Spectators: The 12th Player in Indonesian Football Team, The Crucial Branding Resonance
Abstract
Spectators are a heart for a football team. The FIFA World Cup U-17 Indonesia has made history and suddenly made spectators a part of crucial consumers for the national football team. This study investigates the impact of brand loyalty, attitudinal attachment, sense of community, and active engagement on fostering robust customer loyalty. Employing a mixed-method research design, we collected quantitative data from 350 spectators alongside qualitative insights through in-depth interviews. Our objective was to delineate how these elements of brand resonance collectively reinforce customer loyalty within the context of spectator sports. The quantitative analyses utilized SPSS to establish the relationships between variables, while the thematic analysis of interview transcripts provided a narrative understanding of the spectator experience. The results revealed that attitudinal attachment and a sense of community significantly predicted brand loyalty, which directly influenced customer retention and advocacy behaviors. Additionally, active engagement emerged as a critical driver for the depth and sustainability of customer loyalty. By integrating both methodological approaches, our findings offer comprehensive evidence of the synergistic effects of these dimensions in strengthening long-term loyalty. Implications for strategic brand management and engagement in sports marketing contexts are discussed, highlighting the importance of fostering an interconnected brand resonance ecosystem.
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