Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) 75

The questionnaire was designed to be administered over the phone with interviewers seated at a computer terminal. Answers from respondents were entered directly into the computer and captured in an SPSS file for analysis. The questionnaire therefore became the script for the telephone interview (Please refer to Appendix C for a copy of the questionnaire).

4.3.2 Questions included for adidas and the NZRU

The questionnaire included a number of questions relating to topics of special interest to adidas and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU). These questions were designed to determine the respondent’s

• Rugby passion.

• Depth of understanding of adidas’s sponsorship of the All Blacks, and their attitude towards that sponsorship.

A range of demographic questions were also included to enable the construction of respondent profiles.

The tabulated responses to all questions were supplied to adidas. This was in appreciation for the company’s significant financial support which enabled the completion of the fieldwork for this research. Most of these questions, A1-B5 (except for B3) and G1-G6, are not discussed in this thesis.

A copy of all Frequency Tables can be found in Appendix D.

4.3.3 Ethical Issues

The research project was submitted for approval to both the RMIT University Human Research Ethics Committee and the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee prior to commencement of fieldwork. Both committees gave their approval for the research to proceed.

The ‘Statement by Researcher’ (Appendix C) was included in the questionnaire to ensure that each respondent’s participation in the research was strictly voluntary and to assure respondents that all information supplied by them would remain

confidential and that their privacy would be protected at all times. This statement met the legal requirements of the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993.

4.3.4 Structure of the Questionnaire

The questionnaire was designed in eight sections. Following Sekaran (1992) the sequence of questions progressed from questions of a more general nature to those of a more specific nature, with sensitive demographic data such as age, education, occupation and income at the end of the questionnaire. This ‘funnel’ approach helped to smooth the progress of respondents through the questionnaire. The questions of significance to this research (apart from the initial screening questions) are B3, D1, E1 and F1. Question B3 is a measure of All Black brand image, questions D1 and E1 are measures of adidas brand image and question F1 is a measure of adidas brand equity (Appendix C).

4.3.5 Section Three: All Black Brand Image (B3)

Question B3 asks respondents to rate the All Blacks on a categorical scale of perceived performance:

1. The best rugby team in the world.

2. One of the top three rugby teams in the world.

3. One of the best rugby teams in the world.

4. A very good rugby team.

This scale was considered a simple, straightforward measure of All Black brand image, given the fact that the All Black brand image has been built on the team’s impressive win rate; they have won 73% of their games over more than 100 years (Please refer to Appendix B, Figure B1).

Question B3, also offered Stage Two (post RWC) respondents the option of an objective, realistic ranking of the All Blacks as a result of the team’s performance in the 2003 RWC. At the end of the competition the team’s world ranking would be an objective fact; the best rugby team in the world if they won; something less of they did not win.

Question B3, then, serves as a simple measure of All Black brand image.

Responses to the remaining questions in Section Three are not discussed in this thesis.

4.3.6 Section Four: adidas Brand Salience (C1-C2)

Although this data was of interest to adidas it has not been discussed in this thesis.

4.3.7 Section Five: adidas Brand Performance (D1)

Question D1 is the second question (after B3) focused on in this research. The question seeks to operationalism Keller’s (2003) construct ‘Brand Performance’

utilising a five item, five point Likert-type scale.

Statements relate to the functional performance of adidas products, and are drawn from Keller’s (2003) list of ‘Possible Measures of Brand Building Blocks.’

(Appendix E).

‘Brand Performance’ is a fundamental measure of ‘Brand Meaning’ according to Keller; along with ‘Brand Imagery’ (Keller 2003). The construct relates to assessments of quality in the way the brand meets customers’ utilitarian, aesthetic and economic needs and wants. For example, brand associations relating to reliability, durability, style, design and price. The construct is effectively a subset of Brand Image.

4.3.8 Section Six: adidas Brand Imagery (E1)

Following section five, question E1 is a measure of adidas’s brand image, drawn from Keller’s (2003) list of ‘Possible Measures of Brand Building Blocks.’

(Appendix E). It is an eleven item, five point Likert-type scale.

4.3.9 Section Seven: adidas Brand Resonance / Equity (F1)

This question is a ten item, five point Likert-type scale based on Keller’s (2003) questions relating to brand resonance/equity. (Appendix E). A number of statements go beyond ‘purchase intention’ statements (a common measure of brand equity) and measure respondents’ ‘willingness to pay a price premium’ as well as their ‘attitudinal attachment to the brand.’

The last three statements are not in fact brand equity statements but are measures of “brand disloyalty”, created by the writer and included in the survey as a counterweight to previous measures of brand resonance; in essence, testing the Null hypothesis.

4.3.10 Section Eight: Demographics (G1-G6)

Data from this section is not discussed in this thesis.

4.4 PRETESTING OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Before the first survey took place the questionnaire was tested on a small number of prospective respondents to identify and eliminate potential problems. Respondents were drawn from the target population, marketing academics and industry professionals. The questionnaire was tested for question content (the appropriate choice of words, the removal of ambiguous questions, loaded questions or double-barrelled questions), the sequence of questions, the form and layout of questions and for any difficulties in comprehension or understanding of questions. Finally the questionnaire was pretested (by the Auckland-based telemarketing company, Startel Communications) to ensure that it could be answered in approximately 15 minutes. This was important for budgetary and ethical reasons.