Exploring sport brand development strategies to strengthen consumer involvement with the product – The case of the Australian A-League

Highlights

•	Sport brands can use three general strategies to develop their brand.
•	Brand development strategies can be used to influence consumer-based brand associations.
•	Leagues need to consider their clubs in their brand development approach.
•	Consultation of highly involved consumers also benefits other consumer segments.

Abstract

The branding of sport leagues represents an emergent area of scholarship. The current research capitalised on an opportunity to explore the strategies sport leagues can implement to develop their brand and consequently better satisfy their consumers. The Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) was used to guide the examination of sport brand development strategies recommended by consumers of a sport league. Mixed method data were collected from football consumers in Australia (N = 230). Seven themes were uncovered through qualitative content analysis representing three brand development strategies – market penetration, market development and product development. The study contributes to sport management literature by (1) identifying strategies that can be used to position sport brands; (2) indicating how these strategies may be used to influence consumers’ brand associations; (3) demonstrating the close brand relationship between leagues and their clubs and (4) enhancing market research sampling knowledge. The study also provides sport managers with strategic brand management directions.

Keywords:

• Sport brand
• Brand development
• Brand strategy
• Strategic management
• Organisational strategy

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Daniel Lock and Kevin Filo for their comments on an earlier version of this article.

Notes

1 In this article we used A-League management instead of FFA because the A-League is only one of FFA's many responsibilities, which include Australian national football team, youth development and grass-roots football.

2 The A-League's main competitors were able to keep their average attendance numbers fairly consistent over this time period. For example, the average attendance of the Australian Football League (AFL) slightly decreased from 33,006 in 2007 to 32,582 in 2011, and the National Rugby League (NRL) slightly increased from 16,580 in 2007 to 17,234 in 2011 (AUStadiums, 2013).