sport celebrity influence on

Sport Celebrity Influence on Young Adult Consumers

Steve Dix, Curtin University of Technology

Email: [email protected]

The paper investigates how sports celebrities can be perceived as role models and

influence young adult consumers’ purchase and behavioral intentions. It also

examines if this influence differs between males and females. A self-administered

questionnaire, drawn from established scales, was completed by a ‘Generation Y’,

university student sample. Athlete role model endorsers have a positive influence on

young adults’ product switching behaviour, complaint behaviour, positive word-of-

mouth behaviour and brand loyalty. This paper provides useful insight into the

influence of athletes endorsers on young adults and suggests athletes should be

considered as appropriate and influential spokespersons for brands. This study is a

significant step in providing useful information about how young consumers respond

to the use of sports celebrities in advertising.

Keywords: Advertising, Execution, Strategy, Celebrity

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Sport Celebrity Influence on Young Adult Consumers

Introduction

Businesses are spending millions of dollars in endorsement deals each year to associate

their products or brands with some of the biggest names in sport (Bower and Mateer

2008; Harris 2008; Thomaselli 2008; Byrne, Whitehead and Breen 2003). Many believe

that the celebrity and popularity of celebrity athletes would benefit brands, creating

positive associations, contributing to brand name recognition and creating meaning for

even the most ordinary products (Miciak and Shanklin 1994; Charbonneau and Garland

2005; Stevens et al. 2003; Tingchi Liu, Yu-Ying and Minghua 2007). More importantly,

in a crowded media environment where advertisers face an increasing challenge of

attracting consumers’ attention, celebrities are said to have the ability to break through

this media clutter and hold viewers’ attention (Miciak and Shanklin 1994; Charbonneau

and Garland 2005).

Despite the widespread use of celebrity endorsers, there are a number of perspectives on

the effectiveness of sports celebrity endorsers in advertising. Friedman and Friedman

(1979) revealed that regardless of the type of product, a celebrity endorser produced

better recall of both the advertisement and the brand name than an advertisement using an

expert endorser, typical consumer endorser or no endorser. Atkin and Block (1983)

support this argument and maintain that advertisements featuring celebrity figures

consistently produced more favourable impact than non-celebrity ads. On the other hand,

it was reported that only one of five commercials using celebrity endorsers lived up to the

sponsor’s expectations (Miciak and Shanklin 1994). Moreover, Schaefer and Keillor

(1997) argue that, although the use of celebrity endorsers is a good foundation for

effective advertisements, it does not significantly influence the attitude and behavioural

intentions of the target market.

Relevant Literature

Young Adults and Sports

Young adults are major sport consumers (Bennett and Henson 2003) and as such, college

or university students are a highly coveted target market for sport marketers (Tingchi Liu,

Yu-Ying and Minghua 2007). Sports celebrities and sport figures who display

extraordinary personal characteristics were found to be a popular hero choice among

young adults (Stevens, Lathrop and Bradish, 2003; Chan and Zhang 2007; Tingchi Liu,

Yu-Ying and Minghua 2007). Celebrity endorsers, such as film stars and athletes, are

beneficial to advertising message strategy and are most effective in influencing the

attitudes of this market because they are respected by and are highly identifiable with

young people (Atkin and Block 1983; Wolburg and Pokrywczynski 2001). Endorsement

by a celebrity has a meaningful influence on young people’s evaluation of ads and

products (Xu 2008).

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Female consumers have become a key niche within the sport marketplace and have

grown in strength as sports-related decision makers and spenders (Bradish and Lathrop

2001). Young women view sports as fun. They value respect and the social aspect of

sports and thus prefer to buy sporting goods that are endorsed by their favourite athletes

from companies that are socially responsible and supportive of female sports (Bush et al.

2005). Research has also found that women are 22% more likely to buy a product or

service that is endorsed by a female athlete (Women’s sport foundation 2003, cited in

Bush et al. 2005).

Theoretical Models Influencing Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements

A number of models and theories have been suggested to explain how endorsers might

influence consumers and what aspects of the endorsement are more likely to succeed

(Braunstein and Zhang 2005). The source credibility model advocates that the

effectiveness of the advertising message depends on the expertise and trustworthiness of

the source (McCracken 1989). The Product Match-Up Hypothesis proposes that a

message is most effective when the image of the celebrity and the product match one

another (Kahle and Homer, 1985, cited in Braunstein and Zhang 2005; Tingchi Liu, Yu-

Ying and Minghua 2007). Finally, the meaning transfer model advocates that an

endorsement succeeds when an association is created between the cultural meanings of

the celebrity’s world, on the one hand, and the endorsed product, on the other

(McCracken 1989).

Hypotheses

This study provides insight into Bush, Martin and Bush’s (2004) proposition that athlete

endorsers can have significant influences on behavioural intentions of young adults. For

the present study, behavioural intentions are defined by the following three dimensions

identified by Bush, Martin and Bush (2004): (1) product switching or complaining

behaviour, (2) positive word-of-mouth, and (3) brand loyalty. These measures will form

the basis against which the following hypotheses are tested:

H1: Young adults’ athlete role model influence is positively related to product switching

and complaint behaviour

H2: Young adults’ athlete role model influence is positively related to positive or positive

word-of-mouth behaviour

H3: Young adults’ athlete role model influence is positively related to brand loyalty

Young women were identified as more likely to be influenced by athlete endorsers and to

spread positive word-of-mouth; and less likely than men to consider athletes as

materialistic, making them more receptive to sports celebrity role models. Thus, this is

the basis for the following hypothesis:

H4: Young adults’ athlete role model influence among females is more positively related

to (a) product switching and complaint behaviour, (b) positive word-of-mouth behaviour,

and (c) brand loyalty, than among males.

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Method

Sample

This study focuses on young adults aged between 17 and 25 residing in Australia. A

convenience sample was drawn from students at a large university in Western Australia

and a total of 249 students voluntarily participated in the survey. The usable responses

from 207 students equates to an 83% response rate.

Research Instrument

The two page self-administered survey comprised three sections. Section A consists of

the five-item athlete role model influence scale developed by Rich (1997). Section B

consists of a 12-item purchases and behavioural intentions scale developed by Zeithaml,

Berry and Parasuraman (1996) which was adapted for this study. This scale provides

responses to a variety of purchase and behavioural intention questions specifically related

to the consumer’s favourite athlete. Both scales are 7-point likert scales, anchored on a

‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’ continuum.

Results and Analysis

Sample Characteristics

An acceptable gender split among respondents was obtained, with 51.7% male

respondents (n=107) and 48.3% female respondents (n=100). Respondents’ ages varied

across 17 to 18 years old (35.7%), 19 to 20 years old (27.5%), 21 to 22 years old (22.7%)

and 23 to 25 years old (13.5%).

When asked to think of their favourite athlete, 95% of respondents identified a male

athlete. This corroborates the survey findings of Elling and Knoppers (2005) that male

athletes are the predominant choice of sport heroes. Around 60.9% of respondents were

actively involved in sports. On the other hand, 17.4% of respondents did not play any

sport or played less than one hour of sport per week (21.7%). Correspondingly,

approximately 15% of respondents did not watch any sport and 23.2% watched less than

one hour of sport per week.

Factor Analysis and Reliability

An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the five-item athlete role model

influence scale developed by Rich (1997). As expected, this revealed a high correlation

between items resulting in a unidimensional factor. The five items loaded on the same

factor, which explained 59.9% of the variance. An exploratory factor analysis was also

conducted on the 12-item purchase and behavioural intentions scale developed by

Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996). The factor analysis with a varimax rotation and

principal axis factoring confirms previous results obtained by Bush, Martin and Bush

(2004). Three distinct factors emerged, with the proposed items loading on the intended

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factors, Complaining and switching behaviour (six items), Positive word-of-mouth (three

items), and Brand loyalty (three items). The three factors explained 56.2% of the

variance. A Cronbach’s Alpha analysis confirmed all factors above were reliable, each

having alpha values exceeding 0.79, therefore rendering those factors acceptable for

analysis (Churchill 1979).

Regression Analysis

The athlete role model influence was separately regressed onto each of the three

dependent variables (switching and complaint behaviour; positive word of mouth; brand

loyalty). Regression analysis revealed that athlete role model influence is a significant

predictor (p = .000) of product switching and complaint behaviour (F = 24.591). Athlete

role model influence explained 10.8% of the variance in switching and complaint

behaviour (t = 4.959). Hypothesis 1 is therefore supported. Interestingly, this contradicts

the replicated study by Bush, Martin and Bush (2004) which found no support for this

contention. However, the present study focuses on young adults aged 17-24 who are

likely to be more conversant with product switching and buyer complaint behaviour.

Hypothesis 2 is also supported by a regression analysis, which shows that athlete role

model influence is significantly related (p = .000) to positive word-of-mouth (F =

41.168). Athlete role model influence explained 16.8% of the variance in positive word-

of-mouth (t = 6.416). This result is congruent with Bush, Martin and Bush’s (2004)

findings among teenagers.

Hypothesis 3 is also supported, demonstrating that athlete role model influence is a

significant predictor (p = .000) of brand loyalty (F=18.798). Athlete role model influence

explained 8.4% of the variance in brand loyalty (t = 4.336).

Table 1: Regression of Role Model Influence on Purchase and Behavioral Intentions

Dependent Variable B -

Values

Std

Error Beta Adj R

2 t - value Sig.

Product switching and complaint behaviour .259 .052 .328 .108

4.959 .000

Positive Word of mouth .440 .069 .410 .168 6.416 .000

Brand loyalty .283 .065 .290 .084

4.336 .000

Gender Differences

An independent sample T-test was conducted to test Hypothesis 4, showing no significant

difference between the average rating of females and males on almost all items except

‘The opinions of my favourite athlete influence me to complain to other customers if I

experience a problem with a company’s service’ (p < .05) in which males (M = 4.19)

expressed a higher level of agreement than females (M = 3.95).

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Discussion and Implications

The results obtained in this study offer some important considerations for marketing and

advertising practitioners in regards to the use of athlete celebrity endorsers. It offers

partial confirmation of previous results obtained by Bush, Martin and Bush (2004).

The most interesting finding of this study is that celebrity athlete endorsers have a

positive influence on young adults’ product switching behaviour, complaint behaviour,

positive word-of-mouth and brand loyalty. This suggests that celebrity athlete endorsers

have an impact on young adults’ decisions to switch brands, their tendency to talk about

brands in a positive manner and their inclination to complain about products. It is

interesting to note that although Bush, Martin and Bush (2004) did not find any support

for the contention that celebrity athletes influence teenagers’ product switching and

complaint behaviour, this study did support this hypothesis.

This adds value to the body of knowledge since it goes beyond the cognitive and

affective associations that appear in the literature between celebrity and brand recall

(Friedman and Friedman 1979), ad impact (Atkin and Block 1983; Xu 2008) and

consumer attitudes (Atkin and Block 1983; Wolburg and Pokrywczynski 2001). The

establishment of a link between celebrity influence and hard behavioural measures such

as word-of-mouth, switching behaviour and brand loyalty demonstrates that celebrity

athlete endorsement can manifest in consumers’ actions around the brand.

Females were expected to spread more positive word-of-mouth about a product or brand

that is endorsed by their favourite athlete than males (Bush, Martin and Bush, 2004). A

later study by Bush et al. (2005) also supported this result, stating that teenage girls were

more adept at spreading word-of-mouth, especially for products endorsed by their

favourite athlete, than their male counterparts. This finding however was not supported

by this study. It is feasible that this difference is because the Bush et al. (2005) study

surveyed teenage girls whereas the current study focuses on young adult females. In the

current study, young adult females rated the influence of their favourite athlete on

positive word-of-mouth behaviour and brand loyalty similarly to young male adults. The

only exception was that male respondents were significantly more inclined to ‘complain

to other customers’ than female respondents.

Future research might look into whether males and females hold the same perceptions of

the influence of celebrity athletes.

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