ABSTRACT
Kotler et al. describes a product as being ‘anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or a need’. Mullin identifies the playing of the game as the core product, and all the related activities—such as food and beverages, merchandise, half-time entertainment, video screens and the facility itself—as product extensions. The importance of winning, team loyalty and emotion are critical ingredients in professional sport. It is no surprise that otherwise sane adults paint their faces in their favourite team's colours or plaster their cars with team logos—in much the same way livestock owners brand their cattle. Sport is an important contributor to the service economy. An important trend in society generally has been the rapid escalation of technology, and specifically the use of the internet, in shaping the service experience. Service quality research has become prominent in the marketing literature during the past 30 years.
