| The sports industry has faced a large economic boom in recent years.This has led sports companies to turn to new markets to focus on the development of sports businesses,especially in emerging countries thriving with talent,such as China.Even though sports corporations aim to communicate the same message their global brand gives,the image of those sporting brands may still be perceived otherwise in one country compared to another due to distinctions in cultural values and preferences.With the Chinese market developing,basketball is gaining popularity amongst young people,which means the National Basketball Association(NBA)has to become familiar with the best advertising medias in order for its products to appeal to the Chinese young population.Purpose – The aim of this master thesis is to explore which advertising medias used by the NBA Chinese young people prefer.Specifically,the focus lies on investigating which factors and features contribute to the success of preferred advertising medias by analyzing Chinese people's behavior towards different advertising medias.Through this in depth analysis,this research recognizes the advertising medias which play a key role in the Chinese society now a days and defines the factors and features which lead Chinese young people to choose specific medias when it comes to receiving information about the NBA.This study allows the researcher to understand Chinese people's mind set when choosing to use a specific media.In addition,the purpose of this study is to demonstrate the importance of brand market research by analyzing whether there is a significant strategy the NBA can utilize in order to appeal to the Chinese young population.The aspects explored are the advertising medias required for the NBA to be successful in China by analyzing the factors and features which influence Chinese young people's preferences.Finally,it serves to enlighten people on the steps the NBA has taken to further their brand in a new environment.Methodology – To accomplish the purpose of this research,interviews and questionnaire surveys were applied.First,ten structured interviews were conducted with Chinese young people to obtain intimate information about their views and preferences on the NBA's advertising medias in China.Interviews allowed the researcher to get insightful responses from Chinese people by testing respondent's general knowledge about the NBA in China.It reinforced this study's comprehension of the Chinese culture through Chinese people's experiences and thoughts about the NBA.To verify interviewee's views and to determine whether a larger sample of the population related to their opinions,a survey was distributed mostly to Chinese students of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in which respondents took part in answering questions regarding their preferences between various advertising medias.The final sample consisted of 176 respondents whose demographics were recorded based on age,gender and education.Individuals were required to select where they preferred to watch basketball games,what medias they preferred when getting information about the NBA,how often they used these medias,which features they preferred when choosing an advertising media over another and were asked to rate whether these features or specific factors played an important part in their decision making process.The use of interviews is favorable when exploring people's attitudes and behaviors regarding their opinion on a topic,which is key to explaining possible relationships and emerging patterns between the objects being studied,in this case,people's preferences towards advertising medias used by the NBA.Quantitative data collection permitted the researcher formulate facts and disclose new patterns emerging from respondents.In this study,it is important to quantify the respondents in order to know the percentage of people preferring a media.The choice to use a mixed research method approach was based on the fact that employing both a qualitative and quantitative method would give a more complete analysis of the research,by compensating for the lack of information one method might have.This well-rounded methodology provides an allinclusive specific result by collecting data from both a large and small sample.To facilitate the data analysis,the data was run through SPSS in order to conduct a statistical analysis to evaluate if there was any correlation between the different variables.Finally,a 5-point Likert scale measured the importance of the different factors preferred,rating them from 1 to 5,from the least important to the most important.This attitudinal measurement scale allowed respondents to express their feelings towards a specific feature of advertising medias or influencing factor.Results: This study found that respondents had a strong preference in watching NBA basketball games at home in front of the television rather than any other place.The majority of respondents,which represents 73%,noted their preferred lieu to watch basketball games was at home in front of the the television,whereas only 14% preferred watching basketball games online,9% on mobile devices and 4% at the sports field.In addition,advertising medias also had a high amount of respondents express their preferences was receiving information through television and the internet.25% of respondents chose television as their preferred media to receive information about the NBA and 24% selected internet websites which excluded the NBA's website compared to the 16% who preferred using the NBA website,the 14% who chose Weibo,13% who selected chats,4% who elected QQ and the 1% and below who chose billboards and podcasts as their preferred medias.In regards to the frequency of the use of advertising medias,more than 51% of Chinese young people stated used all advertising medias “once in a while”,which demonstrates that the NBA has the opportunity to advertise its games and events through many platforms.Features are key components of advertising medias Chinese young people prefer.They allow respondents to choose advertising medias based on qualities consumers are looking for.26% of Chinese young people preferred advertising medias which provided schedules of basketball games and 24% preferred those which gave updates on NBA teams.Features providing visual content was a favorite of many respondents as 16% listed they preferred using medias which featured scores,highlights,and videos.When respondents say they prefer an advertising media because of a certain feature,its because they find it important.This measure displays the values of the Chinese young people and justifies the choice of the preference of an advertising medias over another.A high number of respondents believed it important that advertising medias used the above mentioned features,which displays an existing relation between importance and preferences of features.Therefore,features preferred influence the behavior of a person towards a specific advertising media.Factors preferred when choosing an advertising media included convenience,easy accessibility,entertainment,celebrity sponsorship and influence of Chinese members.Convenience proved to be the leading factor preferred by respondents with 91% of people willing to use an advertising media if this factor was included.Entertainment followed with 77% percent of respondent stating this factor had a strong influence in their preference of a media.The relationship between Chinese young people's preferred advertising medias and the features as well as factors influencing these preferences was tested.A positive relationship emerged displaying the strong relationship when an advertising media like the NBA website contained the feature “score,highlights,and videos”(?=0.166,p<0.05).This result proved that Chinese young people were strongly interested in medias which contained visual contents of previous basketball games.Both factors “interview from players”(?=0.196,p<0.05)and “scores,highlights,and videos”(?=0.179,p<0.05)were significantly related to television.This once again reinforces the importance of showing images and recordings of basketball to the Chinese public.This is due to the fact that basketball is a sport which provides a lot of entertainment to young people,therefore,people want to be able to view what they missed if they were not able to follow the basketball game live.However,the feature “follow sports figures” had a negative relationship with Internet websites(?=-0.160,p<0.05).This can be linked to the fact that the millennial generation is now more than ever using cell phones to receive information(Lenhart,Purcell,Smith,et.al.,2010).It can be easier for young people to access information about players through social medias which are connected to their mobile devices.The feature “view updates on NBA teams” also tested negative with chats(?=-0.162,p<0.05).This negative relationship can be explained due to the fact that chatting is an interactive way to communicate with other sports fans.Consumers may not receive the news they expect from this media.In terms of factors,convenience displayed a positive significance level with Internet websites(?=0.151,p<0.05)which can be linked because of the numerous websites available to receive news about the NBA,in a very fast and efficient manner.Entertainment had a positive relationship with the NBA website(?=0.146,p<0.05)and so did celebrity sponsorship(?=0.151,p<0.05).This relationship can be explained because the NBA website is an advertising media which provides essential information to consumers: it has images,articles,videos,information on teams which satisfy the needs of Chinese young people and keeps them distracted.These results demonstrate that the advertising medias which appeal the most to Chinese young people must contain features which have visual content as well as entertainment,convenience and celebrity sponsorship as factors.Therefore,the preferred factors and preferred features of NBA advertising medias one prefers influence one's choice and behavior.Conclusion – Overall,the research provides valuable insights companies should take into consideration when they plan to advertise their brands and expand branches to foreign countries.Specifically,it stresses the importance of adapting to various cultural differences which may affect the way the brand is perceived.Since basketball is one of the most popular sports among the Chinese young population,other sports may have to follow the NBA footsteps when it comes to marketing their brands in China.Limitations included the fact that preferences may change over time with technology constantly developing,which might influence preferences of new factors or features.The analysis yielded that a brand like the NBA should use advertising strategies tailored to different markets.Based on a market analysis,global brands are able to choose advertising medias based on the preferences of Chinese young people.In light of this,the study shows that Chinese young people are very involved and play a crucial part in determining the future of the NBA in China.It is important for brands to communicate with the market they are infiltrating and to understand consumers' preferences in order for them to take full advantage of opportunities in foreign countries. |
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