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Article
Publication date: 20 November 2017

D.G. Brian Jones and Alan J. Richardson

The aim of this study is to explore the attempts by early twentieth century cyclecar manufacturers in the UK and USA to segment the personal transportation market and to position…

1156

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to explore the attempts by early twentieth century cyclecar manufacturers in the UK and USA to segment the personal transportation market and to position early cyclecars through the development of unique product attributes and advertising. More specifically, the authors speculate about early twentieth century British cyclecar marketing strategies that implicitly recognized a sports car segment and positioned cyclecar brands to meet the needs of that segment.

Design/methodology/approach

The primary source material for this research is a sample of 205 print ads and articles from the early twentieth century (1912-1921) specialty magazines devoted to cyclecars in the UK and USA. We combine the content analysis of the sample of ads with a critical reading and interpretation of a sub-sample of those same ads.

Findings

Between 1910 and 1921, a new form of personal transportation was developed that combined the technology of motorcycles with the utility of automobiles. Known as “cyclecars”, these vehicles were typically constructed from off-the-shelf motorcycle parts and assembled in small batches by a myriad of manufacturers. Current scholarship suggests that the cyclecar craze of the 1910s ended with the introduction of low cost “real” automobiles such as the Ford Model T, Austin 7 and Morris Oxford. We use the content analysis of cyclecar advertisements to construct a brand-positioning map of this emerging segment of the transportation market. We argue that while the core cyclecar positioning was in direct competition with small economically positioned cars such as the Ford Model T, a significant part of the market, primarily centered in the UK, could be considered as for sports cars. That segment of the cyclecar market, along with the development of cyclecars into urban delivery vehicles, continued over time and has re-emerged today in a range of three-wheeled sports cars, including the updating and continuation of the British Morgan 3 Wheeler model which was launched during the heyday of cyclecars.

Research limitations/implications

The authors can only speculate about the impact of the Ford Model T in this study. Further research on that issue is needed.

Originality/value

This is the first historical study of cyclecar marketing. Most of what little has been published about cyclecars focuses on their design and technology.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2012

Wayne Wilson

The purpose of this paper is to review the acquisition of the Mark H. McCormack Collection by the University of Massachusetts, McCormack's role in marketing history and the…

1270

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the acquisition of the Mark H. McCormack Collection by the University of Massachusetts, McCormack's role in marketing history and the significance of the collection to researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on an examination of selected documents in the collection and interviews with University of Massachusetts archivists.

Findings

The McCormack Collection contains eight million pages documenting the history of IMG, McCormack's groundbreaking marketing and management company. Most documents cover the period 1960‐2000. IMG, which began as a golf company, became a key player in the marriage of sport and television, as well as the commercialization and globalization of sport and celebrity culture. The University Archives staff plan to make the collection a dynamic multidisciplinary research tool. The collection will be valuable to students of marketing, sport and other forms of popular culture. The availability of archival resources affects what topics researchers pursue. The McCormack Collection will make it possible to investigate a wide range of new topics and personalities.

Research limitations/implications

The paper was written before University of Massachusetts had fully developed its collection access policies or plans for digitizing the collection.

Originality/value

This paper alerts scholars to a major new research resource.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 2 November 2012

J. Andrew Ross

522

Abstract

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2012

Ari de Wilde

The purpose of this paper is to explore twentieth century sportscapes and their role in the development of urban arenas as places of sport.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore twentieth century sportscapes and their role in the development of urban arenas as places of sport.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing frame theory and sport business history scholarship, the author examines entrepreneurs' development of six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden. The main primary sources include autobiographies, morgue files, and newspapers.

Findings

In this paper, it is argued that entrepreneurs' shaping and marketing of six‐day races and their sportscapes resulted in a popular sporting spectacle and helped to promote arenas as spaces and places of sport.

Originality/value

The paper demonstrates the process and development of “frame management” in urban arenas and their transition to spaces and places of sport. By exploring six‐day bicycle races at Madison Square Garden, the paper shows the importance of a now‐forgotten cultural event to the development of the multi‐billion dollar sport industry and to one of the world's most iconic arenas. The paper adds to scholarship on bicycle racing and marketing history, as well as the historiography of the sport industry.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 November 2012

Dylan J. Esson

The purpose of this paper is to describe the growth of the early ski market and the marketing strategies that the Union Pacific Railroad took in promoting Sun Valley ski resort…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the growth of the early ski market and the marketing strategies that the Union Pacific Railroad took in promoting Sun Valley ski resort, one of the most popular early destination ski resorts in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses primary and secondary source material, including ski periodicals, national magazines and the manuscript collection of W. Averell Harriman, the Chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad during the creation of Sun Valley.

Findings

This paper finds that Sun Valley pioneered the western ski vacation by conducting careful market research into not only the snow and weather conditions of western mountains, but also into the habits and economic potential of skiers and winter tourists.

Originality/value

Scholarly work on skiing has primarily looked at the sport from the social and cultural perspective of skiers. Work on entrepreneurial objectives of ski resort designers has largely focused on the period after the Second World War. This is among the first works to analyze entrepreneurial activities and marketing strategies in the ski industry before the Second World War. As a result, the paper challenges the idea that big business only began to shape the ski industry during the Cold War. Instead, this paper shows that large corporations like the Union Pacific Railroad were influential in growing the ski market by building resorts that illustrated the importance of market segmentation to the success of ski areas. In this way, the paper challenges the popular idea that Sun Valley was merely a media sensation and shows that it was a carefully designed business that exhibited a nuanced approach to changes in the ski market.

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 4 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 3 May 2011

139

Abstract

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Content available
Article
Publication date: 28 September 2010

610

Abstract

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Content available
Article
Publication date: 8 November 2011

543

Abstract

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Content available
Article
Publication date: 9 August 2011

399

Abstract

Details

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-750X

Article
Publication date: 23 July 2020

Jonathan A. Jensen, David Head and Christopher Mergy

Naming rights sponsorships of sport facilities are among the most highly visible marketing agreements in the world. However, factors that may lead one sponsorship to persist for…

Abstract

Purpose

Naming rights sponsorships of sport facilities are among the most highly visible marketing agreements in the world. However, factors that may lead one sponsorship to persist for decades, while others end after just a few years, have yet to be investigated. Thus, this study examines the decision-making of brand marketers by investigating the predictors of a sponsoring brand's decision to either continue or dissolve such agreements.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilizing a global data set of 219 naming rights agreements, an empirical approach is utilized to isolate whether a variety of factors increase or decrease the probability of sponsorship dissolution.

Findings

Results indicate that agreements entered into with new, as of yet-unnamed facilities lead to a reduction in the probability of dissolution, with a high level of brand equity also reducing the probability of dissolution. Agency conflicts may also play a role, as the sponsoring firm being headquartered in the same metropolitan area as the facility also contributes to the persistence of such agreements.

Originality/value

These results are intended to assist both sides of what is ideally a long-term relationship in better understanding the factors that may either contribute to or inhibit longer-term partnerships.

Details

International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1464-6668

Keywords

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