Title: Exploring consumer responses to a nationwide breast cancer awareness campaign: the case of the National Football League's Crucial Catch campaign

Authors: Dae Hee Kwak; Joon Sung Lee; Youngbum Kwon; Katherine Babiak

Addresses: Department of Sport Management, University of Michigan, 1402 Washington Heights #2118, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA ' Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management, University of Florida, FLG 186A, P.O. Box 118208, Gainesville, FL 32611-8208, USA ' Department of Sport Management, University of Michigan, 1402 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA ' Department of Sport Management, University of Michigan, 1402 Washington Heights #2120, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

Abstract: During the month of October, the National Football League (NFL) activates a breast cancer awareness campaign - Crucial Catch - in which players, referees and coaches wear pink apparel and gear to promote its cause. Given that more than 17 million people in the USA watch a regular season game every week, this campaign reaches a broad audience. Using a representative sample of US adults (N = 600), this study examined differences in demographic variables (age, gender and race) and domain-specific personal variables (television viewership, cause involvement) on various campaign-related outcomes including cause-related outcomes (i.e., breast cancer perception and donation intentions to support the campaign) and organisation-related outcomes (i.e., perceived motives of the NFL, attitude toward the NFL and behaviour toward the NFL). Findings show how consumers' demographic, lifestyle and psychographic characteristics influence their responses to the campaign.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility; breast cancer awareness; professional sports; consumer segmentation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2019.099784

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2019 Vol.19 No.3/4, pp.208 - 232

Accepted: 03 Mar 2018
Published online: 22 May 2019 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article