Communication Strategies of Professional Basketball Clubs: the Case of Cibona Zagreb

U suvremenom svijetu, sportskim brendovima sve potrebnije su kvalitetne komunikacijske strategije ne samo kako bi privukli nove publike, već kako bi i osigurali opstanak na kompetitivnom tržištu prepunom istih. KK Cibona tradicionalan je zagrebački sportski brend i jedan od najuspješnijih u gradskoj povijesti. Unatoč tome, brend već dulje vrijeme prolazi kroz najteže godine svojeg postojanja. Cilj ovog diplomskog rada bio je utvrditi kakav je imidž KK Cibone među građanima grada Zagreba kako bi se identificirale primjenjive komunikacijske strategije. Zatim, nakon utvrđivanja istog, htjeli smo provjeriti upoznatost i odnos ispitanika s brendom te njihovu percepciju brenda i emocionalnu povezanost s brendom KK Cibona. Konačno, na temelju provedenog istraživanja ponuđena je cjelokupan komunikacijski plan koji odgovara na probleme otkrivene u samom istraživanju.In the modern world, sports brands are increasingly in need of good quality communication strategies, not only to draw in new audiences, but to ensure their survival in a very competitive market full of similar brands. KK Cibona is a traditional sports brand from the city of Zagreb and one of the most successful in the history of the city. Despite all of this, the brand has been going through it's roughest years in recent existance. The aim of this thesis was to determine the image of KK Cibona among the citizens of Zagreb in order to be able to identify which communication strategies would be applicable in this particular case. After that, the aim was to examine brand familiarity and the relationship and the emotional connection of the citizens to the brand of KK Cibona. Finally, on the basis of the research a wholesome communication plan was offered which responds to the problems which were discovered in the research itself