Creation of a Team Brand with Individual Athletes on Social Media: An Exploratory Case Study of the FAB_IV

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to understand the creation of a brand composed of four individual elite athletes and how stakeholders involved used social media to co-create the brand. The study examined the unique context of the FAB_IV; four individuals divers branded as a team. Semi-structured interviews were performed with participants from Diving Canada, its athletes, member of the COC and sponsors. The sample was built through a purposeful and snowball sampling method that added to stakeholders identified from the literature. Archival data of organizational documents, FAB_IV microsite, social media accounts, news outlet content and online content were also gathered in order to complement the data from the interviews. The deductive and inductive data analysis highlighted four main themes: brand strategies and implementation - sponsorship and sponsorship activation - media and fan interest - stakeholder’s relationship. Specifically regarding social media, the research showed that in order to use social media as a brand co-creation tool, organizations and athletes need to have a strategy in place, use them with consistency and be creative in what they publish. Additionally, fostering relationships with followers was identified as a key contributor of building a brand on social media. Researchers and future researches should focus on organizations who, along with their stakeholders, are using social media as the main tool to co-create their brand. Moreover, having the fan or follower perspective, when doing a research pertaining to brand and value co-creation on social media, would also be a possible avenue for future researches.