What is sports marketing?

What is sports marketing? Sports, without a doubt, is capable of moving masses, uniting people in the same feeling, and reaching large audiences. The influx of public, spectators, and viewers that sports are capable of capturing offers a business opportunity for companies to make themselves known.

 

The feelings and passion that sport awakens make it a very effective tool when implementing marketing strategies.

 

But what is sports marketing? Well, sports marketing is a segmentation of traditional marketing. Its goal is to generate business opportunities through sports as the main tool.

 

In this medium, the sponsors of the athletes and advertising broadcasted through different media such as radio, television, internet, stadiums, digital media, etc., are also involved.

 

It’s also important to note that sports marketing isn’t only applicable to the upper echelons of sports. Brands can also use it for minor, university, college, regional, and local leagues.

 

Origin

 

The use of sports marketing is nothing new. Its origins go back to 1920, in the United States, when some companies decided to make alliances with major league teams to promote their products.

 

Over time, the dissemination strategies varied, incorporating advertising during the narration of the games and then moving on to television.

 

In the 1970s and 1980s, sponsorships by major brands like Nike and Adidas, among others, began to be seen for athletes. In fact, most of them are still in force today, as well as the incorporation of athletes in advertising campaigns for non-sports products such as food, services, etc.

 

With the internet, more spaces began to be exploited. For example, the promotion of tickets, products of a certain brand, and events. On the other hand, stadiums started to broadcast advertising messages.

 

Another irrefutable fact that demonstrates the scope of sport is the use of digital media in-game seasons, since regardless of the sport, the interaction with each event causes significant traffic on the internet, creating trends and viral content within hours.

 

Types of sports marketing

 

Within this branch of the sports world, we can see different types of marketing depending on the objective you want to promote. For this, we have:

 

Sports marketing

 

It seeks the promotion of sport itself and its benefits to health and well-being.

 

Event marketing

 

Its main objective is the publicity of a certain sporting event to generate a call for mass attendance while seeking to produce a return on investment for sponsors.

 

Product or service marketing

 

As its name indicates, it seeks to promote a sports service or product through the image or person of a recognized athlete, an ordinary person, or by generating a message that highlights the values ​​and benefits of sport and the benefits of the marketing object.

 

Sports marketing

 

Its main spokesperson is an athlete. In this type of marketing, the player or athlete is sought to be the image of a brand, and the public associates him with its values.

 

Athletes perform the function of influencers to generate greater public attraction to the brand and increase both visibility, reputation, and sales.

 

Objectives of sports marketing

 

The point of view of sports marketing is to engage more people to increase sales, appealing to the emotions generated by a certain sport, as well as a recognized athlete, accepted positively and whose values ​​go hand in hand with the mission and vision of the brand.

 

Importance and benefits of sports marketing

 

This type of marketing is important since it allows the development of a brand through the image and influence that a certain sportsperson, athlete, or sporting event may have before the gaze of a large public that ranges from children to older adults.

 

As for its benefits, we have that sport is an attractive focus for people who share the values ​​and philosophies of one or several disciplines. On the other hand, sports fans also identify with an athlete, either through fanaticism or another approach. This in turn promotes the increase of the target, loyalty of new clients and sales.

 

How can we carry out sports marketing?

 

To do sports marketing, you must know the needs and objectives of the client. Because of this, you need to take into account:

 

Audience

 

The public is divided into three significant fragments: athletes who actively practice some discipline or physical activity constantly, whether professionally or not.

 

Fans are sports fanatics who attend events and follow them on radio or television.

 

Sports consumers may not play sports as actively but spend on shoes, clothing, or other apparel frequently.

 

Update

 

You must be up-to-date with current events and sporting events.

 

Promotion

 

For the sake of the events, you should look for the promotion of products or services.

 

Content plan

 

Create a plan based on the tools offered by digital marketing, always accompanied by valuable content.

 

Now, once you know the above, you can plan and execute the strategy based on:

 

Carry out a market study

 

You must know your audience, their tastes, preferences, and needs. Aside from this, you should also know which sports they follow or are adept at, the athletes they follow, what types of products and brands they consume.

 

Set goals and objectives

 

Ask yourself, first, what advantages your company will obtain in the short and long term, and based on the answers, you can start planning your action plan.

 

Define the means to use

 

Define the ways you’re going to communicate with the public. All while taking into account the financial resources to be used. After this, you should follow up to verify what works and what does not.

 

Interact with your audience

 

Find a way to connect with them directly. This way, you can learn about their tastes and preferences first-hand and achieve greater public engagement.

 

Promote experiences

 

Find a way to connect with the emotions generated by sport through valuable experiences.

 

What are sports marketing strategies?

 

Among the most important strategies when putting sports marketing into practice, we have:

 

• Identify the public.
• Position the brand so that it has visibility and recognition.
• Deliver an effective and convincing message to the target audience.
• Choose the best channels for communication-based on the preferences of the public.
• Promote collaborations that add value. For example, renowned athletes, emblematic places, and associations. This will improve the image of the brand and attract more people.
• Organize sporting events to reach audiences that cannot be captured or reached in any other way.

 

Recognized brands that work with sports marketing:

 

• Pepsi
• Red Bull
• Sony
• Coca-Cola
• Tag

 

The world of sports marketing is extensive, which provides endless opportunities for brands to position themselves and grow exponentially.

 

It will always be a wise choice because sport is directly related to feelings.

 

This promotes the creation of an emotional bond with the right audience.

 

As a result, they can turn into messengers of the brand.

 

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