<p>Sportindustrin blir alltmer marknadsdriven. För att kunna bedriva effektiv marknadsföring blir det allt vanligare att strategiskt arbeta med att utveckla varumärken, brand management, som man använder sig av för att genom olika kommunikationskanaler attrahera konsumenter. Många av Sveriges specialförbund arbetar idag konkret med sport brand management. Svenska Ridsportförbundet (SvRF) har inte tidigare arbetat med sport brand management varav syftet med denna uppsats därför är att påbörja en varumärkesutveckling genom att identifiera och beskriva SvRF:s varumärke från ett internt perspektiv samt undersöka hur förbundet genom sport brand management kan utveckla verksamheten.  Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys som inkluderar semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda på förbundet. I empirin presenteras SvRF:s erbjudande, varumärke och verksamhetsmål samt några av de viktigaste faktorer som påverkar ridsportens utveckling. Den empiriska sammanställningen visar att trots det faktum att SvRF idag inte bedriver något konkret brand management har varumärket ”svensk ridsport” ändå en stark identitet och många unika värden. Vidare visar slutsatsen att SvRF genom mer fokus på varumärket och brand management kan utveckla verksamheten ytterligare.</p>

Sportindustrin blir alltmer marknadsdriven. För att kunna bedriva effektiv marknadsföring blir det allt vanligare att strategiskt arbeta med att utveckla varumärken, brand management, som man använder sig av för att genom olika kommunikationskanaler attrahera konsumenter. Många av Sveriges specialförbund arbetar idag konkret med sport brand management. Svenska Ridsportförbundet (SvRF) har inte tidigare arbetat med sport brand management varav syftet med denna uppsats därför är att påbörja en varumärkesutveckling genom att identifiera och beskriva SvRF:s varumärke från ett internt perspektiv samt undersöka hur förbundet genom sport brand management kan utveckla verksamheten.  Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys som inkluderar semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda på förbundet. I empirin presenteras SvRF:s erbjudande, varumärke och verksamhetsmål samt några av de viktigaste faktorer som påverkar ridsportens utveckling. Den empiriska sammanställningen visar att trots det faktum att SvRF idag inte bedriver något konkret brand management har varumärket ”svensk ridsport” ändå en stark identitet och många unika värden. Vidare visar slutsatsen att SvRF genom mer fokus på varumärket och brand management kan utveckla verksamheten ytterligare.

Στην υπερπροσφορά των προϊόντων και υπηρεσιών, το σύγχρονο μάρκετινγκ προσφέρει ένα καθοριστικό εργαλείο με το οποίο ενισχύεται η εικόνα των προϊόντων, συμβάλλοντας στην τόνωση της σχέσης μεταξύ της επωνυμίας και του καταναλωτή, γνωστό ως «προσωπικότητα της επωνυμίας» (brand personality). Η έννοια αυτή έχει προσελκύσει τα τελευταία χρόνια το επιστημονικό ενδιαφέρον των επαγγελματιών του αθλητικού μάρκετινγκ σε μία προσπάθεια διαφοροποίησης των αθλητικών ομάδων. Η έννοια της προσωπικότητας της επωνυμίας των αθλητικών ομάδων, σύμφωνα με την βιβλιογραφία, είναι πολύπλοκη, δύσκολο να ορισθεί λόγω της φύσης της και δύσκολο να μετρηθεί λόγω της αδυναμίας δημιουργίας ενός αξιόπιστου και έγκυρου εργαλείου μέτρησης. Στόχος της παρούσας μελέτης ήταν να εξετάσει την εφαρμογή της εγκυρότητας και αξιοπιστίας του μοντέλου των Blank, Koenigstorfer & Baumgartner (2013) για την προσωπικότητας της επωνυμίας των ποδοσφαιρικών ομάδων της ελληνικής Super League. Επιπλέον, έγινε προσπάθεια εντοπισμού των ενδεχόμενων ομοιοτήτων και διαφορών ως προς τα χαρακτηριστικά της προσωπικότητας της επωνυμίας μεταξύ των άμεσων ανταγωνιστριών ομάδων της ελληνικής Super League. Τέλος, διερευνήθηκε ο βαθμός στον οποίο η προσωπικότητα της επωνυμίας επηρεάζει την καταναλωτική συμπεριφορά των φιλάθλων των ομάδων της ελληνικής Super League. Για τους παραπάνω λόγους πραγματοποιήθηκε έρευνα με την χρήση ερωτηματολογίων σε δείγμα 799 ατόμων. Τα κύρια συμπεράσματα της έρευνας ήταν η εγκυρότητα και αξιοπιστία της κλίμακας μέτρησης των Blank et al. για την προσωπικότητας της επωνυμίας της αγαπημένης ποδοσφαιρικής ομάδας της ελληνικής Super League, η οποία συγκροτείται από 3 βασικές διαστάσεις και της προσωπικότητας της επωνυμίας της σημαντικότερης αντιπάλου της ελληνικής Super League, η οποία αποτελείται από 2 διαστάσεις. / In the oversupply of products and services, modern marketing offers a crucial tool that enhances the image of the product, helping to boost the relationship between the brand and the consumer, known as “brand personality”. This concept has attracted in recent years the scientific interest of professionals in the sports marketing in an effort to diversify the sports teams. The concept of brand personality of sports teams, according to the literature, is complex, difficult to define because of its nature and difficult to quantify because of the inability to create a reliable and valid measurement tool. The aim of this study was to examine the application of the validity and reliability of the model of Blank, Koenigstorfer & Baumgartner (2013) for the brand personality of football teams in Greek Super League. In addition, an attempt was made to identify potential similarities and differences in the brand personality traits between direct rival teams of Greek Super League. Finally, the extent to which the brand personality influences the consumer behavior of Greek Super League team’s supporters is investigated. For these reasons, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire to a sample of 799 individuals. The main conclusions of the research was the validity and reliability of the measurement scale of Blan et al. (2013) of the brand personality of the favorite football team in the Greek Super League, which is composed of three basic dimensions of brand personality and the scale of brand personality of the most important rival in Greek Super League, which consists of two basic dimensions.

This study examined the effects of sport brand music on the shopping behaviors sport consumers. Sport brand music is custom-designed music that embodies the attributes and characteristics of the sport brand, and plays a formative role in priming concepts related to the sport brand in the minds of sport consumers. Since sport brand music features song lyrics directly related to the sport brand, the purpose of this research was to examine the effects of sport brand music on shopping-related outcomes in an online retail store. Specifically, it was hypothesized that sport brand music would have a positive influence on sport consumers’ perceptions of musical fit with the sport brand, which would then lead to positive effects on various shopping behaviors, including evaluation of the store, attitude towards the brand, and purchase intentions. In addition, because people observe store environments in different ways, it was predicted that the personality trait of atmospheric responsiveness would moderate the relationships. The theoretical framework for this research is based on the principles and perspectives of conceptual fluency. It is argued that sport brand music that consists of song lyrics related to the sport brand will be more conceptually fluent and easier to process in a sport brand store than will popular music. A quantitative research design in the form of a laboratory experiment was used in this study. Participants (N=250) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: sport brand music (conceptually fluent) and popular music (not conceptually fluent). The conditions employed in this research involved shopping tasks that took place in a sport brand online retail store. Following the shopping tasks, participants were asked to answer questionnaire items via Qualtrics online survey software. Structural equation modeling (SEM) by means of AMOS 7.0 (Arbuckle, 2006) was utilized to test the hypotheses. Assessment of the measurement model fit for the entire model showed that all variables loaded as expected. Evaluation of the hypotheses showed that participants assigned to the sport brand music condition demonstrated more positive perceptions of musical fit than did participants assigned to the popular music condition(β = -.44, p < .001). Further, results supported the hypothesis that musical fit would then positively affect evaluations of the store (β = .50, p < .001) and attitudes toward the brand (β = .14, p < .05), but did not affect purchase intentions (β = .11, p = .06). In addition, findings indicate that evaluations of the store significantly related to attitudes toward the brand (β = .52, p < .001), which positively related to purchase intentions (β = .53, p < .001). Moreover, atmospheric responsiveness was found to have a moderating effect on musical fit (β = -.13, p = .06). Details of this research, as well as research limitations, study implications, and future directions, are forwarded.

In communicating with international markets, one of the key issues is culture. In particular, visual and communication convention are substantial cultural elements, which influence advertising effects. Prior literature suggests that visual and communication culture are different between Western and Asian countries. Past research has indicated that complex visual images, which rely on implicit pictorial images, can be better processed by consumers in collectivist cultures. These researchers further suggest that consumers of individualist cultures are more accustomed to simple visual images that carry direct pictorial images than to implict visual images. Also, prior communication literature posits that while consumers in collectivist cultures value implicit verbal messages, those in individualist cultures regard explicit messages as more effective. Given the literature, this study sought to understand how these cultural preferences influence consumers’ evaluation of the sport ad and brand, and their purchase intentions. The study employed a mixed method. In the experimental section, the study tested the effects of visual images, communication styles, and culture on attitudes and purchase intentions. The qualitative portion sought to explore consumers’ thoughts and feelings toward visual images and communication styles of sport print advertising. For Koreans, the experimental results showed that the complex visual image, high context verbal communication, and the presence of both characteristics induced favorable attitudes toward the ad and brand. These results were also supported by the Korean interview findings. However, the experimental results indicated that regardless of visual images and communication styles, Americans exhibited overall positive attitudes toward the ad and brand. These results were consistent with the American interview findings. Purchase intention was not influenced by visual image type or communication style for either ethnic group. The unexpected findings for American markets were discussed by external and internal influences embedded in America society. Given the findings and discussions, the study proposed two practical frameworks in persuading national and international sport markets: The implicit superiority and schism-bridge effect frameworks. / text