Seven Perspectives on Contemporary Issues in Sports Marketing

Viktor Magnusson
Department of Marketing and Tourism Studies,
School of Business and Economics, Linnæus University

Book titles containing words such as “contemporary” and “issues” have always appealed to me. Contemporary because it suggests that the information should be current and relevant, and issues because I enjoy solving problems. So, when Contemporary Issues in Sports Marketing landed on my desk, my curiosity was immediately sparked.

Contemporary Issues in Sports Marketing is what academia refers to as an anthology, a collection of scholarly articles linked by a common theme. In this case, seven articles in the field of sports marketing have been brought together, each addressing, in one way or another, contemporary issues and challenges within the discipline. The anthology does not aim to provide an exhaustive overview of contemporary issues in sports marketing. Rather, it presents articles offering different perspectives on the subject and provides many interesting insights and recommendations.

The first article, “Brand Consistency and Coherency at the London 2012 Olympic Games”, examines brand identity through the concepts of Brand Coherency and Brand Consistency. The authors are particularly interested in understanding the relationship, or lack thereof, between the Olympic brand before and after the London 2012 Games. The second article in the anthology, “Sponsorship Programmes and Corruption in Sport: Management Responses to a Growing Threat”, addresses sport sponsorship and, more specifically, how corruption within sport affects sponsorship agreements. This is certainly a relevant issue today in light of developments within FIFA, where, at the time of writing, the president had recently withdrawn a proposal to sell commercial rights for the FIFA World Cup to private investors. The third article, “Social Media and Sports: Driving Fan Engagement with Football Clubs on Facebook”, explores how sports fans and their engagement with sport are reflected in their motivation to interact and engage with football clubs on social media, in this case Facebook.

However, if one learns how to approach scholarly articles with the aim of identifying their practical contributions, there are genuine gems to be found here.

The fourth article, “There Goes My Hero Again: Sport Scandal Frequency and Social Identity Driven Response”, focuses on the consequences of scandals involving athletes that occur off the field of play and how such events affect people’s perceptions of the sports teams they represent. The fifth article, “Exploring Value Co-Creation in Fan Fests: The Role of Fans”, discusses value co-creation between fans and what are referred to as Fan Fests, festivals organized for supporters during, alongside, or around major sport events. In the sixth article, “The Influence of Sport Sponsorship on Brand Equity and Purchase Behavior”, we return to the sponsorship context, where the authors examine the impact sponsorship may have on sponsors’ Brand Equity and consumer purchasing behavior through Brand Engagement. The final article in the anthology, “Role of the Stadium in the Value Enhancement Process of a Rugby Union Match”, investigates what actually creates added value in a sport event by analyzing the role of the stadium in the value-creation process between spectators and the sporting event itself.

Who is this book written for?

Given that Contemporary Issues in Sports Marketing is an anthology, it is reasonable to ask who its intended audience is. In academia, anthologies are often published to bring together the expertise of several researchers within a specific field, with the aim of providing a broader overview of existing research., or to illuminate a topic from several different perspectives. From that perspective, there is certainly a place and a purpose for a publication such as this.

I see the book as being particularly relevant to researchers in sports marketing who wish to gain insight into recent research within the field. I can also imagine it being used as course literature in courses focusing specifically on contemporary developments in sports marketing. The obvious drawback of using the book as course literature is that the contemporary landscape is constantly changing, and what is relevant today may not necessarily be relevant next year. I suspect that the majority of the audience reading this review on idrottsforum.org are neither researchers nor students, but rather professionals working within sport. Is the book relevant for them as well? I would definitely say so.

Practical insights and valuable recommendations for practitioners

Scholarly articles can sometimes be difficult to read and may feel somewhat “dry” if one is not particularly interested in the research process itself. The seven articles in Contemporary Issues in Sports Marketing are no exceptions. At times, readers may need to work a little harder to keep up, and for those unfamiliar with research methodology, certain sections may seem almost incomprehensible. However, if one learns how to approach scholarly articles with the aim of identifying their practical contributions, there are genuine gems to be found here. My advice is to focus on the introduction, discussion/analysis, and conclusion/recommendations sections. All seven articles provide clear conclusions and recommendations for both researchers and practitioners. For example, chapter 2 about sponsorship and corruption presents a clear framework consisting of eight key factors influencing sponsors’ decisions in cases of corruption within sport. These factors provide a basis for determining how decisions can and should be made in each individual case. I can easily envision this framework being used directly by sponsors confronted with a corruption-related situation.

Another example of an article that provides clear and practical recommendations for practitioners is chapter 3 that deals with social media and fan engagement. Towards the end of the article, the authors offer practical guidance on how football clubs, and sports organizations more generally, can use social media to foster dialogue, community, and engagement among supporters. In fact, I could have highlighted any of the articles in the anthology. Each one provides valuable and actionable recommendations grounded in research findings. For that reason, the book is highly relevant not only for scholars but also for practitioners, including those operating within a Nordic context.

How contemporary is the book really?

The question posed in the heading is certainly worth asking. Although the book was published in 2025, all of the articles originally appeared in the Journal of Strategic Marketing as early as 2018, with most of them having been written in 2017. That is almost a decade ago.

Developments within sport and sports marketing occur rapidly, and circumstances change continuously. As a result, the book does not fully capture the challenges facing sport today. I also find myself missing an explanation in the introductory chapter regarding why these particular articles were selected for inclusion in the volume. Why are these topics considered the most relevant today? This is not to suggest that the content has become irrelevant, quite the opposite. As it turns out, the issues addressed in the articles remain highly relevant and important. Nevertheless, one may still wonder why these specific articles were chosen, and why it took eight years for them to be collected and republished in book form.

Copyright © Viktor Magnusson 2026