Description
The following research investigates some possible effects of the Major League Baseball Association's decision to introduce branded patches to players' on-field jerseys. Drawing from communication and marketing research theories such as Arthur Raney's behavioral and social motivations for mediated sports consumption and Daniel Wann's psychological causes of team identification, this work aims to predict how the introduction of jersey patches might affect the baseball fan's experience. Some relevant historical examples utilized in this analysis include, the merchandising of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, a history of branded jerseys in European football clubs, and comparative jersey patches in the National Basketball Association. The central research question posed considers how this rule will affect the fans' experience watching baseball, and more importantly, how the increased integration of brands into the game will affect the sport as a whole. As a baseball fan and a student of marketing and communications, this is a topic of controversy I've found interesting to center my research on, and I'm curious if this type of branding brings fans together, or if it takes away from the integrity of the sport.
Branded Jersey Patches in the MLB: Impacts to the Fan Experience
The following research investigates some possible effects of the Major League Baseball Association's decision to introduce branded patches to players' on-field jerseys. Drawing from communication and marketing research theories such as Arthur Raney's behavioral and social motivations for mediated sports consumption and Daniel Wann's psychological causes of team identification, this work aims to predict how the introduction of jersey patches might affect the baseball fan's experience. Some relevant historical examples utilized in this analysis include, the merchandising of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, a history of branded jerseys in European football clubs, and comparative jersey patches in the National Basketball Association. The central research question posed considers how this rule will affect the fans' experience watching baseball, and more importantly, how the increased integration of brands into the game will affect the sport as a whole. As a baseball fan and a student of marketing and communications, this is a topic of controversy I've found interesting to center my research on, and I'm curious if this type of branding brings fans together, or if it takes away from the integrity of the sport.