Sports’ marketing is using marketing principles and processes to not only sport products but also to the marketing of non-sports products through association with sport. Overall it is using multiple markets based upon marketing activities which essentially creates sports products. For example such as badminton rackets for badminton or tennis racket for tennis however at the same time it also uses marketing activities which market non sporting products through linked association with sport markets. A non sporting market example would be Budweiser which invests heavily into Tv rights and advertisement the impact of this is that they are promoting their product at big sporting events gaining money and viewers who look forward to seeing more such as super bowl finals where big money ads are very humorous and have massive benefits and impact of showing non sporting brands at big sporting events.
There are two types of marketing such as marketing through sports and marketing of sport, (Gray and McEvoy 2005) state that marketing through sports “Is using sport promotional vehicle or sponsorship platform for companies that market consumers and lesser extent industrial products.” Examples would be endorsements licensing rights and sponsorships. As quoted by Gray and McEvoy in the defined of marketing through sports, that marketing through sport can be accepted as integral components of the industry. Olympics 2008 Du Wei vice chairman of Beijing Olympics was very innovative and decided that sports’ marketing was a very effective strategy however he was slightly more intrigued in pushing and getting non sporting products involved rather than the selling of tickets at the event. Sports that incorporate within sport marketing mix and using product distribution price and promotion to their advantage to gain success in their product, focusing primarily on their sales than relationships as McDonalds did in the 2008 Olympics.
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Therefore sports marketing have relationships with sporting and non sporting goods. There are three categories of spectator sports, participation and sporting goods.
Firstly spectators, whilst the main goal is to increase attendance and put bums on seats there are other ways of building viewers. For example sports markets also work to gain viewership and listenership on a variety of media networks. Things such as Tv options, pay per view, special online steamed events this all enhances the amount that watch sport broadcasts worldwide. An example of this would be Manchester united and Liverpool who have own Tv channels and help them engage with fans showing ins and outs of their football club capitalising on those that love their favourite team whereas in rugby these aren’t to be seen and it can be a great way of using social media to impact the sales and gain through promotion of TV rights. Manchester united in 2004 stated their fan base location worldwide, “75 million overall, Europe 23 million, Asia and Australia 40.7 million south Africa had 5.89 million and Americas 4.6 million.” The Impact of this innovative idea was that it catered for those who won’t ever experience a live game and continue building upon the following they already possess. But can also help fans view their games from home and can attract people worldwide to want to watch more.
Sports participation of athletes in team and single sports also can be a good way of marketing of enhancing and advancing sports for example Tv rights getting access to certain tournaments to gain more eyes and intrigue more people to join certain sports but also entice those who already play to continue. An example of this would be ESPN who have recently begun to broadcast poker tournaments. An impact of this is that it then creates a natural demand for people to want sporting goods and apparel.
Sporting goods and apparel can be massive to clubs and really be the main market that can create millions of pounds. Sporting goods can be tangible goods that connect with sports teams and bought at events. Golfers who play may use a certain brand of golf club bag or gloves that would appeal to other fanatics which has the impact of getting attention of others to buy having an impact of creating profit and gaining money. However apparel such as clothing on the other hand is something that is targeted at two target groups firstly the most common being provided for spectators and participation an example would be new season often providing new kit such as Man united who would decide to have new kit each season to sell. However it can often be looks and appeal to people and knowledge which decides if people would like to buy.
An example of this yet again is Manchester United for years they dominated the premier league under Alex Ferguson winning titles building a market and audience and are now one of the biggest clubs in the world. However under the management of Vaan Gaal this was a bad run of form they scored just 8 goals between October and January. Due to boring play fans were unhappy however Kit’s provider of Adidas had stated that “We’ve sold more shirts than expected, even though the way united play isn’t exactly what we want to see.” Sports goods and apparel are great for other organisations to link with and especially Adidas who felt sponsoring united tops was great for them as Man United’s past image and success has been significant in their fan base and the impact of this is that Adidas were expected returns on investements as united fans were happy and buying the kits making Man U money. Man United also sate that “Our retail, merchandising, apparel & product licensing revenue was £102.9 million, £104.0 million, and £97.3 million for each of the years ended 30 June 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively.” Secondly non sporting goods such as drinks food and customer electronics however it is important that these things are targeted at the right audience, but also consistent within market mix.
Sponsorship is also a massive part of marketing within sport. Fill and Hughes 2008 defines sponsorship as “beneficial partnership between an organization being sponsored and the sponsor. Sponsorship works on the premise that association largely affects image and that the sponsor may exchange money and /or goods or services in kind return for the association that the sponsorship provides” Often sponsorships are linked with team’s events such as charity events or programme and Tv advertisements. This may be a team within the premier league who are sponsored by a certain sponsor an example would be Arsenal with Fly Emirates or Liverpool with standard chartered. Most of these sponsors look for return on investments and have a role of integrating marketing communications. They start by having a good image and also make sure they hit a guaranteed size of audience this could be through kit sponsors, sales promotion, advertising or public relations, all these things have a massive impact on their brand. This being significantly more efficient than other styles of marketing due to appealing to various audiences but also can get exposure and speak values of a sponsor through links with certain athletes or professional teams however this could also work with big events or charity events, having a good positive back ground and big exposure can push brands even further in geographical boundaries.
Sport events sponsorship is also very effective however the characteristics of the event can be significant to how much of an impact it has financially. Two examples of this is ‘National Football League’ also known as NFL which is a very populated sport in the United States of America however although citizens of America are fond of the sport and is very financially benefitting in the US it may not have an effect worldwide. On the other hand a long term event has a significant difference, where a event such as Olympics or Rugby World Cup which is held every four years is most likely more beneficial in the market than a weekly competition.
Third of all is advertisement which is extremely popular within sports marketing. Advertisement is massively effective through social networking sites and big events such as the super bowl and also in game advertisement. These three methods are increasing rapidly and are significant to the success certain brands have. However within these three methods come great advantages two of which being a great battle and rivalry against other brands an example is in 1966 when Pepsi targeted coca cola and laid down a statement this had a massive impact on each of the brands as consumers became very protective and were indulged in the battle of two similar products and this strengthened the brand loyalty and people were quick to support their favourite brand.
Secondly social media and is place where conversations any controversy and exposure is seen. This is evolving and is great justification of investing. Super bowl viewership of adverts has especially populated social media within USA. (Pew 2017) says that “70% of adults are now regular users of sites this up from 25% only a decade ago.” social apps such as twitter, snapchat and facebook all connect people with information. This is a great market to utilize as it increases growth of viewership.
However on the other hand these advertisements within these three methods also come with potential weaknesses especially super bowl. Rucker 2018 et al “such an occurrence could shift the focus away from the game, and, of more concern to marketers the advertising” with such volume of viewership and exposure worldwide at a very big occasion such as the super bowl negativity or controversy is something that is published could anger people and decrease the viewership desired by a brand of their advert.
In conclusion to sports marketing it comes with great positives and is a significant advantage. However each their own has a way of gaining money or achieving success from linked deals. For example professional and amateur are able to use sports marketing to their advantage however in different terms. For example professional teams are able to leverage through big players big brands and big audiences however on the other hand amateur would also gain leverage but through the amount of numbers playing the game in order to attract attention and sponsors. These two teams would have different backing amateur would have the lower sources funding and supporting whilst professional have the top down sources supporting. However the Impact of sports marketing is the base for any successful sporting organisation and this is all the way from excellence to participation.
Second of all an advantage of sports marketing is that marketers are able to thrive off popularity and also the love an individual may have for a certain team or individual athlete. For example if a certain fan of a club is delighted and is happy with the team or individual he/she has supported since being small, a marketer in association with that team or individual is able to gain credibility and although that money may go to the club or individual that marketer is considered a sponsor and is a significant investment to that team or individual. This is an efficient strategy and is a massive positive of sports marketing.
On the other hand a big disadvantage is that sports’ marketing is an ongoing expanding market that is massively popular, the impact this has is that to stand out and to deliver a message or statement for your self is even harder. For example events as big as super bowl applies problems such as having to compete against other adverts whilst having to also cater for each fan/ customer. Another example but slightly different is within a football game or a rugby match delivering an ad is great however sometimes the occasion or game can dictate the success of your Ad or sponsor and sometimes be overlooked by the game and the occasion. However overall I would say that sport marketing has a massive impact which is positive and is growing rapidly which is great for youngsters to experience and learn as a future career. This is also something that makes sport great for sporting fanatics like me and many more, and is something that creates great competition on not just on a small scale but globally.
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