Types of Sports Fans and Their Behaviors

Sports consumers by nature display a considerable degree of values, attitudes and behaviors.While there is a certain element of fanaticism involved in most sports, not everyone is a fanatic. Most people of a particular fan base  are not that passionate and do not use their own team as a basis to support their own identity. Most of the sports fans are not passionate sports fans.They are not particularly loyal to the club or take a special interest in the club history.Some attend games on a regular basis while others attend games on special occasions.Some of the fans engage in spots chatter forums, discussing about relevant sporting issues while others display their love for the club by watching televised games on the net.The concept of brand equity is a relatively modern concept whose area of focus has shifted from local to global.Almost every major sports team has an international market which brings in revenue from all parts of the world(Keaton, Watanabe & Ruihley, 2015).The most popular sport, being football is played everywhere in the world and has a global fanbase unlike any other sport(Billings et al., 2017). All major clubs like Barcelona, Manchester Utd and most of the premier league clubs hold a significant market position in the South East Asian and Asian market.The premier league, especially is the most broadcasted league in the world.When one watches his team play on television, he converts from a sport fan to a sport consumer.Major clubs and sports teams are all trying to expand their horizons and go global.

According to the article on Sport Consumer Typologies , the article illustrated the different types of  sports fans  that  exist  all over the world.

  There are all kinds of sports fans all over the world.Sports fans can be construed to be passionate, fanatic or natural. There are all type of sports fans, who take an interest in sports for various reasons. Some watch sports regularly and feel genuinely involved in the team’s success or defeats. While others are casual sports lovers who watch sports only on special occasions, for example special events like football world cup(Stewart, Smith & Nicholson 2003).There are genuine fans who use their local fan base to construct a sense of community with others who view soccer as a pleasant entertaining watch(Keaton, Watanabe & Ruihley, 2015). These fans are true lovers of the sport and are referred to traditional fans. They are strong supporters of the game and have a strong sense of pride about their team culture and history. Then there are modern fans who are attracted to the game because it offers an entertaining and enriching experience.They were attracted by the commercial appeal and marketability of the sport(Billings et al., 2017).

The Concept of Brand Equity in Sports

Another category of fans that exists are irrational fans and rational fans. Rational fans are those who use their loyalty status to a particular club to secure a social or commercial benefit.Irrational fans are those who have strong emotional ties to a club or fan base.There are those fans that focus on the way they identify with their clubs and teams(Berendt & Uhrich, 2016). While some fans aligned themselves with the city they live in , others identified with the team itself. While examining the complex dynamics of identifying with sports teams there were other findings(Stewart, Smith & Nicholson 2003). There were two groups in this regard. First were expressive supporters, who were driven by the search for adventure, thrills and excitement .next were submissive supporters who were strong supporters of their respective teams but were not as vocal or expressive as expressive supporters. Expressive customers identified most closely with their ethnic and cultural traditions(Berendt & Uhrich, 2016).The concept of brand loyalty was used to undertake a dualistic approach of Chicago Cubs baseball club.The study identified that there were two types of fans according to brand loyalty.One were die hard loyal fans who were more brand loyal while there were less loyal fans who were less brand royal. Diehard fans had a stronger connection to the club and spent more time talking about the club while less loyal fans had a slightly lesser connection to the club(Stewart, Smith & Nicholson 2003). Interestingly both liked the club to the same extent.The studies showed the different ways consumers identify with their favorite items and provide a suitable foundation for more complex analysis of team identity and disattachment (Billings et al., 2017).

Based on another literature analysis, sports fans can be categorized by measuring the level and intensity of team attachments.Sports fans can only be differentiated, but also ranked on the basis of their beliefs and behavior.This study  conducted this research on North American consumers based on the intensity of their relationships with a club or team(Stewart, Smith & Nicholson 2003).The fans who read a lot of sports material, conversed about sports a  lot , frequently visited sports events, had a general good knowledge about sports were considered to  be highly identified supporters(Burgers et al.,2015). On the other hand fans who talked less about sports, had a weaker attachment to the club or had less knowledge about sports were low identification supporters(Spinda, Wann,  & Hardin,2016).There were fans who were highly interanalized and highly involved.These individuals sought a close attachment to the team.the others were self expressive who sought excitement and the big experience, but were less inclined to incorporate the team in their sense of self(Stewart, Smith & Nicholson 2003).Finally there were camaraderie supporters who enjoyed the interaction with other sports fans(Spinda, Wann,  & Hardin,2016).

Challenges in Addressing Brand Loyalty Among Sports Consumers

Another set of fans were vested fans who were emotionally vested in the support of their teams.There were fans who were focused fans whose support depended on the success of the team.Social fans were low on team identification  and were attracted to the entertainment value(Billings et al., 2017).Categorizing another set of fans one can classify fans on the basis of sports attendance.The passionate partisan attended their games regularly and were very loyal to their club.The second were the champ followers who were less fanatical and were committed only when their team was doing well(Stewart, Smith & Nicholson 2003)..The third category were reclusive partisans, whose commitment to the team ewas strong bit attended the games infrequently.Another set of fans were categorized based on loyalty.True loyal fans had both strong commitment and team attendance. Spurious loyal fans had a weak commitment but had  a strong attendance in home games(Keaton, Watanabe & Ruihley, 2015). Latently loyal fans had  a strong commitment to the team but did not attend the home games as much.Low loyal fans had both weak commitment to their team and weak home game attendance(Stewart, Smith & Nicholson 2003).

As per the article on sports based brand equity , the article illustrated the concept of brand equity and how it can be applied to sports in general(Biscaia et al., 2013). Brand equity in sports incorporated various models like team associated model(TAM), Brand equity in team sports model (BETS), spectator based brand equity model(SBBE) to get a better idea of the concept of brand equity in sports.TAM  measured the uniqueness, favorability and strength of brand associations in soccer teams.The BETS model further extended the scope of brand loyalty and expanded the concepts of brand equity to apply in the global market(Biscaia et al., 2013) . This model discussed the impact of professional sport teams in global markets.SBBE model was used to explain brand equity through brand awareness and brand associations  and the combined result of these variables affects other factors like team loyalty, exposure and merchandise in the market.This model provided a  more comprehensive overview of brand loyalty than the previous two  models(Biscaia et al., 2013).

As per the third article on fandom affliation, the study contained a gist of how behavior aming football fans presents an impact on the brand value of the club.It contained how a supported fan group and a diverse fan group  , with their varying levels of fan commitment significantly impact the commercial appeal of the club(Dionísio, Leal and Moutinho,  2008).

Despite the study of characteristics of sports fans from the articles mentioned above, there are certain problems that exist. The research articles fails to incorporate consumer experience and the different cultural differences that exist among professional sports in reference to addressing brand loyalty. There should also exist a strong case for a segmented  practice while developing strategies for enticing sports consumers to consume sport products(Shoham,  Dalakas, & Lahav, 2015).A segmented system not only forces sports marketers to do market differentiatiation, but also inspire them to develop a more thorough appreciation of the causes and values that reinforce specific aspect of consumer behavior.Another component that the article fails to note that most fans , nowadays support the teams of their favourite players(Shank & Lyberger,2014). For example, fans of Lionel Messi would support Barcelona, fans of Christiano Ronaldo would support Real Madrid etc,.Most fans get into watching football because of  a certain individual player that catches his or her eye.

The above discussion suggests that sport consumption has an irrational and rational component to it.The irrational component forms the basis by which sports consumers can identify with  their own favourite teams and make their escape into a world  filled with undying passion and joyful  entertainment(Shank & Lyberger,2014).At the same time, rational component signals the need to provide capabilities that involve strategic analysis , commercial exchange and adding value.

Second sports marketers should not only  reward the benefits of identifying with the team and its  surrounding players but also reward the benefits of witnessing  a spirited contest and a game of high quality.A feisty encounter and a  match of a high quality  depended on the teams that performed on the field.it makes the overall game more enjoyable and fun(Zaharia et al.,2016).A number of topologies identified customers segments that involved high value supporters being attracted to the game as  a whole rather than to a particular team(Biscaia et al., 2013).These high quality , high value games would be a more lucrative source of income for sport organizations and a strategic  local point for sports marketers(Junghagen,2018).

Third sports marketers need to be choose sports consumption models thatfit their business intentions. While in some cases the attainment of new sport  consumers will be a priority , while in other cases the main aim will be to exploit after purchase relationships(Giroux, Pons, & Maltese, 2017).Marketers should be conscious of the power that different sports consumer models have in directing and uncovering the readiness of  customer. Moreover, some models will provide a stronger theoretical base while others will have a more concrete application to market place strategies(Biscaia et al., 2013).

Last but not the least, sponsors should develop  a  strategy that is  long term in nature  and support other teams not football, according to the article on fandom affliation.Also there should be a managerial involvement to keep up the interaction with fans and supporters of a a particular fan base(Dionísio, Leal and Moutinho,  2008)

Being a very avid sports lover, I am first and foremost a football fan. I  am a strong, expressive and passionate football supporter of the English premier league club, Chelsea.I would like to categorise as a  highly identified supporter with very strong loyalty towards my team. Chelsea became a  major force to be reckoned with after Roman Abrahamovic bought the club in 2003(da Silva & Las Casas,2017).He was a billionaire who invested lots of money in the club.More money meant bringing in more good players. The arrival of quality players  produced an instantaneous  impact as they won the league in his very first very season as the owner of the club.Once the first trophy came in, they showed no signs  of slowing down.In the entire time Roman has been owner, Chelsea has been the most successful English club(da Silva & Las Casas,2017).Most of the fans are modern fans, who started supporting Chelsea post 2003. The trophy winning ability was a huge part why they supported the club.In addition to the traditional fans , who visit every home game and passionate partisans,champ followers also exist.They supported Chelsea because they wanted to support the best.There is  a lack of highly die hard or expressive fans , although the number is steadily on the rise. Most fans that have just started following the English  premier league are  following Chelsea because of their successful track record in winning silverware(Giroux, Pons, & Maltese, 2017).

Chelsea is a massive football club and is a part  of the English premier league. The premier league is the most broadcasted league in the world.Chelsea is not just a team , it has a huge global presence and is a major brand in itself.There is in fact a generational shift that has transpired over the last few years(Forbes.com, 2018).While Manchester United or Liverpool, are the two most popular clubs in England , yet it is Chelsea that has garnered more fans from youngsters in South East Asia.There is even a Chelsea school in Singapore, where young kids hone their skills and receive the best training(Efdn.org 2018) .According to Ryn Martein Yacob,  the principal head of the Singapore and Jakarta Soccer schools for the Chelsea foundation, there are now 230 kids from all types , where  seventy percent of the kids signing up are locals(Forbes.com, 2018).Most of these local children  come to the school because they  are supporters of  Chelsea.Chelsea are the most successful English club in this decade, with over 3 league titles, 3 FA cups, 1 capital one cup,1 champions league and 1 Europa league to its name(da Silva & Las Casas,2017).The on field success, fuelled  by exciting players like recent world cup’s silver ball winner Eden Hazard have been responsible for this shift in fan base towards the London club(Forbes.com, 2018). Adrian New, Chelsea’s Asia managing director reckons  the  shift in club preference among new generations is  due to the fact that in Asia, the presence of silverware embodies fan following(Efdn.org 2018).In Europe, however fan following is determined to a large extent by societal and topographical factors.for eg, most Chelsea fans in England will be the ones from West London, since it is a West London Club.To tap into this shift in club preference among generations , the club have implemented a  relatively modern grassroots based model in South east Asia, with an added importance on developing junior players (Forbes.com, 2018).

 Brand activitations,  done by assocaiating with local partnerships such as Adidas, Singha, BNI bank, Bangkok Bank and Indosat have also helped enhancing the brand value of Chelsea in this part of the world(Coates et al.,2016).The EPL  has been broadcasting its content  i in all these markets for a long time now .Many fans have gravitate over this club for the last decade.The global shirt partnerships of the company , both current and future with Asian headquartered companies such as Samsung and Yokohama rubber have assisted in enhancing visibility in this region(Shank & Lyberger,2014).Previously the club had  a great relationship with Samsung , which also helped broaden Chelsea’s market in the Asian marketplace(Efdn.org 2018).The brand equity of Chelsea has a major role to play in developing the global brand of Chelsea(Forbes.com, 2018). It has  a strong presence in the global market place and with  the passage of time, it will only get stronger(da Silva & Las Casas,2017).

Conclusion

The study focuses on the different types of fans  that exist in the world of professional sports and the surrounding brand equity. There are different types of fans that exhibit different characteristics ranging from extremely passionate ,loyal to less passionate and less loyal fans . There are fans who are highly involved, expressive and others who are less involved nd expressive who watch the game for entertainment purpose only. Most people, while supporting their favorite sports team feel  their favorite sports team embody their own spirit . Through their own club, they can see themselves. Many support teams because of their favourite  players.Lionel Messi fanboys will support Barcelona while the fans of  Christiano Ronaldo would  support Real Madrid and so on.The study also illustrates the concept of brand equity in the world of professional sports and how modern sports , especially football has a global marketplace for professional sports based merchandise conducted through various sponsorship deals with major brands like Nike , Barclays Bank etc. This association between sports teams and major brands enable sports to reach people on a global scale and help in expanding the concept of brand equity in sports. The study makes relevant discussions regarding these concepts and how it applies to professional sports. Through the personal statement, it is discussed about the various types of fans and the various types of market reaching strategies in the South East Asian marketplace that have been carried out by Chelsea, to illustrate the relevance of these concepts in the modern scenario.

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