It’s About Time: A Longitudinal Examination of Attitudes and Brand Associations of a Women’s Professional Sport Team

The proliferation and growth of women’s professional sport over time has seen a range of consumer outcomes and attention. Recently, there has been increased acknowledgement by sport marketing researchers that there is something inherently unique about the consumption and engagement of individuals as fans of women’s sport. Simultaneously, there have been new findings regarding the importance of brand associations for new sport teams as they seek to craft a brand to ensure financial success. Th is study builds on this work by showcasing the changing nature of consumer perceptions as they engage with a new women’s professional sport team. Findings indicated that attitudes related to women’s opportunity, accessibility, entertainment price, and athletic quality changed over time as individuals gained more experience with the team. Conditional growth curve modeling also provided evidence that attitudes related to accessibility and women’s opportunity explained positive changes in the overall brand perceptions of the team.