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The aim of this paper is to examine the factors that induced people to follow the 2005 Ashes cricket series on television and to explore the implications of these factors for the marketing of English cricket as a brand.

A total of 427 members of the public who reported that they had watched at least part of the 2005 Ashes series on television were questioned about their motives for having done so. Specific motives were then related to viewing intensity and to an individual's intention to follow cricket in the future.

The study finds that viewers who had been motivated to watch the Ashes series because of cricket's nostalgic associations with England's past were more likely than others to have followed the series intensively and to state that they would continue to be interested in cricket. Patriotic motivations led to short‐ but not to long‐term support. Social pressure, prior involvement with cricket, and several variables identified from a review of the general academic literature in the sports marketing area also exerted significant influences on future intentions to watch cricket.

It was not feasible to establish the socio‐demographic, cultural and economic backgrounds of individuals who exhibited strong tendencies in relation to the motivations covered by the study. Thus it was not possible to relate these background characteristics to decisions to follow cricket in the longer period.

The results suggest that English cricket may indeed be regarded as a brand, and that certain aspects of cricket's brand identity should be incorporated into marketing communications that promote the sport.

This was the first empirical study to analyse the factors underlying the highly successful rebranding of English cricket that occurred between 1997 and 2004.

The purpose of this research is to examine the influences of certain factors that helped determine students' assessments of the usefulness of a higher education orientation unit (HEOU) in a large post‐1992 university.

All students in a university business studies department who had completed or were near to completing a compulsory one‐semester HEOU were asked to fill in a questionnaire that explored specific personal characteristics that a review of prior academic literature had identified as potentially relevant to the explanation of how well or badly students respond to a HEOU. The outcomes were then related to the participants' views on the overall value of the unit and whether their attendance had led to improved academic performance.

Students who claimed that they had obtained the greatest advantages from the HEOU tended to be “academic” individuals who were highly committed to being a student, intrinsically motivated to study, high in academic self‐concept, academically able, and prior to their entry to the institution had been well‐prepared for university life. This was not necessarily the profile of the students that the unit had been designed to assist.

Data on key variables was (necessarily) self‐reported. The investigation took place in a single institution and in a particular subject area. Also the students who filled in the questionnaire were, ipso facto, “survivors” and as such may not have been typical of students who had dropped out.

The outcomes to the study imply that “one size fits all” approaches to the design of study skills units might not be appropriate. Rather, specially constructed units may be needed to cater for the academically ill‐prepared.

At the time the research was conducted this was the first major empirical study to have related students' perceptions of the usefulness of an HEOU to their backgrounds, traits, and other personal characteristics.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the potential contributions of corporate art collections (CACs) to the process of corporate identity management within companies.

Respondents in 181 enterprises in nine different countries completed a questionnaire concerning the roles of CACs in symbolising a firm's core values and culture, influencing the attitudes and behaviour of employees, and developing a company's external image. A regression analysis identified the variables that determined the primary roles of CACs in particular businesses.

CACs were routinely employed to facilitate marketing communications (internal as well as external) and to project corporate identities, including aspects related to a company's core values. Additionally collections were frequently used to symbolise core values to a firm's employees.

Less than a majority of the sampling frame returned the questionnaire. Only a single manager was approached in each enterprise. Case studies of the roles of different kinds of CAC (classical, contemporary, etc.) in disparate industry sectors are required.

The results demonstrate that CACs represent a powerful marketing communications weapon capable both of attracting clients and developing corporate identity.

More than half the Fortune 500 companies and around 2000 other major enterprises in Europe and North America now collect art. This research was the first ever to investigate the use of CACs for marketing (especially corporate identity building) purposes.