A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE BRAND PREFERENCES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS STUDYING SPORTS IN TURKEY AND PORTUGAL

The purpose of this study is to find out and compare the factors effective in brand preferences of the students of Ondokuz Mayıs University Yaşar Doğu Faculty of Sport Sciences in Turkey and Instituto Politecnico da Guarda Faculty of Sports in Portugal in terms of sports products. 266 students (170 male, 96 female) attending sports faculties in Turkey and Portugal participated in this study. A questionnaire about the sports products preferences developed by Tozoğlu (2009) was used in order to find out the brand preferences of students. Student t-test was used to determine whether there is a significant difference between sport faculty students in Portugal and in Turkey. Chi square analysis was used to find out whether the students’ reasons for preferring a brand differed in terms of the schools, they were attending. Differences were found between the factors that affected the brand preferences of the students of Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) Yaşar Doğu Faculty of Sport Sciences and Instituto Politecnico da Guarda (IPG) Faculty of Sports in sports products. It was found that when compared with the students of IPG, students of OMU preferred brands since they provided quality guarantee, they were indicators of status and they gave a sense of security. It was found that students of OMU and IPG paid attention to the price while buying a brand product. Turkish students were found to be more dependent on brands when compared with Portuguese students. In addition, the price factor in the purchase of branded products is becoming a common element of the students of both countries. The tendency towards branded sporting products can manifest itself in increasing or decreasing proportions relative to advertising and promotional activities. The management of this orientation as a healthy process can be achieved by the effects of planned school education on the cultural structure.