Implicit and Explicit Affective Evaluations of Athlete Brands: The Associative Evaluation–Emotional Appraisal–Intention Model of Athlete Endorsements

The researchers explore consumers’ emotional responses toward athlete brands by developing the associative evaluation–emotional appraisal–intention (AEI) model. The AEI postulates that unconscious (implicit attitudes) and conscious (explicit affective attitudes) levels of emotional responses systematically flow following assessments of perceived fit in athlete endorsements. Implicit attitudes were measured through the implicit association test, whereas pleasure, arousal, and pride captured explicit affective attitudes. Contrary to dominant beliefs about successful athlete endorsements, findings from a lab experiment indicate that low perceived fit affected implicit attitudes, which in turn affected arousal for consumers with high involvement. Pleasure, arousal, and pride were interrelated and systematically determined behavioral intentions of viewership and online friendship with athletes. Studies investigating athlete brands and endorsement success should consider the influence of both implicit and explicit attitudes on fan behavior. Managers should strategically utilize both low and high fit endorsements to facilitate emotional experiences and optimize desired consumption behavior.

The effects of endorsement strength and celebrity-product match on the evaluation of a sports-related product: the role of product involvement

The primary question motivating this study is how message characteristics influence the persuasiveness of celebrity athlete endorsements as used in print advertising for a sports drink. In particular, this study examines the extent to which celebrity endorsement of a product influences the effectiveness of advertising under varying degrees of perceived fit between the celebrity and the product image. The findings indicate that the process of integrating endorsement strength with given endorsers and products can substantially enhance the effectiveness of celebrity advertising. It is found that the interactive effect of endorsement strength and celebrity-product match is more pronounced among consumers with high product involvement than among those with low involvement.

Strategic match of athlete endorsement in global markets: an associative learning perspective

Marketers worldwide consider athlete endorsement a highly effective promotional tool. However, little is known about consumers' responses towards athlete endorsement in global markets - particularly the bi-directional image transfer mechanism. This study examines the image match between athlete endorsers and products using a three-dimensional visual map and comparing image perceptions towards athlete endorsements among respondent groups from Japan, Korea and the United States during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The results show that image perceptions of selected athlete endorsers, endorsed products and their match are significantly different in these markets.

Differential Effects of Television Commercials, Athlete Endorsements, and Venue Signage during a Televised Action Sports Event

This study examined the differential effectiveness of television commercials, athlete endorsements, venue signage, and combined promotions as assessed by Generation Y consumers. A 2 × 4 independent-group experimental design was conducted, consisting of two experimental conditions (experimental and control) and four video footage interventions with different promotional procedures (television commercial, athlete endorsement, venue signage, and combined promotion). A total of 253 subjects were randomly assigned into the eight groups. The subjects responded to a questionnaire that measured brand awareness in terms of unaided recall, aided recall, and recognition. A factorial MANCOVA revealed that after controlling for differences in the consumption backgrounds of action sports among the subjects, all four promotional procedures effectively increased brand awareness during a televised action sports event. Television commercials were the most effective, followed by combined promotion, athlete endorsement, and venue signage.