Contents for SMQ Issue 17:2
| SMQ Profile/Interview: Rick Burton, pp. 68-70 Authors: Matthew Robinson |
| Abstract: An interview with Rick Burton, Chief Marketing Officer of the United States Olympic Committee. |
| Service Fairness in Spectator Sport: The Importance of Voice and Choice on Customer Satisfaction, pp. 71-78 Authors: T. Christopher Greenwell, Eric Brownlee, Jeremy S. Jordan, and Nels Popp |
| Abstract: This study examines how perceptions of fairness may influence sport spectators’ satisfaction. An experimental design was utilized to determine how voice (whether or not administrators solicit customers’ input) and choice (whether or not customers have a role in making decisions) can alter overall satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Further, this study investigates how financial inputs and the degree to which a customer considers himself/herself a fan may interact with these effects. Researchers collected data from 346 subjects. Each subject received one of eight (2 voice x 2 choice x 2 price) versions of a scenario representing an adverse outcome typical of a university athletic ticket policy. Results revealed the main effects of choice and price each influenced satisfaction, as subjects were less dissatisfied when students had a role in developing the policy and when the tickets were free. Significant differences did not exist for the main effect of voice or any of the interaction effects. |
| Measuring the Effectiveness of Sponsorship of an Elite Intercollegiate Football Program, pp. 79-89 Authors: Windy Dees, Gregg Bennett, and Jorge Villegas |
| Abstract: Evaluating sponsorship activities at elite intercollegiate sporting events has become critical to determining sponsorship effectiveness and maximizing the relationships between athletic departments and their corporate partners. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sponsorship of an elite intercollegiate football program by analyzing the effects of the constructs of attitude toward the sponsor, goodwill, and fan involvement on consumer purchase intentions. In this study (N=394), there were 52% males, 77% Caucasians, and 71% percent of the participants ranging from 18-24 years of age. Purchase intentions served as the dependent variable while attitude toward the sponsor, goodwill, and fan involvement served as the independent variables. According to the multiple regression analysis, goodwill had the most impact on consumers’ intentions to support the corporate sponsors via purchasing behaviors. Although attitude toward the sponsor and fan involvement are important facets of sponsorship effectiveness, goodwill may be one of the keys to transforming avid fans into loyal consumers. |
| The Four Domains of Sports Marketing: A Conceptual Framework, pp. 90-108 Authors: Sam Fullerton and G. Russell Merz |
| Abstract: Despite its acknowledged contribution to local, national, and global economies, there is no consensus as to exactly what is meant by the term sports marketing. This conceptual paper attempts to address this deficiency via the development of a new framework that is based upon two key dimensions: type of product and level of sports integration. By categorizing goods and services as either sports products or nonsports products and by differentiating between traditional strategies and sponsorship-based strategies, four sports marketing domains are identified. They are the theme-based, product-based, alignment-based, and sports-based strategic domains. The underlying principles for developing the framework are delineated in this article, and many examples for each strategic domain are provided as a means of illustrating their conceptual differences and how they are implemented. |
| An Analysis of Spectator Motives in an Individual Combat Sport: A Study of Mixed Martial Arts Fans, pp. 109-119 Authors: Seungmo Kim, T. Christopher Greenwell, Damon P. S. Andrewa, Janghyuk Leeb, and Daniel F. Mahony |
| Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine customers of an emerging spectator sport, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Whereas conventional sport spectator motivation research has typically examined motivations of spectators attending established team sports, this study is distinctive in that it applies motivation research to an individual sport rather than a team sport and to an emerging sport rather than a more established sport. The following ten motives were identified based on a review of the current literature: drama/eustress, escape, aesthetics, vicarious achievement, socializing, sport interest, national pride, economic factor, adoration, and violence. Participants attended a local amateur event, held in June 2006, in a mid-sized Midwestern city. Overall, sport interest and drama were the highest rated motives. There were gender differences in motives, with males indicating that sport interest, economic, and violence were significantly stronger motives. Two backward deletion linear regression analyses indicated that sport interest, vicarious achievement, and national pride were significant predictors of media consumption for males, while sport interest and drama were significant predictors of media consumption for females. |
| Pine Tar and Trademark Law, pp. 120-121 Authors: Anita M. Moorman |
| Abstract: Last summer, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals took the opportunity to recount a memorable baseball highlight (the 1983 Pine Tar incident) and remind us of the essential requirements of trademark law. The 1983 Pine Tar incident (Major League Baseball, 1983) that occurred during the July 24, 1983, game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees had nothing to do with the controversy before the court except that Hall of Fame baseball player, George Brett, was involved in both the Pine Tar incident and the current litigation. This connection, although remote, opened the door for the court to recount the Pine Tar incident in glorious detail as a prelude to its actual decision in the case. The court’s description of the Pine Tar incident is an entertaining compliment to its trademark law analysis. |
| The Lowell Spinners and the Yankee Elimination Project: A Case Study Consideration of Linking Community Relations and Sponsorship, pp. 122-126 Authors: Dan Covell |
| Abstract: In May 2005, Jon Goode, Director of Corporate Communications for the Lowell (Massachusetts) Spinners, the Class A New York-Penn League affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, was taking part in a literacy program visit at a third-grade class in nearby Andover. He asked an innocent question to get the class warmed up: How many of you play baseball? Many raised their hands. Goode then pointed to one boy and asked, “What team do you play for?” “The Yankees,” the boy said. “That’s cool,” said Goode, a dyed-in-the-wool Red Sox fan trying to present a façade of equanimity. Deadly serious, the kid responded: “No, it’s not cool.” Goode was taken aback by the boy’s negative response. A day later a woman who coached a softball team in adjacent Dracut called and asked if her team could change its name from the Yankees to the Spinners because the girls refused to play and wear Yankee uniforms. Goode: “All of a sudden it clicked. There’s probably this problem everywhere.” What resulted was a community relations program based on the region’s affinity for the Red Sox and an opportunity to have some fun at the expense of the hated “Evil Empire” of King George Steinbrenner. |
