the stakeholders’ reactions will238International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

European football under close scrutinybe double: commercial partners will take away theircontributions, while political actors will take away thelegitimacy of football sporting authorities. Broadcastershave also stated their aim to be associated only withevents whose ‘moral standards’ are unambiguous. Thefinancial stakes are such that these ‘customers’ have aconsiderable weight, influencing not only the logisticalorganisation of events but also the image of organisingauthorities. Football sporting authorities will besanctioned if they are unable to preserve commercialand symbolic qualities of sporting products. Playersand clubs undergo the same dual constraints. Theexample of Paris Saint Germain is revealing. In 2000,the Parisian football club created a foundation toengage with the community, and the integration ofunderprivileged youths in particular. However, somefans displayed violent behaviour, which received muchmedia coverage. With this in mind, the city of Paris –the owner of the Parc des Princes stadium and themost important and oldest supporter of the club –plans to reduce its support as the team and its imagedo not meet with what is expected from them. In thesame way, the obvious exploitation of players comingfrom Third World countries to play with Europeanclubs produced a strong reaction from the EuropeanCommission in 2003.As illustrated above, the ethical positioning is thuslargely dictated by pressure from stakeholders,whether they are political and public or commercialand private. Consequently, the fact that football eventproducers take ethical aspects into account no longerarises from a strategic choice to make a specificorganisation different, but from a vital need initiated bystakeholders – the need to respond to the emergenceof a new world, a world that is seeking transparencyand truth.Implications of sports ethical marketingThe stakeholder theory is most appropriate to integratethe concept of organisational ethics into managementissues (Caroll, 1989, 1999; Mercier, 2001; Madsen& Ulhoi, 2001). Its strategic quintessence is based onthe necessity of reconciling the conflicting interests ofthe stakeholders in order to ensure the survival of thesporting figures. Ethics is meaningful because itconcerns everybody; as for marketing, its purpose is toconvey the values shared with the stakeholders. Thusthis theory throws light upon the intricate interactionsbetween the actors aiming at implementing an ethicalprocess (Figure 2). Fulfilling the expectations of thestakeholders implies erasing the limits between theprivate and the public spheres in terms of ethicalobjectives. So, in order to be totally relevant, themeans used by the sporting authorities mustnecessarily be adapted to the social context. Takingethics into account in the marketing approach offootball figures is quite a strong signal towards twointerlinked major targets in terms of consequences.The cases of the media and the investors will not beanalysed in this section, because the implications ofethical marketing are less important for thesestakeholders.The first target concerned is the consumers who arealso citizens, fans and spectators of sporting events,and eventually paid workers. Beyond his personalconsumption, the individual wants to share commonvalues and emotions with the brand of goods he haspurchased – a brand owned by the sponsor. In theexperiential framework of consumption, marketingcorresponds to a new paradigm that says that thedevelopment of a brand is based on the co-productionof meaning and on the sharing of experiences withconsumers (Cova, 1995; Cova & Cova, 2001; Cova &Louyot-Gallicher, 2006; Hetzel, 2002; Holbrook &Hirschman, 1982; Langlois, 2002; Ritzer, 2005;Vargo & Lusch, 2004). It becomes part of the postmodernview in which consumption holds a crucialrole and has multiple functions such as re-establishingsocial links, building the individual’s identity accordingto the concept of learning, and meeting a need foremotions and experiences (Addis & Podesta, 2005;François-Lecompte & Valette-Florence, 2006). Thus,Nike, Adidas and Puma are brands exemplifyingdifferent lifestyles rather than simple products. In theirroles as sponsors, ethical breaches during a sportingevent or by a player will have repercussions both onRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship239

European football under close scrutinyRESEARCH PAPERthe sales of sporting goods and on the socialrepresentation of brands (Kapferer, 1996). Thesebrands stand for values, laws and history; if their ‘soul’is smeared by scandal, the sales of goods will fall.Following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nike was hopingto sell 2.4 million replicas of the football shirts, 23million pairs of shoes and 10 million balls. In 2002,the victory of the Brazilian team, sponsored by Nike,did nothing but strengthen its leadership among theworld of sporting suppliers. A partner of FIFA since1970, Adidas used the 2005 Cup with its logo, as thesupplier of the official ball ‘Teamgeist’ (‘team spirit’);sales were forecast to soar by 50% compared with theprevious World Cup. Moreover, Adidas signed apartnership contract with UEFA for Euro 2008 and theChampions League.The second repercussion of the ethical marketing offootballing figures, linked to the one above, has to dowith the sponsors. Whether they are suppliers or not(e.g. Coca Cola), sponsors use football matcheswatched by millions of viewers as a showcase. Interms of image sponsoring, they show off their brandsin order to be known and to generate a closeness andemotions with the viewers. Sporting events are alsoopportunities to test their latest products. Finally, thereis also network sponsoring, since the brands takeadvantage of the events to stimulate their salesnetwork. This is why any ethical breaches will reflectbadly on the sponsors’ images, and will haverepercussions on the mental representation they havein their partners’ minds.Within the context of ethical marketing, we canobserve a beneficial hybridisation of wills of theshareholders and the stakeholders in order to fulfil acollective interest; it is a search for global meaning fedby the original sports values. The implications ofethical approach taken by the sporting authorities leadto repercussions in terms of image as well as in termsof sales for their stakeholders searching for moreauthenticity. Zinedine Zidane’s head-butt during theWorld Cup final is a case in point in terms of nonrespectfor sports ethics. In spite of the bad image theplayer gave of himself, the repercussions on thesponsors were limited for part of the public. If footballattempts to free itself from the ethical needs of itsstakeholders, the large financial means it currentlyenjoys will be going to other sports. And therefore theuse of ethical marketing managed by footballorganisations can be deemed a virtuous circle.ConclusionThere remains one question, however: is the ethicalapproach of sporting organisations sincere or is it asolution – or a fad, even – related to the currentenvironmental context (Gaski, 1999)? Even themarketing dimension of this approach is open tocriticism because no theoretical reconstruction hastaken place; only a mere extension of the originalmarketing model has occurred (Crane & Desmond,2002).In the last 20 years, sport has entered into a risingcommercial spiral due to the evolution in consumerbehaviour and new communication technologies.However, two major elements come to disturb theautonomy asserted by professional sport.Communities are expecting the application of ethicsby these organisations. This social demand alsoconcerns figures from the sporting world, publicauthorities and sponsors. The marketing consequencescannot be ignored; actions must be in congruencewith an ethical dialogue. However, the public ofmainland Europe are still attached to a sport bearinghuman and social values, and look beyond thepackaged spectacle. In order to preserve theirlegitimacy, football’s governing bodies must play theirprimary role of guardians of the sport’s central values,by imposing the respect of a true deontology on allstakeholders and shareholders (clubs, players,sponsors, fans, etc.).Indeed, in 2006, an independent report 7 written byArnaut for the European Union considers ethicalrecommendations in terms of “corporate governance7 http://www.independentfootballreview.com/doc/A3619.pdf240 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

European football under close scrutinyresulting from sport governing bodies” (p.76), of activeprevention against “criminal activities around football,money laundering and trafficking of young players”(p.81), that of “the fight against racism andxenophobia” (p.83) and doping. As Arnaut highlights:“two important features need to be taken into account:the rapid and irreversible trend towardscommercialisation of sport and at the same time thedevelopment of the European Union into a widerpolitical, economic and legal structure…” (p.9).Therefore we can say that the pressure of the politicalsphere on ethical questions will be major: “politicalbodies have both the duty and the legal means to playtheir part in finding the appropriate solutions (p.10)”.The setting up of ethical codes is strongly advised: aEuropean code of corporate governance for clubs,procedures to help establish best practice, and atransparent system for transactions related to playertransfers.Facing political pressures and public demands,sporting authorities, particularly in football, mustintegrate the ethical dimension into their marketingfunction. However, talk is not enough. Authorities arecriticised for favouring talk over action. To act meansto set up real actions, like restoring sport’s educationaland social role through the creation of foundations incharge of integrating underprivileged youths ordisabled people. Moreover, clubs and players shouldbe obliged to develop partnerships with privateorganisations that respect certain moral standards,such as being against child labour and respectinghuman rights.In this return to the ‘grass roots’ of the game,sporting authorities, federations, clubs and players willno longer be able to form a deliberate strategy but willbe forced to adhere to a given logic. An ethicaldimension is required by powerful stakeholders inagreement with the European model of the sport. Inthe event of a contravention, the market of consumers– citizens and the sporting public – will be obliged tosanction any ethical infringement.Stakeholder theory would contribute to thedevelopment and true improvement of Europeanfootball’s governance: its governing bodies, multinationalgroups, the business world, consumers, fans, and more(Rossouw, 1994; Mercier, 2001). In spite of its limitsand unfinished state, this paradigm provides aninteresting basis for a study of corporate managementenvironment, in particular those corporations that arespread out over several geographical locations (Beji-Becheur & Bensebaa, 2004)In 2007, new UEFA president Michel Platini said:“Many sporting people want to defend certain sportingvalues and protect the values that we knew. I’m notagainst business at all, but if business takes footballhostage then we risk losing everything.” This could beconsidered as a symbol of necessary return tofootball’s fundamental ethics.© 2009 International Marketing ReportsBiographiesChantal Rouvrais-Charron is a lecturer at theUniversity of Caen in Normandy, France, and teachesmarketing. Her research interests focus on ethicalattitudes of sporting organisations and their effects onstakeholders.Christophe Durand is a lecturer at the University ofCaen in Normandy, France, and has masters degree insports management. He teaches professional sportseconomics, team sport league regulation and mainevents organisation.RESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship241

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Can sponsorships be harmful for events?Investigating the transfer of associations fromsponsors to eventsKeywordssponsorshipassociation transfersponsorshipharm to eventsAbstractRESEARCH PAPERJörg HenselerNijmegen School of ManagementRadboud University Nijmegen, The NetherlandsBradley WilsonSchool of Communication ScienceRMIT University, Melbourne, AustraliaDorien de VreedeGoogle Inc, Dublin, IrelandPeer reviewedThis paper outlines how sponsorships can bebeneficial or harmful to events. Using an experimentaldesign and focusing on association transferssurrounding a snowboarding event, we illustrate thatthe sponsoring brand associations have a significanteffect on the associations of the event. Our resultsindicate that in this instance some associations aretransferred; others are not significant. Event managersmust track which of these association transfers areoccurring in order to understand and maintain theirdesired positioning.Executive summaryThis paper outlines how sponsorships can bebeneficial or harmful to events.Companies try to absorb part of the image ofsporting events by becoming the official sponsor of theevent. In this way they hope that the consumer willlink associations of the event with associations of thesponsoring company, thereby transferring the image ofthe event to the image of the sponsor,This paper adds to the extant literature byinvestigating whether a sponsorship can influence theimage of a sponsee. More specifically, it examines thetransfer of associations from a sponsor to a sponsee.By doing so, it will illustrate how sponsorships cancreate but also destroy value for the sponsee – beyondthe sponsorship fee.Using an experimental design and focusing onassociation transfers surrounding an event, weillustrate that the sponsoring brand associations havea significant effect on the associations of the event.A fictitious snowboarding competition was chosenas a context in which the research subjects, students,had significant relevance, interest and participation. A244 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Can sponsorships be harmful for events?post-test-only experimental design was utilised wherewe altered the sponsoring brand keeping everythingelse constant.We prepared two almost identical newspaper articlesabout the event, which differed only in the brand thatwas mentioned as the key sponsor. Two brands wereselected based on a strong profile and their expecteddivergent contrasts in terms of elicited associations. Thefirst brand, Quiksilver, is a winter sporting goodsmanufacturer and was likely to have manycomplementary associations in reference to the event.The second brand, KPN, a telecommunicationsprovider, was chosen in the belief that it did not have asstrong a complementary association fit with the event.The respondents were randomly assigned to eitherone of two experimental groups. We measured therespondents’ association with the event as well as withthe sponsor by means of the attributes ‘tough’,‘boring’, ‘sporty’, ‘young’, ‘cosy’, ‘alternative’, ‘formal’,‘old fashioned’, ‘reliable’ and ‘slow’, because the pretestrevealed these were the relevant associationsworth exploring.The results indicate that the image of a sponsor hasan impact on the image of the sponsee and can eitherenhance or damage an event.The findings are of importance to both sponsees andsponsors. The sponsees must be very careful in therecruitment and selection of their sponsors. It isimportant for event organisers to understand and usethis knowledge of association transfer as an imagebuilding tool in the same way sponsors do now.Sponsees must also be aware of possibleimplications for damage to their event image that canbe readily caused by sponsors with bad or dull imagesor are likely to experience a transgressional event.Sponsees should now realise that they need to attractappropriate sponsors that supplement their eventimage strengths and reinforce their existing eventweaknesses. If events can attract brands with asuitable image as their sponsor, they may also benefitfrom the positive image flow on effects. In such acase, the value of a sponsorship for the sponsee goesclearly beyond the sponsorship royalty.IntroductionSponsorship’s importance as a marketingcommunications tool has increased significantly incomparison to traditional advertising (Erodogan& Kitchen, 1998; Harvey, 2001) Amis et al (1999)argue that “a sponsorship agreement should beconsidered as a resource which, if carefully managed,can be developed into a distinctive competencecapable of producing a sustainable competitiveadvantage for a firm”. Sponsorship objectives vary andmay relate to a range of brand and strategic objectives(Farrelly & Quester, 2005a). As Cliffe and Motion(2005) point out, sponsoring can be useful to createbrand awareness and brand loyalty, and it is useful forthe creation of brand experience. According toGwinner & Eaton (1999), companies try to absorbpart of the image of a (sporting) event onto themselvesby becoming the official sponsor of the event. Theyhope that the consumer will link associations of theevent with associations of the sponsoring company,thereby transferring the image of the event to theimage of the sponsor (Cornwell et al, 2001; Javalgi etal, 1994; McDonald, 1991; Roy & Cornwell, 2003).Gwinner (1997) illustrated that this belief is justifiedbecause sponsorship does transfer associations fromthe sponsored entity (the sponsee) to the sponsor.Recently, a new stream has emerged withinsponsorship research, extending Cornwell andMaignan’s (1998) cartography of sponsorshipresearch. The relationship between sponsee andsponsor has been identified as a relationship typical ofa business-to-business relationship (Farrelly & Quester,2005a,b). This introduces other business-to-businessconstructs into the equation, such as the notion ofvalue creation and dissemination within thatrelationship from both parties’ perspectives.This paper adds to the literature by investigatingwhether a sponsorship can influence the image of asponsee. We will examine the transfer of associationsfrom a sponsor to a sponsee. By doing so, we willillustrate how sponsorships can create but also destroyvalue for the sponsee – beyond the sponsorship fee.RESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship245

Can sponsorships be harmful for events?RESEARCH PAPERThere are many examples of sponsors influencingthe image of an event. One of the most prominent isthat of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, whichwas labelled the ‘Coca-Cola Games’ (c.f. Pope et al,1997). In many countries, this negatively affected thecredibility of the Games.Despite anecdotal evidence that a sponsorship caneffect an event’s image and have severe consequencesfor the overall event image, there are no scientificinvestigations relating to this. Moreover, Gwinner(1997) even doubts that such effects actually exist.However, following the clear outline of Ferrand andPages (1999), that a sponsee can also be consideredas a unique brand, it remains unclear why anassociation transfer between two brands should bebelieved to only occur from the brand of the sponseeto the brand of the sponsor and not vice versa. Weaim to test the previous contention of Gwinner andEaton (1999), to explore further the direction ofassociation transfer.Literature review and hypothesisdevelopmentAccording to Cornwell and Maignan (1998),“sponsorship involves two main activities: (1) anexchange between a sponsor and a sponsee wherebythe latter receives a fee and the former obtains theright to associate itself with the activity sponsored; and(2) the marketing of the association by the sponsor.Both activities are necessary if the sponsorship is tobe a meaningful investment”. In line with Cornwell(1995), we take sponsorship to be “the orchestrationand implementation of marketing activities for thepurpose of building and communicating an associationto a sponsorship”. Both definitions emphasise theassociation between the sponsor and the sponsee.Obviously, this association is not restricted to a legalassociation, but actually represents the accumulatedmental associations within consumers’ minds.According to Gwinner & Eaton (1999), sponsors hopethat the consumer will subconsciously linkassociations of the event to associations of thesponsoring company, thereby transferring the image ofthe event to the image of the sponsor. Madrigal(2000) found that through sports sponsorship, acompany can link itself or its product to the strongfeelings a consumer has towards the sponsored team.A company that is able to successfully tap into aconsumer’s psychological connectedness with a sportsteam can encourage greater consumer attachment andcommitment to the sponsor’s brand. Availableempirical evidence on the direction of image transferdemonstrates transfer from the sponsee to the sponsor.This identifies a clear need for further research intoimage transfer through the sponsorship relationshipand the directionality of image transfer. It is apparentthat association of transfer from sponsor to sponseehas yet to receive the attention it deserves. To furtherexplain association transfer, we next discuss twotheories pertinent to this domain: first, the structure ofmemory as represented by the associative networkmemory model; and second, learning theories asrepresented by classical conditioning theory.Humans deal with a vast array of information everyday. An individual is able to function in this complexenvironment through use of cognitive systems (mentalthinking processes) and affective mental systems(feelings and emotions) to evaluate information andsituations as they arise. By these processes, only themost relevant information reaches the mind. The twosystems are interconnected and influence each other(Peter et al, 1999). In order for information to reach aperson, the person has to be exposed to theinformation and has to pay attention. Furthermore, thestimulus needs to be interpreted (comprehension) andmeaning has to be attached. This interpretationprocess can occur by a central route – the use ofcognition – or by the peripheral route to persuasion –the use of cues (Petty et al, 1983). When relevantinformation successfully navigates an individual’sscreening mechanisms and reaches the mind, it hasto be stored. There are many theories concerned withthe organisation of the mind. The associative networkmemory model is commonly accepted (Blackwell et al,246 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Can sponsorships be harmful for events?2001), and we acknowledge that this categorisationmodel also has critics (Gregan-Paxton & Roedder1997; Restak, 1995), but a full review of thenumerous theories detailing the functioning of memoryis not our purpose here.The associative network memory model views thememory as a spider web of nodes and links. Nodesare stored information connected by links that vary instrength (Keller, 1993, p.2). A node can be activatedby external information or by internal information thatis retrieved from long-term memory (Anderson &Bower, 1974; Anderson, 1983). This activation canspread to other linked nodes. For example, in the casewhere a spectator is watching a sponsored footballgame, this person will have nodes in their mind withinformation about the football game, nodes withinformation about the sponsoring brand and possibly,if the marketing has been effective, links between thetwo. Information can be spread from one node to theother. The scope of the activation and the amount ofretrieved information from memory is determined bythe strength of the association between the activatednode and the linked nodes (Rossiter & Bellman,2005; Woelfel, 1995). The appropriateness of theassociation and the presence of cues can also have aninfluence (Aaker & Keller, 1990). Consistent with thistheory, a brand can be viewed as a node in memorythat includes some linked associations.Brand associations are developed from differentsources, such as product use, informational sourcesand secondary associations with other entities, forexample attribute associations related to a celebrityendorser or a sporting event (Gwinner, 1997; Keller,2003). These secondary associations can lead to atransfer of associations. Finally, brand associations canvary in their degree of favourability, strength anduniqueness (Keller, 1993).In the ‘transfer of associations’, some associationsthat are linked to one object in the mind aretransferred to another object within the mind (Keller,1993, p.3). Therefore, the second object gets imageassociation transferred to it that is consistent with thefirst object. Recently this has been demonstrated withbrand personality transfer effects in the Ryder Cup(Deane et al, 2003). IBM supplemented its brandpersonality by being associated with an exciting andsophisticated event. If the dynamics were to work inreverse, it would be entirely possible that a sportingevent might become associated with an attribute suchas ‘dull and boring’ for being sponsored by aninsurance company.This ‘associative learning’ can be furthersupplemented by outlining the simple principles ofclassical conditioning learning theory. This theoryexplains how a stimulus acquires new meaning by itsassociation with another stimulus (Blackwell et al,2001, p.461). The theory became famous throughPavlov’s (1927) dog experiments. Associations can,therefore, also be transferred via classical conditioning.Image transfer will be stronger when brands are morefamiliar (Simonin & Ruth, 1998). So, when familiarcompanies with strong brands and associationssponsor events, stimuli will be elicited and this willmake learning (via classical conditioning) more likely.Many organisations use conditioning to facilitateconditioned responses, as researched by Robertsonand Kassarijan (1991, pp.162-187) and McSweeneyand Bierley (1985, pp.301-315). Event managersmight use similar strategies with sponsor solicitation tocreate positive affective responses. By this process,positive, or indeed negative, feelings may be evoked(Peter et al, 1999).Interestingly, neither of the two theories outlinedabove specifies the directionality with which imagetransfer occurs. As the associative network modelviews a brand as a node in memory including somelinked associations, and as this theory assumes it ispossible to transfer these associations from one objectin mind to another, a transfer of associations from thesponsor to the sponsee is likely to occur. Furthermore,the classical conditioning theory explains how astimulus acquires new meaning by association withanother stimulus. If, for example, a sporting event isrepeatedly paired through sponsoring with a brandhaving strong and favourable associations, the event islikely to evoke the same favourable associations. TheRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship247

Can sponsorships be harmful for events?RESEARCH PAPERliterature discussed shows that a transfer ofassociations from the sponsor to the event should bepossible. This results in the following hypothesis:H1: If a sponsoring brand is linked to an eventthrough sponsorship, some of the associationswith the sponsoring brand will be transferred tothe image of the event in people’s minds.In keeping with the recommendation of Rossiter(2002), we would like to clarify the terminology of‘image transfer’ and ‘transfer of associations’. Itappears that these terms are often usedinterchangeably (Gwinner & Eaton, 1999;Meenaghan, 2001; Gwinner, 1997) or without a clearenough distinction between the two. In line with theassociative network memory model, one can arguethat these two concepts are not the same. Keller(1993, p.3) defines brand image as “perceptionsabout a brand as reflected by the brand associationsheld in memory”. So the image of an object containsall of the collected brand associations a person haswith that object. If the term ‘image transfer’ is beingused, this implies that in the case of a transfer, theimage as a whole will be transferred instead of singlebrand association. A complete or full image transfer isnot very likely to occur for two main reasons. First, animage contains many kinds of associations, namely:(1) product-related or non-product-related attributes,(2) functional, experiential or symbolic benefits, and(3) overall brand attitudes (Keller, 1993).It seems impossible, although not yet proven byresearch, that sponsorship can cause a transfer of allthree kinds of associations at once. Although weacknowledge that extremely effective sponsorshipprogrammes probably do transfer many associations,we doubt that there are many instances of full imagetransfer. Secondly, the associations can differ in theirdegree of favourability, strength and uniqueness(Keller, 1993).MethodologyAccording to Cornwell et al (2005), there is a need formore experimental research to improve theunderstanding of processing mechanisms ofsponsorship communication. As our research questionis not only related to a relationship between twovariables but also questions the direction of theinfluence, a causal research design was selected.In principle, any respondent group can be used totest a universal theory; however, characteristics of thegroup chosen are interrelated with theoperationalisations of theory variables (Calder et al,1981). We strived for a homogeneous yet relevantsubgroup, and decided upon a student sample. Inorder to avoid the possibility of Type II errors, wefollowed Ferber’s (1977) recommendation to employoperationalisations that are relevant for the subjectpopulation. We identified snowboarding as a contextwhich for students had significant relevance, interestand participation.A post-test-only experimental design was utilised, inwhich we altered the sponsoring brand but kepteverything else constant. We prepared two newspaperarticles about a fictitious snowboarding event, whichwere almost identical, differing only in the brand thatwas mentioned as the key sponsor. Our experimentresembles the approach taken by Gwinner and Eaton(1999). A pre-test among 33 students was conductedin order to identify the most important associationspertaining to a snowboarding event as well as to selectthe sponsoring brands to be used for creating thecontrasting stimuli.Two brands were selected based on their strongprofile and their expected divergent contrasts in termsof elicited associations. The first brand, Quiksilver, is awinter sporting goods manufacturer and likely to havemany complementary associations in reference to theevent. The second brand, telecommunications providerKPN, was chosen in the belief that it did not have asstrong a complementary association fit with the event.In all, 112 undergraduate business administrationstudents participated in the experiment. The248 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Can sponsorships be harmful for events?respondents were randomly assigned to one of twoexperimental groups. We measured the respondents’associations with the event and with the sponsor bymeans of the attributes ‘tough’, ‘boring’, ‘sporty’,‘young’, ‘cosy’, ‘alternative’, ‘formal’, ‘old fashioned’,‘reliable’ and ‘slow’, because the pre-test revealedthese were the relevant associations worth exploring.ResultsThe statistical analysis utilised multiple analysis ofcovariance (MANCOVA). There are two reasons for thischoice of method. First, MANCOVA’s capability fortesting the influence of factors on several metricdependent variables supports a simultaneousassessment of the change in all associations with theevent. The experiment-wide error rate is thereby takeninto account. Second, MANCOVA allowed us to controlfor several continuous variables. These included theindividual’s involvement with each brand and theperceived fit between the brand and the event.The MANCOVA showed that the sponsoring brandhas a significant effect on associations with the event,F(10,99)=2.357, p=0.015. Tests of between-subjecteffects indicated that not all associations with the eventare affected. The outcomes are per attribute (inparenthesis, the level of significance, if significant):tough (0.002), boring (0.053), sporty (0.040), young(0.012), cosy (n.s.), alternative (0.067), formal (n.s.),old fashioned (0.011), reliable (n.s.) and slow (0.063).ConclusionFrom the empirical study, our central hypothesis couldbe confirmed: The image of a sponsor has an impacton the image of the sponsee. Thus we establishedthrough association transfer that not only can thesponsor’s brands be enhanced or damaged (c.f.Wilson et al, 2004; Wilson et al, 2005; McCracken,1988) by association, but that the same mechanismworks the other way around: The image of a sponseecan be influenced by a sponsorship from a particularsponsor. This finding has important implications bothfor marketing practice and theory.Our findings are relevant to sponsees and sponsors.Sponsees must take great care in the recruitment andselection of sponsors. (We acknowledge that this is aluxury most sponsees cannot afford.) It is importantfor event organisers to understand and use thisknowledge of association transfer as an image-buildingtool in the same way as sponsors do now. Sponseesmust also be aware of possible damage to their eventimage that might be caused by sponsors with bad ordull images. Sponsees need to attract sponsors thatsupplement their event image strengths and helpovercome their event weaknesses. The value of asponsorship for the sponsee then goes clearly beyondthe sponsorship royalty. For all parties, sponsorshipscan be regarded as a fountain of meaning. Sponseescreate meaning through their activities, and sponsorscontribute to the strong, favourable and uniqueassociations being built into an event.Our research has clearly demonstrated that thefountain of meaning is not perpetual but can beharmed by heavy consumption. The latter is the casewhen a brand with strong but unfavourableassociations sponsors an event. Due to thedeterioration of the event’s image, the value that thesponsor gets out of the sponsorship diminishes. Thiscan lead to a vicious cycle leading, at worst, to eventimage degradation and dissolution. Furthermore,sponsorship managers should consider the associationtransfers from all sponsors to sponsee when decidingupon their own sponsorships. Not only will thesponsee’s image be influenced by the sponsor’simage, but also by the images of possible co-sponsors.Our contribution resolves doubts about the existenceof sponsor to sponsee transfer effects (see, forexample, Gwinner, 1997). Although the artificialcharacter of the experiment limits the external validityof the findings, the generalisability is high due to thesound theoretical grounding. Replication wouldobviously increase the external validity. It would alsobe most valuable to consider other potentialRESEARCH PAPER● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship249

Can sponsorships be harmful for events?RESEARCH PAPERmoderating effects of the association transfer process.For example, the degree of similarity between thesponsor and the event (McDaniel, 1999; Gwinner &Eaton, 1999; Rifon et al, 2004) and the degree ofinvolvement the consumer has with the sponsor or theevent (Meenaghan, 2001). Aaker and Keller (1990)argue that it is likely that the extent to whichassociations will transfer also depends on theappropriateness of the association and the presence ofcues to activate the association. It would be of interestto investigate different cues and creative strategies toidentify which format offers the strongest conduit forsuccessful association transfer. Extensive research isneeded to investigate these moderating effectsconceptually and empirically, in order to identifyconditions which facilitate or hamper the transfer ofassociations. Finally, the role of co-sponsors onconsumers’ brand experiences is an important issuethat also needs to be explored.© 2009 International Marketing ReportsReferencesAaker, D.A., Keller, K.L. (1990) Consumer evaluations of brandextensions, Journal of Marketing 54(1), 27-41.Anderson, J.R. (1983) A Spreading Activation Theory ofMemory, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour 22,261-295.Anderson, J.R. & Bower, G.H. (1974) Interference in memory formultiple contexts, Memory & Cognition 2, 509-514.Amis, J., Slack, T. & Berrett, T. (1999) Sport sponsorship asdistinctive competence, European Journal of Marketing 33(3),250-272.Blackwell, R.D., Miniard, P.W., Engel, J.F. (2001) ConsumerBehaviour. Orlando: Harcourt College Publishers.Calder, B.J., Phillips, L.W. & Tybout, A.M. (1981) DesigningResearch for Application, Journal of Consumer Research 8(2),197-207.Cliffe, S.J. & Motion, J. (2005) Building contemporary brands: Asponsorship-based strategy, Journal of Business Research 58(8),1068-1077.Cornwell, T.B. (1995) Sponsorship-linked marketingdevelopment, Sports Marketing Quarterly 4(4), 13-24.Cornwell, T.B. & Maignan, I. (1998) An international review ofsponsorship research, Journal of Advertising 27(1), 1-21.Cornwell, T.B., Roy, D.P. & Steinard, E.A., II (2001) Exploringmanagers’ perceptions of the impact of sponsorship on brandequity, Journal of Advertising 30(2), 41-51.Cornwell, T.B., Weeks, C.S. & Roy, D.P. (2005) Sponsorship-Linked Marketing: Opening the Black Box, Journal of Advertising34(2), 21- 42.Deane, J., Smith, G. & Adams, A. (2003) Sports Sponsorshipand Brand Personality - The Ryder Cup Team and IBM’,International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship 5(3),193-208.Erodogan, B.Z. & Kitchen, P.J. (1998) Managerial mindsets andthe symbiotic relationship between sponsorship and advertising,Marketing Intelligence & Planning 16(6), 369-374.Farrelly, F. & Quester, P. (2005a) Examining importantrelationship quality constructs of the focal sponsorship exchange,Industrial Marketing Management 34(2), 211-219.Farrelly, F. & Quester, P. (2005b) Investigating large-scalesponsorship relationships as co-marketing alliances, BusinessHorizons, 48(1) 55-62.Ferber, R. (1977) Research by Convenience, Journal ofConsumer Research 4, 57-58.Ferrand, A. & Pages, M. (1999) Image management in sportorganisations: the creation of value, European Journal ofMarketing 33(3/4), 387-401.Gregan-Paxton, J. & Roedder, D.J. (1997) Consumer Learningby Analogy: A Model of Internal Knowledge Transfer, Journal ofConsumer Research, 24 (December), 266-284.Gwinner, K. (1997) A model of image creation and imagetransfer in event sponsorship, International Marketing Review14(3), 145-158.Gwinner, K.P. & Eaton, J. (1999) Building brand image throughevent sponsorship: The role of image transfer, Journal ofAdvertising 28(4), 47-57.Harvey, B. (2001) Measuring the effects of sponsorship, Journalof Advertising Research 41(1), 59-65.Javalgi, R.G., Traylor, M.B., Gross, A.C. & Lampman, E. (1994)Awareness of sponsorship and corporate image: An empiricalinvestigation, Journal of Advertising 23(4), 47-58.Keller, K.L. (1993) Conceptualising, measuring, and managingcustomer-based brand equity, Journal of Marketing 57(1), 1-22.250 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

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‘Give me a stadium and I will fill it’An analysis of the marketing managementof Stade Français Paris rugby clubKeywordsrugbybrand imageincreased attendancegrowing revenueAbstractCASE STUDYGuillaume BodetInstitute of Sport and Leisure PolicySchool of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Loughborough UniversityLoughborough LE11 3TU, United KingdomTel: +44 (0)1509 (22)6369Fax: +44 (0)1509 226301Email: G.S.P.Bodet@lboro.ac.ukPeer reviewedThis paper analyses the marketing strategy, marketingmix and brand development of SF Paris rugby unionclub, which succeeded in attracting huge crowds(around 75,000 spectators) for several regular seasongames and in building strong brand equity. Parallelswith American professional sports are drawn anddifferences from other European clubs highlighted.Finally, planning, consistency and in particularinnovation are identified as key factors for success inimplementation of the club’s marketing strategy.Executive summaryOn 27 February 2007, Stade Français Paris (SF Paris)rugby union club set a new world record of attendancewith 79,741 spectators for a regular domestic rugbyunion game. This record is particularly interestingbecause the regular home ground of SF Paris has acapacity of 12,000. The reason for the club’s successin filling huge stadiums several times a year is thechairman’s ability to market events and build strongbrand equity. Indeed, it is thanks to the chairman,Max Guazzini, that the club has developed aninnovative marketing strategy based on the targeting ofnew ‘temporary’ fans rather than just the traditional‘devoted’ and ‘fanatical’ fans (Hunt et al, 1999).Essentially, SF Paris has targeted aesthetic andinteractive fans who respectively look for the theatricaland emotional dimensions of the sports spectacle252 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

(Bourgeon & Bouchet, 2001). It has also identifiedyoung an fans and females – women and girls.The brand was positioned in opposition to its mainrugby union competitors located in the south-west ofFrance and the club has developed a modern,fashionable brand image. Marketing was conducted inaccordance within the overall strategy and thesegments SF Paris targeted. The club focused onoffering highly entertaining games with numerousperipheral elements at very cheap prices (starting from5 euros), developing the merchandising throughinnovative replica shirts and extending the brand withinnovative merchandise such as cosmetic products.This strategy has important similarities withAmerican professional sport and is consideredinnovative when compared to European practices.Indeed, European rugby union clubs, and professionalsport clubs in general, concentrate mainly onattracting the best players in order to secure as manyvictories and trophies as possible. These, in turn,enhance customer loyalty, which then guaranteessteady financial income (Morgan, 2002).Moreover, Harris and Jenkins (2001) highlighted thelack of strategic marketing in English and Welsh rugbyunion clubs, which favours the reproduction oftraditional practices.The aim of this analysis is not to encouragereplication of the SF Paris strategy because it isstrongly related to the sports club’s identity. Instead, itis to emphasise the essential role of marketing strategyfor professional sports clubs and to encourageinnovation in the increasingly competitive professionalsport and entertainment sectors, which are, more thanever, being driven by globalisation.BackgroundOn 27 February 2007, Stade Français Paris beatStade Toulousain 22 to 20 in a game that set a newworld record, not for its score but for attendance at thestadium (Jackson, 2007) – 79,741 spectators for aFrench premier league regular season matchconstitutes a world record for rugby union and also aFrench national record for any sport. The reasons whythis event is so interesting are based on the context inwhich it was achieved. This was not the result of aregular on-field success, but a result of the role ofmarketing in attracting such a crowd. Incidentally, theattendance figure was not a one-off. Since the2004-05 season, SF Paris has on several occasionssucceeded in gaining significantly large crowdsthrough marketing initiatives. Crowds in excess ofaround 70,000 or 40,000 (depending on the capacityof the stadium) have been achieved regularly. Theseare exceptional performances considering both thegeneral interest in rugby union in France and that theclub’s regular home stadium has only 10,500 seats(Ligue Nationale de Rugby; LNR).ObjectiveThe objective of this paper is to highlight thesuccessful marketing management of SF Paris inattracting big crowds and developing strong brandequity. Obviously, investigating a posteriori the successof a company or a brand is always a difficult exercisebecause analysts can never be entirely sure about theauthenticity of the managerial rationale that leads tosuccess. However, in our case, we think that themarketing strategy that we present was wellconsidered and intentional, mainly because of thepersonality and the professional background of thechairman of the club, Max Guazzini. This formerchairman of a successful private French radio stationtook over the presidency of Stade Français in 1992and was the catalyst for the development of the club,indeed some might even say for the overallrejuvenation of French professional rugby.Therefore, we will present the strategic plans andmarketing initiatives SF Paris implemented to build itsworld record attendance and strong brand equity.Finally, a comparison with other European clubs willbe made to show why this case is unique and how itcould be replicated.CASE STUDY● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship253

Stade Français Paris rugby clubCASE STUDYImplementationStrategic marketingAs stated by Kotler et al (2004), strategic marketingrelies on three elements: segmentation, targeting andpositioning. Segmentation consists of clustering amarket in several homogeneous groups, which areboth significant and accessible to marketing activity(Kotler et al, 2004). In the case of SF Paris, the firstquestion concerns which market the club is competingin (Couvelaere & Richelieu, 2005). Indeed, as withprofessional sports clubs in general, SF Pariscompetes in several markets, namely the rugby unionmarket, the professional sports market and finally thebroad leisure and entertainment market (Euchner,1993; Mason, 1999).As far as the rugby union market is concerned, theintensity of competition can be determined throughanalysis of different levels of the sport. At the nationallevel, the main competitors for SF Paris are based inthe south of France, i.e. the area south of the Loireriver, and in south-west France in particular (Boure,2004; Charlot, 2006). The main rivals, in terms ofboth field performance and image, are StadeToulousain, Biarritz Olympique, Clermont-Auvergneand USA Perpignan. SF Paris is the only clubgeographically situated in the ‘north’, and this partiallycontributes to the cultural rivalry between the capitaland the provinces. The south is considered to be thehome of rugby union, and the spirit of rugby is oftencharacterised as a sport of villages or ‘clock towers’,meaning that it is territorially (Boure, 2004; Charlot,2006) and culturally attached to ‘peasant’ values(Pociello, 1983). At a local level, there is only oneother professional club situated in the Paris region, l’Ilede France. Racing-Metro, which along with SF Paris isone of the oldest French sports clubs, plays in thesecond division with a home ground capacity of6,500 seats and an average attendance of 1,141 forthe regular season 2006-07 (LNR).In the general professional sports market, SF Paris’smain regional competitor is Paris Saint Germain (PSG)football club, although other team sports such asbasketball, handball, volleyball and ice-hockey have atleast one first division professional club. However, it isdebatable whether they truly compete, given thatfootball and rugby have very different fan profiles.Finally, as an entertainment activity, we canconsider that SF Paris competes in the leisure marketand, more specifically, is an alternative choice forSaturday night activities such as theatre, cinema orgoing out (Euchner, 1993; Mason, 1999).The principle of segmentation highlights thedifference between groups of customers. It does so inorder to select which segments fit the company’sproduct and which are profitable (Kotler et al, 2004).In order to investigate the marketing strategy of SFParis, it is legitimate to focus on several frameworksthat might help us to understand the demand for thesport spectacle, and then which segments weretargeted by SF Paris.Thus, in relation to the sports spectacle, Holt(1995) identified four types of practices which aredefined as consumption metaphors. The first onedefines consuming-as-experience and highlights theconsumer’s subjective and emotional reactions andparticularly the experiential, aesthetic, autotelic andhedonic dimensions of consumption (Holbrook &Hirschman, 1982). The second metaphor, consumingas-integration,describes “how consumers acquire andmanipulate object meanings” thanks to their symbolicdimension (Holt, 1995). The third highlights theclassification role of consumption in general and thesports spectacle in particular. Finally, consuming-asplayrefers to the way consumers use consumptionobjects to interact, socialise and share commonexperiences. Although this framework constitutes thefirst step to understanding what consumers of sportsspectacles look for, it did not allow us to createmarketing segments, because most spectators useconsumption for several meanings. However,Bourgeon & Bouchet (2001) extended the work ofHolt (1995), and produced a semiotic squareproviding four consumer profiles of sports spectacles.The ‘aesthete’ profile characterised customers wholook for the quality of the game, the beauty of the254 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Stade Français Paris rugby clubdisplay and the feat of the athletes in relation to thedramatic and theatrical intensity of the spectacle. The‘interactive’ profile is essentially reactive and refers tothe emotional dimensions of the games in relation towhat happens both on and off the field. The‘supporter’ profile describes active and engagedsupporting behaviour towards a team. Theseconsumers consider themselves as actors in thespectacle. Last, the ‘opportunist’ profile corresponds toindividuals who use the spectacle for utilitarian valuessuch as economic or political interests withoutinvolving themselves in the event. Even if theseprofiles are not mutually exclusive they identifyrelevant behaviours and attitudes that allow marketersto create segments.Furthermore, Bourgeon and Bouchet (2001) definedthe relationships and the compatibility between thedifferent profiles which are particularly important froma marketing perspective. Indeed, they considered thatthe aesthete and interactive profiles arecomplementary, as are the opportunist and supporterprofiles. There is a discord between the opportunistand aesthete profile and between the supporter andthe interactive profile. Finally, there is a contradictionbetween the opportunist and the interactive profilesand between the supporter and the aesthete ones.The authors not only segment the population, theyevaluate the degree of compatibility between thedifferent segments with the aim of producing amultiple strategy. However, they failed to providecrossing characteristics such as socio-demographics inorder to determine who presents such profiles.Of a similar theme, but less theoreticallygrounded, Hunt et al (1999) proposed a classificationof sports fans according to theirlevel of attachment to the team, from the ‘temporary’,‘local’, ‘devoted’ and ‘fanatical’ to the ‘dysfunctional’fans. This framework suffers from the sameshortcomings as Bourgeon and Bouchet (2001),because it cannot put a face to these people. Anexception to this is probably dysfunctional fans whoseactions, as highlighted in the media, are easilyrecognised.In a more pragmatic way, Tapp & Clowes (2002)segmented football fans according to their level ofloyalty measured by attendance frequency and bywhat they termed ‘the product need’, measured byconsumption behaviour on the day of the match.We think that consideration of these differentframeworks helps us to better understand the nextsteps of strategic marketing: targeting and positioning,which respectively rely on the choice of segments andthe methods used to compete with others within theselected segments.The basic segment for professional teams iscomposed of what Hunt et al (1999) identified as thedevoted and the fanatical fans. By definition they arestrongly attached to a specific club or sport. In thecase of SF Paris, this segment is relatively small.Indeed, we can estimate it to be no more than10,000 people in the Parisian region considering thatthe average attendance for SF Paris was 8,385 and1,141 for Racing-Metro for the 2006-07 season(LNR). Max Guazzini realised that SF Paris had totarget other, newer segments.The first segment, chosen mainly because of itssize, relies on what Bourgeon and Bouchet (2001)termed the interactive profile. The club targeted peoplewho want to share, to enjoy and to participate.Essentially they were identified as young, without agood knowledge of the rules or the world of rugby, andas local and temporary fans. This segment was alsoincreasingly made up of women and girls because, asGantz & Wenner (1991) stated, women are morelikely to watch televised sports for companionship andsharing with family and friends. In such cases, thetarget is represented by the whole family andparticularly by the parents, because they are thedecision-makers.Bourgeon and Bouchet’s (2001) work suggests thatSF Paris is also segmented on aesthetic lines. Indeed,people with an aesthete profile are attracted by thedramatic and theatrical dimension of the spectacle andpresent a complementary relationship with theinteractive profile. We can also predict that the sociodemographicprofile of the two groups is very similar.CASE STUDY● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship255

Stade Français Paris rugby clubCASE STUDYHowever, the aesthete profile also refers to the qualityof the game and the beauty of the display, whichrequires a certain knowledge of the sport. This group,identified as connoisseurs, presents a different profileand is considered to be mainly male. This is based onthe fact that only a small proportion of women areinvolved in French rugby union.It is for this reason that we think that this segmentwas not targeted, although the relatively small size ofthe group might also have a bearing. Moreover, eventhough the club had highly talented players, SF Parisdid not produce the flamboyant style of play seen incompetitors such as Toulouse.Finally, we consider that the last segment, theopportunist profile, was also targeted. Even thoughthis segment is very small and would neither fill astadium, nor provide significant income, high-profilefigures such as politicians or celebrities in this groupcould arguably increase the level of awareness of theclub and affect its image.Therefore, it is considered that SF Paris employs amultiple targeting strategy, defined as selectivespecialisation, with a main focus on the interactivesegment. The choice of this segmentation strategymight be reinforced by the fact that very few, if any,professional clubs, are targeting these segments.The main sports club in the capital, PSG footballclub, had a relatively high average attendance for the2006-07 season of 39,774 (capacity 47, 428) (Liguede Football Professionnel). This was despite adisappointing on-pitch performance which saw theclub finish 15th in the league. PSG’s home gamesalso have an increased risk of violence due todisruptive fans. This factor, in addition to previousstudies regarding spectator attendance, led us to theconclusion that PSG fans do not belong to thesegments targeted by SF Paris. PSG fans appear toconsist of mainly of strongly attached fans, fromdevoted to disruptive, through fanatical, according tothe Hunt et al (1999) classification.Positioning relies on the product conception andimage in order to place it in the mind of targetedcustomers (Kotler et al, 2004).The first differentiation strategy is linked to both theimage of rugby in general and that of the maincompetitors to SF Paris. As mentioned, the south-westof France represents the bastion of rugby. It istherefore difficult for SF Paris to challenge thosecompetitors on historical/traditional values. Thetraditional image of rugby is of a grounded sport, withstrong, deep provincial, rural and inherited values(Augustin, 1999; Boure, 2004; Charlot, 2006).The club therefore decided to take the opposite routeand to play on the French capital versus provinceissue, implementing a modern, trendy, young,glamorous and fashionable image (Fraioli, 2005;Maignan, 2006; Perrin, 2007). As far as localcompetition with other Parisian sports and leisureactivities is concerned, the brand is positioned as‘entertainment’, ‘show’ and of ‘stars and sequins’,which corresponds with the overall image of Paris. Inaddition, because the club does not target the devotedor fanatical fan segment, it has underlined the ‘young’and ‘fun’ dimensions of the brand, and is positionedas ‘always family-friendly’.Marketing mixThe first element to be considered is the initiative runby SF Paris four or five times a year when the club‘invades’ the Stade de France (the French nationalstadium) and puts on an unusual and theatrical show.Obviously, this does not happen at every home gameat the Jean Bouin stadium, which might be onereason for the success. At normal home games, SFParis focuses mainly on the core product (rugby) andwinning. Very few peripheral elements are included,just cheerleaders and the remote-controlled car thatbrings the tee on to the pitch for penalty kicks. Theoverall home attendance for the 2006-07 season was8,385, and sold-out games were rare.The second initiative is very interesting because itconstitutes the basis upon which SF Paris developedits awareness brand image at a national level.Contrary to normal home games, the core product, i.e.what happens on the pitch, is not the most importantelement. Obviously it is not unimportant, because256 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Stade Français Paris rugby clubvictory is part of the satisfaction package, but it issecondary in the sense that even when the team isdefeated, most spectators are satisfied. In line withBodet & Bernache-Assollant (in press), and because ofthe characteristics of the spectators, we can considerthat the issue of the game, or the performance of SFParis players, can be either ‘secondary’ or ‘additional’elements. This means that they might onlysignificantly affect customer satisfaction if the score orthe performance is favourable, although they do notproduce any dissatisfaction if they are negative. Indeedthe marketing strategy, which focuses mainly oninteractive spectators comprising families and youngpeople, puts the accent on peripheral elements, whichmove the simple game of rugby to a great Saturdaynight show. There is a broad focus on pre-gameentertainment with a variety of elements such as BMXfreestyle, acrobatic trampolining, basketball slamdunks, canons throwing SF Paris t-shirts on floats,acrobatic dancing, wrestling fights, cheerleaders,acrobatic horse displays, balloon throwing, majorettes,parades of schools of rugby from the Parisian region,biker parades, and Cowboys and Indian parades.It is noticeable that many elements come fromAmerican culture, which is seen as the leading forcein such entertainment, and is known as ‘show àl’américain’ in French. It is, therefore, a replication ofwhat happens in North-American sports, illustrated bythe Toronto Maple Leafs example described byRichelieu and Pons (2006).Mini concerts also take place before the kick-off,featuring various artists that are popular with youngeraudiences, and are also particularly popular withwomen in their seventies. Such singers fit perfectlywith the festive, young, feminine and parental target.The way in which the ball is brought onto the pitchis also theatrical and has included French cabaretdancers, Miss France hidden in a golden rugby balland by an angel descending from the sky (the roof ofthe stadium).During the game, flags of SF Paris are displayed,traditional or exotic music bands play along to theaction on the fields, and Mexican waves areencouraged. After the final whistle there are fireworkdisplays. Again, several similarities can be identifiedwith American sports, in particular with thecontinent’s biggest sporting event, the Super Bowl.Professional sports clubs also offer products whichcan be considered as peripheral to the core product ofthe match. The most important is the matchshirt/jersey, for which SF Paris has received praise.Indeed, the first shirt the club developed used itsusual colours but the shirts were striped with threeforks of lightning. This represented an innovativedevelopment in the world of rugby that generally optsfor conservative and traditional designs. Red lightningcould be interpreted as conveying power and energy(which, incidentally, is the name of the youth radiostation, NRJ, that Max Guazzini was chairman of).The image was developed in order to attract a youngdemographic who were not already fans. Again,parallels can be made with American sport (Lightningis the name of the NHL club of Tampa Bay). However,what made SF Paris famous was the launch of a pinkshirt. Indeed, they designed a bright pink shirt withthree blue forks of lightning. This colour had neverbeen used for a shirt in French rugby. Moreover it isstrongly related to femininity. In the traditional machoworld of French rugby, this has had a huge impact,arousing numerous comments and gibes (Charlot,2006). However, this was done deliberately.Consistent with its positioning, SF Paris had todifferentiate itself at a national level from the mainFrench clubs mostly situated in the south-west ofFrance, which is characterised by more conservativevalues. Associating rugby players with femininesymbols was certainly one strategy that highlighted thedifference. Obviously, it was also an explicit appeal towomen and girls who are usually not interested inrugby. Some said that it was also an appeal to theParisian gay community, which is supposed to be anopinion-former in consumption trends. This wascertainly reinforced by another product, the calendar of‘Les Dieux du Stade’ (The gods of Stade) whichpictured half-naked players in suggestive positions inGreco-Roman style. This calendar was a great successCASE STUDY● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship257

Stade Français Paris rugby clubCASE STUDYevery year (selling around 200,000 copies) and itsignificantly increased awareness of SF Paris and itsplayers among women. Although the calendar was notwell received by many traditional or old-fashionedrugby fans because of the implied reference tohomosexuality, it has had great success with anincreasingly feminine and young audience (Charlot,2006). Finally, SF Paris introduced a dark blue shirtcovered with pink lilies, which was created inpartnership with a fashion designer. It was not only anextravagant and differentiating innovation, but itperfectly matched the image that SF Paris wanted toenhance, and echoed the cultural and stylishreputation of Paris itself.In 2005, when the club’s contract with Adidasbegan, the volume of shirts sold rose from 10,000 to80,000. During the 2006-07 season 180,000 shirtswere sold according to the communication manager ofAdidas (Perrin, 2007).Thanks to this brand strength, SF Paris has beenable to implement both range and brand extensions.Indeed, the success of the shirts prompted SF Paris toextend the line and to create a range of clothes andaccessories showing different elements of the brand,which were more ‘street-wear’ and trendy thantraditional sportswear. Finally, the club extended thebrand by creating a line of cosmetic products aimed atmen carrying the same name as the calendar, andpotentially described as ‘metro-sexual’.Merchandising figures doubled every year from2004 and represented 17% of overall club turnover in2007 (Perrin, 2007). Since then the club has madesignificant investments in merchandising, realising thatit was not simply a revenue stream but also helped todevelop the brand image. According to Max Guazzini,the secret is that merchandising is innovative and thatin doing it, the club has fun (Perrin, 2007).SF Paris also developed co-branding initiatives withseveral official sponsors, such as special mobilephones using the colours and elements of the brandsuch as the pink lily.The second operational marketing element is price.The overall marketing strategy states that a requiredcondition for a successful game is the quality and sizeof the crowd. Indeed, it is necessary that for suchunusual games, there are a lot of spectators, whichguarantees a great atmosphere and a sense of festivity,particularly for interactive spectators. Thus, the pricestrategy was based on a quick market penetration,with very low prices. For instance, the cheapest ticketsfor the record-breaking game against Stade Toulousainstarted at five euros and allowed SF Paris to attractaround 70,000 people. The price strategy is alsoconsistent with the type of spectators the club wantedto attract. The main target comprises families, forwhom the price is critical. The low prices allow SFParis to compete directly with other Saturday nightleisure activities and position the club as the cheapestoption. For spectators who are not usually interested inrugby and do not even know the rules, the low pricewould induce trial, because the value of the product,as defined in the cost-benefit ratio (Zeithaml, 1988),represents a strong incentive.The third element of the operational marketingstrategy is the venue, where the customers experiencethe service. With a limited capacity of 12,000,including 10,500 seats (LNR), SF Paris was not ableto apply its strategy to its home ground. The clubtherefore had to find other arenas with a largercapacity in Paris. SF Paris first used the Parc desPrinces, the home ground of PSG football club, whichis geographically close to its Stade Jean Bouin base.This first game ‘away’ was staged in April 2005 andwas a sell-out success (47,428 seats). SF Pariswanted to repeat the exercise but was refusedpermission by PSG, who were worried about thedamage that rugby matches cause to the pitch. SFParis then considered the Stade de France, which hastwice as many seats and no regular resident. TheStade de France, the biggest stadium in France, hasvery good transport links, especially via theunderground. This is very important when targetingspectators with a low level of involvement with theconsumption object (i.e. the club). Moreover, theStade de France also benefits from a strong positiveimage because it is associated with the 1998 FIFA258 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Stade Français Paris rugby clubWorld Cup victory and the ensuing celebrations. As amulti-purpose facility, it has also hosted numerousmajor shows such as operas and rock concerts, whichtend to reinforce the psychological association withentertainment and festivity.Apart from the aggressive price strategy, another keysuccess factor is the broad network of sales points.This includes retail outlets, such as multimedia storesthat appeal to younger demographic groups, andsupermarkets, which are strategic points to meetfamilial target groups. Moreover, tickets were offeredthrough websites that usually concentrated on nonsports-relatedevents.The fourth and final element, which SF Paris put agreat deal of effort into was promotion. The evidencesuggests that SF Paris, and particularly chairman MaxGuazzini, was determined to move the club from therestrictive world of rugby and give it a much broaderappeal as part of the overall entertainment sector. Forexample, club players were frequently invited toappear on non sports-related TV shows and the clublaunched several different musical ‘anthems’, whichwere broadcasted on radio stations.Another aspect of brand promotion concerns whatBourgeon and Bouchet (2001) define as the‘opportunist profile’. SF Paris certainly mirrored suchactivity through picking such celebrities as formermodel Naomi Campbell and Madonna as the club’sambassadors. The initiative increased brandawareness and enhanced the trendy, popular and‘show-biz’ aspects of the club. The club also worked todevelop other key public relationships, evidence ofwhich is the link the club implemented with the mayorof Paris.Finally, the advertising treatment was also verycreative, with adverts for special games having morein common with American blockbuster posters than aprofessional rugby game.All of the promotional communication channelstherefore focused on the spectacle and entertainmentaspects of the event and were designed to appeal tothe targeted segments.Comparative analysisA major difference between other French or, indeed,British rugby clubs is that SF Paris considered that thedemand, rugby was elastic and would growsignificantly as a result of a relevant marketingmanagement strategy. Until recently, clubs onlyconsidered the devoted or fanatical segments assuitable targets. Their strategy, in those cases whereplans have been made (Harris & Jenkins, 2001), isfocused on sporting success with the core being rugby.Such a strategy can increase customer loyalty andrevenues, which in turn helps to maintain the sportsbasedstrategy by further investing in high-qualityplayers.Morgan (2002) illustrated this model using theexample of Bath. Rugby union clubs try to recruit thebest players from around in the world, to offer astructured season with regular home games and tohave their international stars available in order tosatisfy investors. As far as the expectations ofspectators and television viewers are concerned, theprimary focus is on the uncertainly of the outcome,the significance of the game and the identificationwith the success (Morgan, 2002). We could arguethat the first and third such expectations arecontradictory, unless uncertainty concerns only theextent of the victory. This strategy is not wrong andhas been applied with success to numerous clubssuch as Leicester Tigers or Stade Toulousain (Fraioli,2005). It is certainly justified when clubs havesporting success and attract high attendances.However, there is a question as to whether thestrategy works for clubs that are not performing well,or if, when they do, they still fail to attract biggercrowds. We would argue that the strategy is notsuitable for such clubs.With regards to the commercial, marketing andbusiness strategic plan of rugby union, it appears thatthe Rugby Football Union (RFU), and English rugbyclubs by extension, tend to be positioned “towards upscalemen” (p.95), where “new participants are morelikely to be interested if they are introduced to thegame through a sympathetic third party and, as aCASE STUDY● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship259

Stade Français Paris rugby clubCASE STUDYresult, have had the complex rules and strategies ofthe game simplified in order to make the gameenjoyable” (p.100). This view seems to be confirmedby the Rugby Conduct survey (2002), which foundthat rugby union spectators are essentially male(82%), middle-aged (more than 50% are over 45),familiar to the sport (almost all participants) and havea good understanding of the rules.The relevance of such targeting is directly linked tomatch attendance figures and the level of financialincome. If clubs still struggle to fill their stadia orincrease revenues, why not implement a newmarketing strategy? Why not target different segmentssuch as women, children, the middle classes andethnic minorities?There are not many examples of such an approachin rugby, or indeed even in football, and we canhighlight just a few ad hoc initiatives that do notcorrespond to a pre-determined strategy. One exampleis that of Athletic Bilbao football club, which explicitlytargets regional Basque spectators by fielding onlyBasque players in the team (Castillo, 2007). The clubhas not been very successful on the field, finishing17th (out of 20) in the Spanish first division in the2006-07 season. It does, however, have a highattendance level, which was approximately 85% ofcapacity for home games during that season (Liga deFútbol Profesional).However, even though SF Paris appears to be aunique case, it has pioneered a method which othershave begun to follow. For example, following thesuccess of SF Paris games at the Stade de France,several French rugby union clubs organised importantgames, such as the quarter-finals of the HeinekenCup, in other stadiums with large capacities. BiarritzOlympique crossed the border to play in Real Sociedadfootball club’s Stade Anoeta in San Sebastian, Spain.Bourgoin-Jallieu has played in St Etienne and evenGeneva (Switzerland), and USA Perpignan isattempting to play in a stadium in Barcelona (Spain).We note that neither Spain nor Switzerland arerugby-playing countries but this does not seem to bean obstacle to filling stadiums. The clubs have realisedthat if they can get a very big stadium, they canoccasionally fill it; the title of this paper is, therefore,apposite.Finally, we can consider that European rugby andfootball clubs are beginning to embark on marketingstrategies that can be associated with anAmericanisation of the approach to sports spectators.This is illustrated in the paper’s title, and can besummarised in the following words: sport marketershave to consider their customer demand as elastic.Obviously some professional clubs, particularly thosein football, are still a long way from such a positionpartly because of their sporting success and the size ofthe demand, as illustrated by Barcelona FC (Richelieu& Pons, 2006). But the SF Paris case studydemonstrates that there is a significant incentive forsports clubs that are not particularly successful orpopular to be innovative. The recent arrival ofAmerican sports such as NFL in Europe might alsoaffect the way sports marketing is viewed by Europeanprofessional sports, as US sports are now targetingEuropean fans (Blitz, 2007).ConclusionThe rationale for this case study was justified by threeelements, which appear to be the main successfactors for SF Paris. The first is the fact that strategicmarketing often seems to be neglected, especiallywhen compared to operational initiatives. This casestudy clearly demonstrates that SF Paris’s marketingoperations appear to be driven by a pre-determinedand intentional strategy. The second factor relies onthe consistency of the marketing management, andthe third concerns the level of innovation and thewillingness to change common habits and approachesto business.Indeed, the success that SF Paris has had in fillinglarge stadiums and building strong brand equity mightbe because the chairman and club managers did notsee the idiosyncrasies and traditions of rugby asinsurmountable barriers. Obviously, as Richelieu and260 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Stade Français Paris rugby clubPons (2005) noted, some might not agree with such amarketing strategy, and our goal is not to say thatevery professional club should replicate it. It dependson the identity of the sports organisation and thepotential demand. Through this case study, we wantedto highlight the fact that the marketing strategy wassuccessful because it was well thought-out, consistent,innovative and in accordance with, or determined by,the identity of the club.For SF Paris, the major issue now is developingspectator loyalty and transforming casual spectatorsinto fans with an increased club identification level.This is because such developments have been foundto generate numerous favourable outcomes for theclub (Wann, 2006). So far, there is no evidence tomake us conclude that such a transformation ishappening. However, we do not consider it as a majorshortcoming. Indeed, the aim of SF Paris is not toprovide a major show at every home game. Thiswould over-supply the product and spoil theuniqueness and its extraordinary quality. Throughlimiting supply, there is no reason to think that futureextravaganzas would not be successful. The strategyshould, therefore, guarantee strong and steadyfinancial income through these major events and theoverall brand management, which will in turn enablethe club to invest in the core product, talented playersor staff.© 2009 International Marketing ReportsBiographiesGuillaume Bodet is a lecturer in sports marketing atthe School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Universityof Loughborough, UK. He is a member of the Instituteof Sport and Leisure Policy and the Centre for OlympicStudies and Research, and his research interestsbroadly include consumer behaviour in relation tosport services, goods or brands.ReferencesAugustin, J.-P. (1999) From one stage to another: French rugbycaught between local and global cultures. Journal of EuropeanArea Studies 7(2), 197-210.Blitz, R. (2007) US sports make London the goal. The FinancialTimes, 26 October 2007.Bodet, G. & Bernache-Assollant, I. (in press). Do fans care abouthot dogs? A satisfaction analysis of French ice hockey spectators,International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing.Boure, R. (2004) Approche socio-économique de sociopolitiquedu rugby [Socio-economical approach of rugby socio-politics].Workshop Inter-ateliers: Rugby, médias et Société, 14 June2004.Bourgeon, D. & Bouchet, P. (2001) La recherche d’expériencesdans la consommation du spectacle sportif [Experience seekingin the sporting event consumption], Revue Européenne deManagement du Sport, 6, 1-47.Castillo, J.C. (2007) Play fresh, play local: the case of Athleticde Bilbao, Sport in Society 10(4), 680-697.Charlot, V. (2006) Le rugbyman professionnel: socialisation etévolutions des normes, ou quand les ‘déviants’ deviennent‘conformes’ [The professional rugby player: socialisation andnorms evolution, or when ‘deviant’ become ‘orthodox’],proceedings from the 2nd Congress of the Association Françaisede Sociologie, 5-8 September, Bordeaux, France.Couvelaere, V. & Richelieu, A. (2005) Brand strategy inprofessional sports: the case of French soccer teams, EuropeanSport Management Quarterly, 5(1), 23-46.Euchner, C.C. (1993) Playing the field: why sport teams moveand cities fight to keep them. John Hopkins University Press:Baltimore, MD.Fraioli, B. (2005) Duel marketing au sommet [Duel at the top],Stratégies, 12 May 2005.Gantz, W. & Wenner, L.A. (1991) Men, women, and sports:audience experiences and effects, Journal of Broadcasting andElectronic Media, 35(2), 233-243.Harris, L. & Jenkins, H. (2001) Planning the future of rugbyunion: a study of the planning activities of UK rugby clubs,Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 19(1), 112-124.Holbrook, M. & Hirschman, E. (1982) The experiential aspectsof consumption, Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (September),132-140.CASE STUDY● APRIL 2009 ● International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship261

Stade Français Paris rugby clubCASE STUDYHolt, D.B. (1995) How consumers consume: a typology ofconsumption practices, Journal of Consumer Research, 22(June), 1-16.Hunt, K.A., Bristol, T. & Bashaw, R.E. (1999) A conceptualapproach to classifying sports fans, Journal of ServicesMarketing 13(6), 439-452.Jackson, P. (2007) If Mad Max can do it in France, surelyEngland can-can, The Daily Mail, 10 May 2007.Kotler, P., Dubois, B. & Manceau, D. (2004) Marketingmanagement (11th edn). France, Paris: Pearson Education.Perrin, L. (2007) Le Stade Français gagne du terrain sur le PSG[Stade Français is encroaching on the PSG land], Le Parisien,22 December 2007.Liga de Fútbal Profesional: www.lfp.es/main_1.htmMaignan, G. (2006) Le rugby show-biz de Max Guazzinitourneboule l’Ovalie [The show-biz rugby of Max Guazzinidisrupts the Ovalie], L’Expansion, 1 May 2006.Mason, D.S. (1999) What is the sports product and who buysit? The marketing of professional sport leagues, EuropeanJournal of Marketing 33(3/4), 402-418.Morgan, M. (2002) Optimizing the structure of elite competitionsin professional sport – lessons from rugby union, ManagingLeisure 7, 41-60.Pociello, C. (1983) Le rugby ou la guerre des styles [Rugby orthe war of styles]. Paris: Métailié.Richelieu, A. & Pons, F. (2005) Reconciling managers’ strategicvision with fans’ expectations, International Journal of SportsMarketing & Sponsorship, 150-163.Richelieu, A. & Pons, F. (2006) Toronto Maple Leafs vs FootballClub Barcelona: how two legendary sport teams built their brandequity, International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship,231-250.Rugby Conduct, (2002) A survey of spectators’ perception of thevalues and norms of professional rugby league and union, UKSport, Strategy, Ethics and Research (November) 1-45.Rugby Football Union:www.rfu.com/pdfs/strategic_plan/commercial.pdfTapp, A. & Clowes, J. (2002) From ‘carefree casuals’ to‘professional wanderers’: segmentation possibilities for footballsupporters, European Journal of Marketing 36(11/12),1248-1269.Wann, D.L. (2006) Understanding the positive socialpsychological benefits of sport team identification: the teamidentification-social psychological health model, GroupDynamics: Theory, Research and Practice 10(4), 272-296.Zeithaml, V. (1988) Consumer perceptions of price, quality andvalue: a means-end model and synthesis of evidence, Journal ofMarketing 52 (July), 2-22.262 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● APRIL 2009 ●

Editorial policyThe Journal welcomes the submission of academicand practitioner research papers, articles, casestudies, interviews and book reviews. Submissionsshould aim to educate and inform and should ideallyfocus on a specific area that is pertinent to thesubject matter of the Journal, as detailed below.In all instances, the editorial team seeks to publishsubmissions that clearly add value to theory and/orpractice in sports marketing and sponsorship.Aims and scopeThe mission of the Journal is to bring togetheracademics and practitioners in one forum, with theintent of furthering knowledge and understanding ofsports marketing and sponsorship. The Journalinterprets sports marketing and sponsorship broadly,to include:● fans and customers● individual performers and endorsers● teams and clubs● leagues and competitions● events and stadia● sponsors and properties● retailers and merchandisers● suppliers and intermediaries● broadcasters and the media● governing bodies and representative associations● places, spaces and cities● economic and social development initiatives● magazines, newspapers and websites● betting and gambling services● sportswear manufacturers● gaming and collecting.We encourage submissions from a wide variety ofperspectives, including marketing, all areas ofmanagement, economics, politics, history, sociology,psychology, cultural studies and anthropology.All articles should be written primarily to informacademics and practitioners directly or indirectlyinvolved in the sports marketing and/or sponsorshipindustries. Articles that detail results of original work areaccorded high priority. The Journal also invites reportson new or revised business techniques, perspectives oncontemporary issues and results of surveys.Case studies and reviews of books and/or reportsare welcomed. For these, we request that copies of thebook/report be sent to the Editor and to the Publisher.Research articles should be well groundedconceptually and theoretically, and methodologicallysound. Qualitative and quantitative pieces of researchare equally appropriate.The Editor is willing to discuss and advise onproposed projects. This is no guarantee of publication.Submissions are double-blind peer reviewedaccording to the following general criteria:● clarity and content of the abstract● problem or issue definition and justification● relevance and rigour of literature review● credibility, appropriateness and relevance of researchmethodology and in the reporting of results● quality and relevance of conclusions andrecommendations● value added by the submission to academic andpractitioner understanding of sports marketing.Format and styleResearch articles should normally be no less than4,000 and no more than 8,000 words.Case studies of no less than 2,500 and no more than5,000 words should be objective rather thanpromotional and should follow the following format:Background / Objectives / Implementation / Results /Conclusion. Interviews are welcomed, but should bediscussed with the Editor. Book reviews shouldnormally be less than 1,500 words.Each article submitted for consideration shouldinclude an executive summary of up to 500 words,which gives a flavour of the article and includes therationale for the study, methods used, key findings,conclusions and value added. A shorter abstract, of nomore than 100 words, must also be included.EDITORIAL POLICY● APRIL 2009 ●International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship263

EDITORIAL POLICYFootnotes and endnotes may be used but only whereappropriate and as sparingly as possible.Tables, charts, diagrams and figures should be inblack and white and placed on separate pages at theend of the manuscript. Where data or image files havebeen imported into Word for tables, diagrams etc,please supply the original files. Authors must indicatein the main body of the text approximately where eachtable, chart, diagram or figure should appear.Jargon should be kept to a minimum, with technicallanguage and acronyms always clearly defined.The accuracy of references is the responsibility ofthe author(s). Authors should refer to the Journal forstyle or use the Harvard system of referencing foundat: http://library.curtin.edu.au/referencing/harvard.pdfSubmissions protocolSubmissions should be sent as Word documents byemail directly to the Editor. If this is not possible, threecopies of the manuscript should be sent by regularmail with a copy on CD (preferably) or computer disc.Authors should submit their manuscripts witha covering letter. Receipt of submissions is noguarantee of publication. Submission of a paper tothe Journal implies agreement of the author(s) thatcopyright rests with International Marketing ReportsLtd if and when a paper is published. The copyrightcovers exclusive rights to reproduce and distributethe paper.The Journal will not accept submissions underreview with other publications. If the manuscript ispreviously published or copyrighted elsewhere,specific permission must be obtained from thePublisher before submission and the Editor of theJournal must be informed.All research papers submitted will be double-blindpeer reviewed. Authors will normally receive anassessment from the reviewers within six to 12 weeks.The Publisher reserves the right to sub editsubmissions for accuracy and consistency of style.Submissions formatPage 1Page 2Page 3● Title of the submission● Author(s) name(s), affiliation, postaladdress, email, telephone and fax● Up to six keywords● Specify: academic/practitioner paper● Biography of author(s) (50 words)● Title of the submission● Executive summary (500 words)● Abstract (100 words)● Author details MUST NOT appear● Title of submission; begin main text.For more specific style questions, please consulteither a recent edition of the Journal or the Editor.Based upon reviewer comments, the Editor will makeone of four decisions:● that the submission should be accepted forpublication without amendments● that the submission should be accepted forpublication subject to minor amendments● that the submission should be returned to theauthor(s) with recommendations for major changesbefore publication is considered again● that the submission should be rejected.Submissions accepted for publication will normally bescheduled to appear within 12 months of the authorreceiving written confirmation of acceptance from theEditor. Rejected manuscripts will not be returned.Professor Michel Desbordes, EditorInternational Journal of SportsMarketing & SponsorshipISC School of Management, Paris, France& University Paris Sud 11, FranceTel: +33 (0)1 69 15 61 57Fax: +33 (0)1 69 15 62 37Email: michel.desbordes1@wanadoo.fr264International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ●APRIL 2009 ●