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SURVEY RESULTS FROM STUDENTS

Students from both universities were surveyed to understand if and why they wear branded athletic gear and what influences their purchase decisions. The questionnaire was administered to a total of 219 undergraduate students. The students (82%) were between the ages of 18 and 20 years of age; 45% were freshmen, 34% sophomores, 10% juniors, and 5% seniors. Female students accounted for 59% of the respondents. Among Syracuse (63%) and Xavier (43%) students, Nike was considered the “coolest” athletic shoes; Adidas was second with 30% and 35%, respectively; and Reebok lagged far behind at .9% and 2%. Phil Knight has indeed succeeded in making and maintaining the coolness of Nike in these two groups of students.

These students are sports-minded. They are involved in sports, both as spectators and participants. More than three fourths of them (77%) play some sort of recreational sport, with nearly one fifth of them (18%) being college athletes themselves. College athletes taking part in this study are involved in a variety of varsity athletics: basketball, football, cross-country, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis, and track. In addition, 90% watch professional sports, predominantly basketball and football. When asked to identify their favorite professional athlete, 55% listed Michael Jordan and of those who identified him as their favorite, 100% could recall that he wears Nike shoes. As the numbers suggest, these students, who were attending universities where sports are a visible part of the campus scene, had made sports an active part of their own lifestyle. They played sports, watched sports, and admired the exceptional athletes who were at the pinnacle of their games.

A significant 61% of the students said they attend university basketball games, with an impressive 82% reporting that they were aware that the basketball program was sponsored by a brand of athletic shoes. Of those, a majority (72%) of the Syracuse students could correctly identify Nike as the athletic sponsor and 61% of the Xavier students could identify Reebok as the basketball team’s sponsor; just about all of these students attend games to see their Orangemen or Musketeers do battle against rival teams. Little wonder then that many of these true fans know which shoe company sponsors their home team. Therefore, the exposure to players who actually become the ads has been an effective device in generating awareness of the Nike and Reebok brands, one of the major objectives of sports sponsorship.

The students surveyed also acted as walking billboards for the athletic brands they routinely wear. These students wore and purchased branded athletic gear and clothing with the school’s logo, name, insignia, or mascot on it to show support for the home team. Forty-two percent wore branded hats regularly, 64% wore athletic brands of shorts, and 66% donned athletic brands of sweatshirts. But T-shirts and shoes come up the real winners. College students wore athletic shoes almost exclusively, with a staggering 92% saying they wore some type of sports shoe on a regular basis.



In the past 12 months before the survey, approximately two thirds of the students purchased branded athletic gear. The items that they purchased most often were hats (33%), sweatshirts (43%), and T-shirts (58%). Of those who made a purchase in the past 12 months, 54% of the Syracuse students purchased Nike products and 40% purchased a Champion item. Among Xavier students, 44% purchased Champion and only 33% purchased a Reebok item.

The campus bookstore was the place where the students (59%) most often shopped for athletic clothing, with the local sporting goods retailer ranking second (18%). Students may be buying at the bookstore because of convenience, in terms of location and due to the fact that students can charge bookstore purchases to their bursar’s account. But whatever the reason, they are buying, and, according to the bookstores, that is the real benefit of these athletic program sponsorships: They make the cash register ring.


Date: 2015-12-17; view: 866


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