Athletes vs. bloggers: influence on purchase preferences of the Generation Z

The paper deals with the comparison of the impact of the use of athletes and bloggers in marketing communication on purchasing preferences of individuals which belong to the so-called Generation Z. There are two interdependent methods used for the research. The first of these methods is a questionnaire survey, which includes 508 respondents. 32 respondents separated in two groups attended the second method, which is a focus group. The research results show that athletes influence the behavioral intentions of members of the Generation Z more than bloggers in every researched sphere. The main difference in effectivity is clear from the comparison between both groups by respondents.

1. Abidin, C. (2016). Aren't these just young, rich women doing vain things online? Influencer selfies as subversive frivolity. Social Media + Society, 2(2), 1-17. CrossRef

2. Baig, F., & Siddiqui, K. (2012). Impact of sports celebrity endorsements on the purchase intentions of Pakistani youth. Journal of Independent Studies and Research, 10(1), 23-42. CrossRef

3. Baker, S. (2017). 9 Of The Biggest Benefits Of Social Influencer Marketing You Need To Know Now. Retrieved from https://shanebarker.com/blog/biggest-benefits-socialinfluencer-marketing/.

4. Bergh, J. V. D., Behrer, M., & De Maeseneire, P. (2016). How Cool Brands Stay Hot: Branding to Generation Y and Z. London: Kogan Page.

5. 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(1), 108-118. CrossRef

6. Casaló, L. V., Flavián, C., & Ibáñez-Sánchez S. (2018). Influencers on Instagram: Antecedents and consequences of opinion leadership. Journal of Business Research, 115.

7. Cramer, T. (2017). How to Launch an Influencer Campaign. Retrieved from http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Editorial/Feature/How-to-Launch-an-Influencer-Campaign-116571.htm.

8. Caslavova, E., & Voracek, J. (2019). Marketing Trends in Social Networking Sites Usage in Sport. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3(4), 396-400. UT-WOS: 000467818300003.

9. Chuang, S. C., Cheng, Y. H., & Hsu, C. T. (2012). The influence of suggestions of reference groups in the compromise effect. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(3), 554-565. CrossRef

10. Dacko, S. G. (2008). The advanced dictionary of marketing: putting theory to use. New York: Oxford University Press.

11. Davis, M. (2019). The 3 Types of Influencers Explained: Mega, Macro & Micro. Retrieved from https://www.ifluenz.com/blog/2019/04/16/3-types-influencers-explained-megamacro-micro/.

12. Debroff, S. (2016). 5 Must-Have Elements for Influencer Marketing Sales Success. Retrieved from https://www.chiefmarketer.com/5-must-have-elements-for-influencermarketing-sales-success/.

13. De Veirman, M., Hudders, L., & Nelson, M. R. (2019). What Is Influencer Marketing and How Does It Target Children? A Review and Direction for Future Research. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Dec., 2685. CrossRef

14. Dhanesh, G. S., & Duthler, G. (2019). Relationship management through social media influencers: Effects of followers' awareness of paid endorsement. Public Relations Review, 45(3), 101765. CrossRef

15. Dix, S., Phau, I., & Pougnet, S. (2010). "Bend it like Beckham": the influence of sports celebrities on young adult consumers. Young Consumers, 11(1), 36-46. CrossRef

16. Dugalić, S., & Lazarević, S. (2017). The impact of celebrity athlete endorsement on purchasing habits. Facta Universitatis, Series: Physical Education and Sport, 14(3), 435-446.

17. Düsenberg, N. B., de Almeida, V. M. C., & de Amorim, J. G. B. (2016). The Influence of Sports Celebrity Credibility on Purchase Intention: The Moderating Effect of Gender and Consumer Sports-Involvement. BBR-Brazilian Business Review, 13, 1-21. CrossRef

18. Fry, R., & Parker, K. (2018). Early Benchmarks Show 'Post-Millennialsʼ on Track to Be Most Diverse, Best-Educated Generation Yet: A Demographic Portrait of Todayʼs 6-to 21-Year-Olds. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. CrossRef

19. Hameed, S. S., & Madhavan, S. (2017). Impact of Sports Celebrities Endorsements on Consumer Behaviour of Low and High Involvement Consumer Products. XIBA Business Review (XBR), 3(1-2), 13-20.

20. Jungnickel, K. (2018). New Methods of Measuring Opinion Leadership: A Systematic, Interdisciplinary Literature Analysis. International Journal of Communication, 12, 2702-2724.

21. Kahle, L. R., & Riley, Ch. (2004). Sports Marketing and the Psychology of Marketing Communication. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. CrossRef

22. Kapitan, S., & Silvera, D. H. (2016). From digital media influencers to celebrity endorsers: attributions drive endorser effectiveness. Marketing Letters, 27(3), 553-567. CrossRef

23. Khatri, P. (2006). Celebrity endorsement: A strategic promotion perspective. Indian media studies journal, 1(1), 25-37.

24. Koernig, S. K., & Boyd, T. C. (2009). To Catch a Tiger or Let Him Go: The Match-up Effect and Athlete Endorsers for Sport and Non-Sport Brands. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 18(1), 25-37.

25. Koulopoulos, T., & Keldsen, D. (2016). Gen Z Effect. The Six Forces Shaping the Future of Business. New York: Routledge. CrossRef

26. Lee, I. (2016). Encyclopedia of e-commerce development, implementation, and management. Publisher: IGI Global. CrossRef

27. Levine, B. (2017). What is influencer marketing? Retrieved from https://martechtoday.com/martech-landscape-influencer-marketing-194859.

28. Liu, L., Parganas, P., Chadwick, S., Anagnostopoulos, C., & Parganas, P. (2016). Sports celebrity endorsements of luxury brands: the case of Chinese consumers. International Journal of Sport Management Recreation & Tourism, 25, 45-68.

29. Lou, C., & Yuan, S. (2019). Influencer marketing: how message value and credibility affect consumer trust of branded content on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 19(1), 58-73. CrossRef

30. McCrindle, M. (2014). The ABC of XYZ: Understanding the Global Generations. Bella Vista, Australia: McCrindle Research Pty.

31. Novotny, P. (2017). Influencer marketing jako moderní nástroj komunikace prostřednictvím sociálních médií a návrh na jeho využití ve zvolené společnosti [Influencer marketing as a modern tool of communication through social media and a proposal for its use in the selected company. In Czech.]. Brno: Vysoke uceni technicke v Brne, Fakulta podnikatelska.

32. Odell, P., Wiley, D., & Talamantez, A. (2016). 5 Influencer Marketing Trends That Are Changing the Game. Retrieved from https://www.chiefmarketer.com/5-influencermarketing-trends-that-are-changing-the-game/.

33. Pophal, L. (2016). Influencer marketing: turning taste makers into your best salespeople. EContent, 39(7), 18-22.

34. Prikrylova, J., & Jahodova, H. (2010). Moderní marketingová komunikace [Modern Marketing Communication. In Czech.]. Praha: Grada Publishing.

35. Rosen, L. (2010). Welcome to the... iGeneration! The Education Digest, 75(8), 8-12.

36. Sammis, K., Lincoln, C., & Pomponi, S. (2016). Influencer Marketing For Dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

37. Sassenberg, A. (2015). Effects of sport celebrity transgressions: An exploratory study. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 24(2), 78-90.

38. Sassenberg, A. M., Summers, J., Johnson-Morgan, M., & Hassan, R. (2018). The impact of digital communications on consumer perceptions of sport celebrity transgressions. Journal of Global Sport Management, 3(2), 189-207. CrossRef

39. Scott, D. M. (2015). The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CrossRef

40. Seemiller, C., & Grace, M. (2016). Generation Z Goes to College. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

41. Shuart, J. (2007). Heroes in sport: assessing celebrity endorser effectiveness. International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, 8(2), 126-140. CrossRef

42. Silva, M. J. D. B., Farias, S. A. D., Grigg, M. K., & Barbosa, M. D. L. D. A. (2020). Online engagement and the role of digital influencers in product endorsement on Instagram. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 19(2), 133-163. CrossRef

43. Simmers, Ch. S., Damron-Martinez, D., & Haytko, D. L. (2009). Examining the Effectiveness of Athlete Celebrity Endorser Characteristics and Product Brand Type: The Endorser Sexpertise Continuum. Journal of Sport Administration & Supervision, 1(1), 52-64.

44. Sladek, S., & Grabinger, A. (2018). Gen Z: The first generation of the 21st Century has arrived! Retrieved from https://www.xyzuniversity.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/GenZ_Finaldl1.pdf.

45. Smith, A. C. T. (2008). Introduction to Sport Marketing. Oxford, UK: Elsevier. CrossRef

46. Stevens, J. A., Lathrop, A. H., & Bradish, Ch. L. (2003). Who is Your Hero? Implications for Athlete Endorsement Strategies. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 12(2), 103-110.

47. Stillman, D., & Stillman, J. (2017). Gen Z Work. How the Next Generation Is Transforming the Workplace. New York: Harper Business.

48. Torres, P., Augusto, M., & Matos, M. (2019). Antecedents and outcomes of digital influencer endorsement: An exploratory study. Psychology & Marketing, 36(12), 1267-1276. CrossRef

49. Twenge, J. M. (2017). iGen: Why Todayʼs Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy-and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood-and What That Means for the Rest of Us. New York: Atria Books.

50. Voracek, J. (2015). New Perspectives of Corporate Identity in Sports Organizations. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Kinanthropologica, 50(2), 30-40. CrossRef

51. Voracek, J. (2019). Trends and Tools in Marketing Communication in today's Sport. Marketing Identity 2019: Offline is the new online, 390-400.

52. Voracek, J., & Caslavova, E. (2019). Effects of sports personalities in marketing communication on the purchasing preferences of Generation Y. Acta Universitatis Carolinae Kinanthropologica, 55(2), 107-127. CrossRef

53. Waller, N. (2016). Beginners Guide to Influencer Marketing. Creative Review, June, 12-13.

54. Weinswig, D. (2016). Influencers Are The New Brands. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahweinswig/2016/10/05/influencers-are-thenew-brands/#219b3f2e7919.