Is the athlete’s sport important when picking an athlete to endorse a nonsport product?

Abstract

Businesses will spend millions of dollars associating their products with athletes through product endorsements. Finding the “best” athlete to make the endorsement is a crucial decision. Several theoretical perspectives suggest that the sport from which the athlete comes may be an important factor in producing a favorable consumer response. In a study conducted to investigate the effects of the type of sport on endorsement evaluations, results indicated that the image of the sport, independent of the athlete, can contribute significantly to the consumer’s response to an endorsement. The image of the sport can enhance, or detract from, the effects of the personality and appearance of the athlete making the endorsement. These findings suggest the managers should consider the sport, as well as the athlete carefully, when picking a product spokesperson.