SMS13.

3 Paper 3 pp209-219 KT 24/4/12 15:59 Page 209

Celebrity endorsement for sporting events

using classical conditioning

Keywords
sporting events
celebrities
athletes
endorsement
conditioning
Abstract

Chen-Yueh Chen (corresponding author)
Associate Professor, Department of Athletic Sports
National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
Correspondence address: 9-1, Alley 13, Lane 649, Sinjhuang Road
Sinjhuang City, 242, Taipei, Taiwan
This research investigates whether conditioning (the
systematic pairing of celebrity endorsers with sporting
events) produces positive attitudes towards sporting
events. It also investigates whether using celebrities

RESEARCH PAPER
Tel: 886 953 333 447
Email: chenchenyueh@hotmail.com
who are highly congruent with a sporting event leads to
a stronger conditioning effect. The results demonstrate
Yi-Hsiu Lin that individuals exposed to the systematic pairing of a
Assistant Professor, Department of Sport Management
Aletheia University, Taiwan
sporting event with a celebrity did develop a more
favourable attitude towards the event than individuals in
Chia-Lin Hsiao the control condition. Moreover, the pairing of a celebrity
Graduate Institute of Sport and Leisure Education,
National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
with a sporting event was more effective in forming a
positive attitude towards the sporting event when
Peer reviewed congruence was high.

Executive summary

Evidence shows that marketers and advertisers are
willing to spend millions of dollars to improve their
promotional opportunities by associating their products
with celebrity athlete endorsers. An increasing number
of sporting events featuring celebrity endorsement are
taking place worldwide. However, only limited
research has been undertaken into the effectiveness of
such endorsements. Furthermore, whilst some
researchers may have examined the effects of endorser
characteristics on the promotion of a sporting event,
they have neglected to study endorser-product fit. With
the abundance of celebrity endorsement (and an
increasing willingness to spend millions of dollars in
this area) investigation into the effects of celebrity
endorsement on sporting events is warranted. Based
on evidence indicating that favourable stimuli result in
conditioned responses, and the identified need to
study sporting events, this study conducted four
experiments on sporting events using classical
conditioning.

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Celebrity endorsement
In Experiments 1 and 3 we tested whether
individuals exposed to the systematic pairing of a
baseball or basketball event with a celebrity developed
a more favourable attitude towards the event than
individuals who were not exposed to the pairing. The
results demonstrated that pairing a well-liked athlete
with a sporting event did positively impact audiences’
attitudes towards an event. Experiments 2 and 4 test
whether conditioned attitude towards a baseball or
basketball event (the difference between the treatment
condition and the control condition) was greater when
there is a perceived congruence between the sporting
event and the celebrity. Results showed that, when the
celebrity was highly matched with a sporting event,
there was a stronger conditioning than when the
celebrity was not highly congruent with the sporting
event.
This study aims to explain the underlying process
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that drives the transfer of affect. Classical conditioning
(one of the most common methods for associative
learning) is used to explain the ‘match-up’ hypothesis.
The results of the study demonstrate insights for
matching a celebrity endorser with specific sporting
events and for improving the effectiveness of celebrity
endorsement in general. Finally, the results of this
study provide sporting event organisers with an
understanding of the value of properly pairing
celebrities with appropriate sporting events.
Introduction
Celebrity endorsement of sporting events has been
increasingly employed since the 1970s (Tom et al,
1992; Agrawal & Kumakura, 1995) as a means to cut
through advertising clutter and to attract viewer
attention. Celebrities and celebrity athletes have
appeared to bring benefits to events that other
endorsers could not (Charbonneau & Gerland, 2006).
As a result, athlete endorsements have become one of
the main forms of sports marketing used by many
leading corporations (Yu, 2005).
Evidence shows that marketers and advertisers are
210 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship
willing to spend millions of dollars on improving
promotional opportunities by associating their product
images with celebrity athlete endorsers (Jones &
Schumann, 2000). Moreover, consumers have been
found to make positive inferences about products
presented in association with celebrities as they
process advertisements (McCraken, 1989). However,
use of celebrity endorsers has not been without risk.
Till and Shimp (1998) argue that harmful publicity
may occur if a celebrity becomes associated with a
negative event. Research has revealed that, regardless
of potential risks associated with celebrity
endorsement, this process is still widely regarded as
profitable. In fact, Agrawal and Kamukura (1995)
found that return on market value increased
immediately after the announcement of a contract with
a celebrity endorser.
Examining the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement
has become a popular activity for practitioners and
academics (Kaikati, 1987). Studies in recent years
have used various mechanisms to assess the
effectiveness of celebrity endorsement, including:
attribution theory (Mowen & Brown, 1981; Tripp,
Jensen & Carlson, 1994); elaboration likelihood model
(Petty, Cacioppo & Schumann, 1983); social
adaptation theory (Kahle & Homer, 1985); cultural
meaning transfer (McCraken, 1989); source
characteristics, such as attractiveness, expertise,
trustworthiness etc (Ohanian, 1991); schema theory
(Lynch & Schuler, 1994); and associative learning
(Cunningham, Fink & Kenix, 2008; Fink, 2004; Till &
Busler, 2000; Till & Shimp, 1998; Till, Stanley &
Periluck, 2008). Of these research mechanisms,
associative learning has been used most frequently to
demonstrate the effectiveness of celebrity
endorsement.
Associative learning focuses on the links, or
relationships, between concepts (Klein, 1991). It has
been a useful framework for understanding match-up
hypothesis, which suggests that endorsers are more
effective when there is congruence between the
endorser and the endorsed product (Kamins, 1990;
Lynch & Schuler, 1994; Till & Busler, 2000). Kim and
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Na (2007) revealed that individuals evaluated an
endorsed product more favourably when the celebrity
and product fit was congruent. In a New Zealand
context study, Charbonneau and Garland (2006)
found that athletes were actually considered to be
experts by the public when endorsing an unbranded
sports drink. Congruence was further specified by Till
and Busler (2000) who showed that athletes were
more effective at endorsing energy bars than actors –
thus, further indicating that athletes are the most
appropriate endorsers of sport-related products.
Whilst associative learning theory has been used to
explain endorsement effectiveness, the underlying
mechanisms facilitating these effects have not been
fully explored. However, research employing
conditioning has been used to further understand
advertising effectiveness (Grossman & Till, 1998;
Priluck & Till, 2004; Stuart, Shimp & Engle, 1987).
Till et al (2008) proposed that, as one of the common
characteristics of associative learning, classical
conditioning could help to explain the basic notion of
fit between the endorser and the endorsed product.
Classical conditioning is a process whereby an
unconditioned stimulus (one that naturally produces a
response) is paired with a conditioned stimulus (one
that does not naturally produce a response) and acts
to elicit the conditioned response following the pairing
(Shimp, 1991). McSweeney and Bierley (1984)
argued that, when there is a good fit between
conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus, it is
easier to develop an associative link between the two
stimuli. It is this principle of conditioned
stimulus/unconditioned stimulus congruence that
provides the theoretical underpinning for the match-up
hypothesis (Till et al, 2008).
The majority of previous studies on the effectiveness
of celebrity endorsement have focused on tangible
goods, such as sport drinks, as the research object.
Little research has examined the effects of endorser
characteristics on the promotion of sporting events
(e.g. Cunningham et al, 2008; Fink, 2004). Athlete
product endorsement has been a popular sport
marketing tactic used by many corporations (Yu,
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Celebrity endorsement
2005). As the numbers of sporting events increase,
celebrity athletes, such as British footballer David
Beckham, have become more effective at product
endorsement of events such as the football World Cup.
For example, Kim and Na (2007) found that
consumers had a more positive evaluation of sport
shoes when the fit between the shoe and celebrity
endorser was congruent. Nevertheless, Kim and Na
did not elaborate on how the fit effect worked.
With an increasing number of sporting events taking
place around the world, there is a commensurate need
for increased sporting event endorsement. Evidence
has shown that marketers and advertisers are willing
to spend large sums on celebrity athlete endorsement
of their products (Jones & Schumann, 2000).
Attention to the environments in which these products
are advertised (the sporting events) is therefore
warranted. Previous research has examined the effects
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of endorser characteristics on the promotion of
sporting events, but attention has not been given to
the endorser-product fit. Consequently, understanding
how the endorser-product fit works for sporting events
does warrant sport marketers’ attention.
Research in the field of classical conditioning
implies that pairing a positive, unconditioned stimulus
with a conditioned stimulus does result in positive
attitudes towards the conditioned stimulus. Various
unconditioned stimuli have been utilised to examine
conditioning effect, including: pleasant pictures
(Grossman & Till, 1998; Shimp et al, 1991; Stuart et
al, 1987); humour (Allen & Madden, 1985);
unpleasant images (Baeyans, Crombez, Van Den
Bergh & Eelen, 1988); and celebrities (Till et al,
2008). Some research (albeit limited) has been
attempted using celebrities as unconditioned stimulus
within the framework of classical conditioning
(e.g. Till et al). Surprisingly, however, only limited
studies have been dedicated to the effectiveness of
celebrity endorsement, despite the increasing number
of sporting events taking place worldwide. Due to the
unique aspects of sport and event product proposed
by Mullin, Hardy and Sutton (2007), there is a need
to examine the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement
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Celebrity endorsement
for sporting events specifically. Sports marketing
researchers’ efforts to investigate celebrity
endorsement effects is therefore necessary.
With the preponderance of evidence to indicate that
favourable stimuli result in conditioned responses, and
the identified need to study sporting events, the first
hypothesis of this study was formed as follows
(Experiments 1 and 3).
H1: Individuals exposed to the systematic pairing of
a sporting event with a celebrity will develop a
more favourable attitude towards the sporting
event than individuals in the control condition
(no systematic sporting event/celebrity pairing).
McSweeney and Bierley (1984) argue that the
principle of conditioned stimulus/unconditioned
stimulus congruence supports the concept of
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strategically matching the stimuli to strengthen the
associative link. We agree that, to some extent,
conditioning principles do account for the
psychological mechanism of the match-up hypothesis
(Till et al, 2008). Therefore, it is expected that
attitudes will be more favourable towards a sporting
event when there is congruence between the celebrity
and the sporting event – i.e. when pairing via classical
conditioning procedures. This reasoning leads to the
second hypothesis (Experiments 2 and 4).
H2: Conditioned attitude towards a sporting event
(difference between the treatment condition and
the control condition) will be greater when there
is a perceived congruence between the sporting
event and the celebrity.
Four experiments were performed to test the
hypotheses in order to ensure the external validity of
the current study. Experiments 1 and 2 were
conducted using a baseball scenario whilst
Experiments 3 and 4 were based on a basketball
scenario.
212 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship
Experiment 1
The purpose of Experiment 1 was to test whether
individuals exposed to the systematic pairing of a
fictitious baseball event with a celebrity endorser
developed a more favourable attitude towards that
event than individuals in the control condition (no
systematic baseball event/celebrity pairing).
Participants and stimuli
Eighty undergraduate students from major Taiwanese
universities participated in this experiment – 40 from
universities the north and 40 from those in the south.
The participants were a 50/50 male/female split and
an average age of 20.9 years with a standard
deviation of 1.03. University students have been
identified, in surveys funded by the National Science
Council in Taiwan, as forming the main group of fans
for the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).
Thus, the students used in this study ensured
reasonable representativeness of the target population
for the CPBL.
Prior to Experiment 1, a pilot test was conducted to
choose a suitable celebrity athlete endorser. 109
students were asked to select, based on attractiveness
and trustworthiness scales (Ohanian, 1990), a
celebrity athlete to endorse a baseball event. The
attractiveness scale contained five items:
attractive/unattractive, classy/not classy, beautiful/ugly,
elegant/plain, sexy/not sexy (Cronbach’s alpha =
.918). The trustworthiness scale also included five
items: dependable/undependable, honest/dishonest,
reliable/unreliable, sincere/insincere,
trustworthy/untrustworthy (Cronbach’s alpha = .958).
Semantic differential scales were employed.
Participants identified CPBL player, Cheng-Min Pen, as
the player they considered the most attractive and
trustworthy. Consequently, Pen was selected as the
celebrity athlete endorser for the study and his image
was chosen as the unconditioned stimulus. In order to
ensure that the sporting event was not affected, the
conditioned stimulus was a photo of a fictitious
baseball event (the Apollo Baseball Event).
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Interspersed in the slide show used by researchers
were five images of fictitious products – Keton
Fashion, Vohie Cars, Yapui Boots, Ditaif Cosmetics and
Jemey Hair Dying – along with 10 filler images of
abstract paintings and scenery.
Procedure and measures
This experiment was a simple two-group design
utilising a treatment group versus a control group and
well-established classical conditioning procedures
(Shimp, 1991). The participants were randomly
assigned to the control group (40 participants) and to
the treatment group (40 participants). The treatment
group was exposed to images systematically pairing
the event (conditioned stimulus) with the celebrity
(unconditioned stimulus) amid filler images. The
control group was exposed to the same images, but
without the systematic pairing of the conditioned
stimulus and unconditioned stimulus.
To obtain a conditioning effect, Till et al (2008)
recommended using five sets of pairings in the
treatment condition between the conditioned stimulus
and unconditioned stimulus. They found that five
pairings lead to conditioning effects but did not result
in subject boredom (Till et al). For example, the
treatment condition involved participants viewing a
slide show containing five images pairing the event
with the celebrity endorser, whom they considered to
be attractive and trustworthy. (Images of the event
always preceded those of the celebrity, as well as
those of fictitious products and filler images.)
The experiment was conducted in university class
sessions. At the beginning of the class, participants
were informed that they were participating in a sport
marketing study on consumers’ responses to
advertisements and were given a booklet with
instructions and questions. After reading the booklet,
participants viewed the slide presentation. In order to
ensure the experimental manipulation, both the
l APRIL 2012 l International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship
Celebrity endorsement
treatment and control groups were exposed five times
to the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned
stimulus. Only the treatment group received the
systematic pairing of the conditioned stimulus and
unconditioned stimulus, whereas the control group
was shown a randomised series of images. Each slide
was shown for five seconds. A blank slide was always
inserted after every two images and was shown for
two seconds. All conditions were identical for both
treatment and control groups, except that the
conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus were
never presented contiguously in the control group.
Participants were asked to answer the questions in the
booklet after the slide presentation had concluded.
The dependent variable in the experiment was
participant attitude towards the event. Consistent with
prior research, a seven-point semantic differential
scale was utilised with the following items: good/bad,
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high quality/low quality, like very much/dislike very
much, superior/inferior, attractive/unattractive,
pleasant/unpleasant, interesting/boring (Cronbach’s
alpha = .922) (Grossman & Till, 1998; Shimp et al,
1991; Till et al, 2008). All items were averaged to
represent overall attitude towards the event.
Results
Table 1 reports means and standard deviations by
conditions for 80 subjects. The mean of attitude
towards the event was 3.98 for the treatment group,
compared to 3.12 for the control group. This
difference was statistically significant (t=3.74,
p< .001). Results of this experiment revealed that
individuals exposed to the systematic pairing of the
event with the celebrity did develop a more favourable
attitude towards the event than individuals in the
control condition (no systematic baseball
event/celebrity pairing). This supported H1.
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Celebrity endorsement
TABLE 1 Means and Standard Deviations for experiment by condition
CONDITION N MEAN
TREATMENT 40 3.98
CONTROL 40 3.12
*P<.05
Experiment 2
The purpose of Experiment 2 was to test whether
conditioned attitude (the difference between the
treatment condition and the control condition) towards
a baseball event increased when there was a
perceived congruence between the event and the
celebrity endorser.
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Participants and design
A total of 80 undergraduate students (37 male
and 43 female) from a major university in central
Taiwan participated in this experiment. This
experiment used a 2x2 between-subjects factorial
design (systematic pairing vs. no systematic pairing
high congruence vs. low congruence) i.e. four groups
– a high congruence treatment group, a low
congruence treatment group, a high congruence
control group and a low congruence control group].
Prior to the experiment, a pilot test of 109 participants
was performed to choose a celebrity endorser
considered to have high congruence with a baseball
sporting event and another considered to have low
congruence. The measure for perceived congruence
included: appropriate/inappropriate, fit/not fit, and
suitable/not suitable (Cronbach’s alpha = .937).
Results showed that pop singer, Andy Lao, was
identified as having low congruence with the sporting
event whilst CPBL player, Cheng-Min Pen, was
selected as having high congruence. Both celebrities
were readily identifiable to participants.
214
STANDARD T P-VALUE
DEVIATION
1.34 3.74* 0
0.53
Stimuli and procedures
In this experiment, a photo of Pen was chosen as the
unconditioned stimulus for the high congruence
treatment group because of his athletic image. Lao was
chosen as the low congruence treatment group due to
his lack of association with athletics. Participants in
both groups were exposed to five pairings of
conditioned stimulus/unconditioned stimulus,
embedded with a random sequence of the same filler
images used in Experiment 1. The control groups were
exposed to the same materials, but in random order. All
procedures and the measure of attitude towards the
sporting event were identical to Experiment 1.
Manipulation check
The analysis for the high/low congruence manipulation
revealed that participants rated Pen as highly
congruent with the event (M=6.06) compared to Lao
(M=2.27, t=15.21, p<.001). Thus, results lead to
the conclusion that the manipulation of high/low
congruence was successful.
Results
Table 2 shows a significant interaction between
congruence and conditioning on attitude towards the
event (F=8.00, p=.006). Further analysis revealed
that in the high congruence groups (Pen with Apollo
Baseball Event), the treatment group mean was 4.29
and the control group mean was 3.53. This difference
was significant (t=2.04, p=.047). In the low
congruence groups (Lao with Apollo Baseball Event),
the treatment group mean was 3.61 and the control
group mean was 3.12. This difference was not
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Celebrity endorsement

TABLE 2 ANOVA Results for Experiment 2

FACTOR DF SS F P-VALUE
CONDITIONING 1 5.74 5.94* 0.017
CONGRUENCE 1 0.37 0.38 0.539
CONDITIONING X
CONGRUENCE 1 7.72 8.00* 0.006
ERROR 76 73.39

*P<.05

significant. Thus, the interaction effect implies that
pairing of conditioned stimulus/unconditioned stimulus
is more effective in the formation of a positive attitude
towards a sporting event when congruence between
the endorser and the event is high, which supports
H2.
to select a suitable celebrity athlete, based on
attractiveness and trustworthiness scales (Ohanian,
1990). Attractiveness and trustworthiness scales
revealed satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha levels of 0.91
and 0.90, respectively. Semantic differential scales
were employed. SBL player, Hsin-An Chen, was

Experiment 3
The purpose of Experiment 3 was to test whether
individuals exposed to the systematic pairing of a
basketball event with a celebrity endorser developed a
more favourable attitude towards the event than
individuals in the control condition (no systematic
basketball event/celebrity pairing).
Participants and stimuli
Eighty spectators of the Super Basketball League (SBL)
professional basketball league in Taiwan participated
in this experiment. Of the participants, 36 were
female and 44 were male with an average age of
19.3 years with a standard deviation of 2.13. The
participants were identified as representative of the
highly supportive fans of the SBL, according to
surveys funded by the National Science Council of
Taiwan.
Prior to Experiment 3, a pilot test was conducted to
choose a suitable celebrity athlete to endorse a
basketball event. One hundred spectators were asked
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selected by participants as the most attractive and
trustworthy. Consequently, he was selected as the
celebrity athlete endorser for the study and his image
was chosen as the unconditioned stimulus. The
conditioned stimulus was a photo of the fictitious event
(the Marshall Basketball Event) in order to ensure the
sporting event was neutral in affect. The same images
of fictitious products used in Experiment 1 were
interspersed in the slide show for Experiment 3.
Procedure and measures
The design and procedure of Experiment 3 was
identical to that of Experiment 1 – with the Apollo
Baseball Event replacing the Marshall Basketball Event
and Pen replacing Chen. The participants were
randomly assigned to the control group (40
participants) and condition group (40 participants).
The experiment was conducted in the arena where
SBL games are held. Researchers set up a booth
inside the arena close to one of the main entrances
where spectators were invited to participate in the
study and offered incentives. The participants were
invited to the booth and informed that they were
participating in a sport marketing study on consumers’
responses to advertisments. They were given a booklet

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TABLE 3 Means and Standard Deviations by condition for Experiment
CONDITION N MEAN
TREATMENT 40 3.89
CONTROL 40 3.08
*P<.05
with instructions and questions to read and
researchers then showed them a slide presentation on
a laptop. The rest of the procedure was identical to
Experiment 1.
The dependent variable in this experiment was
attitude towards the event. The Cronbach’s alpha of
the attitude scale turned out to be satisfactory (0.91).
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All items were averaged to represent overall attitude
towards the event.
Results
Table 3 reports means and standard deviations by
conditions for 80 subjects. The mean of attitude
towards the event was 3.89 for the treatment group,
compared to 3.08 for the control group. This
difference was statistically significant (t=3.27,
p=.002). Results revealed that individuals exposed to
the systematic pairing of the event with the celebrity
developed a more favourable attitude towards the
event than individuals in the control condition (no
systematic basketball event/celebrity pairing). This
supported H1.
Experiment 4
The purpose of Experiment 4 was to test whether
conditioned attitude (the difference between treatment
condition and control condition) towards a basketball
event was greater when there was a perceived
congruence between the event and the celebrity
endorser.
216 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship
STANDARD T P-VALUE
DEVIATION
1.47 3.27* 0.002
0.51
Participants and design
A total of 80 SBL spectators (39 male and 41 female)
participated in this experiment. This experimental
design was identical to Experiment 2. A pilot test of
100 participants was performed prior to Experiment 4
to choose a celebrity endorser considered to have high
congruence with the event and another considered to
have low congruence. The measure for perceived
congruence was identical to Experiment 2 with a
satisfactory Cronbach’s alpha (.90). Results showed
that actor, Chen-Wu Kim, was identified as having low
congruence with the sporting event. SBL player, Hsin-
An Chen, was selected as having high congruence
with the sporting event. Both celebrities were readily
identifiable to participants.
Stimuli and procedures
In this experiment, a photo of Chen was chosen as the
unconditioned stimulus for the high congruence
treatment group because of his athletic image. Kim
was chosen for the low congruence treatment group
due to his lack of association to athletics. All
procedures, and the measure of attitude towards the
event, were identical to Experiment 3.
Manipulation check
Analysis for the high/low congruence manipulation
revealed that participants rated Chen as highly
congruent with the event (M=5.98) compared to Lao
(M=3.01, t=13.21, p<.001). Thus, results lead to
the conclusion that the manipulation of high/low
congruence was successful.
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TABLE 4 ANOVA Results for Experiment 4
FACTOR DF SS
CONDITIONING 1 7.23
CONGRUENCE 1 0.44
CONDITIONING X 1 4.69
CONGRUENCE ERROR 76 0.79
*P<.05
Results
Table 4 shows a significant interaction between
congruence and conditioning on attitude towards the
event (F=5.93, p=.017). Further analysis revealed
that in the high congruence groups (Chen with
Marshall Basketball Event), the treatment group mean
was 4.21 and the control group mean was 3.12. This
difference was significant (t=3.41, p=.002). In the
low congruence groups (Kim with Marshall Basketball
Event), the treatment group mean was 3.58 and the
control group mean was 3.46. This difference was not
significant. Thus, the interaction effect implies that
pairing of conditioned stimulus/unconditioned stimulus
is more effective in the formation of a positive attitude
towards an event when congruence is high, which
supports H2.
Discussion
This study investigates whether conditioning produces
a more positive attitude towards a sporting event and
whether celebrity endorsers who are highly congruent
with the event have a stronger conditioning effect. The
findings of Experiments 1 and 3 indicate that simply
pairing a well-linked athlete celebrity with a sporting
event does positively impact attitude towards the
sporting event. Repeated paired images of Pen with
the Apollo Baseball Event led to a significant increase
in positive attitude towards that event. Similar results
occurred for repeated paired images of Chen with the
Marshall Basketball Event. These findings are
consistent with the work of Till et al (2008), which
l APRIL 2012 l International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship
Celebrity endorsement
F P-VALUE
9.15* 0.003
0.56 0.454
5.93* 0.017
showed the same effect from using a celebrity as the
unconditioned stimulus.
Furthermore, the results of Experiment 2 revealed
that using a celebrity who was highly matched with
the sporting event (Pen with the Apollo Baseball
Event) resulted in stronger conditioning than when the
celebrity was paired with a low-matching sporting
event (Lao with the Apollo Baseball Event). Similar
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results were found in Experiment 4, which
demonstrated a stronger conditioning effect when
Chen was paired with the Marshall Basketball Event,
than when Kim was paired with the Marshall
Basketball Event. These findings were also similar to
the findings of Till et al.
Previous studies have attempted to investigate
match-up hypothesis (Charbonneau & Garland, 2006;
Kamins, 1990; Kim & Na, 2007; Lynch & Schuler,
1994; Till & Busler, 2000). They have determined
that higher congruence between the endorser and the
endorsed product results in better brand attitudes.
However, they have not explained how congruence
can be made to work better in terms of forming
consumers’ attitudes towards products/services. This
study investigates the mechanism of forming positive
attitudes towards sporting events and was specifically
based on McSweeney and Bierley’s argument (1984).
From a theoretical perspective, the researchers used
the study to explain the underlying process for match-
up hypothesis. Although other researchers have
examined the concept of congruence for sporting
goods (e.g. Kim & Na, 2007), they have not
uncovered the underlying process. This study
demonstrates that classical conditioning, one of the
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most commonly used methods for associative learning,
is a mechanism that can be used to explain the
underpinnings of the match-up hypothesis specifically
for sporting events.
Whilst other researchers may have investigated how
to choose an effective celebrity endorser for a women’s
sporting event (e.g. Cunningham et al, 2008), this
study shows how the interaction of conditioning and
congruence can explain the variance of positive
attitude towards a sporting event. Furthermore, this
study includes two different sports (baseball and
basketball) in order to ensure the external validity of
the results. The study, therefore, complements existing
literature in the field of sport marketing. It also offers
sport marketing practitioners some solid and sound
conclusions on how to choose an effective celebrity
endorser for a sporting event and how to make that
endorsement work more effectively. Specifically, it
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offers a two-step practical guide. First, practitioners
should choose an endorser who is highly congruent
with their sporting event, based on attractiveness and
trustworthiness. Second, they should make repeated
and systematic pairings between the endorser and the
sporting event in order to generate positive attitudes
towards the event.
Breaking through advertising clutter is critical in a
highly-advertised environment such as sport. An
increasing number of sporting events are taking place
around the world and those marketing these events
may seek to select appropriate celebrity endorsement.
As a result of this study, sport marketers now have a
basic understanding of why endorsement is more
effective when a celebrity is paired properly with a
sporting event, than when inappropriately paired.
Although marketing practitioners may already know
how to choose a celebrity endorser who is highly
congruent with a sporting event, and about the
importance of repeated pairings between the endorser
and the event, the current study provides them with
scientific evidence to support those actions.
218 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship
Limitations and future research
This study reveals that the conditioning effect is
stronger when an endorser is highly congruent with a
sporting event. However, the underlying processes
driving the transfer of affect and beliefs are still not
fully understood. Future studies should, therefore, seek
further cognitive mechanisms to explain transfer of
affect and beliefs and may replicate these experiments
in different sporting contexts. Finally, the levels of
consumers’ involvement in sporting events should be
a further area for future research, in order that the
proper utilisation of celebrity endorsement for sporting
events can be further elucidated.
© 2012 International Marketing Reports
Biographies
Chen-Yueh Chen is Associate Professor in the
Department of Athletic Sports at National Chung
Cheng University in Taiwan. His research interests
include sports consumer behaviour and sports
management.
Yi-Hsiu Lin is Assistant Professor in the Department of
Sport Management at Aletheia University in Taiwan.
Her research interests include sports public relations
and sports marketing.
Chia-Lin Hsiao’s research interests include leisure and
tourism management.
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