Sports marketing is much talked about as it is a market segment that can create business opportunities and customers.
If you’re still not sure about the in-depth universe, don’t worry.
In this article, I go over the most critical aspects of the topic.
Let me start with a crucial explanation that sports marketing is a service that companies can provide all over the world, not just those dealing with sports.
Use your imagination, tap into customers’ emotions, and create unforgettable experiences to take advantage of this digital marketing industry.
Want to learn the main strategies on this topic?
In this article, we’ll look at some pertinent topics, including:
- What is sports marketing
- Differentials from other forms of marketing
- What is the reason it works?
- How to use
What is sports marketing?
Sports marketing is a segment that will build to attract customers to businesses in the sports field. For this, activities are carried out that involve people and institutions that are part of the sport, such as athletes, clubs, and influential people, in addition to leagues and events.
Through this procedure, sports brands advertise their products in the hope of capturing the attention of consumers in the market and meeting their sports-related needs and desires.
According to a study carried out in 2018 by Sports Value, the sports marketing market moves 200 billion reais annually and is widely used.
Another Sports Value study, also from 2018, reveals that the revenue of the sports retail sector is around 260 billion dollars across the globe.
To give you an idea of what to expect, Nike as the market leader in sales, surpassed 34.4 billion dollars in 2017.
According to Paul Blakey, author of Sports marketing (Sage 2011), sports marketing is a correspondence process.
It combines sporting products and services and the needs of customers and consumers, which helps balance demand and supply.
“Needs and wants lead to demands that the sports industry is able to satisfy,” explains the author.
In the book Sports Marketing: a strategic and contemporary perspective (Saraiva 2017, 2017), Marco Antonio Siqueira states that the objective of this sector is, in essence, to capture and retain customers in different markets.
“This means that all other short and medium-term objectives, aimed at the survival and growth of sports entities, must consider this mainline, in the long term,” he emphasizes.
Differentials from other forms of marketing
When we talk about sports marketing, a unique element is a connection between the customer’s emotions.
After all, sport is directly linked to emotions, whether it’s the thrill of winning for the team you love or the sadness of losing.
That’s right, the emotional connection is strong, and companies should use this fact to benefit when planning marketing activities.
Feelings can also influence consumption.
Imagine a significant sporting event, like the World Cup.
It is usual for sales of caps, t-shirts, and other equipment from national teams to grow because the customer wants to share the experience and show their support for their country.
Thus, a sporting goods store must include an event that serves as a reason for customers to buy in its marketing strategies.
In an article published by Marketing91 Entrepreneur and Serial Entrepreneur, Hitesh Bhasin writes about using sport to aid a company’s marketing strategies.
They also focus on the importance of major sporting events that attract a lot of popularity and interest.
“Sports marketing is carried out on a variety of platforms including billboards, stadium signs, TV advertising, print advertising and social media” is a perfect example of Bhasin.
Another reason is that companies not part of this segment can bet on marketing through sports.
One example is ads that use famous athletes to promote non-sports products based on their trust with customers.
What is the reason it works?
It succeeds because, as I mentioned earlier, it triggers people’s emotions.
Imagine a person passionate about swimming, football, volleyball, basketball, or football.
No matter the mode, he certainly wants to buy sports-related items, don’t you agree?
Companies also profit from the desire to employ sales strategies to boost profits, especially when a specific sporting event is booming, as is the case with football during this year’s World Cup.
When companies invest in innovative campaigns that are emotionally compelling and use athletes to add an extra boost to the message, it’s easy to grab customers’ attention and leave a mark on the market.
Therefore, it is a field with the potential to produce an impressive rate of return on investment (return on investment).
How to use it?
Don’t know how to implement the concept of sports marketing in practice?
In the next section, I listed the main ways to promote a sports-related brand.
Take a look at:
Sponsorship
Sponsorship is among the most used sports marketing tactics.
This is when a brand gives money to an athlete or team or offers financial support for the event’s success in exchange for publicity.
It can be made in various ways, such as using your name on your t-shirt or banners at an event to help increase your brand exposure to the people who attend.
Licensing
Licensing is an option that allows the brand to use its name and image to be a sales agent for products and services belonging to sports organizations or athletes.
Sports event
Events provide excellent opportunities for companies to build relationships with their customers and increase exposure.
The most popular method of advertising through events is sponsorship of tournaments, leagues, and other competitions.
Additionally, the possibility is that the brand provides the opportunity to experience a specific space on these occasions.
For example, think about the possibilities of creating an area for your company during the event and then taking something with the athletes and promoting a virtual reality experience.
The possibilities of delighting customers are high if the company is able to recognize the possibilities of events.
Advertisements in stadiums
Another option that will require significant expenditure is advertising in stadiums and placing the brand logo on banners to increase visibility.
It is the same as the ads displayed on banners placed around the court. As a result, they are shown on television, affecting the people watching the match on TV.
Content production
Content production is among the most effective marketing strategies.
Thus, it could be used to improve the sports market.
Posting on social media and writing blog articles like these are tools that can establish the brand’s status as an authority in the market, develop connections with the audience, and stay in the consumer’s mind often.