VALUE CO-CREATION WITH OLYMPIC ATHLETES AS A DIFFERENTIAL FOR BRAND IMAGE

Within the logic of value co-creation, the parties involved with the company cease to be mere passive recipients and become active participants in business processes. According to Payne et al. (2008), value creation can be understood as the participation of stakeholders in all stages of the company. Therefore, the objective of this article was to analyze the co-operative processes used with Olympic athletes and how these processes differ from the common marketing practices within a brand of sports materials. Based on the authors' DART model (PRAHALAD and RAMASWAMY, 2004). For that, a case study was used as methodology, through a qualitative research, with a semi-structured questionnaire. The analysis of the data was through triangulation. The interviews were transcribed through discourse analysis, allowing the in-depth interpretation of the responses. With the data verified, it can be affirmed that all the interviewed athletes value the relationship with the company through the four items of the DART model: dialogue, access, risk/benefit and transparency. In addition, they say that participating in the company's processes gives them even more trust and respect for the brand by improving its image.