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The purpose of this study is to determine if brand passion shapes attitudinal brand loyalty while driving a series of important brand-related outcomes (i.e. brand advocacy, social media following, sense of community, willingness to pay a premium price and alternative devaluation). These aspects are explored for sports apparel brands after considering the perceptions of Iranian consumers.

This study is based on the analysis of survey data gathered online and face-to-face from a sample of Iranian consumers of sports apparel brands that were analysed using partial least square path modelling.

The key empirical findings obtained confirm that brand passion underpins attitudinal brand loyalty and several important brand-related outcomes. Furthermore, the findings show that attitudinal brand loyalty explains the impact of brand passion on most of the outcomes considered, except for social media following.

This study advances knowledge of brand passion by illustrating its “power” as a strong nuance of relationships between consumers and brands. In particular, this study highlights the importance of brand passion in shaping attitudinal brand loyalty, as well as a driver of several outcomes of theoretical and managerial relevance.

By establishing strategies aimed at enhancing brand passion, brand managers can increase attitudinal brand loyalty, attain important goals such as brand advocacy, premium price and social media following, as well as the devaluation of competing brands.

This study uses a unidimensional theorisation of brand passion to increase the understanding of its role as predictor of attitudinal brand loyalty and driver of relevant outcomes. It also examines the mediating effect of attitudinal brand loyalty, thus illustrating important conceptual links between brand passion and brand loyalty in the context of sports apparel brands in a growing economy (Iran).

This article reports the results of an experimental study in which four factors were manipulated in the context of an evaluation of two sports garments by 172 consumers: t-shirts and athletic shoes. These factors were intended usage situation (sport versus pleasure), brand name (national versus private brand), price (discount versus no discount), and store name (sports shop versus department store). Some significant interactions were obtained between some of the manipulated factors suggesting the necessity of qualifying the brand name, store name, and price discount effects on consumer perceptions. The results of the study are discussed in light of the existing marketing literature and the implications for sports marketing practice.

Over the last two decades, Under Armour (UA) has emerged from being the “underdog” in the sports apparel and footwear industry to being a leader in the industry, with a fierce attention to performance and great skill at picking up-and-coming athletes who emerge as superstars. This case underscores its administrative heritage, competitive strategy, and growth potential as a global player in a highly competitive industry. It addresses the tension between being a performance brand while launching lines for women vs technology applications and conflicts between its growth strategy and macro-economic forces. It highlights areas in which it has succeeded against macro-economic forces and where it has not.

The research relies primarily on secondary sources and countless studies of UA and its major competitors. Primary research is based on databases, videos of UA’s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Plank, and articles from Bloomberg to The Baltimore Sun (UA’s headquarters) on the history, growth and future of UA. It also includes observations and site visits to one of its signature brand house stores as well as intensive research and directed studies with students in the USA and China.

The case can be applied to undergraduate, graduate or executive business classes in: business policy and strategy; general management; (sports) marketing; leadership or organisational behaviour classes.

Branded merchandise and licensed apparel comprise a substantial portion of revenue for many organizations and public figures that choose to employ such an endeavor. Endorsement deals with apparel manufacturers have historically been utilized for athletes looking to supplement their salaries and establish greater brand awareness. However, as some athletes establish ownership of their logo and become less reliant on companies such as Nike and Adidas for merchandise distribution, assessing the influence of various entity's logos on the athlete brand has become worthy of analysis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence that cobranded merchandise has on consumers when the athlete logo is displayed next to another team or manufacturer logo.

Using an online panel and survey, a final sample of 127 participants completed a questionnaire to examine their attitudes towards various athlete brand elements. ANCOVA's and MANCOVA's were utilized to assess significant findings, holding the variable of identification constant.

The results revealed that only the perceptions of merchandise quality significantly varied between an athlete brand and an apparel manufacturer (i.e. Nike) co-brand. The findings indicate that athletes should look to co-brand with high brand awareness manufacturers, and that there is no significant difference between consumers' perceptions of athlete brands when co-branding with team brands.

This is one of the first studies to evaluate the relationship between the athlete brand and external entities from a consumer perspective.

This study aims to investigate drivers of co-branding, and the relative strength of these drivers within the Persian Gulf Pro League (PGPL). The study examines sport sponsorship, and specifically the relationship between professional football teams and on-field apparel sponsors.

Sixteen experts participated in semi-structured interviews and ranked the co-branding drivers. The expert opinions were organized into estimates and triangular fuzzy numbers were established before the Mamdani Fuzzy Inference System converted the fuzzy outputs into crisp output values using the Centroid method. Next, the rankings of the drivers by the same 16 participants were analyzed using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP).

The study identified four main factors with 19 indicators: brand management (i.e. enhancing brand value, utilizing the knowledge and experience of partner brands, brand position, brand identity, brand equity and brand image), partner relationships (i.e. satisfaction, mutual trust, commitment, common interest, product reliability and innovative strategies), marketing factors (i.e. marketing mix, market position, competitive advantage and entry into new domestic markets) and supporting factors (i.e. copyright, contracts and social media law). The AHP identified the most influential factors as marketing, partner relationships, brand management and support.

Based on the study’s findings, the authors recommend that PGPL teams adopt a partnership mindset, seek alignment of values and recognize the plurality of stakeholders to a sponsorship and their relationships to each other. The study highlights the challenges of co-branding activities in a developing country where trademark laws are not well developed.

The activewear industry would benefit from an evidence-based understanding of how activewear is incorporated into women’s lives and their changing participation in physical activity. Activewear brands may be missing the trend of women moving from organised sport to non-organised and individualised sport and recreation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which academic and industry research understood patterns and influences on female’s activewear consumption and identified what significant gaps are evident in understanding the drivers and industry trends that pertain to female consumers of activewear.

The systematic literature review sought academic and industry research papers. Articles were selected if they included female participants; and/or addressed consumer related information; and focussed on active wear. Article findings were thematically analysed.

Most literature exploring activewear consumption fails to take gender into consideration or explore unique female consumer profiles. Females are bringing activewear into other parts of their wardrobe and place more value on fashion, even for sports attire. Research identified the need for activewear brands to consider lifestyle, emotional and personality elements of consumer behaviour. However a specific focus on women’s branding was absent. Women’s age and generation influenced their activewear consumption. Although some industry reports discussed the shift in use of activewear, no studies explored the impact of the critical shift in women’s physical activity patterns on the activewear industry.

This review identifies the gap in knowledge regarding women’s activewear consumption patterns and needs, and the importance of reflecting the changes in female physical activity participation. It also links marketing and design of women’s activewear to the needs of female consumers based on their actual patterns and trends in physical activity. The findings are relevant to activewear researchers, brands, marketers and producers.

This study explores the relationship between brand image and brand equity in the context of sports sponsorship. Keller's (1993, 2003) customer-based brand equity models are the conceptual inspiration for the research, with Faircloth, Capella, and Alford's (2001) conceptual model – adapted from the work of Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993) – the primary conceptual model. The study focuses on the sponsorship relationship between the New Zealand All Blacks and their major sponsor and co-branding partner, adidas. The sporting context for the study was the 2003 Rugby World Cup held in Australia. Data were collected from two independent samples of 200 respondents, utilizing simple random sampling procedures. A bivariate correlation analysis was undertaken to test whether there was any correlation between changes in adidas' brand image and adidas' brand equity as a result of the All Blacks' performance in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Results support the view that Keller (1993, 2003) proposes that brand image is antecedent to the brand equity construct. Results are also consistent with the findings of Faircloth et al. (2001) that brand image directly impacts brand equity.

The case traces the development of the Under Armour (UA) brand, product, and market growth under CEO and founder Kevin Plank from its inception in 1996 through 2016. UA provides a cohesive case study of how to launch and sustain a consumer brand even in the face of its third-party manufacturing approach, which gives its apparel no patentable design or fabric technologies. The case uses UA's brand and advertising development as a backdrop for the current pivotal issue of how to target women to sustain growth. UA's stated goal is to build a $1.9 billion women's business by 2019.

In laying out UA's growth and competitive moves, the case lets students analyze broadcast, social media, and other digital advertising campaigns in view of the company's brand development and strategic targeting. The case also highlights the importance of leveraging brand heritage and historical differentiation while respecting key nuances when extending into new markets (i.e., moving from a predominantly male-driven audience to female). It also allows an exploration of how to use consumer insight and broader cultural attitudes and trends to support extending a position into new markets.

The purpose of this article is to offer a conceptual assessment of a contemporary consumer boycott of a global sports brand. A critical commentary is offered of the “Boycott PUMA” campaign with an examination of the positions and motivations of the different parties involved, specifically PUMA, the “Boycott PUMA” campaign, the Israeli Football Association and UEFA/FIFA.

This article is a position and conceptual paper, designed to generate a discussion on what is an emotive consumer boycott campaign. A distinction is made between political boycotts and consumer boycotts, whether it is possible to separate sport from politics, and if PUMA's claimed position of neutrality in this conflict can be achieved.

The focus here is on PUMA's corporate social responsibility statement in which they claim that sport and politics do not mix, with their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 undermining this claim. PUMA's commitment to social justice is being used by the “Boycott PUMA” activists to expose the disconnect between PUMA's stated vision and its actions.

PUMA's brand has been built on creating a particular type of brand image, with a positive image and brand awareness essential for this sports apparel company. If the company finds itself in a media spotlight their brand equity can become damaged.

With very little research available on the Israel/Palestine from a sport sponsorship and marketing perspective, this article offers an original and much needed assessment of a potentially significant campaign.

This study was conducted to examine the effect of co-branding, a brand partnership tactic involving two or more brands, on consumer behavior within the sport industry. As such, the primary aim was to examine differences regarding consumers' perceptions of self-image congruence and perceived product quality when considering solo-branding and co-branding conditions. Further, under the co-branding condition, relationships among consumers' self-image congruence, perceived product quality, image fit, product evaluation and purchase intention were investigated.

A scenario-based quasi-experiment consisting of hypothetical co-branding initiatives between existing brands was conducted.

Results from a repeated multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated that consumers' symbolic and functional perceptions of co-branding as well as evaluations were statistically higher than in the solo-branding condition. Additionally, structural equation modeling indicated positive relationships between consumers' symbolic and functional perceptions, image fit, evaluation and behavior intention.

This study is one of the first papers to investigate the impact of co-branding on consumers within the sport industry and provides evidence of the positive impact of co-branding strategies on consumer behavior within the sport industry.