How authenticity is signalled in athlete–luxury brand partnerships
Carregando...
Arquivos
Data
2025-10-22
Autores
Orientador(res)
Rosenthal, Benjamin
Métricas
Título da Revista
ISSN da Revista
Título de Volume
Resumo
The study investigates how authenticity is signalled in athletes–luxury brand partnerships and its impact on the athlete’s personal brand across different sporting contexts. This paper employs a qualitative multiple case study approach, analyzing 45 Instagram posts from 15 athletes–luxury brand partnerships across seven sports. Posts were examined using a theory-driven authenticity grid comprising four lenses and nine sub-dimensions: athlete antecedents (rarity, stability), authenticity types (true-to-self, true-to-ideal, true-to-fact), cue mechanisms (iconic, indexical), and general authenticity cues (value congruence, clear disclosure). In addition, a content analysis of over 1,000 audience comments was conducted to assess the degree of acceptance of each partnership and specific points where authenticity is contested. The findings of the study contributes to a different perspective on personal branding by having authenticity as the backbone and focusing only on athletes and luxury brands.