Free Essay on Sports Marketing: Pertinent Issues

Sports marketing involve the promotion of events, teams, and products through sporting events and teams. According to Barroilhet (2016), sports marketing take advantage of the popularity of teams and professional leagues to increase global recognition, boost the recognition of a brand in the market, and increase brand engagement among customers. The sports marketing industry commands about $145 billion, a figure that accounts for 3% of the world's total economic output (Manoli, 2018). Essentially, sports marketing falls into three basic categories namely the advertisement of sport, sports product, or sport-promoted product. In this essay, we shall evaluate some of the most important issues in sports marketing, including factors affecting sports marketing, the difference between international and national sports marketing, market segmentation, media relations as part of sports promotion, and the importance of sponsorships and endorsements to sports marketing.

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Factors affecting sport marketing

There are three categories of sports marketing. The first is advertising done by sports outfits like the Olympics Council, FIFA, and teams like the New York Yankees. The second involves the use of sporting events to promote various products, and the third is the general promotion of sports and sporting activities to the public for universal participation. According to Manoli (2018), sports marketing depends on the popularity of the sport, the loyalty of fans, the media attention dedicated to a particular sport, and the economic outlook of fans. However, Barroilhet (2016) and Tsiotsou (2011) state that the popularity of a sport plays a greater role in determining the level of marketing possible for and around it. A sport that appeals to more people is granted to fetch higher media attention, generate more ad revenue for the players and teams involved, and generally raise the quality of the game. For example, the World Cup, Olympics, and Commonwealth games are some of the most entertaining, popular, and competitive because more people follow them and every player desires to win in them.

Difference between marketing a sports product internationally and in in the United States

Sports promotion is all about the audience and the targeted reach. However, the message of marketing content needs to be suitable for the target audience, otherwise, the campaign risks alienating potential customers and failing to achieve the objectives (Serbanica & Constantinescu, 2016). Marketing a sport in the United States requires a good understanding of the American culture to know how to best appeal to Americans to engage with a sport, sports product, or sport-promoted product. Marketing a product internationally, on the other hand, requires the marketer to understand global trends to ensure that all audiences relate to the message. According to Manoli (2018), to market, a sport, sports product, or sport-related product on the international level requires that the marketer chooses between using a universal message for all and using different messaging for various segments of the world population.

An attention-grabbing sports marketer's message

Professional sports teams employ a wide range of marketing campaigns to win fans over and raise team popularity. In 2016, the Chicago Blackhawks, a professional hockey team in the National Hockey League, developed the #WhatsYourGoal campaign. The campaign was aimed at fostering a deeper connection with Chicago Blackhawks fans and positively impact the community. According to the 8th Annual Shorty Awards committee (2016), the campaign evoked emotions and made players relatable to the fan base, giving many eligible people the chance to skate with their favorite players and sell them cookies among others. The campaign especially appealed to me through Cammy, a child with Rett syndrome who got the opportunity to skate with Duncan Keith. It was very memorable and touching because the team actually made an impact on a child's life while also promoting the team through the tens of millions of social media engagement garnered.

Niche market group

According to Witkemper, Lim, and Waldburger (2012), the sports of a country contribute to that country's culture. The combination of American big four sports; baseball, basketball, hockey, and football are unique to the country and contribute greatly to the American culture. America is also the biggest immigrant nation in the world, with close to 15% of her population being foreign. Sports marketers should target this segment of the population by showing how participating in them will make the immigrants feel right at home in America. An effective way to achieve that is to show how supporting a particular team is like joining one big happy family full of love and support.

The four P's of Nike

Nike is one of the biggest sports product marketers in the United States. According to Ahmed et al. (2016), the company promotes both sports apparel and sports in general. Through its mission statement, Nike aims to transform everybody in the world into an athlete, stating, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." (Ahmed et al., 2016). Nike uses the 4 Ps of marketing to promote its products through creative advertisements (promotion) of its premium (price) sports products (product) through celebrity endorsements and strategic store locations (place).

Media relations as part of promotion and sport marketing

The broadcast media is one of the most important tools for the promotion of sports in the world. Serbanica and Constantinescu (2016) state that media relations, rights, and promotions are the baseline of fan support for professional sports. Fan support, in turn, is the main determinant of the lucrativeness of sponsorship for teams, which is the ultimate source of capital for sports teams. Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world. However, few Americans are fans. To market soccer in America, it would be necessary to increase the broadcasting of the game on television and online. As more fans appreciate the passion of the players and the fans through watching matches in the Premier League and La Liga to name a few, the sport will become even more popular.

Sponsorships and endorsements

Sponsorships and endorsements are two of the biggest sources of money for professional sportspeople and sports teams. Sponsorships mainly entail a company sponsoring a whole team and having its name or logo printed on their jerseys and promotional material (Reiser, Breuer & Wicker, 2012). Endorsements, on the other hand, relate to players rending their popularity and influence over their fan base to a company's product as a form of marketing (Tsiotsou, 2011). League sponsors often get naming rights, such as the Barclays Premier League for the English premier soccer league, among others. Very popular players on a single product often do endorsements. Some popular sports endorsements include Nike's Air Jordan shoes, Stephen Curry's Under Armour endorsements, and Lionel Messi's lifelong Adidas endorsement deals. Sponsorships and endorsements are the bread and butter of sports financing, creating a never-ending source of money for both sports outfits and players alike.

Effective use of social media in sports marketing

Although the Carolina Panthers did not win the division title in 2016, analysts determined that they were the most popular team in terms of social media support (Wyng, 2017). The team uses all social media tools, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, to engage with their fans. During live games, the team's social media department shares pictures of memorable moments on the pitch in real time. By capitalizing on their most ardent supporters, the Carolina Panthers create a lot of social media buzz for their games. If I were placed in charge of the social media marketing department, I would use social media to bring to the fore community issues and do some social good by promoting issues like the fight against cancer, world poverty, bullying among others. Not only would these campaigns resonate with the base, they would also bring new supporters into the fan base.

References

Manoli, A. E. (2018). Sports marketing's past, present and future; an introduction to the special issue on contemporary issues in sports marketing, Journal of Strategic Marketing, 26(1), 1-5, DOI: 10.1080/0965254X.2018.1389492

Tarighi, R., & Hamidi, M. (2017). The factors affecting development of marketing capability of collegiate sport. Annals of Applied Sport Science, 5(4), 67-75

Tsiotsou, R. (2011). A stakeholder approach to international and national sport sponsorship. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 26(8), 557-565

Serbanica, D., & Constantinescu, M. (2016). Using public relations in sports. Romanian Journal of Marketing, 2(1), 30-35

Reiser, M., Breuer, C., & Wicker, P. (2012). The sponsorship effect: Do sport sponsorship announcements impact the firm value of sponsoring firms? International Journal of Sport Finance, 7(3), 232-248

Barroilhet, T. (2016). Brand integration and sports sponsorship: Benefits and pitfalls. University Heights: John Carroll University

Wyng (2016). The Panthers won the 2016 season with this campaign. New York: Wyng Incorporated

Witkemper, C., Lim, C. H., & Waldburger, A. (2012). Social media and sports marketing: Examining the motivations and constraints of Twitter users. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 21(3), 170-183

Ahmed, R. R., et al. (2016). Strategic marketing plan of Nike. Karachi: Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology

Shorty Awards (2016) Chicago Blackhawks #WhatsYourGoal Campaign. 8th Annual Shorty Awards. Retrieved from http://shortyawards.com/8th/chicago-blackhawks-whatsyourgoal-campaign on 20th August 2018