Development of a consumer-based brand equity strategy for the positioning of football team brands

This paper develops a brand positioning strategy based on consumer-based brand equity for football team brands. The study is designed and validated in three separate empirical phases. In Study 1, the authors interviewed experts in the field using a qualitative research design and identified the football team brands with the highest consumer-based brand equity. In Study 2, the authors applied explanatory factor analysis to the spectator-based brand equity scale to find the appropriate factors for evaluating the identified team brands. In Study 3, the authors used multidimensional scaling and evaluated and discussed team brands based on the identified factors. As a result of the research, an ‘ideal brand’ had to be designed, taking into account the ten football team brands identified in Study 1 and the six factors identified in Study 2. This brand was rated ‘best’ across all factors and compared with other brands. The authors recommend this new brand positioning strategy to practitioners and emphasise that future studies should be conducted in other countries and for other sports disciplines.