University Students’ Brand Associations Toward Football Teams: The Case of Adıyaman University / Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Futbol Takımlarına Yönelik Marka Çağrışımları: Adıyaman Üniversitesi Örneği
University Students’ Brand Associations Toward Football Teams
Keywords:
sport branding, brand associations, football fans, team identification, sport marketingAbstract
ABSTRACT
Aim: In contemporary sport markets, football teams increasingly function as powerful consumer brands that generate emotional, symbolic, and social meanings for their supporters. Understanding how fans perceive these brand associations has therefore become an important issue in sport marketing research. Although previous studies have examined fan identification and sport consumption behaviors, limited research has focused on the multidimensional structure of football team brand associations and whether these perceptions vary according to demographic characteristics. Therefore, this study aimed to examine football fans’ perceptions of team brand associations and investigate potential differences according to selected demographic variables.
Material and Method: This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design. Data were collected from 310 university students studying in different faculties of a public university in Türkiye through a structured questionnaire. The survey included a demographic information form and the Football Team Brand Associations Scale consisting of 33 items measured on a five-point Likert scale. The scale evaluates several dimensions such as team success, coach image, star players, management, club history, stadium characteristics, visual identity, psychological escape, identification, and socialization. Data were analyzed using SPSS with descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA.
Results: Participants reported moderately positive perceptions of football team brand associations (M = 3.74, SD = 0.52). The overall reliability of the scale was high (Cronbach’s α = .93). Correlation analysis revealed positive and moderate relationships among several brand association dimensions. However, no statistically significant differences were found according to gender or football interest level.
Conclusion: Football team brand associations appear to be shaped mainly by psychological and social perceptions rather than demographic characteristics. These findings contribute to sport marketing literature and provide practical insights for sport organizations aiming to strengthen brand equity and fan engagement strategies.
Keywords: Brand Associations, Football Fans, Sport Branding, Sport Marketing, Team İdentification.
ÖZET
Amaç: Çağdaş spor pazarlarında, futbol kulüpleri giderek taraftarları için duygusal, sembolik ve sosyal anlamlar üreten güçlü tüketici markaları olarak işlev görmektedir. Bu nedenle, taraftarların bu marka çağrışımlarını nasıl algıladığını anlamak, spor pazarlama araştırmalarında önemli bir konu haline gelmiştir. Önceki çalışmalar taraftar özdeşleşmesi ve spor tüketim davranışlarını incelemiş olsa da, futbol takımı marka çağrışımlarının çok boyutlu yapısına ve bu algıların demografik özelliklere göre değişip değişmediğine odaklanan sınırlı sayıda araştırma bulunmaktadır. Bu nedenle, bu çalışma futbol taraftarlarının takım marka çağrışımlarına ilişkin algılarını incelemeyi ve seçilen demografik değişkenlere göre potansiyel farklılıkları araştırmayı amaçlamıştır.
Materyal ve Metod: Bu çalışma, nicel kesitsel bir tasarım kullanmıştır. Veriler, Türkiye'deki bir devlet üniversitesinin farklı fakültelerinde öğrenim gören 310 üniversite öğrencisinden yapılandırılmış bir anket aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Anket, demografik bilgi formu ve beş puanlık Likert ölçeğinde ölçülen 33 maddeden oluşan Futbol Takımı Marka Çağrışımları Ölçeği'ni içermiştir. Ölçek, takım başarısı, teknik direktör imajı, yıldız oyuncular, yönetim, kulüp tarihi, stadyum özellikleri, görsel kimlik, psikolojik kaçış, özdeşleşme ve sosyalleşme gibi çeşitli boyutları değerlendirmektedir. Veriler, SPSS kullanılarak tanımlayıcı istatistikler, güvenilirlik analizi, Pearson korelasyon analizi, bağımsız örneklem t-testleri ve tek yönlü ANOVA ile analiz edildi.
Bulgular: Katılımcılar, futbol takımı marka çağrışımlarına ilişkin orta düzeyde olumlu algılar bildirdiler (Ortalama = 3,74, Standart Sapma = 0,52). Ölçeğin genel güvenilirliği yüksekti (Cronbach’ın α = 0,93). Korelasyon analizi, çeşitli marka çağrışım boyutları arasında pozitif ve orta düzeyde ilişkiler ortaya koydu. Bununla birlikte, cinsiyete veya futbol ilgi düzeyine göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılıklar bulunmadı.
Sonuç: Futbol takımı marka çağrışımlarının, demografik özelliklerden ziyade esas olarak psikolojik ve sosyal algılar tarafından şekillendirildiği görülmektedir. Bu bulgular, spor pazarlama literatürüne katkıda bulunmakta ve marka değerini ve taraftar katılım stratejilerini güçlendirmeyi amaçlayan spor organizasyonları için pratik bilgiler sağlamaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Futbol Taraftarları, Marka Çağrışımları, Spor Markalaşması, Spor Pazarlaması, Takım Kimliği.
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