Does Sport Matter?: An Analysis Of The Personality Of Sport

Abstract

This paper examines the intrinsic characteristics of sport and reaffirms the idea that celebrity endorsers bring more to the endorsement process than just their personal qualities. This idea was previously proposed by McCracken (1989) in his transfer of meaning theory. The importance of this research lies in the fact that given the risks associated with celebrity endorsement, marketers must be aware of all factors that influence consumers’ evaluations of the celebrity endorsement. The proposition therefore is that an athlete’s sport is a factor that influences consumers’ celebrity endorsement evaluations. In other words the athlete and his sport cannot be separated.