Skip to main content

Emerging Brand Meanings in Wearable Sports Technology: A Case Study on Suunto Sports Watches

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Eurasian Business Perspectives

Part of the book series: Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics ((EBES,volume 10/1))

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyse emerging brand meanings in the context of wearable sports technology. The theoretical framework is built on the concept of wearable sports technology and the contemporary literature on brand meanings. This empirical research is based on a case study of the Suunto Ambit3 Sport Sapphire watch. A qualitative projective ZMET-method is applied to generate data from ten interviews with Finnish female customers who own the Suunto Ambit3 Sport Sapphire watch. Eight themes are identified that incorporate several interconnected sub-meanings: well-being, connecting with nature, setting and achieving goals, expressing style, appreciating technological advancement, relying on professionalism, testing one’s limits, and embracing special experiences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Arnould, E. (2007). Should consumer citizens escape the market? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 611(1), 96–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auty, S., & Elliott, R. (1998). Fashion involvement, self-monitoring and the meaning of brands. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 7(2), 109–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batey, M. (2008). Brand meaning. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouchet, P., Hillariet, D., & Bodet, G. (2013). Sport brands. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Catchings-Castello, G. (2000). The ZMET alternative. Marketing Research, 12(2), 6–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chard, C. (2013). Understanding the brand meaning of the Canadian interuniversity sport hockey league: An insurance policy if all else fails! Sport in Society, 16(3), 327–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, G., & Olson, J. (2002). Mapping consumers’ mental models with ZMET. Psychology and Marketing, 19(6), 477–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N. (1994). The art and politics of interpretation. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 500–515). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • English, B., & Solomon, M. (1995). To be and not to be: Lifestyle imagery, reference groups, and the clustering of America. Journal of Advertising, 24(1), 13–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson, P., & Kovalainen, A. (2016). Qualitative methods in business research. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Escalas, J., & Bettman, J. (2005). Self-construal, reference groups and brand meaning. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(6), 378–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • First, I. (2009). Brand meaning and its creation in a cross-cultural context. In Academic dissertation. St. Gallen: Publications of University of St. Gallen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao, Y., Li, H., & Luo, Y. (2015). An empirical study of wearable technology acceptance in healthcare. Industrial Management and Data Systems, 115(9), 1704–1723.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gummesson, E. (2005). Qualitative research in marketing. A road-map for a wilderness of complexity and unpredictability. European Journal of Marketing, 39(3/4), 309–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamann, D., Williams, R., & Omar, M. (2007). Branding strategy and consumer high technology product. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 16(2), 98–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Y., Nunes, J., & Dréze, X. (2010). Signaling status with luxury goods: The role of brand prominence. Journal of Marketing, 74(4), 15–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karamaki, H., Lahtinen, S., & Tuominen, P. (2018). Building a conceptual model for brand meanings in wearable sports technology. In M. H. Bilgin, H. Danis, E. Demir, & U. Can (Eds.), Eurasian business perspectives, Eurasian studies in business and economics (Vol. 8/1, pp. 233–243). Cham: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kleine, R., & Kleine, S. (2000). Consumption and self-schema changes throughout the identity project life cycle. Advances in Consumer Research, 27(1), 279–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladik, D., & Stewart, D. (2008). The contribution continuum. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(2), 157–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ligas, M., & Cotte, J. (1999). The process of negotiating brand meaning. Advances in Consumer Research, 26(1), 609–614.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Malar, L., Krohmer, H., Hoyer, W. D., & Nyffenegger, B. (2011). Emotional brand attachment and brand personality: The relative importance of the actual and the ideal self. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 35–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCann, J. (2009). End-user based design of innovative smart clothing. In J. McCann & D. Bryson (Eds.), Smart clothes and wearable technology (pp. 4–24). Boca Raton: CRC Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McInnis, D., Whan Park, C., & Priester, J. (2014). Handbook of brand relationships. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moisander, J., & Valtonen, A. (2006). Qualitative marketing research: A cultural approach. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Muniz, A. (1997). Consumers and brand meaning: Brands, the self and others. Advances in Consumer Research, 24(1), 308–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muniz, A., & O’Guinn, C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of Consumer Research, 27(4), 412–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverman, D. (2005). Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugai, P. (2005). Mapping the mind of the mobile consumer across borders. An application of the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique. International Marketing Review, 22(6), 641–657.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suunto. (2016). Suunto sports watches. Accessed December 2, 2016, from http://www.suunto.com/en-GB

  • Suunto. (2017). Suunto Ambit3 Sport Sapphire. Accessed February 2, 2017, from http://www.suunto.com/en-GB/Products/sports-watches/Suunto-Ambit3-Sport/Suunto-Ambit3-Sport-Sapphire

  • Thompson, C. (2004). Marketplace mythology and discourses of power. Journal of Consumer Research, 31(1), 162–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vannoy, S. A., & Palvia, P. (2010). The social influence model of technology adoption. Communications of the ACM, 53(6), 149–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkatesh, V., Thong, J., & Xu, X. (2012). Consumer acceptance and user of information technology: Extending the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. MIS Quarterly, 36(1), 157–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiedmann, K. P., Hennigs, N., & Siebels, A. (2007). Measuring consumers’ luxury value perception: A cross-cultural framework. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 11(7), 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yin, R. (2013). Case study research. Design and methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaltman, G. (1997). Rethinking market research: Putting people back in. Journal of Marketing Research, 34(4), 424–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaltman, G., & Coulter, R. (1995). Seeing the voice of the customer: Metaphor-based advertising research. Journal of Advertising Research, 35(4), 35–51.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Karamaki, H., Lahtinen, S., Tuominen, P. (2019). Emerging Brand Meanings in Wearable Sports Technology: A Case Study on Suunto Sports Watches. In: Bilgin, M., Danis, H., Demir, E., Can, U. (eds) Eurasian Business Perspectives. Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics, vol 10/1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11872-3_24

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics