Growing the international fan base through brand awareness and engagement : NHL organizations in Europe

Abstract

Marketing and branding in sports continuously have a more vital role when sports teams and athletes pursue more significant incomes. Marketing and branding strategy plays a significant role in this game as it includes different actions to make the brand recognizable and strengthen the image. The main goal is to attract potential new "customers" (fans) and create deeper engagement among fans who have already shown their interest and ambition toward the sports team or brand.

Interest in sports brand internationalization has increased lately among academic literature and sports marketing professionals. However, existing literature also recognizes an increasing interest in sports brand internationalization as the fan bases have globalized. It is highlighted that not many studies focus on fans living abroad and how different branding strategies influence those fans. In addition, the literature has focused on fan motivations to attend sporting events and how fans express their attachment through physical presence. However, the consumption of sports brands cannot be limited only to live events as the fan base is heavily globalized. Therefore, literature has acknowledged that the brand equity framework is more than suitable when exploring the connection between the brand and international fans.

This research examines how NHL teams may grow their European fan base by enhancing brand awareness and engagement. The study proposes that this may be accomplished by deconstructing the brand development process and establishing obvious links between each phase of the brand development process and the fandom development process. The purpose of this research is to provide an understanding how the branding process could be united with the fandom development process to create awareness which creates a foundation for fandom development and to create attraction and engagement to develop that fandom and ultimately retain the fandom.

The empirical research was conducted through expert interviews. Semi-structured interviews based on the theoretical framework were used to collect data. The interviewees were chosen after careful exploration, and the main selection criteria were extended knowledge and experience from the field of sports business and sports marketing. The empirical research mostly validated the prior conclusions while also providing new insights. It was concluded that the most crucial thing in international sports brand management is understanding the brand's core and building a brand message around identity and personality that communicates authenticity. After that, the methods to enhance brand awareness were widely confirmed. The study identified the most critical methods in that phase. In addition, the same results were achieved in the brand engagement phase, as the study confirmed the findings from the literature. However, the study also underlined that the process seems simple in theory. However, in practice, it requires a lot of effort and resources. Following that, the objective of this study was accomplished by validating the theoretical framework based on the results of the empirical study.