Conference PaperPDF Available

The impact of athlete endorsement on estimates of nutritional content of food meals

Authors:
Stuart W Flint at University of Leeds
Stuart W Flint
Rebecca Peake at Sheffield Hallam University
Rebecca Peake
Daniel Plumley at Sheffield Hallam University
Daniel Plumley
Olga Polyakova at Sheffield Hallam University
Olga Polyakova
Show all 8 authorsHide
Download full-text PDF
Read full-text
Download citation

Abstract

In today's society, high status individuals such as athletes are considered commodities to be sponsored. Sponsoring athletes or sports teams is a method employed by brands to endorse their products to the public through the media. Athlete endorsement can lead to the formation of favourable attitudes towards a brand (Till, Stanley & Priluck, 2008), and purchase intentions purchase behaviour (Bush, Martin & Bush, 2004; Spry, Pappu & Cornwell, 2011). Those who are socialised into engaging and following sport are likely to not only form favourable attitudes towards unhealthy consumption, as a consequence of the associations between sportspersons, teams and competitions with unhealthy consumption, but also a greater likelihood of unhealthy consumption. Owing to the potential implications of athletes endorsing unhealthy consumption and evidence of this is today's society; this study aimed to examine the impact of athlete endorsement on estimates of nutritional content of food meals. Using a repeated measures design, 260 participants attended the laboratory on three separate occasions: (1) exposure to images of food meals only (baseline); (2) athlete endorsed food meals; (3) and public endorsed food meals. The order of the experimental trials was counterbalanced. Initial data analysis suggests that estimates of nutritional content of food are healthier when endorsed by athletes than both the baseline and public endorsement condition. In line with recent suggestions by Flint et al. (2014), athlete endorsement of unhealthy food and drink may lead to unhealthy consumption and favourable attitudes towards those brands, which may have implications for obesity prevalence and other health related concerns. The present study suggests that greater sponsorship restrictions for athletes are warranted given their status as a role model for many people. References
Content uploaded by Stuart W Flint
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Stuart W Flint on Mar 17, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
The impact of athlete endorsement on estimates of nutritional
content of food meals
S. FLINT a, R. PEAKE a, D. PLUMLEY a, O. POLYAKOVA a, S. REALE a,
R. WILSON a, M. CAPEHORN, F. PHOENIX a.aSheffield Hallam
University, Sheffield, UK. S.Flint@shu.ac.uk
In today’s society, high status individuals such as athletes are con-
sidered commodities to be sponsored. Sponsoring athletes or sports
teams is a method employed by brands to endorse their products
to the public through the media. Athlete endorsement can lead to
the formation of favourable attitudes towards a brand (Till, Stanley
& Priluck, 2008), and purchase intentions purchase behaviour (Bush,
Martin & Bush, 2004;Spry, Pappu & Cornwell, 2011). Those who
are socialised into engaging and following sport are likely to not
only form favourable attitudes towards unhealthy consumption, as
a consequence of the associations between sportspersons, teams
and competitions with unhealthy consumption, but also a greater
likelihood of unhealthy consumption. Owing to the potential im-
plications of athletes endorsing unhealthy consumption and evidence
of this is today’s society; this study aimed to examine the impact
of athlete endorsement on estimates of nutritional content of food
meals. Using a repeated measures design, 260 participants at-
tended the laboratory on three separate occasions: (1) exposure to
images of food meals only (baseline); (2) athlete endorsed food
meals; (3) and public endorsed food meals. The order of the ex-
perimental trials was counterbalanced. Initial data analysis suggests
that estimates of nutritional content of food are healthier when en-
dorsed by athletes than both the baseline and public endorsement
condition. In line with recent suggestions by Flint et al. (2014), athlete
endorsement of unhealthy food and drink may lead to unhealthy
consumption and favourable attitudes towards those brands, which
may have implications for obesity prevalence and other health related
concerns. The present study suggests that greater sponsorship re-
strictions for athletes are warranted given their status as a role model
for many people.
References
Bush, A. J., Martin, C. A., & Bush, V. D. (2004). Sports celebrity influence on the
behavioral intentions of generation Y. Journal of Advertising Research,44, 108–118.
Flint, S. W., Plumley, D., Peake, R., & Polyakova, O. (2014). Using sport as a tool to
market unhealthy food. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences,2, 15–25.
Spry, A., Pappu, R., & Cornwell, T. B. (2011). Celebrity endorsement, brand credibility
and brand equity. European Journal of Marketing,45, 882–909.
Till, B. D., Stanley, S. M., & Priluck, R. (2008). Classical conditioning and celebrity
endorsers: an examination of belongingness and resistance to extinction.
Psychology and Marketing,25, 173–176.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.174
Lighten up adult weight management programme
M. ROSCOE, J. HARPER. Birmingham Public Health, Birmingham, UK.
Mark.roscoe@birmingham.gov.uk
Lighten Up is a successful weight management programme de-
signed to provide access for adults that are at risk of developing life
limiting chronic conditions including CHD, Stroke, Diabetes and some
cancers. The reduced risk of ill health associated with excess weight
is intended to lessen the financial burden on public spending,
improve life expectancy and increase the number of years a person
may live free from chronic disease and dependent on social care.
Patients receive a 12 week weight management programme through
a selection of commercial providers to catalyse significant initial
weight loss. In addition call-centre based support comprising of
scheduled support calls and specific personalised support at the pa-
tients’ discretion help maintain adherence and provide additional
support. The programme is designed to empower patients to main-
tain their own health and wellbeing post the initial 12 week
programme. At this transition scheduled support calls are still made
and the personalised call service remains accessible, with ancil-
lary materials and signposting to relevant external services also
offered. Service evaluations identified that based on data captured
between 1st April 2012 and 31st March 2013, 2669 patients ac-
cessed the scheme; of which 6.2% achieved greater than 10 kg weight
loss, 19.7% achieved between 5 and 10 kg weight loss and 43.2%
achieved between 0 and 5 kg weight loss. This suggests that com-
bining a structured triage and support mechanism with commercial
weight loss programmes enhances weight loss. Furthermore follow
up data highlight that continued support together with a pro-
gramme that enables individual empowerment to maintain weight
loss enhances a patient’s ability to manage their health and well-
being after an intervention. This is evidenced by 25.6% of patients
recorded as maintaining their weight or continuing to lose weight
at 3 month follow up.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.175
Multiple risk behaviours and central adiposity in mid-adulthood
in the 1958 British birth cohort
K. VAN VELDHOVEN, S. PINTO PEREIRA, L. LI, C. POWER. UCL –
Institute of Child Health, London, UK. ich.ppp.programme@ucl.ac.uk
Causes of obesity are multifactorial, including modifiable risk
behaviours such as physical inactivity and unhealthy diet. Such
behaviours are known to co-occur, but effects of co-occurrence on
waist circumference (WC) are not well understood. In the 1958
British birth cohort, we aimed to establish the extent of risk
behaviour co-occurrence over two adult ages in association with
WC. Three risk behaviours were assessed at 33 years and 42 years:
physical inactivity (<1/week), low dietary fibre (<1/day), and heavy
alcohol consumption (≥22/36 units/week, men and women respec-
tively). The prevalence of combinations of risk behaviours and their
associations with 45 years WC were assessed (4458 men, 4541
women). All behaviours, except heavy drinking among men, were
associated with WC. At 33 years, the percentage with 0, 1, 2 and 3
risk behaviours was 40.9%, 41.1%, 16.1% and 1.9% respectively for men
and 48.9%, 37.4%, 13.1% and 0.6% for women; at 42 years, the per-
centages were 35.7%, 40.9%, 19.7% and 3.7% for men and 43.6%, 39.4%,
15.9% and 1.1% for women. The most common combination was low
dietary fibre with inactivity (~11% for both ages and genders).
Observed/expected ratios indicated clustering for this combina-
tion at both ages. The combination of inactivity and low fibre was
associated with higher mean WC by 2.2 cm and 3.0 cm at 33 years
and 3.0 cm and 4.3 cm at 42 years, for men and women respec-
tively, vs individuals with no risk behaviours. For women, but not
men, the combination of inactivity and low fibre accumulated across
ages: women with this combination at both ages had a larger WC
by 5.4 cm than those with neither behaviour at both ages. Whilst
co-occurrence and clustering of risk factors has been established
for disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, identification of co-
occurrence of risk behaviours for central adiposity is likely to reveal
differing patterns that could be informative for intervention
strategies.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.12.176
395Abstracts/Appetite 87 (2015) 371–403
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
Celebrity endorsement, brand credibility and brand equity
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Feb 2008
  • EUR J MARKETING
The principal objective of the present research was to provide a conceptual framework for explaining the impact of the credibility of the celebrity endorser used on the consumer-based equity of the endorsed brand. The mediating role of the credibility of the endorsed brand on the endorser credibility – brand equity relationship was also examined. Additionally, the type of branding employed by the endorsed brand was considered by examining whether relationships between endorser credibility and brand equity, and endorser credibility and brand credibility vary depending on whether the endorsed brand is a parent brand or a sub-brand. The conceptual framework advanced in this paper was tested using a questionnaire with an experimental design. Data were collected using a mall-intercept approach at a Brisbane shopping centre yielding a consumer sample. The results of the present research indicated that endorser credibility did not have a direct impact on consumer-based of the endorsed brand. However, endorser credibility had an indirect impact on brand equity when this relationship was mediated by brand credibility. It was also found that the relationships between endorser credibility and brand equity, and endorser credibility and brand credibility do not differ by the type of branding employed by the endorsed brand.
View
Using sport as a tool to market unhealthy food
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2014
This paper is focused on how unhealthy food and drinks companies sponsor sports athletes, teams and events as a means of promoting their brands. Currently, across many sports, there is evidence of unhealthy food and drink sponsors. From a business perspective, sport provides an ideal platform to influence the public into forming positive attitudes towards their brands. Sport also provides companies with an opportunity to target and penetrate new and unexplored markets. The objective of this paper is to highlight this contradictory association that ethically needs reviewing. Within this paper it is argued that due to the potential impacts of developing inaccurate attitudes of unhealthy food and drinks companies, sports governing bodies can and should make a stance against allowing these brands to be aligned with a healthy life pursuit.
View
Classical conditioning and celebrity endorsers: An examination of belongingness and resistance to extinction
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2008
  • PSYCHOL MARKET
Three studies attempt to better explain how celebrities are used effectively as conditioned stimuli in the associative learning process. Study 1 establishes that direct affect transfer can occur using celebrities via conditioning. Study 2 suggests that celebrity conditioning will be more effective when there is an appropriate fit (belongingness) between the celebrity and the product endorsed—also known as the match-up hypothesis. Finally, Study 3 examines whether attitudes toward brands paired with celebrities are resistant to efforts to extinguish them using extinction procedures. The findings suggest that conditioning with celebrities yields brand attitudes that are robust and enduring. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
View
Celebrity endorsement, brand credibility and brand equity
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2011
  • EUR J MARKETING
Purpose – This research aims to examine the impact of celebrity credibility on consumer-based equity of the endorsed brand. The mediating role of brand credibility and the moderating role of the type of branding (parent versus sub-brand) employed by the endorsed brand on the endorser credibility-brand equity relationship are also to be examined. The endorser credibility-brand equity relationship was developed using associative learning principles whereas the brand signalling theory is applied to examine the mediating role of brand credibility. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual framework was tested using a field experiment. Data were collected using a mall-intercept approach at a shopping centre from a sample of consumers in a metropolitan Australian city. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings – Results suggest endorser credibility has an indirect impact on brand equity when this relationship is mediated by brand credibility. This mediating relationship was moderated by type of branding. However, the “endorser credibility-brand credibility” and “endorser credibility-brand equity” relationships did not vary according to the type of branding employed. Practical implications – In support of past findings, the present study shows that a celebrity endorser should be one who is perceived as credible based on their attractiveness, expertise and trustworthiness. Moreover, in this research, even a moderately low credibility endorser proved to be able to build the brand. Originality/value – The present study is one of the first to empirically examine and confirm the impact of endorser credibility on brand credibility and consumer-based brand equity.
View
Sports Celebrity Influence on the Behavioral Intentions of Generation Y
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2004
  • J ADVERTISING RES
Teenagers currently spend an estimated $153 billion a year on everything from computers to cars to clothes (Brand, 2000). Trend conscious teens are very active in utilizing the media and advertising in seeking out the latest products, services, and fashions (Zollo, 1995). A greater understanding of teens role model influences can help organizations and their advertising agencies more effectively target and communicate to this growing market. In this study, we examine the effect of athlete role models on teenagers purchase intentions and behaviors. Results from a survey of 218 adolescents are discussed with implications and future research directions for advertising and sports marketing researchers.
View
The impact of athlete endorsement on estimates of nutritional content of food meals
Article
  • Apr 2015
In today’s society, high status individuals such as athletes are considered commodities to be sponsored. Sponsoring athletes or sports teams is a method employed by brands to endorse their products to the public through the media. Athlete endorsement can lead to the formation of favourable attitudes towards a brand (Till, Stanley & Priluck, 2008), and purchase intentions purchase behaviour (Bush, Martin & Bush, 2004; Spry, Pappu & Cornwell, 2011). Those who are socialised into engaging and following sport are likely to not only form favourable attitudes towards unhealthy consumption, as a consequence of the associations between sportspersons, teams and competitions with unhealthy consumption, but also a greater likelihood of unhealthy consumption. Owing to the potential implications of athletes endorsing unhealthy consumption and evidence of this is today’s society; this study aimed to examine the impact of athlete endorsement on estimates of nutritional content of food meals. Using a repeated measures design, 260 participants attended the laboratory on three separate occasions: (1) exposure to images of food meals only (baseline); (2) athlete endorsed food meals; (3) and public endorsed food meals. The order of the experimental trials was counterbalanced. Initial data analysis suggests that estimates of nutritional content of food are healthier when endorsed by athletes than both the baseline and public endorsement condition. In linewith recent suggestions by Flint et al. (2014), athlete endorsement of unhealthy food and drink may lead to unhealthy consumption and favourable attitudes towards those brands, which may have implications for obesity prevalence and other health related concerns. The present study suggests that greater sponsorship restrictions for athletes arewarranted given their status as a role model for many people.
View