Consumer based brand equity approach to brand positioning and application in sports industry

In today's conditions where there is intense competition, businesses carry out some activities to be noticed by their target audience, be perceived well, or expand their market shares. Since the effects of globalization affect today's market structures, consumption has become a culture and individuals see their purchasing activities as a way of expressing themselves, businesses tend to focus more on brand activities in this process. One of the areas where intense competition is experienced is the sports industry. The difficulties of acquiring new consumers, as in all areas, make it difficult for businesses in the sports industry to gain fans. Therefore, recently, consumer-oriented brand activities in the sports industry are considered important. This study aims to identify brand positions based on consumer (fan) based brand value in the sports industry and to visualize the determined positions through perception maps. In this context, the 10 football teams (Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor, Başakşehir, Bursaspor, Göztepe, Ankaragucu, Eskisehirspor, and Ada Demirspor) with the highest consumer based brand equity, covering the history of football in Turkey, are determined by taking expert opinions. Afterward, quantitative research consisting of two phases is carried out and factor analysis is applied to the data obtained with the "Spectator Based Brand Equity" scale. As a result, 6 factors, which are the evaluation criteria of the teams, (team history, the success of the team against its competitors and brand marks, social interaction of the fans, criticism of the team, the team's management, employees, and stadium features, fanaticism of fans, the team's loyalty to its fans) is determined. As a result of applying multidimensional scaling analysis to the data of the survey study carried out to evaluate the teams according to the determined factors; In terms the first factor, "team history, the success of the team against its competitors, and brand marks", it has been understood that the closest teams to the ideal brand are Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş. In terms of the second factor, "social interaction of the fans", it has been determined that the closest teams to the ideal brand are Galatasaray, Başakşehir, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş. In terms of the third factor, "criticism of the team", it has been determined that the closest teams to the ideal band are Galatasaray, Besiktas, and Fenerbahçe. In terms of the fourth factor, "the team's management, employees, and stadium features", it has been understood that the closest teams to the ideal brand are Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş, and Trabzonspor. In terms of "fanaticism of fans", which is the fifth factor, it has been determined that the closest teams to the ideal band are Galatasaray, Besiktas, and Adana Demirspor. And in terms of the sixth factor, "the team's loyalty to its fans", it has been understood that the closest teams to the ideal brand are Galatasaray, Beşiktaş, Trabzonspor, and Adana Demirspor brands. Finally, multidimensional scaling analysis is applied to all factors. Accordingly, the teams of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor are in different positions from the teams of Başakşehir, Bursaspor, Göztepe, Ankaragücü, Eskişehirspor and Adana Demirspor, which are located toget-her. Therefore, it has been determined that these teams are the most similar to each other, while the teams of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş, and Trabzonspor are different brands. In addition, it has been seen that the Galatasaray team is the closest brand to the ideal brand according to all factors. It is important for future researchers to conduct research that is representative of other football leagues in Europe and the world, taking into account the globalization of football and its worldwide popularity. Researchers may include additional factors in their research, such as star players, league quality, team traditions, sponsor fit, or geographic location. Further, research on online brand communities and their link to consumer-based brand equity makes a contribution to the literature.