The Impact of Athlete Activism on Sport Brand Value

Abstract

Athlete activism had become a strong worldwide factor in international sport, however, little data was available on its impact in Pakistan where cultural, political and social sensitivities played an important role in how the public perceived athletes. The study was based on the survey of how athlete activism had affected sport brand value, brand equity, and consumer perception in the context of Pakistan where sports, especially cricket was the nation’s heartthrob. The purpose of this study was to first explore the way sport students in Pakistan viewed athlete activism and how it impact their judgments toward sport brands, in terms of perceptions of brand equity, namely brand associations, loyalty to the brand, perceived quality, and advocacy behavior. The main purpose was to produce context specific insights which could inform the wider debate on athlete activism and branding.

To accomplish these objectives, a quantitative research design was used. Questionnaire following convenience sampling technique was used for gathering data from sport students of different universities of Pakistan. The questionnaire constituted 22 closed-ended questions divided into the demographic, perception-oriented and brand equity related sections. Convenience sampling yielded 209 responses which were used to statistically test links between athlete activism and sport brand value.

Findings suggested that athlete activism had the potential to increase or decrease sport brand value, depending on the societal desirability and credibility of the activist message. Positive cor-relations were found for activism that aligned with popular causes such as education, social wel-fare, or humanitarian concerns. In those instances, brand affiliations and loyalty were enhanced. Yet, activism around political sensitive or controversial issues lead to polarization, lack of trust and brand boycotts by consumers in Pakistan. Results also revealed that younger sport students are particularly sensitive to authenticity perceptions, with ethno-renovation understood as harm-ful to athlete and brand image.

Athlete activism was found to have a complex and multidimensional role in generating sport brand value in Pakistan. The research proved that sport brands and organizations in Pakistan have to effectively deal with the socio-cultural environment, bringing them together for a common cause of athlete values than brand identity. The results presented an empirical demonstration of consumer orientation in an emerging-market sport context and contribute to the foundation for activism, branding, and sport consumer behavior in culturally diverse populations.