Download Brand Love, Brand Image and Loyalty in Australian Elite

Brand Love, Brand Image and Loyalty in Australian Elite Sport
Sarah Broadbent, Deakin University, [email protected]
Kerrie Bridson, Deakin University, [email protected]
Lesley Ferkins, Deakin University, [email protected]
Ruth Rentschler, Deakin University, [email protected]
Abstract
This paper aims to contribute to the current brand and sport marketing literature by
conceptualising the relationship between brand image, brand love and loyalty within
Australian elite sport. The context for this study is an investigation of Australian football and
more specifically its teams. Sport teams are seeking to enhance profits through marketing
strategies targeted at driving supporter loyalty. Such teams are marketing their identities as a
brand in an attempt to create a unique team personality in order to achieve a competitive
advantage over other teams. But team or brand personality and its relationship with loyalty do
not operate in isolation and the introduction of brand love to the conceptual model seeks to
better explain variations in loyalty performance. This paper presents a holistic conceptual
model and subsequent research propositions.
Keywords: Brand love, loyalty, brand image, passion, sport
Introduction
According to the famous Beatles song and Roberts (2006) in his book on lovemarks ‘all you
need is love’. The word ‘love’ tends to conjure up thoughts of romance and the feeling of love
for another person, however love can also be used to describe how one feels about an object,
activity or even a brand (Ahuvia, 2005; Whang, Allen, Sahoury, and Zhang, 2004). Brand
love is defined ‘as the degree of passionate emotional attachment a satisfied customer has for
a particular brand’ (Carroll and Ahuvia, 2006, p. 81) where brand love can lead to positive
loyalty outcomes. Loyalty from consumers is said to provide an organisation or seller with
protection from competition (Mascarenhas, Kesavan, and Bernacchi, 2006), positive word-ofmouth, repeat purchasing and sizable purchasing from its consumers (Sirdeshmukh, Singh,
and Sabol, 2002). Further to this it has been argued that loyalty provides an economic benefit
to an organisation beyond repeat purchase where the cost of acquiring new consumers is
considerably higher than that of retaining present consumers (Kaynak, Salman, and Tatoglu,
2008; Rundle-Thiele, 2005; Srinivasan, Anderson, and Ponnavolu, 2002). Thus, of what
influence is brand love on the loyalty of a brands consumer? Moreover, is there value in
investigating brand love and loyalty in sport? To answer this it is critical to review what brand
love is.
Literature Review
Brand Love
Until recently the concept of love was limited to the psychology literature where Sternberg
(1997) presented his triangular love scale. In this study on the elusive theory of love,
Sternberg (1997) espoused love to be a triangulation of passion, intimacy and commitment.
Building on early psychology theories such as that of Freud (from 1922), Reik (from 1944),
and Maslow (from 1962), Sternberg (1997) discussed the idea of love in terms of being love,
deficiency love, and love as a search for salvation. The theory of love has received extensive
attention in the psychology literature however brand love, as distinct from romantic love, is a
relatively new concept in the marketing literature, thus has received limited attention until
recently. Based on Sternberg’s (1986) original paper on the triangular love theory, Shimp and
Madden (1988) argued that the triangular love theory concept could be used to study
consumer-object relations. They argued that as consumers interact and form relationships with
objects and brands they develop feelings which range from ‘antipathy, to slight fondness, all
the way up to what would, in person-person relations, amount to love’ (Shimp and Madden,
1988, p. 163). Where this notion of love is equivalent to extreme enthusiasm towards a
product or brand in the consumer behaviour literature (Shimp and Madden, 1988). Whilst
there are a few empirical studies on the measurement of brand love (Ahuvia, 2005; Albert,
Merunka, and Valette-Florence, 2008; Heinrich and Bauer Johannes C. M. Muhl, 2008) there
is much controversy over the conceptualisation of brand love. Sternberg’s (1997) triangular
love theory appears both reasonable and plausible, however once applied to the consumerbrand relationship the term commitment (as a component of love) takes on a different
meaning and the literature argues that commitment is a dimension or possible outcome of
loyalty.
Thus far, the measurement of brand love has been investigated without consideration of other
related constructs. For instance the empirical study presented by Heinrich & Bauer Johannes
C.M. Muhl (2008) operationalised the triangular love theory in isolation of other constructs. If
traditional loyalty measures had been included in the past study there would most certainly be
cross loading of the constructs, for example commitment could potentially measure both
loyalty and brand love. Therefore, it is the intention of the present study to re-examine how
brand love has been conceptualised and operationalised with consideration to existing
marketing measures and terms. As distinct from Shimp and Madden (1988) who eluded to the
similarities between brand love and brand loyalty, Carroll and Ahuvia (2006) argued that
brand love can lead to the positive outcomes of word-of-mouth and loyalty. Thus, postulating
the distinction between the constructs of brand love and loyalty. This relationship between
brand love and loyalty has been further postulated by Maurice Lėvy, the Chairman of Publicis
Group (owners of Saatchi & Saatchi) who stated that ‘the vast majority of the population ...
consumes and shops with their mind and their heart, or if you prefer, their emotions’ (Roberts,
2006, p. 68). Consequently suggesting that consumer decision making and therefore loyalty to
a particular product or brand is emotionally driven.
Brand Loyalty
Loyalty has been defined by Oliver (1999, p. 34) as ‘a deeply held commitment to rebuy or
repatronize a preferred product / service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive
same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts
having the potential to cause switching behaviour.’ This definition highlights two distinct
aspects of loyalty which are present throughout the literature, behavioural loyalty and
attitudinal loyalty. George Day, in his 1969 study, was the first to suggest loyalty was a multidimensional construct whereby he postulated that true loyalty was the combination of both
attitude and behaviour (Dobni and Zinkhan, 1990). Day (1969) discussed the need for
empirical investigation into loyalty measures beyond simply purchasing behaviour. Whilst
the literature has adopted a multidimensional view of loyalty, there is much conjecture as to
the dimensions. Dick & Basu's (1994) conceptual framework to measure customer loyalty
whereby social norms and situational factors were seen as mediators to the loyalty
relationship, defined customer loyalty as ‘the strength of the relationship between an
individual’s relative attitude and repeat patronage’ (Dick and Basu, 1994, p. 99). Thus,
suggesting that loyalty is the combination of both attitude and behaviour, where one or the
other does not constitute loyalty. Following an in-depth analysis of the literature and
development of the conceptual framework, Dick & Basu (1994) concluded that this mediation
occurred in so far as a strong relative attitude was resistant to social norms and/or situational
factors.
Within the sport context, loyal fans are important beyond their commitment to repurchase
memberships and merchandise or watch their sporting team (Bauer, Stokburger-Sauer, and
Exler, 2008). Sports organisations can leverage their loyal fan base to secure media
broadcasting, which in turn enhances the exposure of the team and its ability to seek revenue
from sponsorship (Kaynak et al., 2008). The conceptualisation and subsequent measurement
of loyalty in sport has received much attention more recently in the literature, as the
penultimate fan loyalty measurement tool is sought after (e.g. Bauer et al., 2008; Filo, Funk,
and Alexandris, 2008; Funk and James, 2006; Gladden and Funk, 2002; Kwon, Trail, and
James, 2007). Further when considering loyalty as a multidimensional construct it is
important to realise that attitudinal loyalty, behavioural loyalty and word-of-mouth items can
and have been blended to form a unidimensional construct (Gladden and Funk, 2001).
However for the present study it is important to be able to see where the relationships form,
and thus the power of brand love on each individual dimension of loyalty. Beyond the
measurement of loyalty the question which begs attention is that of the motives or drivers of
loyalty. Thus we propose that brand love provides opportunities to investigate the variance in
loyalty to teams leading to hypothesis 1: H1: Brand Love has a positive relationship with
Brand Loyalty.
Brand Image
Brand image is a widely recognised concept in marketing, however its definition proves to be
the cause of much conjecture in the literature (Dobni and Zinkhan, 1990). In their work
analysing the array of definitions of brand image, Dobni and Zinkhan (1990) determined the
general theme that brand image is based on is a perception of reality rather than reality itself.
Stated more succinctly, Keller (1993, p. 3) defines brand image as the ‘perception about a
brand as reflected by the brand associations held in the consumer memory.’ Thus, brand
image is largely a subjective concept which is formed in the consumers’ mind (Dobni and
Zinkhan, 1990). Neal and Strauss (2008) define brand image as an organisation’s promise and
its ability to deliver this promise over time in the mind of the consumer. In reviewing the
definition of brand image it is important to recognise and distinguish between some brand
concepts which are intertwined with brand image. Brand identity is the brand image the
company would like to have, that is the desired brand image. Brand value is the dollar figure
assigned to the brand which is the culmination of tangible and intangible benefits less cost.
Brand equity is the brand value in comparison to the brands rivals (Neal and Strauss, 2008),
and brand associations are ‘the other informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory
and contain the meaning of the brand for consumers’ (Keller, 1993, p. 3).
It has been argued that brand image can be seen and measured as a ‘personality’ with
consideration to the consumer as the brand image reflects the consumers own self image
(Farquhar, 1989). That is, a brand is essentially a status symbol, an ingredient to the personal
image of the consumer and in portraying the self image a consumer will seek to align
themselves with those brands which reflect their core values. Further to this some studies,
whilst referring to brand image, use alternate personification terms, such as brand personality
or brand character and personality image (Aaker, 1997; Dobni and Zinkhan, 1990). The
personification metaphor allows the consumer to view the brand as a person with personality
characteristics, this interpretation of brand image is established (e.g. Aaker, 1997; Davies,
Chun, da Silva, and Roper, 2001; Guzman and Paswan, 2009; Wang and Yang, 2008) and
furthermore is a relevant conceptualisation within the context of sport, where fans of a sports
team view their favourite team as a person with personality characteristics such as
competence, excitement and ruggedness as examples (Davies et al., 2001).
The relationship between brand image and loyalty is discussed on many occasions in the
literature; however there is little empirical evidence to support the relationship. Whilst much
attention has been given to the relationship between brand associations or brand equity and
loyalty (e.g. Filo et al., 2008; Gladden and Funk, 2002, 2004; Kaynak et al., 2008; Yoo,
Donthu, and Lee, 2000) little focus has been directed to brand image. In an empirical study of
the relationship between brand image and fan loyalty Bauer et. al. (2008) found that brand
image strongly influences behavioural loyalty. They stated that the ‘fans’ perceptions of a
club’s attributes and benefits’ play a signification role in creating loyal fan behaviour (Bauer
et al., 2008, p. 220). In their study Bauer et. al. (2008) measured brand image using product
and non-product brand attributes as well as brand benefits and attitudes. Whilst this study
found that brand attitude (as a component of brand image) was a strong and significant
predictor of behavioural loyalty, it was unable to differentiate between brand attitude and
attitudinal loyalty (using psychological commitment items). Therefore attitudinal loyalty
could not be modelled in the study and provides not only an avenue for future research but
also something to be wary of when developing the questionnaire to ensure that brand attitude
and attitudinal loyalty are measured separately. In Nandan's (2005) discussion paper, it was
argued that brand image, in congruence with brand identity, can enhance brand loyalty. Thus
we propose that H2: Brand Image has a positive relationship with Brand Loyalty. Moreover
brand loyalty has the potential to be further explained when brand love is introduced as a
mediator leading to our third hypothesis: H3: The relationship between Brand Image and
Brand Loyalty is mediated by Brand Love.
Antecedents to Brand Image
In their conceptual framework, Gladden and Milne (2004) suggested team related items,
organisation related items, market related items, team logo design, and the stadium / arena
where the team plays are antecedents to brand equity. They identify brand equity as the
positive and negative consumer perceptions of the brand image and brand equity; consisting
of perceived quality, brand awareness, brand associations, and brand loyalty. Thus, brand
image is viewed as a component of brand equity. While Gladden and Milne (2004) argued
that fan or team identification as an outcome of brand loyalty and brand associations, the
present research however, hypothesises that team identification is an antecedent to brand
image and the loyalty constructs rather than a consequence.
Gladden and Funk (2004) identified eight brand associations which predict loyalty, of which
only three were found to be significant predictors (tradition, product delivery, and star player).
Four of the remaining five brand associations measured were predictive of loyalty
(identification, nostalgia, peer group acceptance, and escape) and winning was found to not be
a predictor of loyalty at all. Further to this, new stadium and charismatic head coach, also
were not found to be signification predictors of loyalty in their study. Thus, the results here
suggest that a star player is a significant predictor of fan loyalty above and beyond
identification, nostalgia or new stadium. What this in turn means for marketers is that
campaigns to attract and retain consumers building on the nostalgia, history and team or sport
identification may not be the best way to create and maintain loyal fans (Gladden and Funk,
2004). These antecedents can be grouped into headings such as attraction (entertainment,
escape, knowledge of the sport), heritage (tradition, family history, club colours, song, logo,
nostalgia), the sport offer (product delivery, star player, coach, service, team success), and
team identification (public evaluation, private evaluation, cognitive awareness) (Gladden and
Funk, 2004; Heere and James, 2007). Whilst this is a discussion paper and the actual results
of this research are not shown here, this research identifies the need for further exploration
into the drivers of loyalty in the sport context. Beyond utilising existing measures, qualitative
analysis which includes rather than excludes casual fans is necessary to draw out all the
possible antecedents to loyalty and image. It is very probable that what draws or attracts the
casual fans will differ from what attracts and motivates the more frequent fans. We therefore
propose to investigate the antecedents to brand loyalty and hypothesise: H4: Brand Image is
reflected by: a: Sport Offer, b: Heritage, c: Attraction, d: Team ID.
The Conceptual Framework
In the present study, loyalty is considered to be the dependent variable where a positive
relationship is present between brand image and loyalty. The antecedents to brand image or
drivers of brand image are seen to have a positive relationship with brand image (directly) and
indirect positive relationship with loyalty. These relationships are depicted in the conceptual
framework outlined in figure 1. Based on the conceptual framework the study will address the
question: What are the drivers of Brand Image, Brand Love and Loyalty for the sports
consumer?
Figure 1 - Conceptual Framework
Conclusion
This conceptual study provides a foundation for brand research in the sport management
arena. This conceptual model aims to provide greater insight into the variation of fan loyalty
to a team. The context for this study is an investigation of Australian football and more
specifically its teams. It is through the introduction of branding concepts such as brand image
and brand love that we seek to contribute to knowledge. It is also through the
conceptualisations of antecedents to the relationship that we hope to provide an abundance of
future research opportunities within the branding and sport management domain.
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