Assessing sport brand value through use of the contingent valuation method

This work is a first attempt to estimate customer-based brand equity with the contingent valuation method (CVM) for a service-oriented product. We assess the value of a sport brand, IRONMAN triathlon, utilizing the CVM - one of the few available measures for estimating intangible product values. The equity of the IRONMAN brand was derived from consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours by asking consumers (i.e., triathletes who have experiences with IRONMAN and non-IRONMAN branded events) about their willingness to pay for an IRONMAN and generic non-IRONMAN triathlon events. We found (1) the presence of price premiums that sport consumers were willing to pay for the branded sport product and (2) the estimated brand equity value of approximately $102 million for IRONMAN Half-distance events, and $123 million for IRONMAN Full-distance event.