Fail to Perform, Fail to Be a Credible Endorser

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Attaching a popular and successful athlete to a product can dramatically increase the sales and credibility of the product. What happens, though, if the athlete struggles in his or her sport? Research at the University of Arkansas shows that on-field performance plays an important role in an athlete’s credibility when it comes to endorsing products.

The research by Gi-Yong Koo, Brody Ruihley and Stephen Dittmore was published in the September 2012 issue of Sport Marketing Quarterly.

While companies spend substantial amounts of money on athlete endorsements to take advantage of the benefits the athletes bring with them, little is known about how athletes’ on-field performance affects their credibility.

Sports management professor Dittmore used Michelle Wie as an example: “She has done everything right. She went to Stanford, she’s smart, she’s articulate and she’s attractive. There’s nothing she’s done wrong except she didn’t win right away on the LPGA tour. When that happens, how does that impact an athlete’s ability to earn endorsement deals?”

The research, as developed by doctoral candidate Koo, used a fictitious athlete and product and presented to two groups. One of the groups was presented with a strong performing athlete; the other group was shown an athlete struggling competitively.

The two groups reacted differently to the two stories. The group that was given the positive story was more trusting and supportive of the athlete. The group exposed to the negative story distrusted the fictitious athlete, did not view her as a credible endorser and did not favorably view the product.

Koo used three main criteria when creating the endorser: attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise. Based on the opinions of 50 undergraduate students, the researchers selected a photograph of an attractive woman to be the fictitious female professional golfer named Morgan Mitchell. They created a background to establish her expertise and trustworthiness. In addition to years as a professional golfer in the LPGA, Morgan Mitchell was a co-founder of an organization that raises awareness and money for breast cancer research.

Following the creation of the athlete, 50 undergraduate students selected their own top three product categories, based on personal interests and involvement. The most frequently named category was cellular phones. Thus, Morgan Mitchell would represent a cellular phone called Axon Max.

Koo gave 208 undergraduate students enrolled in sport management and communications courses a packet of information about the endorser, an article about her on-field performance and an advertisement for Axon Max. Half of the students were presented with the positive story and the other half the negative story. During and after reviewing the packet, the students answered a series of questions and evaluated their attitude toward the brand and the advertisement and whether they intended to purchase the product.

The research will help sport marketers when they consider implementing athlete endorsement strategies by providing important information on how an athlete’s credibility is viewed when he or she is performing well or not. When athletes maintain a high performance level, they are considered more credible, but when they struggle, so does their credibility. 

Koo cautions that in reality there are many more factors that can determine an athlete’s credibility. “When you see the real world, there are a lot of factors affecting the relationships. This kind of study definitely tells us about the specific relationship between the specific factors: performance and advertisement; performance and endorsement,” he said.

Koo is a doctoral candidate in health, human performance and recreation, and Dittmore is an assistant professor of recreation and sports management, both at the University of Arkansas. Ruihley is an assistant professor of sports administration at the University of Cincinnati.