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Abstract
Brand personality research has made extensive use of factor modeling to grasp the dimensions of brand personality. Many scholars have adapted this technique to capture the brand personality of an organization. It is argued in this study that letting consumers associate a brand with a personality through factor modeling is flawed and anthropomorphic in nature. Therefore, the author proposes a different technique to measure these associations, by asking managers about what personality associations they implement while marketing their brand. Based on their responses, a list of associations was compiled and sent out to their fans, to measure the effectiveness of the organization to portray the brand associations. Results indicate that by implementing this strategy managers are able to grasp a more precise concept of the perceived personality associations of the brand. In addition, the strategy provided managers with more in-depth information on their brand by measuring the brands' importance and representativeness among their consumers.
Introduction
The global sport entertainment market is more competitive than ever, and on an everyday basis, people can choose from many different sport leagues around the world (Raney & Bryant, 2006). Cable television has opened up many new lines of media for sport leagues and people in the United States can now easily follow the English Premier League, or the UEFA Champions League. Europeans in their turn have not only access to the different soccer leagues or Formula 1 Racing, but can just as easily follow the American leagues such as the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, or NASCAR racing, or the Australian Football League and the Super 14. In addition, people in New Zealand and Australia have access to their own sport as well as the aforementioned European and North American Leagues. In this cluttered environment it is important for sport leagues to understand how their league is perceived, and the associations people have with their league, so they can provide their organization with a distinctive brand image.
Branding research has made noticeable progress in outlining the relationship between consumers and organizations with research in brand equity, brand experience, brand community, and brand personality (Aaker, 1991; Aaker, 1997; Brakus, Schmitt, & Zarantello, 2009; Grohmann, 2009; Keller, 1993; Muniz & O'Guinn, 2001). Sport leagues can use these fields...