Effect of Fandom on Marketers In the “old days” an areas culture had a massive effect on the way that the people of that area lived their lives. What they wore, ate, watched, participated in, etc. But with the ever expanding and diversifying markets of the world today it is becoming easier and easier to start seeing alterations from this. In Kaplan and Langdon’s article “Chinese fandom and potential marketing strategies for expanding the market for American professional sports into China” (Kaplan & Langdon 2012). Marketing strategies are reviewed as one of the main topics. “One strategy of the NBA was to partner with established Chinese brands” (Kaplan & Langdon, 2012). This allowed the NBA to have an easy avenue for expansion as the market had already been developed.
Take Nike for instance from the example. In Kaplan and Langdon’s article it is stated “China’s biggest seller of athletic shoes, Li Ning, recently surrendered its top position to Nike, even though Nike’s shoes – upwards of $100 a pair – cost twice as much. The new middle class ‘seeks Western culture’, says Zhang Wanli, a social scientist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. ‘Nike was smart because it didn’t enter China selling usefulness, but selling status” (Kaplan, Langdon 2012). Basically when Nike came in, they did not say that they had the best product. They did not say they had the cheapest product. They said they had their product. Because of the interest by these Chinese consumers that was created by their interest or “Fandom” associated with the sport of basketball where consumers were familiar with the specific brands because of their favorite athletes or teams, they were able to establish themselves as a reputable brand with little to no opposition.
Technology
Technology has played a major role in consumer behavior in sports fandom. If it wasn’t for the advancements made