The Role of Brand Authenticity on Brand Equity of Football Clubs with the Mediating Role of Brand Personality

Background. The brand equity is raised as one key subject in founding the value creation for the brand. Nowadays, the sports managers are searching for creating a very powerful brand and favorable for their own organizations obtaining one long term and highlighting the consumers' athletic experiences and the continuous relationship with them. Objectives. The purpose of this study was to focus on the role of brand authenticity with the mediating role of brand personality on the brand equity of Persepolis Club. Methods. In this regard, a descriptive research method of survey was used. The statistical population of the present study consisted of all spectators of Persepolis team. In this study, the available sampling method was used and the sample consisted of 410 fans of Persepolis Club. The Instrument used in the present Research is three questionnaires of brand authenticity, brand personality and brand equity, all of which have validity and reliability. In order to investigate the direct and indirect effects of brand authenticity on brand equity, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used. Results. The research findings showed that brand authenticity affects brand equity (0.67) and brand personality (0.54). Brand personality affects brand equity (0.34) and brand personality mediates the relationship between brand authenticity and brand equity (0.12). Conclusion. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the managers of Persepolis Club should increase the brand authenticity by establishing the club museum as well as the club store and planning on the unique features of the club, such as the number of champions, the large fan community, etc., and thus increase their brand equity.