FANS’ PERCEPTION SURROUNDING THE SHARKS BRAND | A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Abstract

Over the past five years, the South African rugby franchises has experienced a significant reduction in fans attending matches at their respective stadiums, despite rugby still meaning so much to our nation. This phenomenon served as the purpose behind the study which was aimed at gaining a better understanding as to how fans perceived the Sharks brand and what it could potentially do within the capacity of their brand, to attract more people to their stadium. This study sought to investigate how members of the Sharks’ fan base perceived their rugby team as a brand. The data collection methods used included in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight purposively selected participants, which enabled the study to produce thick narratives allowing for an in-depth analysis to occur. Findings indicated the participants still value the experiences created by the Sharks brand, however, they feel that the interpersonal brand connection has been lost over time. These findings indicated that there is a need for Sharks brand to improve their interpersonal relationships with fans, therefore, to increase fan loyalty and total brand equity. It is recommended that the Sharks brand prioritises the reestablishment of interpersonal relationships with their fans.