Appendix Project Research

Neal Rawlinson 10092614 38 | P a g e
8.0 Appendix

1.1 Ethics form

2.1 The social Web (Mediums)

3.1 Khatri (2006) Framework with linked theories
Framework references: (Baker, 1977) (Kamins, 1990), (Till, 1998), (McCracken, 1989), (Khatri,
2006)
Source creditability
and attractivness
•Baker and Churchill (1977) three dimensions: Trustworthiness, experties and attractivness.
•Till et al (1998) additional persuasivness and objectivness towards the endorsement objectives.
The Match-up
Hypothesis
•Kamins (1980) understands the effectivity of an endorsement relies on a 'fit' between the
product and endorsee (Kamins, 1990).
•This theory further examins and emphasises the key importance towards 'source credibility and
attractivness'.
Model of Meaning
Transfer
•McCracken (1989) provides the skeleton to the three stage theory understanding the personality
attributed transfered to the brand(McCracken, 1989).
•The model taken the multiple charataristics from the endorsee and applies them to the brand,
understanding the final view seen by consumers.
Multiple Brand and
Celebrity
Endorsement
•Khatri (2006) understands multiple endorsements can affect consumer brand attitudes,
therefore endorsees who can have up to four endorsements severly effects credibility
(experties, trustworthiness) and likeability. Linking back to the first stage of the process (Khatri,
2006).
Selecting the best
endorser
•This section of the process demands finding synergy between endorsee and brand. Thus
understanding where the marketers plan to take the promotion and the goals they are aiming to
achieve.
•Organisations turn to Q ratings during this point found in the New York Times. This is a well
established marketin option to finsing the best male and female personalities in the market.

4.1 The Meaning Transfer Model
(McCracken, 1989)
5.1 Pros and Cons of Celebrity Endorsement Strategy
Potential Advantages Potential Hazards Preventative Tactics
Increased attention Overshadow the
brand
Pre-testing and careful
planning
Image polishing Public controversy Buying insurance and putting
provision clauses in contracts
Brand introduction Image change and
overexposure
Explaining what is their role
and putting clause to restrict
endorsements for other
brands
Brand repositioning Image change and
loss of public recognition
Examining what Life-cycle
stage the celebrity is at and
how long this stage is likely to
continue
Underpin global
campaigns
Expensive Selecting celebrities who are
appropriate for global target
audience, not because they
are 'hot' in all market
audiences
(Erdogan, 1999)
Celebrity is chosen to
represent the brand,
representing correct
core values.
Selection
A message is
designed to bring
both brand/
product and
endorser together
creating a strong
bond.
Connection
The 'consumption
process' begins
allowing the
customer to aquire
the brand and
charataristics
Initiation

6.1 Production to Purchase Model Infographic
(Zwilling, 2013)

7.1 Sampling selection path
Negative Match:
Credential does not
match requirements
Positive Match:
Credentials match
those required for
Focus Group
Clients
Credentials:
Form provided for
two clients to fill
Acceptance email:
Thank you for
response and Focus
Group details
Meeting:
Credential forms
handed out
Forms returned and
analysed
Negative Match:
Credential does not
match requirements
Positive Match:
Credentials match
those required for
Focus Group
Both routes applied
Collection of
respondents
Thank you email:
Acknowledgement
of results, apologetic
unable to involve
Thank you email:
Acknowledgement
of results, apologetic
unable to involve
Acceptance email:
Thank you for
response and Focus
Group details

8.1 Credential results
Focus Group Credential Respondents
Sex Male
Female
10
7


Age 18-29
30-39
40-49
50+
3
3
4
2




GSN customer YES
NO
14
3


Personal Trainer YES
NO
7
10


Use social media YES
NO
14
3


9.1 Candidate full selection results
Male
Candidates
Age GSN Customer Personal Trainer Use Social Media
Number 1 18-29 YES YES YES
Number 2 50+ NO NO NO
Number 4 30-39 YES NO YES
Number 6 18-29 NO NO YES
Number 9 30-39 YES NO YES
Female
Candidates
Number 1 50+ NO N/A YES
Number 2 40-49 YES N/A YES
Number 6 50+ YES N/A YES
Number 7 50+ YES N/A YES

10.1 Group Interview requirements check list
Check list
GSN Customer
Social Media user
11.1 Question justification (Mr Allen interview)
Justification of questions during an interview with Mr Craig Allen
Question
number
Question Themes Justification
1. What exactly does being
the Owner and CEO of
Gold Standard Nutrition
really involve?
Background, Job
duties
The first question of the interview
was to provide Mr Allen with an
icebreaker on a subject he would
feel confident to answer. It also
helped set the scene for the
interview so any readers could
understand who he is and just
what he does.
2. Who is your target
market and how do you
gain their attention?
Target market,
marketing technique
Another question to provide the
project with an incite towards the
direction of the company and to
gain a demographic of the market
they are aiming for. This
understanding allows for
development on Mirre Stallenet’s
(2010) association from athlete to
product, as we can understand the
athletes that would work for GSNs
specific market.
3. How would you define
athlete endorsement and
is it a marketing tool you
would like to/ do offer?
Endorsement,
marketing
Setting the tone for the interview,
it is important we establish early
the use of endorsement within the
business. If it was not used the
interview would be non-
productive.
4. What are the Cons
you’ve found with
athlete endorsement?
Negatives,
endorsement
Negatives are published towards
the tool from Till et al (1998),
White (2009) and Fancois (2013),
therefore understanding any
practical negatives from a
business’s owner is crucial. Either
to support the information or
challenge it.
5. When they talk about
GSN do you find they are
as passionate about the
brand as yourself and are
they keen to work your
brand into their dietary
needs?
Passion,
endorsement,
product use
This question gives the project a
look into the athletes
involvement. Supporting theme D,
the question will help understand
if endorsers are just there to sell
or embrace the lifestyle of the
business. It also provides the
opportunity towards the

relationship, if athletes give more
to the brand or vice versa.
6. (A) Whom would you class
as your fundamental
athletes that you
endorse?
Athlete, endorse Defining the main athletes will
provide ambassadors of the brand
for comparison, supporting the
first theme developed.
6. (B) In addition, do you still
only pay them in
product? Considering
their high profile and
demand from other
companies?
Rewards, demand,
high profile
Further development into the high
profile athletes it is important to
learn what GSN offer their
athletes to be associated with the
company
7. To give you an idea of
what my research has
opened up to me,
theorists Baker and
Churchill believe a good
celebrity involves three
dimensions;
Trustworthiness,
expertise and
attractiveness. With that
in mind, what is it you
are essentially looking
for when finding an
athlete to endorse?
Fundamental,
athletes,
requirements
Baker (1977) provided what he
saw essential to a successful
endorser, as an academic point of
view it is important to have a
practice one from a business
owner. Difference in opinion could
provide light towards the
difference of planning an
endorsement as opposed to
implementing one in the business
world.
8. So would you say from all
the marketing tools you
use within your
company. Social Media
offers you the cheapest
form of expanding your
reach to the market?
Social media, pricing Beginning to tailor the interview
towards the link between
endorsers and social media, also
supplying the opportunity to
theme B and C. Acting as a bridge
for organisations athletes are
using their presence within social
media to gain endorsements. With
GSN offering service online it is
important they use this bridge to
gain traffic. The question will
determine how they use it.
9. Does this procedure have
an official programme
you follow or, and
without putting my
opinion to the question,
is it more of a feeling
process on who to invest
in?
Endorser,
assessment,
affectivity
With little academic literature
within this subject the question
provides the opportunity to
educate and either support or
challenge theme B.
10. If there were to be a
business model that took
into account external
influences during the
selection process of an
athlete, would that be
something your business
would find productive?
Assessment,
endorser
If the results present the
opportunity it is important to
understand if this information
would be useable within a
business. Validating the necessity
for research.

11. Clearly Social Media is a
fundamental area to the
selection process, having
looked at your pre
endorsement process, do
you use the social media
as a tool to assess
productivity of an
endorsement?
Social media,
endorser,
assessment
Linking to question 10 this
provides Mr Allen with the chance
to specify if a selection process
formula would be productive.
Tailoring the direction of theme
B+D.
12. Clearly athlete
endorsement is
something you find
productive towards
advertising the brand.
What do you aim for
your endorsers to do
through social media?
And how active do they
need to be?
Endorsement,
interaction, social
media presence
This helps establish questions for
the group interview towards
activity of endorser consumer and
if it is important for GSN that the
athletes create this relationship.
11.2 Question justification (group interview)
Justification of group interview questions
Question
number
Question Themes Justification
1. What sports products
have you bought within
the past 3 months?
Please tick the boxes
appropriate
Purchasing A question designed to ease the
participant into the interview
whilst triggering thought
towards purchases made
recently. This will enable them
to recall influencers towards
the product they have bought
later on in the interview easier.
2. Do you have any loyalty
towards the brand you
purchase?
Loyalty, brand It was important to understand
the group opinion towards
brand loyalty before
questioning the influence of
athlete endorsement when
backing a brand. The question
also provides the opportunity
to compare the opinion given
before and after, thinking
about the effects endorsers are
having on them.
3. Would you find yourself
willing to try a new
brand if the correct
celebrity was endorsing
the product?
Endorsement,
relationship, product
purchase
The literature provided many
theorist such as Lafferty (1999),
Angela Byrne (2011) and
Zwilling (2013), who found
endorsers offer a positive
influence on purchase
intention. This question

provides data and opinions
towards the theory for analysis.
4. When understanding a
product or service what
would be your most
reliable source to raise
confidence in
purchasing it? Please
rank from 1-6. 1 being
the best to 6 as the
worst
Purchasing, endorser,
trust
Acknowledging David Perry’s
(2013) statement towards
ZMOT where the consumers
have the ability to compare all
products in the market at a
click of a button. This question
aims to understand what the
group found where the most
reliable sources of gathering
information. Although Perry
believes ZMOT has changed
shopping, unless the market
find the information valuable
we cannot understand the
importance of the theory.
5. How many accounts do
you follow on Twitter
related to fitness?
Social media, fitness This provides information
towards the third objective
beginning to understand the
use and activity of the group
towards the case studies theme
of accounts. Having understood
a gap in research, this aims to
also provide information
towards the importance of the
research. If no accounts where
followed then little importance
would be provided to the
results.
6. Within one week, how
many tweets from
fitness accounts would
you favourite/ retweet?
Social media, interaction Beginning to see the groups
activity towards fitness
accounts to provide
comparable data towards how
many accounts followed. By
measuring interaction we can
look into the affectivity of
consumer endorser interaction
and relationship building. Moti
Zwilling (2013) and his models
for endorsement interaction
provide the necessity to
understand the groups activity.
7. How do you interpret
the information given
on social media site
such as Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram?
Social media,
information
interpretation
This provides an opinionated
response linked to question 4,
where we aim to specify
thoughts towards information
gathered over social media.
This ensures we meet
objectives two and three.
8. Below are six products
of gym clothing and
shoes. Please circle ONE
item of clothing and
Product selection This part of the interview is to
understand the groups
purchase selection (style, look)
of the product, whilst setting

ONE item of footwear
that you would
purchase, followed by
your comments on
choice in the box
provided
up the scenario for discussion
in the additional comments of
question nine.
9. The following shows
three endorsed
celebrities, carefully
think and rate from 1 to
6 what athlete would
most reassure your
decision to purchase a
product they endorse:
Please rank from 1-6. 1
being the best to 6 as
the worst
Endorser, rating,
affectivity
By using examples the question
provides athletes to understand
their affectivity and ability to
change the opinion of the prior
products. The participant is
given the opportunity to think
of past answer and give their
opinion to the affect given.
Some may change their opinion
and this provides data towards
the implicit and cognitive
change in their thoughts.
10. What products do you
purchase from GSN?
Product purchase, GSN Having established prior to the
group interview that attendees
where GSN consumers, the first
question related to the brand
helps them recall the brand.
Remembering the products
bought and also reminding the
participant of thoughts and
feelings towards GSN.
11. How did you find out
about Gold Standard
Nutrition
Brand, interaction Referring back to question 6;
answers help understand the
consumer path towards the
brand, question 11 helps
understand this path specific
towards GSN. If there is a
change then results will show
how GSN differ their approach
to other businesses the
participants have encountered.
Or find that GSN are not using
the most effective tools
available to them.
12. What social media
platform did you use to
reassure you of the
brand?
Social media, platform Elaborating on question 7 and
4, this question provides
comparable data to the tools
that are most effective for GSN.
13. Six GSN athletes are
below with blank spaces
for names underneath.
Please (if any) write the
name of the endorser
GSN, athletes, selection A finale question provides
valuable information into the
endorsers that the participants
can recall, linked to GSN.
Results give data towards their
affectivity for the brand and
also provide named endorsers
within the industry to compare
within the results section.

12.1 Bickmans Research design model
(Leonard Bickman, 1998)
13.1 Mr Craig Allen interview inferences
Phase 1 – Inferences established from Mr Allen’s interview
Athlete Endorsement
(Category A)
Social Media
(Category B)
Image
(Category C)
  Exposure
 Faith
 Product sponsorship
 Traffic towards website
 Active weekly
 Down to earth
 Provide character
 Creates a knock on effect
 Brand association
 Involvement within
events
 Enter new media areas
 Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram
 Leave permanent
footprint
 Free to use
 Acquisition stage for
market
 Creates reach
 Used for selection
 Background
research
 Assess current
endorsements
 Attractiveness for
posters
 Values of the brand
 Portrayal/ interaction
 Position within
industry
 Creates attention
 Raises the brand
appeal

 

14.1 Group interview inferences
Phase 2 – Inferences established through group interview
GSN notes
(Category D)
Endorser power
(Category E)
Loyalty
(Category F)
 67% buy specialised
foods
 Social media is a trustable
source
 Official website offers
most trust
 50% have social media in
their top two most
reliable sources
 58% state friends are in
their top two reliability
sources
 Highest social media
presence doesn’t always
show best athlete behind
a brand
 Consumers stated social
media too sales pitch
orientated
 Consumers sometimes
find Social Media
educational, informative
 Varied products needed
(speciality not enjoyed)
 Endorse must link to
products (Bolt, no
running clothing)
 Big names provide
better association
 75% would experiment
with new products
provided the correct
endorser
 Endorsers bring faith to
products
 Willing to change
consumer choice
 Can change product
buying decisions
 Success of endorsee
changes brand opinion
positively
 Some consumer believe
payment to endorser
loses trust
 Varies dependant on
financial situations
 Easily persuaded into
new brands by other
sources
 Rewards keep consumers
 Too many sale orientated
comments dents
consumer trust
 Technical products gain
attention as they feel
effort has been made
 Endorser from
consumers sports team
gains loyalty
 67% have no brand
loyalty

15.1 Knowledge Bias Demonstration
(Burton-Jones, 2009)
16.1 Main method of analysing qualitative data
Quantifying methods Non-quantifying methods
Informal methods
Formal methods
Content analysis
Repertory grid
General analytical procedure
Cognitive mapping
Data displays
Grounded theory
Quasi-judicial methods

17.1 Conceptual framework applied to inferences
To investigate the
effects of social media
on athlete
endorsement: Case
study
Athlete’s presence
within social media
provides substantial
advantages to Gold
Standard Nutrition,
more than to the
athlete themselves
PositivesNegatives NegativesPositives
Category A
Category B
Category F
Category D
Category F
Category E
Category C
Category F
Social media
provides a positive
platform to assess an
endorsee within a
business
Gold Standard
Nutrition can only
successfully increase
their footprint within
the market through
social media
Positives PositivesNegativesNegatives
Category B
Category C
Category C
Category A
Category B
Category C
Category A
Category B
Category E
Athlete endorsement
offers implicit memory
to consumers
encouraging positive
implementation towards
product choice

18.1 Group interview data graphic

19.1 Athletes social media presence infographic

20.1 Athletes Twitter followers used for infographic
Celebrities used for focus group Twitter followers (5th
February 2014)
1. Tiger Woods 3.76Million
2. Usain Bolt 3.12 Million
3. Jessica Ennis 1.3 Million
4. Michelle Wie 122K
5. Lexi Thompson 49.7K
6. David Beckham No Account
21.1 Recommended formula applied to athletes
Endorsee functionality formula (Applied to GSN through Twitter)
Athlete Followers Favourites Retweeted TOTAL
(Endorsee Functionality)
Ross Dickerson 11600 383 52 26.6
Carly Thornton 11400 4 2 1900
Laurence Shahlaei 7724 10 10 386.2
Lee Philips (I-Supp
athlete)
3,656 19 6 146.2

Research Data
The following presents the data collected from the author including the full interview with Mr
Allen and group interview results. A template of the questionnaire is also included alongside the
PowerPoint presentation used to structure the group interview.
22.1 Interview with Mr Craig Allen (owner of GSN)
Date January 10th
2014
Time 10:30am
Location Manchester Metropolitan University (Business school)
Name Craig Allen
Job Title Owner and CEO
Consent YES
All words spoken by the author have been recorded in italics and bold to ensure there is no
confusion between his comments and Craig Allen’s.
Hi Craig, thank you for taking the time to sit down with me today to aid my Project Research. As
mentioned in our preliminary interview the aim is to look into social medias influence on athlete
endorsement and how its effected businesses use of the marketing technique. From our last
chat I was able to increase my knowledge on the field and tailor todays interview. First of all
could you just inform me of what exactly being the Owner and CEO of Gold Standard Nutrition
really involves?
Well being the founder and co-owner of the company, I am looking to head front every
involvement within the company. I’m looking to launch new projects, new opportunities whilst
running all the sales. I still currently do all the visits round all of our stockists so I can set the
standard of how I want the rest of the company to work. Lead it from the top.
Brilliant! Now we have established your involvement from your experience in the industry an
easy question to start with. Who is your target market and how do you gain their attention?
Because we basically sell your healthy and convenient nutrition, we do steam cooked chicken in
whole 2.5 kilogram bags, we do all your ready cooked meals and other routes that we can take
that such as steam cooked beef. But what we sort of develop our business on being is

convenience whilst being good value for money, so with that we’ve taken to bringing it to
bodybuilders first and build our reputation up from helping them, because they take their dieting
most seriously. Whilst a lot of them own their own gyms so, getting the YES NO from independent
owners is fairly easy because you don’t have to deal with any chains or too many head offices. So
going directly to them I’ve gone from the first 10 gyms to speak to them, told them exactly what it
was I am doing with no previous experience behind me, no stats of comparison sales on me to
show, but they bought into the company. Over the past 19 months I’ve developed over 150
stockists in and around the UK, a full distribution company called Igloo that do all the couriering
for us, a separate company to deliverer the freezers, pushing 300 accounts by the end of this year.
Word of mouth has been key to gaining this success just by the good feedback we get.
How would you define athlete endorsement and is it a marketing tool you would like to/ do
offer?
Athlete endorsement is great because it is the exposure you get from endorsing those people. For
instance we sponsor athletes like Terry Holland’s and Laurence Shahlaei at the UKs strongest men
and stock some of the pro athletes on the bodybuilding trade like Carly Thornton, Anthony Bailes,
Luke Sandoe. We have also broken into UFC where we just started sponsoring Danny Mitchel, hes
just got his UFC contract. We also have athletes like Ben Noy who models, Joel Hicks who does all
your tough guy ambassadors and modelling, acting, he’s currently just been on the Mr Muscle
advert on TV. So we spread as much as we can on the athlete endorsement but what we’re
looking to get out of that endorsement is the overall reach across social media. We’re trying to
push as much as we can in traffic Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. We look at what they
currently do for their sponsors already and how they work on the social media, if they are a down
to earth character and want to work with you as they have faith in your product. I would never
sponsor someone who wouldn’t use our product, so I want them to believe in what they are
selling and endorsing. We look at sponsoring them on a product base sponsorship only, we would
never offer a financial sponsorship, and we give them roughly £50 worth of product a month. All
we ask in return is they tweet at least once a week and follow some review whilst pushing traffic
our way. One thing we are now trying to involve is giving them their own discount code so we can
track the analytics and see who pushes the most traffic towards our website.
Just pulling information from what you’ve been mentioning, what are the Cons you’ve found
with athlete endorsement?
Ok , so sometimes you sponsor big named athletes such as James Haskell, sorry I should have
mentioned him before! He is a current England Rugby player. Because he is such a big character, it

is very hard to get things out of him because you cannot be too pushy. So the con is sometimes if
you go too big you’re not going to get much out of them, so its finding the middle ground. If you
go big having them on the books should just be enough for you. It’s the con because you want
them on board but you can’t force them to tweet or re-post pictures, whereas someone with less
of a profile is inclined to do as much as they can to raise their own. It is partially down to our
approach of offering product based sponsorships as well, elite athletes such as James will have big
money contract with other leading sports brands therefore his loyalties will lie more with them.
Great that you use athletes to endorse the brand. When they talk about GSN do you find they
are as passionate about the brand as yourself and are they keen to work your brand into their
dietary needs?
Well as you know, we work with many elite competitive Bodybuilders and a lot of our shops are
actually set up as their nutritionists, and every one of them writes them into their diet plans right
up until they go on stage. Laurence Shahlaei , basically he just put on Facebook that he couldn’t
thank us enough for all his sponsorship and the convenience of Gold Standard Nutrition because
it’s been a god send to him being able to stick to a strict diet as he doesn’t need to stress at the
cooker. Takes it out the freezer and sticks it in the fridge, then its his food for the next day. As you
can see from his picture now he has really shaped up and now he’s not just the UKs strongest
athlete but he looks the part for this year’s world championships.
Who would you class as your fundamental athletes that you endorse?
Well obviously James Haskell, we built our brand on the back of bodybuilding but that’s a tiny
percentage on the market that’s available for us. He’s a key sponsor because he is a really nice
guy but also rugby is a massive market and were really looking to step up our game and
involvement for the world cup coming to England next year. So it’s our aim to get more athletes
like him in the near future.
Then you’ve got Laurence Shahlaei, again, because he’s really down to earth but also wearing all
of our clothing and talking about us on social media. Getting the brand on TV when he qualifies
for competitions is great to see.
Thirdly Danny Mitchell, he’s only just come on board but he’s one that we’ve been chasing for a
while. He’s showing real promise, having just left MMA and gone into UFC, he’s a character that a
lot of people like to see, so looking forward he’s going to be a great asset for the company.

And do you still only pay them in product? Considering their high profile and demand from other
companies?
Yes we do but we can give them more of it! We sort of assess what they are exactly doing for us
on social media so from there we grade it on a points system to how much they deserve. If
they’ve done really well we can track the analytics and be able to reward them more. So that way
we can ensure those who deserve it get more for their effort.
To give you an idea of what my research has opened up to me, theorists Baker and Churchill
believe a good celebrity involves three dimensions; Trustworthiness, expertise and
attractiveness. With that in mind, what is it you are essentially looking for when finding an
athlete to endorse?
Well I completely agree with the trustworthiness and expertise, although the attractiveness
doesn’t really matter to us. If they were one of the athletes that where going to come on the front
of our poster or freezer then yes, fair enough they have to be attractive. But when you’re looking
at UFC athletes, Rugby players and boxers you’re looking more for their overall personality and
how they interact with the crowed.
I’d say that a key area on the fundamentals when looking to sponsor someone and what they
need is that social media interaction. They’re going to need a good following on social media
because even the big characters the high profile football players, rugby players, if they don’t have
a twitter account or Facebook account then it is going to be very hard for them to travel and
direct traffic towards our websites. Unless were going to put them in magazines but then again
we’ve got to pay for editorials and it becomes extremely expensive. So social media is definitely
key for me and their involvement.
Ok, so would you say from all the marketing tools you use within your company. Social Media
offers you the cheapest form of expanding your reach to the market?
Completely yeah! Especially Twitter and Facebook, they are completely free to use so it’s perfect
for us. Another thing that we do is get a lot of our athletes to come down and create a video
campaign of them in the clothing and eating the products at the gym to create some competitions
whilst doing a few free giveaways. That way a video campaign we can edit and put all over

YouTube, then push it across all of our social media platforms. It’s in the pipelines to create our
own YouTube channel and hopefully push a lot of traffic through that way.
Does this procedure have an official programme you follow or, and without putting my opinion
to the question, is it more of a feeling process on who to invest in?
Well, Yes. For instance today we’ve really been chasing Sam Warburton who’s the British Lions
captain and Welsh International captain at the current time. So were looking at him because he’s
got a lot of followers on Twitter, he’s a real healthy specimen of a man, he is the ideal rugby man.
He’s heavily involved with a guy called Jon Williams who’s heavily involved with pro athlete
supplementation. Then he partners Darren Campbell (English sprint athlete). So were looking at
the knock on effects it can have and who they can introduce you too on the back of their
sponsorship. To have Darren an Olympic gold medallist and Jon who’s one of the best in the
nutrition field, means with their approval we can use that to our advantage.
So I basically came up with the process myself, I just read through their Twitter and read into their
background as a check. That can often be done by asking any other sponsors they may have, what
is their attitude like and are they worth investing in. But usually my own judgement is strong
enough.
If there were to be a business model that took into account external influences during the
selection process of an athlete, would that be something your business would find productive?
Oh I think it definitely would be. For example I’ve been trying to get into the more niche markets
such as the wrestling department, or the world squash championships I wouldn’t have a clue
where to start. So something like that, that would tell me who would best endorse my company
without needing to do too much research would be a great benefit to me.
Clearly Social Media is a fundamental area to the selection process, having looked at your pre
endorsement process, do you use the social media as a tool to assess productivity of an
endorsement?
Yes I would use it to check that they are doing their bit, there is a guy in the office who does that
on a monthly basis. See what it is there saying and what sort of reach that tweet got. We’re
looking to see if they upload a meal plan or photos we check they are tagging us, and if they don’t
we want to know why they haven’t tagged us in it. We want them to push us in a fun way without

becoming a boring sales company, so by drip feeding their follows about us through their posts.
However, we would be questioning them if they don’t meet our requirements.
You can also use google analytics, so we can give each athlete or sponsor their own discount code
and they can push that through their fans and followers. So when that person comes to our site
we can track the cookies to the code and find out where that traffic has come from.
Clearly athlete endorsement is something you find productive towards advertising the brand.
What do you aim for your endorsers to do through social media? And how active do they need
to be?
We want them to try and attract as many people as they can because you want to convert those
people into sales. They already start to solidify the company when your involved with people of
that sort of calibre. So if you can bring people such as Laurence Shahlaei, James Haskell, to a body
power event that opens up doors because people want to come over to speak to them and it
gives you an opportunity to go over and tell them what GSN do. It’s all about the reach appeal
that they offer because people want to listen to them.

23.1 Group interview worksheet
Date January 20th
2014
Issue Number Participant 1
You have been asked to participate in a group interview by Neal Rawlinson for his final year
Project Research at Manchester Metropolitan University. This group will provide valuable
information on the influence of celebrity endorsement towards products or services within the
sporting industry. Feedback and figures gained will be used to enlighten and conclude the little
literature on the influence social media has had on the whole process for businesses.
It is optional to participate within the group and can be stopped at any time if necessary. Although
the data will be recorded, responses will remain anonymous and no names will be mentioned in
the report.
There are no right or wrong answers during the exercise and it aims to gain as many different
views as possible therefore it is hoped your answers are as honest as possible. It is also requested
that during the opportunity to speak it is done individually and all responses are respected whilst
being kept confidential.
I understand this information and agree to participate fully under the conditions stated above:
Signed: ______________________________
Date: ______________________________
Participants Demographics
Your gender:
 Male
 Female
Your age:
 18-29
 30-39
 40-49
 50+
Type of training:
 Weight
 Cardio
 Classes
 CrossFit
 Other
Sport played:
 Football
 Golf
 Athletics
 Tennis
 Hockey
 Weightlifting
 Other
Length of time training:
 Less than a year
 1-3 Years
 4-6 Years
 7+ Years
Do you use Social Media?
 Yes
 No

1. What sports products have you bought within the past 3 months? Please tick the boxes
appropriate
Clothing Protein
Shoes Specialised food
Equipment Pre Workout
Membership Performance enhancers
2. Do you have any loyalty towards the brand you purchase?
Yes No
Please comment below on why you have/ do not have any loyalty towards the brand
3. Would you find yourself willing to try a new brand if the correct celebrity was endorsing
the product?
Yes No
Please comment below why the celebrity/ athlete would or would not influence your
decision

4. When understanding a product or service what would be your most reliable source to
raise confidence in purchasing it? Please rank from 1-6. 1 being the best to 6 as the worst
Blogs Television
Official website Friends
Social Media Other
5. How many accounts do you follow on Twitter related to fitness?
None
1-5
6-10
11-20
21+
6. Within one week, how many tweets from fitness accounts would you favourite/ retweet?
None
1-3
4-8
9-15
15+
7. How do you interoperate the information given on social media site such as Facebook,
This next section of the group interview requires a certain procedure as will be explained by Neal
Rawlinson during its conduction. Required silence and privacy towards your answers and is critical
until the second stage where a topic will be opened for discussion and notes to be made.

8. Below are six products of gym clothing and shoes. Please circle ONE item of clothing and
ONE item of footwear that you would purchase, followed by your comments on choice in
the box provided:
Comments box:

9. The following shows three endorsed celebrities, carefully think and rate from 1 to 6 what
athlete would most reassure your decision to purchasing a product they endorse: Please
rank from 1-6. 1 being the best to 6 as the worst
Pictures will be presented of the above products with the official logos on them so you can see if
your product choice matched your athlete. Remember there is no right or wrong answer however,
if your choices did not match; consider if the athlete would now change your product choice to
their selected endorsement. Please leave your notes in the next box provided.
The next section will focus towards Gold Standard Nutrition (GSN). Having acknowledged yourself
as a customer of the brand the following looks into what products you purchase and indicators
towards your involvement within the brand.
10. What products do you purchase from GSN?
2.5kg Steam Cooked Chicken Fillets
Pot O Gold
Seasoning
Gym accessories
Other

11. How did you find out about Gold Standard Nutrition
Repeat Guest Website
Friend Blogs
Social Media Magazines
Personal Trainer Other
12. What social media platform did you use to reassure you of the brand?
Facebook Google +
Twitter Bing
Instagram Pinterest
YouTube Other
13. Six GSN athletes are bellow with blank spaces for names underneath. Please (if any) write
the name of the endorser.
Laurence Shahlaei James Haskell
Ross Dickerson
The group interview is now finished, thank you for your participation and the honesty provided
with your answers. They will help to finalise the project and successfully analyse the influence of
celebrity endorsement.

24.1 Presentation for group interview

25.1 Group interview results and calculations
1. What sports products have you bought within the past 3 months? Please tick the boxes
appropriate
Question 1 – Sports products bought in the past 3 months
Product Total Percentage (Rounded)
Clothing 10 83%
Shoes 7 58%
Equipment 2 17%
Membership 6 50%
Protein 11 92%
Specialised food 12 100%
Pre Workout 5 42%
Performance enhancers 2 17%
2. Do you have any loyalty towards the brand you purchase?
Question 2 – Loyalty towards a brand
Answer Total Percentage (Rounded)
Yes 4 33%
No 8 67%

Participant comments
Question 2 - Comments
Participant Comment Theme Analysis
1 If you receive a good service from a
company you often don’t want to
change because you know what you
like and they can give it to you
Good service,
relationship
Loyalty varies
between
training goals
and financial
situations.
Often advice
from other
sources is
enough to
convert a
consumer to
lose loyalty and
try new
products.
However,
rewards are a
positive
incentive to
keeping
consumers.
2 The cheaper the better Cheaper, better
3 I often think if I am loyal to a brand
they will reward me with either free
clothing or points that I can then
receive a discount for my next purchase
Loyalty,
rewards,
discount
4 Loyalty is not needed from me or the
business its just buying a product
Not needed,
plain buying
5 Why be loyal to a brand when they are
running a business and you are just
money to them
Business, people
are money
6 I want to look like the people who I
believe have what I want, so I will just
follow who I believe at the time is my
overall goal
Goals, role
models
7 My friends know more than me so I just
choose what they have and am
generally happy
Friends, advice
8 I feel going back to company you can
build a relationship with their products
and staff
Build
relationship,
return
9 I don’t earn enough to stick to one
brand so if I see a better offer I usually
just go for that
Earning, cheaper
10 When I buy a product and like it I see
no reason to search for a new one
Like product,
stop searching
11 Bundles are often put online so I go for
the one I think fits my training goals at
the time. Different brands are good for
certain areas of training
Bundles, goals,
assists
12 My training means I often look out for
the edge on others so if I see someone
who I follow using a product I will
automatically want to try it
Edge, leader, try
new products
3. Would you find yourself willing to try a new brand if the correct celebrity was endorsing
the product?
Question 3 – Willing to try a new brand with the correct endorser
Answer Total Percentage (Rounded)
Yes 9 75%
No 3 25%

1 It would have to be a special athlete
but I could see myself trying a new
product of an elite athlete was using
the brand and winning
Special athlete,
winning
Most of
the group
had
someone
in mind
who could
change
their
opinion
due to
their
success or
status
within the
field.
However,
some felt
they are
merely
trying to
influence
them
because of
their
contract
and you
are buying
the
product
not the
person.
2 Again if the price was right im sure I
could be persuaded
Price, persuaded
3 I think I invest more to the company
that the people who are trying to sell
me the product because they get it free
Invest in
company, con
by endorser
4 I am quite influenced when it comes to
advertising so it wouldn’t even take
much of an athlete
Influenced,
purchase
5 I bought a pair of running trainers the
other day just in case I went for a run.
They were puma and it was all because
of Bolt.
Bolt, success,
influence
6 A quality endorser shows a quality
brand
Endorser,
quality brand
7 We often discuss new athletic builders
and I look into what they do
Copy, winners
8 It would have to be an idol but I don’t
think I have any one who could move
me away from the products I already
like.
Idol, not enough
9 There is a new athlete called Adi
Gillespi who promotes quite cheap
products and he has influenced a few
new buys of mine
Adi Gillespi,
rnage, influence
10 I don’t really care for the endorser just
the nutrition it gives
Un-interested,
nutrition
11 The same as before bundles Bundles
12 The leader of my field will probably
change my decision because of the
status they have
Leader, change,
status
4. When understanding a product or service what would be your most reliable source to
raise confidence in purchasing it? Please rank from 1-6. 1 being the best to 6 as the
worst
Question 4 – Reliable source towards purchase decision
Medium Results Total
Blogs 5,5,6,4,3,3,1,4,4,2,4,4 45
Official website 1,3,1,3,1,2,5,3,3,1,2,1 29
Social Media 3,2,3,2,4,1,6,5,1,3,1,2 33
Television 4,6,4,5,5,6,3,1,5,6,5,5 55
Friends 2,4,2,1,2,4,2,2,2,4,3,3 31
Other 6,1,5,6,6,5,4,6,6,5,6,6 62
Points system: Position 1 is 1 point; position 2 is 2 points and so forth

5. How many accounts do you follow on Twitter related to fitness?
Question 6 – Followed Fitness accounts
Followed
accounts
Results Total Percentage
(Rounded)
None / 1 8%
1-5 /// 3 25%
6-10 ///// 5 42%
11-20 // 2 17%
21+ / 1 8%
6. Within one week, how many tweets from fitness accounts would you favourite/
retweet?
Question 6 – Activity towards tweets
Favourite/
Retweet
Results Total Percentage (Rounded)
None // 2 17%
1-3 //// 4 33%
4-8 /// 3 25%
9-15 // 2 17%
15+ / 1 8%
7. How do you interpret the information given on social media site such as Facebook,
1 Helpful because its easy to find Helpful, easy
There is a very split
opinion of the
information given
over social media,
however it seems
to just be split into
two. One side feels
cheated and sold
too by businesses
and athletes rather
than educated.
Whereas the other
side feel educated
2 Ok. But sometimes I find I lot of conflicting
bits of ‘scientific research’ plus Facebook
always leave some annoying
advertisements on the side of my page.
‘how to get rock hard abs’
Conflict,
annoying,
advertising,
false
3 It is hard to understand the information as
informative or just a sales pitch to buy
products the account holder has been told
to sell
Sales pitch,
fales?, sales
4 Informative Informative
5 A lot of the information I read regarding
fitness on social media seems to be
motivational and not to do with advertising
Vast,
motivational,
not advertising
6 Great way to find out what athlete like
what product
Educational,
athlete use
7 There’s always a lot of promotional stuff
that gets in the way of the real information
I am after
Promotional,
clustered
8 Sometimes I think the information I am
being given doesn’t relate to the true
False, sales

effects of certain products and motivated by
the information
gathered attracting
sales.
9 Links from those sites can often lead to
blogs written by experts and I often find the
information given in these is very
informative. If that is the case then I will
trust the product in question
Good links,
informative,
trustworthy
10 Direct and to the point. Helps for quick
decisive decisions
Direct, quick,
decisive
11 Quick and easy to use. Plus if you follow the
right account theres always offers being
sent out
Quick, right
accounts, offers
12 Motivational more than sales Motivational
8. Below are six products of gym clothing and shoes. Please circle ONE item of clothing and
ONE item of footwear that you would purchase, followed by your comments on choice
in the box provided
Question 8 – Chosen non branded clothing
Clothing Number chosen (max.12) Percentage(Rounded)
Nike 2 17%
Puma 7 58%
Adidas 3 25%
Footwear Number chosen (max.12) Percentage(Rounded)
Nike 5 42%
Puma 2 17%
Adidas 5 42%
Total items chosen per brand
Brand Total (max.24) Percentage (Rounded)
Puma 12 50%
Adidas 5 21%
Nike 7 29%
1 I really hated the style of the top left
jumper it looks to ‘elite’ and trying. Same
with the shoes I went for the simple ones in
the middle.
Style, simple
The comments
justify the figures
because people
were attracted to
the designs that
showed more
thought into how
technical they look.
However Nikes
2 I really like the trainers bottom right
because they would be perfect for when I
play futsal
Futsal, help
3 Both my choices were down the middle.
Simply because they are trendy
Trendy
4 I feel the trainers bottom left and jumper
middle top would suit me when running.
They look technical
Style, technical
5 The jumper top left is smart and something
I would wear in the gym for sure
Smart, gym
ware

6 None of the products really appealed to me
so my choices were the best of a bad bunch
No appeal, bad
bunch
jumper (top right)
proved to look too
focused towards
running and not
casual enough.
7 The footwear was easy to pick because i
own a pair of the bottom left ones but I
was attracted to the middle top jumper
because of its style
Style, own
8 Jumper was easy to pick but the shoes took
a while. All different styles but I had to
choose the bottom left because they look
like more thought has been put into their
design.
Design,
thought, appeal
9 The middle top jumper looks a great fit for
my sport where the other two aren’t my
style
Fit, sport
10 Both my choices where casual but that is
because I prefer to wear comfy clothes in
the gym
Casual, comfy,
gym
11 Black wouldn’t normally make me buy a
product so it was hard to pick
Hard decision,
not right
12 Easy decision some of the clothes and shoes
where awful
Easy
9. The following shows three endorsed celebrities, carefully think and rate from 1 to 6
what athlete would most reassure your decision to purchase a product they endorse:
Please rank from 1-6. 1 being the best to 6 as the worst
Question 9 – Endorsed athlete rated 1-6 on affectivity
Athlete Rating Total
Tiger Woods 1, 4, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3, 3, 1, 6, 4, 3 34
David Beckham 4, 5, 1, 1, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 2, 2 32
Usain Bolt 2, 1, 2, 3, 1, 4, 2, 1, 2, 5, 3, 1 27
Jessica Ennis 3, 2, 6, 4, 2, 2, 4, 6, 4, 2, 1, 4 40
Michelle Wie 5, 3, 5, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 6, 1, 6, 5 56
Lexi Thompson 6, 6, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3, 5, 6 63
Brand results towards affectivity
Brand Total
Puma 90
Adidas 72
Nike 90
Question 9 - Social Media following (Twitter) on athletes
Ranking Athlete Followers
1. Tiger Woods 3.79 Million
2. Usain Bolt 3.24 Million
3. Jessica Ennis 1.31 Million
4. Michelle Wie 124 Thousand
5. Lexi Thompson 51 Thousand
6. David Beckham 0 Followers

1 I am actually quite surprised. Im normally
a real fan of Nike clothing but I didn’t like
it. After a chat with the group I actually
think I like it more but that doesn’t mean
I would buy it.
Surprised, un-
changed,
increased liking to
Nike
The consensus
from the group
was those
participants were
shocked towards
the revealing of
brand to product.
The majority of
athletes did not
sway participants;
however,
Beckham, Bolt
and Woods got
personal
recommendations
showing the
above results to
be correct. Those
un changed it is
rational to say the
endorser was not
correct for them.
2 Shocked the trainers where Puma
because I generally don’t like the stuff
they make. The endorser pictures didn’t
really make me change my mind I would
have got the trainers anyway
Shocked, Puma,
endorsers not
effective
3 I thought I had chosen Nike jumper to be
honest. I am a big fan of Tiger Woods
and I would not change the jumper but
think the trainers I would rather go with
Nike for performance
Tiger Woods, fan,
performance
4 I would rather have the Nike jumper
simply because I trust they design
products that improve performance.
Nike, performance
5 Nike was the right decision with the
jumper and I would change it
No change
6 I was actually quite happy to see Bolt
back the puma brand but I don’t think
the products quite match his attributes
Bolt, different to
his brand, shoes,
jumper
7 Puma have out done themselves with the
jumper and I was happy to stay with that
choice. But for the trainers i did change
after a chat to the puma ones. I quite like
their stuff
Puma, good,
changed decision
8 I changed my jumper to the adidas one
because of Beckham. He is an idol of
mine because im a (Manchester) United
fan and think he brings out good
products.
Adidas, change,
Beckham, Team
fan
9 Against my judgement I changed jumper
and shoes to Nike. Looking at the
athletes photos I just felt Woods and
even though I don’t know he Wei looked
better and had more appeal
Change, Nike,
Athletes, looked
better, appealed
10 The athletes didn’t affect my decision No change
11 Really like Bolt so I change my results
towards the Puma clothing. Easy because
I didn’t really like any of them anyway
Bolt, change
results, Puma
12 I didn’t like the Nike jumper at all but
now I know I think it is productive.
Designed for a winning edge.
Nike, changed,
winning

10. What products do you purchase from GSN?
Question 10 – Products purchased from GSN
Product Results Total Percentage
(Rounded)
2.5kg Steam Cooked Chicken Fillets /////////// 11 91%
Pot O Gold /////// 7 58%
Seasoning //// 4 33%
Gym accessories //////// 8 67%
Other ------------------ 0 0%
11. How did you find out about Gold Standard Nutrition
Question 11 – Discover GSN through..
Medium Results Total Percentage
(Rounded)
Repeat Guest // 2 17%
Friend //// 4 33%
Social Media /////// 7 58%
Personal Trainer ///// 5 42%
Website ////////// 10 83%
Blogs / 1 8%
Magazines ------------------ 0 0%
Other ------------------ 0 0%
12. What social media platform did you use to reassure you of the brand?
Question 12 – Social media platform used to aid the brand
Medium Results Total Percentage
(Rounded)
Facebook ///// 5 41%
Twitter //////// 8 67%
Instagram / 1 8%
YouTube ------------------ 0 0%
Google + // 2 17%
Bing ------------------- 0 0%
Pinterest / 1 8%
Other ------------------ 0 0%
13. Six GSN athletes are below with blank spaces for names underneath. Please (if any)
write the name of the endorser.
Question 13 – Name the GSN Athlete
Athlete Results Total Percentage
(Rounded)
Laurence Shahlaei /////// 7 58%
Carly Thornton / 1 8%
Ross Dickerson /////////// 11 92%
James Haskel ////////// 10 83%
Danny Mitchell //// 5 42%
Anthony Bailes ////// 6 50%

26.1 Engagement form
Neal Rawlinson
10092614
Tom Scanlon
One
Neal Rawlinson
Neal Rawlinson
4/10/1013
Individual
11am 12pm
Discussion of title propositions and what the research project entailed.
Confirmed title and understanding of the subject

Tom Scanlon
Two
Neal Rawlinson
Neal Rawlinson
Individual
17/10/1013 9am 10am
10092614
Neal Rawlinson
Confirm project towards the effects of social media endorsement and
structure towards the literature review.
Draft towards literature review and understanding towards what research
will be conducted

Neal Rawlinson
10092614
Tom Scanlon
Three
Neal Rawlinson
Neal Rawlinson
23/11/1013
Individual
9am 10am
Feedback towards Literature review and confirmation towards group
interview/ interview with Craig Allen
Approach methodology and arrange research

Neal Rawlinson
10092614
Tom Scanlon
Four
Neal Rawlinson
Neal Rawlinson
Individual
20/1/2014 1pm 1:45pm
Assistance to structure of methodology and how to analyse data
Research gathered and draft towards its structure. Foundations towards
project research structure laid out.

Neal Rawlinson
10092614
Tom Scanlon
Five
Neal Rawlinson
Neal Rawlinson
Individual
24/2/2014 10am 10:30am
Finalising questions towards structure and writing up the results.
Final questions towards submission

Neal Rawlinson
10092614
Tom Scanlon
Six
Neal Rawlinson
Neal Rawlinson
20/1/2014
Individual
10am 10:30am
Covered questions linking with blank spaces to document and appendix
structure. Also how to list tables and models.
Final meeting

Appendix Project Research

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