Sports Endorsements(Brand Fit) using Conjoint Analysis

Brand Fit & Brand Image Transfer – An amazing Application of Conjoint Analysis

With BA ending today, and me being a marketer, i thought to go beyond the conventional Pricing and other applications. My search led me to a paper written by S. Bucker, where he has tried to find out Brand Fit & Brand Image transfer using Conjoint Analysis.

Brand image transfer is the transfer of brand associations, attributed to another entity, to the brand, while brand fit has been defined as a consumer learning process that seeks to match those brand associations held of the relevant brands involved. Since a variety of brands were involved in this study, conjoint analysis was used as a method of assesing brand fit. In particular, choice-based conjoint analysis was singled out because of its capability to allow the relative advantage of brands considered jointly to be ascertained. Brands might not be able to be measured if taken one at a time. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed in order to assess brand fit using conjoint analysis, which was the main reason for this study.

Rugby sponsorships were chosen to asses brand fit, as this particular game is the second most-watched sport in South Africa, with the highest monetary value attached to its sponsorships at the time of this study. The qualitative research was accomplished by using focus groups to determine which brands were typically perceived to be associated with the Springbok rugby brand. The

different industries and brands used in the focus groups were selected on the grounds of their being current, previous, and potential sponsors of the Springbok rugby brand. The quantitative research was conducted by means of an online questionnaire, sent via a link in an email to a chosen database on the social networking site, ‘Facebook’. A screening question served to ensure that only rugby supporters would be eligible to complete the survey. The information was captured in ‘real time’ in the conjoint analysis software, thereby determining which brands were perceived to best fit the Springbok rugby brand.

The realised sample was composed of a younger, more male-dominated group. All respondents were also Springbok supporters who possessed sufficient knowledge on the Springbok brand and sponsors. There were six brands identified to fit the Springbok rugby brand, namely, Castle, Vodacom, SASOL,Canterbury, Nike, and Adidas. These identified brands proved that the study

did indeed assess brand fit using conjoint analysis.

Conclusions were drawn that brand fit could be established in a variety of ways.The most dominant ways were by leveraging the sponsorship, and also by sponsoring on a continuing basis. These two ways serve to inform consumers of the sponsorship, making them aware of the brands, and building the basis of brand fit in their minds. Brand fit was also achieved based on similar brand

images of the two different brands.

The conclusion drawn were to analyze competitors at various levels – Cell Phone, Alcoholic, Sports Gear etc. The conclusion drawn were based on conjoint analysis and also the results of the focus group activities. Each brand’s score decided whether it was a fit or a no-fit in the category.

Neelima Makani

Marketing 2