SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Prifysgol Fetropolitan Caerdydd

CARDIFF SCHOOL OF SPORT

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS)

SPORT MANAGEMENT

2013-4

The use of Parasocial Interaction and Brand Equity

Development through Twitter in professional cricket: A Case

study of the 2013/14 Ashes Series.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Prifysgol Fetropolitan Caerdydd

Certificate of student

By submitting this document, I certify that the whole of this work is the result of my individual effort, that all quotations from books and journals have been acknowledged, and that the word count given below is a true and accurate record of the words contained (omitting contents pages, acknowledgements, indices, tables, figures, plates, reference list and appendices).

Word count: 9958

Name: Samuel Mount

Date: 18/3/2014

Certificate of Dissertation Supervisor responsible

I am satisfied that this work is the result of the student’s own effort.

I have received dissertation verification information from this student

Name: Mark Lowther

Date: 18/3/2014

Notes:

The University owns the right to reprint all or part of this document.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CONTENTS

Page i) – Acknowledgements

Page ii) – Abstract

Page 1) – Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION

- Page 3) - Statement of Purpose

Page 4) – Chapter 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

- Page 5) - Existing Studies

- Page 6) - Relationship and Brand Marketing

- Page 9) - Parasocial Interaction and Social Identity

- Page 11) - New Media Technologies and Brand

Equity Development

- Page 12) - Emergence of Research Question

- Page 14) - Research Expectations and Objectives

Page 16) – Chapter 3 – METHOD

- Page 17) - Design Assumptions

- Page 18) - Research Design

- Page 19) - Participant Selection

- Page 21) - Data Collection

- Page 23) - Pilot Study

- Page 24) – Data Analysis

- Page 24) - Validity and Reliability of the Study

- Page 25) - Limitations of the Methodology

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Page 26) – Chapter 4 – RESULTS

- Page 27) - Categorical Analysis

- Page 30) - Individual Data Analysis

Page 35) Chapter 5 – DISCUSSION

- Page 43) - Limitations and Critical Relection

- Page 45) - Future Research

Page 47) Chapter 6 – CONCLUSION

- Page 48) - Practical Implications and

Recommendations

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

LIST OF TABLES

Page 17) - Figure 1 – Most Followed English 2013/2014 Ashes Squad

Members.

Page 18) Figure 2 – Statistics of the present study.

Page 19) Figure 3 – Data collection categories.

Page 20) Figure 4 – Pilot Study data collection.

Page 23) Figure 5 – Data collection results.

Page 26) Figure 6 – Percentage of tweets classified within the ‘Response to fans/friends’ and ‘Business Life’ categories.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX A-1) Ethical Approval.

APPENDIX B-1) Pilot Study Data

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my dissertation supervisor, Mark

Lowther, for the support and guidance that has enabled me to partake in this substantial paper.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 i SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

ABSTRACT

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 ii SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantitatively investigate the role played by the social media website, Twitter, in aiding professional cricketers to build Parasocial relationships with their fans, while enhancing their personal brand as a business commodity.

Desgin and Method: The tweets of six international cricketers were collected throughout the 2013/2014 Ashes Test Match Series. The data was collected and categorised into one of six categories dependent on the tweet genre, before the data was further analysed.

Results and Conclusions: The findings of this study highlighted the use of twitter for parasocial interaction between international cricketers and their fan bases. The study also produced findings indicating that international cricketers fail to capitalise on the potential that Twitter possesses as a marketing tool, with results denoting rare uses of the social media site to increase personal brand equity. Increased Twitter activity, expressing both parasocial interaction and an apparent effort to develop personal brand equity are indicative of individuals who possess the largest volume of Twitter followers; concluding that there can a correlation established between the volume of Twiter followers, and the volume of Tweets posted, in International cricket.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 iii SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 1 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

The rapid and exponential growth of Social Media has been one of the most influential phenomena’s of the 21st century, and it is not until recently that the full capabilities of Social Media have been utilised (Thoring 2011). Twitter falls under the ‘Social Media’ category, defined as online implements allowing

‘online communication, participation and collaboration’ (Thoring, 2011).

Twitter started in 2006, and by June 2009 it already boasted approximately 50 million global users (Fisher, 2009), growing to over 230 million in 2013

(Fisher, 2009). Athletes are able to use Twitter to connect directly with their audience, rather than having their publications filtered through public relations

(Hambrick et al., 2010). As Twitter has continued to show a dramatic increase in user figures, sporting organisations and professional athletes alike have begun to realise the potential power that is possessed by Twitter, and research (Parmentier & Fisher, 2012; Price, Farrington & Hall, 2013) has been undertaken showing the benefits that this may have to those using the Social

Media network as a way of marketing a brand, and increasing social relationships. Early research into using Social Media to generate company publicity concluded that Twitter is a unique communication and marketing resource that is tailor made for product endorsement (Hambrick & Mahoney,

2012), and a way in which sporting organisations can achieve a high consumer contact rate, at relatively low costs (Witkemper, Choony &

Waldburger, 2012).

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 2 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this quantitative research study is to analyse the role played by the social media website, Twitter, in aiding professional cricketers to build

Parasocial relationships with their fans, while enhancing their personal brand as a business commodity. The data collection took place during the 2013

Ashes Series (21 November – 6 January), studying the ‘Tweets’ of six

England cricketers, carefully selected to exhibit the use of triangulation in the study (Wilson, 2005). The data collection took place on the completion of the series, and the tweets were categorised dependant on the content and genre of each tweet, determined by a codebook developed from previous research

(Pegoraro, 2010; Clavio, 2008; Funk, Mahoney & Ridinger, 2002; Seo &

Green, 2008; Wolfradt & Doll, 2001). The tweets were classified into five categories; business, personal life, sport and other athletes, response to fans and popular culture (Pegoraro, 2010). The different categories were clearly defined to provide clarity as to which category a Tweet will enter. The six

England Cricketers selected for the study were categorically chosen, selecting the individuals that exhibited the highest volume of ‘Tweets’ throughout the duration of the Ashes series. These six cricketers were (Kevin Pietersen,

Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior and Ben Stokes) due to the expectations that those exhibiting the highest volume of tweets will provide the largest and most accurate sample.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 3 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 4 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Existing Studies

There is evidence of previous research conducted, that investigated the developing use of Twitter and social media specifically within the Sports sector (Clavio & Kian, 2010; Kassing & Sanderson, 2010; Hambrick et al.,

2010) forming the conclusion that athletes and fans are two class that communicate via the medium of Twitter. Members of the media then form another class (Schultz & Sheffer, 2010) who uphold an integral role of communication through Twitter. Case studies (Kassing & Sanderson, 2010;

Pegoraro, 2010) have been completed to study athletes use and interaction with fans, and personal brand marketing on Twitter over a specific time limit; the 3 week cycling tour of Italy (Kassing & Sanderson, 2010) and a 7 day period, studying a variety of high profile Sport stars (Pegoraro, 2010). It is unsurprising that two very similar studies brought similar findings, concluding that this form of online media provided the most substantial impact on fan- athlete relationships (Phua, 2010). Pegoraro (2010) found that from a total of

10 different sports, and 1193 Tweets, 49.54% were fan based, while 19.87% were business and marketing based, forming 2 of the most popular categories, along with ‘Personal Life’. Further investigation into the study

(Pegaoraro, 2010) found that of 45.85% direct tweets, only 7.21% contained a web link, and only 4.27% contained a picture. This provides a stark conclusion that the athletes analysed during the study failed to fully utilise the power of

Twitter, disregarding the ability to provide a connection to a further marketing tool. The research of Phua (2010) aligns strongly with that of Kassing &

Sanderson (2010) and Pegoraro (2010), who suggested that Twitter had the capacity for ‘fostering immediacy with fans through interactivity and insider

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 5 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation perspectives’. The emerging trend, however, seems to question the awareness of professional athletes, due to their failure to capture the audience of consumers (Pegoraro, 2010) and fully utilise the capabilities that

Twitter possesses. Studies (Phua, 2010; Pegoraro, 2010; Kassing &

Sanderson, 2010) concluded that athletes are forever searching for brand exposure to gain sponsorship, attain fans and positive publicity to enhance their career. Social Media, and Twitter in particular can play a huge part in that process of extending publicity and media spotlight (Haynes, 2013).

Research suggests that diligent use of the social networking site will provide athletes with an individual marketing resource (Hambrick & Mahoney, 2012) as well as a sense of connection with fans, as Twitter provides a ‘bridge’

(Price, Farrington & Hall, 2013) that used to be voided by Journalists. These findings suggest further research could occur in this capacity, with a goal of finding professional athletes who have capitalised on the marketing tool that is

Twitter.

Relationship and Brand Marketing

Relationship Marketing finds a niche description as an ‘old-new concept’, with modern forms containing a number of historical antecedents (Levitt, 1986) that have been adapted and endorsed in modern times. Levitt (1986) was one of the authors to focus on industrial relationship marketing, concentrating on a two-way customer relationship, arguing a supplier’s motivation should be led by providing satisfaction during the entirety of the customer relationship

(Christopher, Payne & Ballantyne, 2002.) Much of the research to come from the 1980’s dictates that ‘relationship marketing’ was simply returning to the forefront of the marketing practice, (Berry, 1983), indicating an

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 6 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation understandable gap in academic research, dating back to earlier work in the

1970’s (Eiglier & Langeard, 1976). The Relationship Marketing model maintains communication, interaction and value as the 3 key ingredients to a successful mix (Gronroos, 1995), which leads into more recent research, emphasising that a shift has been made from functional adjustment of the marketing mix to cater for different populations, to seeking ‘global cross- functional integration’ (Sheth & Parvatiyar, 2000). More modern research assumes that the use of Twitter in the correct manner is based around finding an audience, and enriching the lives of others through the medium of a tweet

(Harris & Rae, 2011). Social Media and Twitter in particular seems to have provoked a resurgence in ‘Relationship Marketing’ as was seen in the 1980’s due to the introduction of what is a unique marketing and communication resource (Hambrick & Mahoney, 2012), that will facilitate human relationships

(Sanderson, 2011) providing professional athletes a perfect channel for product and brand endorsement (Hambrick & Mahoney, 2012). During a study, Hambrick & Mahoney (2012) found that cyclist Lance Armstrong and

Tennis player Serena Williams donated 12% of tweets to promoting corporate sponsors, products and charities.

Due to the enormous global outreach of Twitter, it comes as no surprise that research (Hutchins, 2011) has outlined the impact of Twitter in providing professional athletes with a voice; showcasing personality traits (Johnson,

2009) due to the bypass of journalists and other mass media, creating their own individual, powerful brand (Price, Farrington & Hall, 2013). Forms of

Mass Media rely heavily on audience labour to strengthen the consumption process (Cohen, 2008), giving Twitter a further dimension, as fans possess

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 7 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation freedom and an allowance to gain an involvement in the lives of athletes, or promotions of organisations. Twitter as a media and marketing tool promotes cooperative behaviour between both the market sector (the professional athlete), and the consumer market (their fan base), (Witkemper, Choony &

Waldburger, 2012) providing a strong association to previous forms of

‘Relationship Marketing’ with research dating back to the 1980’s. The comparison of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs shows how ‘Relationship

Marketing’ can create a multi-million dollar brand through the professional image and media persona of a person (Parmentier & Fisher, 2012). The right combination of marketing mix can create extensive personal brand equity,

(Dahl, 2013) something that Beckham possesses, in comparison to his former teammate Giggs. The study (Parmentier & Fisher, 2012) into the differing brand equities of Beckham and Giggs provides an interesting and viable study, which shows many similarities with other studies completed. However, neither athlete possesses a personal Twitter account providing a clear limitation when linked to the purpose of this study. Conversely, a stimulating link can be made between current studies (Pegoraro, 2010; Kassing &

Sanderson, 2010; Hambrick et al., 2010) and future research, looking into the use of Twitter to build a marketable brand, when compared to the study by

Parmentier & Fisher (2012) to see if there are noticeable differences or comparability’s.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 8 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Parasocial Interaction & Social Identity

Twitter has allowed professional athletes to find their own personal voice and create powerful brands (Price, Farrington & Hall, 2013) by instigating a process whereby athletes are able to bypass the mass media, journalists and sporting organisations that have the ability to dilute comments made (Kassing

& Sanderson, 2010) giving the athlete adequate chance to control their self- presentation. Research (Kassing & Sanderson, 2010; Stever & Lawson, 2010) has made it increasingly apparent that Twitter has provided professional athletes with a chance to both increase brand equity, and connect with their fans in a manner they would struggle to do through more traditional marketing techniques (Haynes, 2013). In line with this, Stever (2010) advocated that

Twitter appeared to induce a new form of Parasocial Interaction, the relationship between a media character (professional athlete) and an audience member (a fan), (Horton and Wohl, 1956). The relationship was defined as ‘parasocial’ and not ‘social’ because of the ‘seemingly face-to-face’ characteristics (Horton and Wohl, 1956). Early research (Rubin & McHugh,

1987; Rubin & Perse, 1987; Turner, 1993) indicates that a number of traits and characteristics, including perceived similarities, perceived realism (Rubin

& Perse, 1987) social and task attraction, and the athletes’ personal appearance and behaviour will act as the influences to a fan, sparking a

Parasocial Relationship. Parasocial Relationship (Stever, 2010) describes an interpersonal, yet one-sided (Rubin & McHugh, 1987) scenario that fans may experience with their favourite athletes, viable through the medium of Twitter.

Earlier research has been conducted into Parasocial Interaction with

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 9 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation professional athletes (Brown, Basil & Bocarnea, 2003) before the establishment of Twitter, that poses the question does Twitter promote the same Interaction and Parasocial Idenification (Sun, 2010). Parasocial

Interaction through the medium of Twitter negates the athlete-fan barrier and allows the audience to interact with their chosen athlete (Noble, 1975), as if they were present and involved in the event they may document. Research states the caution that must be taken with the severity of this apparent relationship, around the border between Parasocial Interaction, and

Parasocial Identification (Sun, 2010). A fan’s Parasocial interaction with a chosen athlete does not provide clear evidence that they want to be like that person, (Brown, Basil & Bocarnea, 2003) but it may however be a pre-cursor to an identification which may in turn lead to alterations in the attitude of a fan

(Sun, 2010). The study by Brown, Basil & Bocarnea (2003) poses several research questions, such as whether Parasocial Interaction has developed since the introduction of Twitter. The limitations with the study are through no fault of the scholars, they are simply due to the technology becoming outdated, and studies such as Kassing & Sanderson (2010), have analysed the same concepts, since the establishment of Twitter.

A strong association can be established between the past research into

Parasocial Interaction (Kassing & Sanderson, 2010; Stever & Lawson, 2010;

Sun, 2010) and the theory of Social Identity (Tajfel, 1970; Turner, 1975).

Social Identity is described as ‘the part of an individuals’ self-concept which derives from knowledge of their membership of a social group together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership’ (Tajfel,

1970). The definition aligns closely with the definitions of Parasocial

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 10 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Interaction and Identification (Sun, 2010), establishing a unique marketing opportunity for professional cricketers, to vastly improve their brand equity.

Individuals who follow professional cricketers on Twitter begin to form a Social

Identity towards their favoured player, and therefore begin to develop a

Parasocial relationship (Stever, 2010) where they will exhibit behaviours dependent on perceived similarities and realness (Rubin & Perse, 1987) as earlier mentioned. These behaviours will extend to practices such as desiring similarities between an individual and their social group (Tajfel, 1970). When contextualised to this study, a fan will demonstrate a clear desire to purchase the same equipment as the international cricketer they feel a sense of Social

Identity towards; therefore providing the player with a unique opportunity to market their personal equipment, and, in turn, obtain the ability to increase personal brand equity.

New Media Technologies & Brand Equity Development

New media technologies (e.g. Twitter) have provided a continuing development path for the global sports industry (Santomier, 2008). The use of social media platforms in Sports brand communication has provided companies with a cost-effective way to develop and strengthen their brand awareness rapidly (Roberts & Merrilees, 2007) that in the ever-expanding business market, is a complete necessity. Brands must promote a strong, consistent and appealing message to their consumers (Kahle, 2011) that provokes a desire leading them to purchase the advertised product. Twitter as a marketing tool lends itself in 4 possible ways; market research, publicity branding, business networking, and customer relationship management

(Thoring, 2011). The research conducted into the business of Twitter

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 11 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation concludes that because of it’s fast-paced and ever expanding global outreach, it provides the perfect channel for marketing and ultimately increasing equity.

However, these findings juxtapose what is occurring as a modern trend, most noticeably in the sports industry, as only several athletes have embraced the concept to add to their brand equity (Pegoraro, 2010) as earlier identified, and they were yet to capitalise on this key audience. The importance of a strong understanding of the new media technologies (Twitter) enhances the possible opportunities, and therefore further benefits available (Phelops & Otterwell,

2007). Santomier (2008) concluded that new media technologies have significantly increased the value of sports sponsorship, challenging brands to alter their management and marketing strategies to take this into account.

Emergence of Research Question

Building upon Pegoraro’s (2010) argument that Twitter is poised to have a positive impact on fans, increasing contact as well as providing a strong marketing medium for professional athletes, cricket provides a highly under researched area within the fields of Parasocial interaction (Stever, 2010) and relationship marketing (Gronroos, 2004). Of the studies that have been conducted in professional sport, it is apparent that there is a dearth of quantitative research into the content of athletes tweets, analysing the importance of their brand, and their parasocial relationships with fans. Indeed, the studies that have done so by quantitatively analysing tweets from professional athletes (Pegoraro, 2010 & Hambrick, et al., 2010) have been completed using a variety of sports during the same period, providing a clear limitation that some sports may be entering their off-season (Pegoraro, 2010), dramatically reducing the interest of their activity.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 12 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Modern research often mirrors the outcome of the research of Hambrick and

Mahoney (2011), finding that people with the right skills and marketability (e.g. a professional athlete) can develop and exploit their twitter following to enhance a personal brand (Harris & Rae, 2011). As this shows, only basic research has been conducted into promoting an athletes brand online.

Though specific, this research is basic, and showed several limitations. The study contained only two (individual) athletes, taking over 3,500 tweets each, providing a specific research sample. A larger sample number from a team sport would provide more variation, and ultimately a more diverse picture of how professional athletes are using Twitter as a marketing tool. Often noted is the skills and marketability (Harris & Rae, 2011) needed by a person to enhance their marketability via the site; many scholars have noted the inability of professional athletes, in particular, to enhance their brand equity by the use of the online media site.

Given that the changing nature of marketing has increased the importance of sponsorship, a possible limitation and immediate for future research would be the use of professional athletes as a marketing tool for their products. The strength of new media is solidified in social interaction, viral and niche marketing (Santomier, 2008) highlighting the marketability of professional athletes with over 1 million followers on Twitter, for example, Kevin Pietersen.

The huge increase in sponsorship due to new media technologies (Santomier,

2008) is exhibited heavily in high profile sports such as football, where the development of global brands, such as Cristiano Ronaldo begin to exert themselves on the market. Previous studies (Steenkemp, 2014) found that global brands exhibit almost identical features such as brand name,

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 13 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation positioning strategies, and marketing mixes (Levitt, 1983; Yip & Hult, 2012).

Cricketers do not possess a stronghold in the market to rival high profile athletes such as footballers, providing an emergence for research to develop an understanding of how professional cricketers are using Twitter as a marketing tool.

Research Expectations and Objectives

This study, therefore, aims to provide a quantitative analysis of professional cricketers tweets, enhancing the knowledge about the common trends and genres of Tweets. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role Twitter plays in increasing brand equity and parasocial relationships with fans, for an international cricketer. ‘The Ashes’, contested between England and Australia provides the most popular cricketing contest in the world (The MCC, Online) offering the most beneficial content to analyse, with the expectation that there will be a high frequency of tweets from England cricketers, providing a large sample study for data collection.

From this study, the expectations are that there will be many similarities with past research (Pegoraro, 2010; Kassing & Sanderson, 2010; Hambrick et al.,2010) because of the inevitable crossover between different professional sports. Drawing on the method displayed by Pegoraro (2010) will attribute more similarities, however the introduction of cricket into the research category will promote some interesting findings for a variety of reasons. One specific expectation of the study is that the disparity in profile between cricket and other sports such as football, or American Football will strongly correlate with the marketing frequency of the athletes from each sport. Therefore,

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 14 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation anticipating that international cricketers will display an infrequent volume of tweets, with the aim of marketing their brand and products. From the analysis of past literature, and expectations for this study, 4 key research questions were scripted: with the aim of aiding the process of providing a conclusion to the research into the use of twitter by professional cricketers, specifically aimed at their exhibition of Parasocial interaction, and their awareness of brand marketing.

RQ1: Is there clear evidence of cricketers using Twitter to enhance their personal brand?

RQ2: Do Professional Cricketers make regular contact with fans, exhibiting Parasocial Interaction?

RQ3: Are cricketers using Twitter to it’s full potential as a marketing

tool?

RQ4: Is there proven correlation between the number of Twitter

followers, and brand profile size of an individual?

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 15 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CHAPTER 3

METHOD

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 16 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Design Assumptions

Twitter is a niche tool for ‘developing personal identities and keeping in touch with the larger world’ (Ruggiero, 2000) indicating the possible increase in

Twitter output by an individual with a larger follower base, such as a professional sportsman. Consequently, the author expects to notice a clear correlation between the volume of followers, and the volume of tweets expressed during the time period. The increase in follower count would indicate the need for the character, in this case, a professional cricketer, to provide further insight into their personal life, more prolific promotion of personal products and businesses, and a clear indication of communication and affiliation with his/her followers. The expectation of the author is supported by the notion that for a character to gain a large follower base on

Twitter, they must first exhibit examples of increased Twitter activity, which would indicate the correlation between the number of Tweets and the number of Twitter followers. To contextualise the expectation, Kevin Pietersen possesses the largest Twitter follower base in the England Cricket team

(1,463,520 followers), signifying that it is expected Pietersen will provide the largest volume of tweets, spread across all 6 categories. However, the study must be approached with caution, as Pietersen may provide an anomaly.

Pietersen has over 800,000 followers more than any other individual in the

England Cricket team, therefore offering the possibility that his Twitter activity could show an exponential disparity between himself, and the twitter activity of the other individuals in the England Cricket team.

Hambrick et al. (2010) completed a study concentrating on an analysis of tweets of professional athletes from the United States, and findings indicated

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 17 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation that the most popular category of tweets was ‘interactivity’, with 34% (671 tweets) of all tweets placed in this category. The study concluded that the

‘interactivity’ category was based around ‘direct interpersonal communication’, such as conversing on a personal basis with fans. The study by Hambrick et al. aligns with a similar study by Pegoraro (2010), who found that from 1193 tweets, 49.54% of those were directed towards communication with fans, giving a strong indication that the author can expect to see a large percentage of tweets from the six professional cricketers with the sole aim of communicating with their fans. Further research into past studies suggest their to be a dearth of tweets in the ‘business’ category with studies showing a vastly reduced 5% of tweets directed towards the business and promotion genre (Pegoraro, 2010). Drawing on previous study results, a clear assumption from the author would indicate that the study is liable to produce results showing an infrequent volume of tweets in the ‘Business’ category, denoting that professional cricketers follow an apparent trend, of failing to capitalise on the promotional facility of Twitter,

Research Design

To address the purpose of this study, a simple procedure was adopted to methodically select participants based on their previous activity on Twitter, and participation in the Ashes Series. Following the participant selection, every tweet from each of the six participants were categorised based on the genre, and collated into a document, totalling and categorising the collective tweets. Subsequently, the data provided in this document could be further analysed to provide the findings of the study, and acknowledge how efficiently

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 18 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation professional cricketers are using Twitter as a self-marketing tool.

Participant Selection

The scarceness of research investigating the use of Twitter as a way of building Parasocial relationships and personal brand equity formulated a clear study using a group of elite cricketers over a specific period of time. Sport- specific research has been conducted into the use of Twitter for fostering interactivity and promotion (Hambrick, 2012 & Hambrick et al. 2010) indicating a possible expansion in the research field, choosing to form a unique study involving professional cricketers. Consequently, conducting the study with the

England Cricket team during the Ashes Series would provide the most opportune timeframe for an accurate sample, due to the increased media activity surrounding the event. Selecting the England Cricket team as a sample also provides a group of the most high profile individual cricketers in the country, therefore increasing their Twitter following and therefore, their global brand outreach. The participant eligibility for this study was based on two criteria; a) the individual was involved in one or more of the Test Matches during the Ashes series; and, b) had consequently tweeted in excess of 30 times during the course of the data collection period. The importance of the criterion was to ensure that firstly, there was a large sample of tweets to study, and, secondly to ensure that their tweets will be indicative of the cricket, not just their personal lives.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 19 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Figure 1 – Most Followed English 2013/2014 Ashes Squad Members.

*Number of Followers correct of: 31/12/2013.

*Highlight denotes individuals selected for participation within the study.

No. of Athlete County Followers* Twitter Name Age Kevin Pietersen Surrey 1,463,520 KP24 33 Graeme Swann Nottinghamshire 603,893 Swannyg66 34 Stuart Broad Nottinghamshire 540,973 StuartBroad8 27 James Anderson Lancashire 521,249 Jimmyanderson9 31 Steven Finn Middlessex 208,843 Finnysteve 24 Tim Bresnan Yorkshire 208,346 Timbresnan 28 Matt Prior Sussex 161,416 Mattprior13 28 Joe Root Yorkshire 125,311 Joeroot05 22 Monty Panesar Sussex 117,725 MontyPanesar 31 Jony Bairstow Yorkshire 83,199 Jbairstow21 24 Chris Tremlett Surrey 78,236 ChrisTremlett33 32 Ian Bell Warwickshire 45,996 Ian_Bell 31 Michael Carberry Hampshire 17,364 Carbs646 33 Ben Stokes Durham 13,108 Benstokes38 22 Boyd Rankin Warwickshire 9,300 Boydrankin 29

There were seven individuals who met both the initial criterions, however only six were chosen for the study. The six selected participants for the study were those who exhibited the largest volume of Tweets during the allotted time period, with the number of tweets ranging from 33 to 245 (Mtweet = 76;

SDtweet = 84). There was no clear correlation between the number of tweets exhibited and the ages of the individuals, with the ages of the six participants

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 20 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation ranging from 22 to 34 (Mage = 28; SDage = 4.8). There was also a large range of international Test Match cricketing experience between the six participants, with the number of Test Matches played ranging from 0 to 99

(before the start of the Ashes Series).

Figure 2 – Statistics of the present study.

AGE RANGE - 22,24,27,28,33,34 MEAN AGE - 28 STANDARD DEVIATION AGE - 4.8 TWEET RANGE - 33,34,34,40,67,245 STANDARD DEVIATION TWEETS - 84 MEAN TWEETS - 76

Data Collection

In order to provide a valid and effective sample, every individual tweet between the data collection period (November 21 – January 6) was collected and categorised into 6 differing categories, dependent on the genre of the tweet. The 6 categories were; (1) Personal life, (2) Business life, (3) Sport, (4)

Response to Fans, (5) Popular Culture and (6) Miscellaneous. The 6 categories were established following intricate research into previous studies, looking to analyse similar behaviours of professional athletes through their use of Twitter in other sports (Pegoraro, 2010 & Kassing & Sanderson, 2010).

The tweets of every England Squad member with a Twitter profile were collected, ranked in order of volume of tweets, and subsequently the top six individuals who had exhibited more than 30 tweets (and had participated in one or more Test Matches during the series), were selected for use within the study.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 21 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Figure 3 – Data collection categories.

Category Definition Personal Life Daily Routines Weather Party/Social Activities Charity Work Family life

Business Life Training Travelling Game Preparations Product Promotion

Direct comments about their current Sport game

Comments direcetly related to the sport Equipment Large events in the sport Comments about another Sport

Response to Fans Replies to Tweets from fans

Direct contact with family members Includes spouses and Sports Journalists

Pop Culture/Landmark Reference Tv Shows Movies

Music Actor/Actresses Politics Famous Landmark

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 22 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Pilot Study

The author carried out a pilot study to gain invaluable experience of the data

collection process, and provide an opportunity to establish possible trends

that could be seen in the main study. The pilot study would also enable the

author to refine the study and address any issues, should they arise during

the pilot study. The pilot study was carried out during the Test Series between

Pakistan and South Africa, between the 11 October – 18 October. A much

smaller time period was chosen, and the sample size was halved, using 3

participants to ensure that there is still exhibition of triangulation (Wilson,

2005) as seen in the main study. The pilot study was carried out in identical

fashion to how the main study had been planned, and therefore the selection

criteria for individuals being eligible for the study was; a) the individual was

involved in the Test Match during the subsequent time frame, and b) had

tweeted in excess of 10 times during that period of time. The three individuals

were selected from the South African national side (AB De Villiers, Dale Steyn

and Graeme Smith), with ages ranging from 29 – 32 (Mage = 30; SDage =

1.5), and their volume of tweets ranging from 10 – 28 (Mtweet = 20; SDtweet

= 9).

Figure 4 – Pilot Study data collection.

Athlete Categories Personal Business Response To Pop Life Life Sport Fans/Friends Culture/Landmark Misc. Total AB De Villiers 3 8 4 13 0 0 28 Dale Steyn 9 1 5 5 1 0 21 Graeme Smith 2 1 2 3 2 0 10 Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 23 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Data Analysis

Once categorised into the corresponding tweet category (Pegoraro, 2010 &

Kassing & Sanderson, 2010), the data was presented in both table and graph form (Lindlof & Taylor, 2010), allowing easy evaluation of the data for easy analysis (Silva & Skilling, 2006). The numerical data was presented in graph form, allowing for descriptive expansion during the analysis of the results. The simplicity of the study and data collection method enabled fast and simple analysis of the collected data, without numerical or human error occurring to fault the study. Having identified the appropriate tweet category, the findings were analysed collectively to identify differences and similarities that become apparent from the six individuals, providing a more generic conclusion, and offer an illustration into the use of Twitter by professional cricketers.

Validity and Reliability of the Study

Steps to ensure a valid and reliable study were put in place to ensure the quality of the study, and to certify the credibility of the collected data. The study was based on the use of six individuals, exhibiting the use of triangulation of information (participants) to ensure the data was dependable

(Simon, 2011) and there was clear depth and individuality to the data. As expressed by Smith (2003), it is hugely important the number of participants reach a point of sufficiency, found by a representation of factors found in the authors study, such as age and experience. Though it was not an initial criterion, there is a clear variability in both age and experience (in Test Match

Cricket) of the individuals partaking in the study, allowing the author to form a reliable and representative study.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 24 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Limitations of the Methodology

There are several limitations to the methodology of the study, some which were unavoidable, which caused hindrance to the study. The data collection period took place during one series, The 2013/14 Ashes Series, providing a relatively small data sample. To increase the validity of the study, a collection period of spanning a full cricket season would provide more apparent trends, enhancing the reliability of the collected data. Due to this being a quantitative study, the data collection involved tweets being categorised into a number of preset categories. As the data is simply categorised by genre of tweet, no further analysis takes place into the theme of the tweet, limiting the possibility for further exploration (Creswell, 2009).

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 25 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 26 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Categorical Analysis

When the content of the data collected was analysed by category of tweet,

common demographics emerged from the study, showing strong alignment to

the expected trends expressed by the author. The participants of the study

tweeted a total of 453 times, spanning the 47-day period of data collection,

forming an average of 9.6 tweets per day. Of the 453 tweets, 215 were

contained within the ‘response to fans/friends’ category, comprising 47.5% of

the total tweets, with the six individuals tweeting 245 times in that genre,

totalling 47.5% of all tweets collected during the study.

Figure 5 – Data collection results.

Categories Personal Business Response To Pop Athlete Life Life Sport Fans/Friends Culture/Landmark Misc. Total Kevin Pietersen 18 18 16 185 8 0 245 Stuart Broad 19 9 19 13 6 1 67 Graeme Swann 21 1 13 0 3 2 40 Jonny Bairstow 10 2 9 7 6 0 34 Matt Prior 15 4 8 5 2 0 34 Ben Stokes 18 1 9 5 0 0 33

Response to Fans/Friends

Throughout the data collection period, the only individual to refrain from

providing personal communication with friends or fans was Graeme Swann.

Kevin Pietersen exhibited the most contact with fans, tweeting 185 times

(75.5%) within the ‘response to fans/friends’ category, with the other 4

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 27 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation participants exhibiting much lower results; Stuart Broad (9, 19.4%), Jonny

Bairstow (7, 20.5%), Matt Prior (5, 14.7%) and Ben Stokes (5, 15.2%).

This data enables an emerging conclusion to develop in response to RQ2,

(Do Professional Cricketers make regular contact with fans, exhibiting

Parasocial Interaction?) with five of the six players in the study providing indication that there is regular contact made with their fans. There is clear evidence to provide a positive response to this question, with multiple examples of the participants of the study engaging in conversation, and acts of interaction with their fans via the twitter network.

Personal Life and Sport

Following on from ‘response to fans/friends’ category, ‘personal life’ contained

101 (22.3%) of the total tweets, and 74 tweets (16.3%) were placed in the

‘sport’ category, encompassing tweets directed to their team, their sport

(cricket), and any other sporting events, past or present. The ‘personal life’ category contained menial tweets from the participants, often indicating such tasks as day-to-day activities, such as Ben Stokes’ tweet:

‘Layton asleep, room service on the way and got my feet up’ (December 13,

2013).

Business Life

The ‘Business Life’ category contained just 35 tweets, expressing only 7.7% of the total tweets collected. As stated by the author, it was expected that there would be a reduced volume of tweets categorised into ‘Business Life’; the collected data provides the notion that the data assumption was correct,

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 28 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation and sanctions the development of an answer to RQ3 (Are cricketers using

Twitter to it’s full potential as a marketing tool?) and RQ1 (Is there clear evidence of cricketers using Twitter to enhance their personal brand?). The

‘Business Life’ category provides athletes with the unique opportunity to individually market their products and sponsors, and, in turn increasing their personal brand, and therefore brand equity. There are individual illustrations of the players using Twitter to enhance their brand, such as their personal businesses, however the evidence collected supports the statement that professional cricketers are not using Twitter to it’s full potential as a marketing tool, therefore disregarding the opportunity to increase their personal brand.

This statement is strongly emphasised by the small percentage of tweets categorised within ‘Business Life’, enlightening a negative response to RQ3, and showing inferior data to support the statement there is ‘clear evidence’ of cricketers using Twitter to enhance their personal brand.

Figure 6 – Percentage of tweets classified within the ‘Response to fans/friends’ and ‘Business Life’ categories.

% % Fan Total Athlete Business/Brand based % Kevin Pietersen 7.3 75.5 82.8 Stuart Broad 13.4 19.4 32.8 Graeme Swann 2.5 0 2.5

Jonny Bairstow 5.9 20.5 26.4 Matt Prior 6.9 14.7 21.6 Ben Stokes 3 15.2 18.2 *Correct to one decimal place.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 29 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Pop Culture/Landmark Reference and Miscellaneous

The two categories that were least populated with tweets were ‘pop culture/landmark reference’, and ‘miscellaneous’, totalling just 25 (5.5%) and

3 (0.7%) tweets respectively. The ‘pop culture/landmark reference’ category contained tweets from 5 of the studied individuals, including a clear reference to an Australian landmark by Jonny Bairstow;

‘Amazing trip to Ayres Rock yesterday and this morning! Thank you to everyone that put it together!’

Individual Data Analysis

Once the tweets had been analysed according to categorical value, the next step was to investigate the individual athletes’ data and twitter activity trends.

Individual tweeting analysis enabled the development of an argument to support the hypotheses that an increased twitter following (number of followers) would correlate with the brand profile size of an individual, expressed through the number of tweets that were exhibited during the data collection period. Kevin Pietersen (1,463,520 followers), Graeme Swann

(603,893) and Stuart Broad (540,973) are the three individuals with the largest twitter followings in the England Cricket squad, and arguably hold the three largest profiles within the English professional cricket environment, due to business and media commitments. Kevin Pietersen tweeted 245 times during the data collection period; Graeme Swann tweeted 40 times, while Stuart

Broad posted 67 tweets, providing the three largest volumes of tweets collected during the study. Here, the quantitative data provided states that there is an almost direct correlation between the volumes of twitter followers,

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 30 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation and the profile size of the individual, translated through the number of tweets posted by the international cricketer, enabling the author to develop a positive argument to suggest that there Is there proven correlation between the number of Twitter followers, and brand profile size of an individual, as questioned in RQ4.

Response to Fans/Friends

Kevin Pietersen tweeted 185 times (75.5%) in response to his fan base, often exhibiting tweets of gratitude and recognition;

‘“ : Just back from framing. Thanks again ” Absolute pleasure.’

Pietersen provides the strongest argument when tasked with developing a response to RQ2 (Do Professional Cricketers make regular contact with fans, exhibiting Parasocial Interaction?) due to the significantly high percentage of tweets placed in the ‘response to fans/friends’ category. When studying

Twitter activity, Pietersen enables the formation of positive conclusions to all four research questions, because of his extensive and varied activity on the social media site.

There was a significant decrease in the volume of tweets indicating the use of

Parasocial Interaction with fans attributed to the other 5 individuals in the study; however there are clear examples of players communicating with fans, with 4 players demonstrating over 14% of tweets dedicated to the response to friends and fans category; Stuart Broad (13, 19.%), Jonny Bairstow (7,

20.5%), Matt Prior (5, 14.7%) and Ben Stokes (5, 15.2%). The individual data

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 31 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation analysis provides a strong conclusion to RQ2 (Do Professional Cricketers make regular contact with fans, exhibiting Parasocial Interaction?) as all 6 of the professional cricketers in the study present tweets categorised in the

‘response to friends/fans’ category, indicating that professional cricketers make regular contact with their fans. Parasocial Interaction, as earlier indicated, is the relationship between a media character (professional cricketer) and an audience member (fan) (Stever, 2010); reaffirming the understanding gained from the collected data that there is a clear indication of professional crickets making regular contact with their fans.

Business Life

Kevin Pietersen published 18 tweets (7.3%) categorised within the ‘Business

Life’ category, twice as many as Stuart Broad (9, 13.4%). The other 4 individuals within the study exhibited far fewer ‘Business Life’ tweets than

Pietersen and Broad; Graeme Swann (1, 2.5%), Jonny Bairstow (2, 5.9%),

Matt Prior (4, 6.9%), Ben Stokes (1, 3%). Kevin Pietersen, the most dynamic and expressive participant of the study via Twitter exhibited tweets such as:

‘Changing stickers Adidas allin pellara ashes erth ’ (December

12, 2013) and ‘Christmas shopping at our store.. neverlandstore

nenaandpasadena ’ (December 1, 013).

Stallard (1998), states that ‘Endorsement is the promotion of the company’s product by means of personal recommendation of an individual who is sufficiently well known’. The two exemplar tweets provided indicate examples of a professional cricketer fulfilling the marketing potential of the social media site, Twitter, by providing their fan base (followers) with the ability to provide

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 32 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

‘recommendation’ to a product endorsed by the player, that the fans may wish to purchase, therefore heavily impacting on the brand success of the proprofessional cricketer, in this case, Kevin Pietersen. From the collected data, Kevin Pietersen is the sole participant exhibiting a constant use of

Twitter as a marketing tool, due to his the large population of tweets placed in his ‘Business Life’ category. This provides clear evidence to support a positive response to RQ3 (Are cricketers using Twitter to it’s full potential as a marketing tool?). Conversely, the data gathered from the 5 other participants signify an adverse use of Twitter, displaying an inability to use Twitter to it’s full marketing potential and therefore showing a negative response to RQ3.

The Tweets categorised with the ‘Business Life’ category, also help to shape an answer to RQ1 (Is there clear evidence of cricketers using Twitter to enhance their personal brand?). Of the individuals within the study, there is clear data to provide the conclusion that Kevin Pietersen is the only participant to display clear evidence of cricketers using Twitter to market their personal brand. Stuart Broad output several Tweets centred around ‘The

Broad Appeal’ such as;

‘Fancy some of Swannys gear? Head down to Turf Sports Bar on Sat for

TheBarmyArmy event supporting TheBroadAppeal ’ (December 23,

2013).

Although ‘The Broad Appeal’ involves marketing a personal brand, under the name of the study participant Stuart Broad, the brand takes the form of a charitable organisation, it is not categorised as marketing a personal brand.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 33 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

RQ1 aims to develop an answer to cricketers use Twitter to enhance their

‘personal brand’, and therefore the equity the brand (the individual) possesses in the marketplace (Shank, 2005). Kevin Pietersen is the only individual within the study to contribute conclusive data to RQ1, indicating that though one individual provides clear evidence of a conscious effort to use Twitter to enhance their personal brand, it does not provide enough evidence to exhibit a positive response to RQ1, due to the failure of the 5 other participants in the study, to provide clear evidence of professional cricketers using Twitter to enhance their personal brand.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 34 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CHAPTER 5

DISCUSSION

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 35 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

The aim of this study was to quantitatively investigate the role of twitter in aiding professional cricketers to build parasocial relationships with their fans, while enhancing their personal brands as a business commodity. Statistical analysis of tweets collected during the 2013/14 Ashes series enabled potentially more accurate and specific research than had been completed in past research. The findings provided clear evidence of a varied use of the social media site, habitually dependent on the follower base obtained by the individual on Twitter. The overarching trends provided evidence that there is frequent use of Twitter as a resource to build parasocial relationships and increase fan bases; however the research indicates that there is an apparent need for development in the use of Twitter as a marketing resource by the participants of the group. Indeed, there are well-defined examples of relationship and brand marketing via the social media site, suggesting its usefulness in enhancing brand equity, without taking full advantage of the available opportunity.

Relationship and Brand Marketing

The present findings align with a previous study (Hambirck and Mahoney,

2012) outlining the ability to use Twitter as a ‘unique marketing and communication tool’ (Hambrick and Mahoney, 2012) that will facilitate human relationships (Sanderson, 2011). Further studies (Witkemper, Choony and

Waldburger, 2012; Parmentier and Fisher, 2012) have suggested using

Twitter to promote a cooperative relationship between the market sector (e.g. professional cricketer) and the consumer market (e.g. Twitter follower)

(Wiltkemper, Choony and Waldburger, 2012) associate to form ‘Relationship

Marketing’ (Witkemper, Choony and Waldburger, 2012). Findings by

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 36 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Parmentier and Fisher (2012) indicated the ability of Relationship Marketing to create a multi-million dollar ‘brand’, simply via a professional image and correct marketing mix, providing close association to the example of professional footballer, and multi-million dollar businessman, Sir David

Beckham. The ability of a cricketer to market a personal brand faces a large discrepancy when compared to a more high profile sport such as football, and the present study indicates the inability of the studied professional cricketers to successfully market a personal brand, with a minute figure of 7.7% of collected tweets featured in the ‘Business Life’ category, aimed at both marketing a brand, and developing personal brand equity. Hambrick and

Mahoney (2012) found that during a data collection period, Cyclist Lance

Armstrong and Tennis player Serena William donated only 12% of their tweets to promoting corporate sponsors and products; therefore being included in the ‘Business Life’ category. The present study shows strong alignment with the study of Hambrick and Mahoney (2012), both presenting evidential data supporting the notion that professional sportsmen and women, and more specifically cricketers, are not utilising their status within society and using Twitter as a tool to successfully marketing their personal brand using the process of ‘Relationship Marketing’.

Levitt (1986) focussed on early forms of relationship marketing, prior to the invention of social media, concentrating on a ‘two-way customer relationship’ brought about by the need for a supplier to be led by the goal of customer satisfaction. As research evolved, Gronroos (1995) built upon the findings of

Levitt (1986) and stated that a successful ‘Relationship Marketing mix’ would encompass communication, interaction, and value as the 3 main constituents.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 37 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Further, more modern research into the subject emphasised the importance of audience labour to strengthen the consumption process (Cohen, 2004) which when contextualised the research by Hutchins (2011) stating that the enormous global outreach of Twitter provides professional athletes with a voice (Johnson, 2009).

During the present study, Kevin Pietersen exhibited 82.8% categorised with

‘Business Life’ and ‘Response to fans/friends’, as opposed to the next highest value of 32.8% (Stuart Broad). As expressed in the design assumptions,

Pietersen possesses more than 800,000 twitter followers more than any of the five other individuals within the study, and therefore was expressed as a possible anomaly by the author. The data collected surround Pietersen indicates his presence and ability to create a ‘two-way customer relationship’

(Levitt, 1986) that is strongly emphasised when studying the relationship- marketing model. The stronghold Kevin Pietersen possesses within professional cricket as England’s best and most exciting cricketer translates into the lucrative sponsorship deals he maintains, most notably with Adidas

(Pringle, 2008). As expressed by the author, Pietersen forms an anomaly within the study, epitomising the ‘two-way customer relationship’ (Levitt 1986) needed to successfully market a powerful personal brand.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 38 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Parasocial Interaction and Social Identity

The present findings indicated a large proportion of the collected tweets were categorised within the ‘response to fans/friends’ category, containing 215

(47.5%) tweets. The high percentage introduces the first sighting of correlation between the results and expected trends gained from past research into parasocial interaction, as earlier expressed in the literature review. A previous study by Pegoraro (2010) found 58.48% of all tweets from

National Football League (NFL) professional athletes were categorised into

‘response to fans/friends’. The two studies possess a huge similarity in results, denoting a clear expression by professional athletes, in such case, cricketers and NFL players, to build and maintain Parasocial relationships

(Stever, 2010) with their followers on Twitter. Stever (2010) describes a

Parasocial relationship as a one-sided, interpersonal relationship (Rubin &

McHugh, 1987) that fans may experience through a viable connection with their favourite athletes via Twitter. Research conducted into parasocial relationships before the development of Twitter (Rubin & McHugh, 1987;

Rubin & Perse, 1987 and Turner, 1993) indicates that many acts and behaviours by a professional athlete can spark a parasocial relationship; social and task attraction, perceived similarities (to the athlete), perceived realism (of the situation), as well as the athletes’ beliefs and attitudes are all behaviours that can encourage the relationship pattern. When brought into context of the present study, as well as research completed since the creation of Twitter (Kassing & Sanderon, 2010; Pegoraro, 2010) the conclusions form around the potential of Twitter as a tool, aiding professional cricketers, and other professional athletes to develop parasocial relationships with their fans.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 39 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

The results of the present study sit in agreement with the research of Sun

(2010), who found that parasocial interaction and relationships develop through celebrity exposure, during sporting events, TV shows and commercials. The present study proposes a data set that indicates that the two study participants who possess the highest volume of Twitter followers

(Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad), also maintain the highest level of contact with their fan base; established by their volume of categorised within the

‘response to fans/friends category’. For example;

‘“ nadinemaloney : Kids eager to meet StuartBroad8 at

chairmans IvE G abcgrandstand ”|> signing KFC buckets!’

The exemplar tweet provides clear a relation to previous research (Sun, 2010) in context of a professional cricketer. The tweet indicates that Stuart broad is viewed as a celebrity by cricket fans, that translates to his social media presence (540,973 Twitter followers) and the emergence of clear parasocial interaction, through the 13 tweets the players exhibited that were catalogued within the ‘response to fans/friends’ category; the second highest volume of tweets in the category of the six participants.

The results of the present study, more specifically the ‘response to fans/friends’ category, and previous research into parasocial interaction (Sun,

2010; Sanderson & Kassing, 2010; Stever & Lawson, 2010) show connotations with the theory of Social Identity (Tajfel, 1970; Turner, 1975).

Tajfel (1970) explained that Social Identity forms when an individual feels value and significant emotion towards a social group membership, in this case, as a fan of a professional cricketer. The data presented from the current

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 40 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation study indicates examples of parasocial interaction with fans providing a possible pre-cursor to a social identity, such as the exemplar tweet earlier provided. Stuart Broad maintains the ability to increase a fan base due to increased media coverage (Sun, 2010), exhibiting signs of Parasocial

Interaction, before progressing into a stage of Social Identity (Tajfel, 1970) that see’s the individual gain such a volume of Twitter followers.

Brand Equity Development

Brand equity is described as the value that a brand contributes in the specific marketplace (Shank, 2005) and Twitter provides the opportune means for the development process to occur. Social media platforms provide a cost-effective mode of advertising to a large consumer market (Roberts, 2007) that if utilised effectively, allows the brand of a professional athlete to successfully develop and become highly profitable.

Pegoraro (2010) identified that professional athletes were failing to capitalise on the consumer audience provided via Twitter, and missing a viable opportunity to increase their brand equity. The present findings indicates that there is a common theme, in agreement with the research of Pegoraro (2010), as the results display an inability of professional cricketers to utilise the potential of Twitter for brand equity development.

The present study resulted in a sample of 35 tweets (7.7%) out of a total of

245 tweets collected within the ‘Business Life’ category, providing a similarity to the study completed by Pegoraro (2010) that found 19.87% of 1,193 tweets were categorised within the ‘Business Life’ category. The study (Pegoraro,

2010) compiled results from 10 sports featured in the United States, and the

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 41 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation variety of ‘Business Life’ category tweets varied from 10.34% (NFL) to 54.17%

(Mixed Martial Arts). Research suggests that social networking sites provide athletes with an individual brand marketing resource (Hambrick & Mahoney,

2012), that only a small percentage of athletes are utilising. The results of the present study align with the thesis that the opportunity for brand equity development via Twitter is being overlooked; only 1 of the 6 study participants exhibited in excess of 9 tweets (Kevin Pietersen, 18 tweets). The percentage of ‘Business Life’ tweets posted by Pietersen (7.3%) is vastly diluted, attributed to the large number of ‘response to fans/friends’ category.

‘Christmas shopping at our store.. #neverla ndstore nenaandpasadena ’

Within the tweet, there is mention of Nena and Pasadena, a clothing company owned by Kevin Pietersen. By providing the reference to a personally owned company, Pietersen utilises the marketing potential of Twitter by providing an appealing message to the consumer fan base (Kahle, 2007) with the overarching goal to increase the brand contribution to it’s marketplace (Shank,

2005) and therefore increasing Pietersens’ brand equity.

The ‘Business Life’ category is an indication of the intention of professional cricketers to advertise and market personal brand, and endorsing a company’s product from the perspective of a sufficiently known and respected individual (Stallard, 1998). Shank (1999) provides similar research to that of

Stallard (1998) stating that persuasive power of celebrity endorsement is attributed to two factors; credibility and attractiveness.

‘“ a imuscle : Well done tuartbroad who took 5 wickets for England

#Powere dby a imuscle pic.twitter.com as lowm ”|> Thanks guys.’

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 42 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

The example provided indicates the endorsement relationship between Stuart

Broad and the sports nutrition company who sponsor the player, Maximuscle.

The tweet displays the ability of Twitter to be used as a tool for brand equity development, increasing the value of the Maximuscle brand (Shank, 2005) as well as the personal brand equity of Stuart Broad. Pegoraro (2010) stated that there is an ever-expanding competition for marketing space, and professional athletes are ultimately aiming to secure lucrative sponsorship contracts.

The present studies have provided two examples, Kevin Pietersen and Stuart

Broad, who have gained lucrative sponsorship contracts (Pegoraro, 2010).

The two participants are both high profile and well-respected (Stallard, 1998) professional cricketers, and both possess large consumer audiences

(Roberts, 2007) that companies are able to take advantage of, using the individuals as marketing channels. Professional cricketers benefit hugely from sponsorship deals, gaining large sums of equity from a company, while being marketed as the face of a brand, aiding to vastly improve their brand equity profile.

Limitations and Critical Reflection

This study enhanced the knowledge of the use of Twitter by professional cricketers, through a quantitative analysis of how the subjects build parasocial relationships and exhibit signs of brand equity development. Previously, studies have focussed on a variety of sports within a study (e.g. Kassing &

Sanderson, 2010) or a competitive individual sport (e.g. Pegoraro, 2010). Few studies have provided the opportunity to gain an insight into the Twitter activity of a collective of individuals from the same team. The main strength of

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 43 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation the study lies in the unique design that allows the comparison of six international cricketers amongst themselves, to provide insight into the varying brand profiles, and player-fan relationships of six international cricketers that are presented.

During the present study, the data analysis was based on six international cricketers from England, during the 2013/2014 Ashes Test Match Series. The study was limited by the streamlined analysis of just six participants from one international team (England). A suggestion to improve the study during future research would be to widen the data collection field, including participants from both teams during a series. Another limitation arose throughout the study, through no fault of the author that may have hampered the collected data. During the 2013/2014 Ashes Test Match Series (data collection period), the studied participants were part of a team that lost the series 5 matches to nil. On reflection, this may have decreased the Twitter activity of the six international cricketers, offering an opportunity for future research into the apparent differences in twitter activity between a winning team, and a losing team, as was presented in this study.

As identified by the author during the design assumptions, Kevin Pietersen was recognised as a possible anomaly to the study, due to the expected correlation between the number of Twitter followers, and the volume of tweets posted by an individual. The volume of tweets from one participant (Pietersen) outweighs the tweets of the other 5 participants totalled, indicating the disparity between the data collection participants. This indicates the need for caution to be taken if conducting future research; having gained the

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 44 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation knowledge of a possible anomaly within the present study that could affect the reliability of the results.

Future Research

The author suggests that there could be future research conducted into the

“relationship marketing’ (Levitt, 1986) from the perspective of a major sporting company. To illustrate, Adidas maintain lucrative sponsorship contracts with professional cricketers, such as Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen. A closer analysis into the marketing strategy of a company such as Adidas could begin to provide more significant findings into the use of relationship and brand marketing on Twitter by professional cricketers.

After collecting and studying data based around the tweeting patterns of professional athletes, the depth of knowledge surrounding parasocial interaction is increased, but provides a catalyst for further research. The present study, and previous research into parasocial interaction (Sun, 2010;

Sanderson & Kassing, 2010; Stever & Lawson, 2010) provide analytical studies from the perspective of a professional athlete. Conversely, there is a dearth of research into the fan bases of professional athletes, from the perspective of a fan. There is an opportunity to conduct research into parasocial interaction (Sun, 2010) and Social Identity (Tajfel, 1970; Turner,

1975) that will analyse the size of a professional cricketers’ fan base, and whether there are clear signs of Social identity occurring. The exploratory research would begin to gain an understanding of whether the Twitter activity of a professional cricketer increases their attachment to an individual.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 45 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Development of brand equity possesses ties with brand marketing, therefore indicating the possibility of further research into the use of athlete endorsement by worldwide sporting brands, such as Adidas and Maximuscle.

The increasing profile of professional cricket, indicative of tournaments such of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has enabled cricketers to gain ‘celebrity status’. The Celebrity status, combined with the ‘unique marketing and communication resource’ (Hambrick & Mahoney, 2012) that is Twitter, and a distinctive opportunity for brands to expand is presented. This provides the opportunity for research into the modern marketing mix, and more specifically how companies are using high profile professional cricketers to advertise and endorse their merchandise.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 46 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 47 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

In sum, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the use of twitter in building parasocial relationships and brand equity, within professional cricket, through a quantitative process. The findings highlighted the ability of

Twitter to act as a tool to build player-fan relationships, and personal brand equity. Consistent with previous research (Pegoraro, 2010; Kassing &

Sanderson, 2010), the results indicated the apparent effort of professional cricketers to engage in parasocial interaction with their fans via Twitter, but also emphasises the rarity at which a tweet is posted with the objective of developing their personal brand equity. The results suggest that there is a correlative relationship between the volume of Twitter followers, and the volume of tweets posted by each individual; specifically featuring within the categories ‘response to fans/friends’ and ‘business life’.

Practical Implications and recommendations

This study has provided an initial investigation into the quantitative analysis of the use of twitter by international cricketers, and unearthed suggestions of future research provoking thought into apparent factors effecting levels of parasocial interaction and brand equity development. The outcome of this research has enabled the author to recommend a development in Twitter guidance, for professional cricketers, to enable the individuals to firstly learn about the potential benefits of the social media site, before successfully expressing there traits. Receiving guidance and advice on the correct techniques to portray via Twitter could provide professional cricketers with prospect of increasing their parasocial interaction with fans, therefore leading to a larger fan base, while beginning to develop their personal brand equity.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 48 SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

REFERENCE LIST

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Berry, L. (1983). Relationship Marketing. Chicago: American Marketing

Association.

Brown, W. J., and Basil, M.D. (1995). ‘Media celebrities and public health:

Responses to "Magic" Johnson's HIV disclosure and its impact on AIDS risk and high-risk behaviors.’ Health Communication, Issue 7, Pages 345-371.

Brown, W. J., Basil, M.D., and Bocarnea, M.C. (2003). ‘The influence of famous athletes on health beliefs and practices: Mark McGwire, child abuse prevention, and androstenedione.’ Journal of Health Communication. Issue 8,

Pages 41-57.

Clavio, G. (2008). ‘Uses and Gratifications of International Collegiate Sport

Message Board Users.’ Dissertation Abstracts International.

Clavio, G. and Kian, E.M. (2010). ‘Uses and gratifications of a retired female athlete’s Twitter followers.’ International Journal of Sport Communication.

Vol. 3, Pages 485-500.

Christopher, M., Payne, A. and Ballantyne, D. (2002). Relationship Marketing:

Creating Stakeholder Value. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.

Cohen, J. (2004). Parasocial break-up from favorite television characters: The role of attachment styles and relationship intensity. Journal of Social and

Personal Relationships, 21(2), 187-202.

Creswell, J.W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed

Methods Approaches. California: SAGE Publications Inc.

Dahl, S. (2013). ‘Your Personal Brand Equity Plan’. American Marketing

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Association Careers Resource Center.

Eiglier, P. and Langeard, E. (1976) ‘Principe de Politique Marketing Pour les

Enterprises de Service’, nstitute d’Administration des nterprises. Marseille:

University of Marseille.

Fisher, E. (2009). ‘Sports tweets to aggregate Twitter posts.’ treet & mith’s

SportsBusiness Journal. Vol. 12, Issue 21, Page 6.

Funk, D.C., Mahoney, D.F. and Ridinger, L. (2002). ‘Characterizing Consumer

Motivation as Individual Difference Factors: Augmenting the Sport Interest

Inventory to Explain Levels of Spectator Sport.’ Sport Marketing Quartely. Vol.

11, Issue 1, Pages 33-43.

Gronroos, C. (2004). ‘The relationship marketing process: Communication,

Interaction, Dialogue, Value.’ Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing.

Vol. 19, Issue 2, Pages 99-113.

Gronroos, C. (1995). ‘Relationship Marketing Logic.’ Asia-Australia Marketing

Journal. Vol. 4, No. 1. Pages 1-12.

Hambrick, M. and Mahoney, T. (2012). ‘‘It’s incredible – trust me’: exploring the role of celebrity athletes a marketers in online social networks.’

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing. Vol. 10, No. 3.

Hambrick, M., Simmons, J., Greenhalgh, P. and Greenwell, C. (2010).

‘Understanding Professional Athletes’ Use of TwitterL A Content Analysis of

Athlete Tweets.’ International Journal of Sport Communication. Vol. 3, Pages

454-471.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Harris, L. and Rae, A. (2011). ‘Building a personal brand through Social

etworking.’ Journal of Business Strategy. Vol. 32, Issue 5, Pages 14-21.

Haynes, R. (2013). ‘Sports Journalists, Sport stars and Social media.’ World

Social Science Forum: Social Transformation and the Digital Age. Montreal:

Montreal University.

Horton, D., & Wohl, R.R. (1956). ‘Mass communication and para-social interaction.’ Psychiatry, Issue 19, Pages 215-229.

Hutchins, B. (2011). ‘The acceleration of media sport culture.’ Information,

Communication and Society. Vol. 14, Issue 2.

Johnson, S. (2009). ‘How Twitter will change the way we live.’ Time.

Available: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1902604,00.html.

[Last accessed: 21st February, 2014].

Kahle, L. (2011). ‘Consumer Behaviour Knowledge for Effective Sports and

Event Marketing. New York: Routledge.

Kahle, L. (2007). ‘Trends and perspectives in the international sports industry:

The dance between the individual and the group.’ American Marketing

Association.

Kassing, J. and Sanderson, J. (2010). ‘Fan-athlete interaction and Twitter tweeting through the Giro: A Case Study.’ International Journal of Sport

Communication. Vol 3. Pages 113-128.

Kassing, J. and Sanderson, J. (2011). ‘Sports Media: ‘Tweets and Blogs:

Transformative, adversarial and integrative developments in sports media.’

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Sports Media: Transformation, Integration, Consumption. New York:

Routledge.

Levitt, T. (1983), ‘The globalization of markets’. Harvard Business Review.

Vol. 61 No.3, Pages 92-102.

Levitt, T. (1986). The Marketing Imagination. New York: Free Press.

Lindlof, T.R. and Taylor, B.C. (2010). Qualitative Communication Research

Methods. 3rd edition. California: SAGE.

The MCC (2006). ‘The Ashes’. MCC History. Available from: http://www.lords.co.uk/history/mcc-history/the-ashes. [Last accessed: 13th

February, 2014]

Parmentier, M. and Fischer, E. (2012). ‘How athletes build their brands.’

International Journal of Sports Management. Vol. 11, No. 1.

Pegoraro, A. (2010). ‘Look Who’s Talking – Athletes on Twitter: A Case

Study.’ International Journal of Sport Communication. Vol. 3, Pages 501-514.

Phelops, W. & Otterwell, L. (2007) ‘Technology and a new era for sports sponsorship’. Sport and Technology, July. Available: http://www.sportandtechnology.com. [Last accessed: 21st February, 2014]

Phua, J.J. (2010). ‘Sports fans and media use: Influence on sports fan identification and collective self-esteen.’ International Journal of Sport

Communication. Vol. 3, Pages 190-206.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Price, J., Farrington, N and Hall, L. (2013). ‘Changing the game? The impact of twitter on relationships between football clubs, supporters and the sports media.’ Soccer and Society. Vol. 14, Issue 4.

Pringle, D. (2008). Kevin Pietersen snaps up lucrative bat deal after demise of

Woodworm. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/kevinpietersen/3204505/KevinPieters en-snaps-up-lucrative-bat-deal-after-the-demise-of-Woodworm-Cricket.html.

[Last accessed: 18th February, 2014]

Roberts, J., & Merrilees, B. (2007). ‘Multiple roles of brands in business-to- business services’. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 22(6), Pages

410−417.

Rubin, R. B., and McHugh, M. P. (I987). ‘Development of parasocial interaction relationships.’ Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. Issue

31, Pages 279-292.

Rubin, A.M. and Perse, E.M. (1987). ‘Audience activity and soap opera involvement: A uses and effects investigation.’ Human Communication

Research, Issue 14, Pages 246-268.

Ruggiero, T. (2000). ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century.’

Mass Communication and Society. 3(1). Pages 3-37.

Sanderson, J. (2011). ‘To Tweet or not to Tweet: Exploring Division I athletic departments’ social-media policies.’ International Journal of Sport

Communication. Vol. 4, Pages 492-513.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Santomier, J. (2008). ‘ ew Media, Branding and Global Sports Sponsorship’/

Business Faculty Publications. Paper 13.

Sea, W.J. and Green, B.J. (2008). ‘Development of the Motivation Scale for

Sport Online Consumption.’ Journal of Sport Management. Vol. 22, Pages 82-

109.

Schultz, B. and Sheffer, M. (2010). ‘Paradigm Shift or Passing Fad? Twitter and Sports Journalism’. International Journal of Sport Communication. Vol. 3.

Pages 472-484.

Sheth, J. . and Parvatiyar. A. (2000) ‘Relationship Marketing In Consumer

Markets: Antecedents and Consequences’. Handbook of Relationship

Marketing. Pages 171-208. California: Sage.

Simon, M. K. (2011). Dissertation and scholarly research: Recipes for success

Seattle: LLC.

Sivia, D.S. and Skilling, J. (2006). (Data analysis: a Bayesian tutorial. 3rd edition. US: Oxford University Press.

Shank, M. (1999). Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective. 1st edition. New

Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.

Shank, M. (2005). Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective. 3rd edition. New

Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Smith, J. (2003). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. London: Sage Publications.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Stallard, P. (1998), Consumption and identity in the world of the book.

Sheffield: Sheffield University.

Steenkamp, J. (2014). ‘How global brands create firm value: the 4V model’.

International Marketing Review. Vol. 31 Issue 1, Pages 5-29. New York:

Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.

Stever, G. (2010). ‘Fan behavior and lifespan development theory: Explaining parasocial and social attachment to celebrities.’ Journal of Adult

Development.

Stever, G. and Lawson, K. (2010). ‘Twitter as a way for celebrities to communicate with fans: Implications for the study of Parasocial Interaction.’

North American Journal of Psychology. Vol. 15, No. 2.

Sun, T. (2010). ‘Antecedents and Consequences of Parasocial Interaction with Sport Athletes and Identification with Sports Teams’. Journal of Sport

Behaviour. Vol. 3, Issue 3, Page 192. Vermont: University of Vermont.

Tajfel, H. (1970). ‘Experiments in intergroup discrimination.’ Scientific

American. 223. Pages 96-102.

Thoring, A. (2011). ‘Corporate Tweeting: Analysing the Use of Twitter as a

Marketing Tool by UK Trade Publishers’. Publishing Research Quartely. Vol.

27, Issue 2, Pages 141-158. London: UCL.

Turner, J. C. 1975. ‘Social comparison and social identity: Some prospects for intergroup behaviour.’ European Journal of Social Psychology. Vol. 5: Pages

5-34.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

Turner, J. (1993). ‘Interpersonal and psychological predictors of parasocial interaction with different television performers.’ Communication Quarterly. Vol.

41. Pages 443–453.

Yip, G. and Hult, G. (2012). Total Global Strategy. 3rd edition. Boston:

Pearson.

Wilson, A. (2006). Marketing Research: An Integrated Approach. 2nd Edition.

London: Financial Times/Prentince Hall.

Wilson, R. (2005). ‘The Six Simple Principles of Viral Marketing’. Web

Marketing Today.

Wittkemper, C., Choong, L. and Waldburger, A. (2012). ‘Social Media and

Sports Marketing: Examining the motivations and constraints of Twitter

Users.’ Sport Marketing Quartely. Vol. 12, Issue 3, Page 170.

Wolfradt, U. and Doll, J. (2001). ‘Motives of adolescents to use the Internat as a function of personality traits, personal and social factors.’ Journal of

Educational Computing Research. Vol. 24, Issue 1, Pages 13-27.

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

CHAPTER 8

APPENDICES

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014

SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

APPENDIX A – ETHICAL APPROVAL

Date: 13th March 2014

To: Sam Mount

Project reference number: 13/8/02U

Your project was recommended for approval by me as your supervisor.

This letter should be included in the appendix of your project as evidence of ethical approval.

Yours sincerely,

MWLowther

Project supervisor.

-1

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 A SSP6050 2013-4 Dissertation

APPENDIX B – PILOT STUDY DATA

Pilot Study Selected Participants

No. of Athlete Provincincial Team Followers* Twitter Name Age AB De Villiers Titans 932k ABDeVilliers17 29 Dale Steyn Cape Cobras 736k DaleSteyn62 30 Graeme Smith Cape Cobras 552k GraemeSmith49 32

Pilot Study percentage of tweets classified within the ‘Response to fans/friends’ and ‘Business Life’ categories.

Athlete % Business/Brand % Fan based Total % AB De Villiers 28.6 46.4 75 Dale Steyn 4.7 23.8 28.5 Graeme Smith 10 30 40 *Correct to one decimal place.

Pilot Study Statistics

AGE RANGE - 29,30, 32 MEAN AGE - 30 SD AGE - 1.5 TWEET RANGE - 10, 21, 28 SD TWEETS - 9 MEAN TWEETS - 20

Samuel Mount 21 March 2014 B -1