Are you an athlete or do you run a sports agency and want to boost your image? We tell you all the secrets of sports marketing from the outset.
In recent years, the sporting practices have experienced a boom which has opened up a field full of possibilities for this sector. This has led many companies or sportsmen and women to want to be part of it, promoting marketing strategies.
Typically, one of the biggest challenges for marketing agencies or marketing departments is to connecting with the consumer. In other words, to generate a feeling of belonging to the brand.
Thus, the world of sport This is an advantage, as sports consumers feel a strong sense of admiration for sportsmen and women or for their favourite sport.
This becomes a key element in penetrating the consumer and optimising marketing efforts, as well as generating large revenue and business opportunities.
Some large companies such as Nike, Adidas, eSports o The League are already part of this new movement, and there is no better proof of this than the success in their spots advertising or the millions of followers they have reached on social networks.
Before getting down to work and getting into this interesting world, it is important to know a little bit about the context of this marketing modality, as well as their characteristics, objectives and appropriate channels to reach customers.
And that is exactly what we are going to tell you below so that you can put your strategies into practice now.
What is sports marketing?
The sports marketing is just another variant of marketing that aims to improve the corporate image of the athlete and to attract new clients.
One of the main objectives of this form of marketing is the creating an emotional bond with fans o users and the brand, so that they feel identified with and proud of it.
The SPORTS WORLD has two major advantages: emotions are always present and it has a great capacity to building communities. This is very important and useful when developing strategies, as it facilitates the way in which the user is reached and penetrated.
Fans want to be part of the process and follow the competitions, be present on a daily basis, enjoy the victories and support the defeats... In short, it is not the brand that seeks the user, but the user who demands the brand.
And this is the case for big name brands where, through advertising actions, they can cover great business opportunities such as sponsorships, increasing the number of clients, improving the image of the brand or of an athlete, etc.
But it can also be applied in small businesses such as gyms or sports centres, by creating a community and a sense of belonging in the customer.
How is sports marketing different from other sectors?
As mentioned above, the sports marketing is a special sector. Unlike the vast majority of industries where purchasing decisions are rational, in sport are emotional 100%.
Consumers are not simply users who today consume your services and tomorrow others, but rather it is a a matter of feeling. This is very clear in football. Those who belong to a team, belong selflessly. They do not stop supporting the team if it loses or is relegated, there is no substitute.
For a fan of a football teamIn this way, consumption is not (partially) linked to results but also appeals to feelings and emotions.
This is also the case in sports brands such as Nike or Adidaswhich use the image of well-known sportsmen and women to link to their values and ideas, so that users feel a greater closeness to the firm.
Another of the benefits of sports marketing is its capacity to host a omnichannel strategyespecially now with the the rise of social media.
From the more traditional media as television or radio to live broadcasts, e.g. via the Internet. Twitter o Twitch.
Some brands such as Real Madridhave in turn opted for YouTube channels or even on its own television channel such as Real Madrid TVwhere fans can get up close and personal with their idols.
But the digital world is not the only method used to develop sports marketing strategies. Since time immemorial, the football matches have been the perfect backdrop for promoting brands through billboards.
Finally, one of the latest additions has been the influencerswhich are already being used for promoting sporting eventsand sports-related products.
What kind of sports marketing do you want to specialise in?
Currently, the types of sports marketing can be grouped into 4 modalities:
Marketing of sporting events
The sport event marketing is possibly the one you are most familiar with. So much so, that on many occasions they come to broadcast all over the world, as in the case of the Super Bowlthe Champions Leaguethe Olympic Games, Wimbledon or the NBA.
This type of marketing has two main objectives. On the one hand, making the event itself visible to get the largest audience. And on the other hand, offer advertising space or sponsorship to brands who want to advertise in order to generate income.
General sports marketing
An increasing number of companies are participating in the sports marketing in order to linking your brand to the values of sport. This is mainly done through the organisation of sporting events.
By using this type of marketing, the aim is to improving corporate social responsibilityeither by promoting the benefits of sport and a healthy lifestyle or by earmarking the money for income from sporting events to the donation of the proceeds to relevant causes.
Examples of this are the "Central Lechera Asturiana Women's Race"or the popular races organised by Banco Santander.
Marketing of sports products
This sports marketing discipline is another of the best known. It consists of companies using sport to sell. In many cases, the products are related to sport or what a healthy lifestyle entails.
This is the case of Monster o Red Bull as a sponsor of risk sports, Adidas and Nike in the case of athletes or high-performance sportsmen and women and nutrition brands such as Real fooding, Miwi Real Drinks o Myprotein.
It is also common for influencers to be chosen in order to promote services such as gyms, personalised training or products such as Prozis.
Marketing of sports institutions or associations
Finally, a less common case to see is the case of the sport entities or the athletes themselves promoting actions or activities in order to increase visibility.
This is the case, for example, of documentaries or docuseries on sportsmen and sportswomen such as Neymar, Kilian Jornet, Kobe Bryant o Serena Williams in order to get to know the athlete better or to sports organisations, such as the docuseries ".Be eternal: Champions of America". issued by the Argentine national football team.
It is common for a person who is not an avid fan of a sportsperson to become one after watching a documentary about them, just as it happens with cinema, music or any other sport. celebrity.
How to make sports marketing a success?
In history there are several campaigns or brands who have earned themselves a place of honour in the world of the sports marketing. Some of the most notable are:
Red Bull
One of the main sports marketing success storiesas mentioned above, is Red Bull.
The world-renowned brand does not sponsor its product, i.e. the energy drink. Red Bull does not explain its drink or focus on the ingredients, it simply conveys a brand image.
Red Bull has gone from being a energy drink to be a concept in itself associated with adventure, risk and sport under the logo "red bull gives you wings".
Space Jam
The film was released in 1996 and was also a case of successful sports marketing by using the basketball player Michael Jordan as the protagonist.
Possibly, thanks to the fanaticism towards Jordan by its followers, this film managed to become the most popular highest-grossing basketball film in historywith more than $300 million raised worldwide.
Adidas and Gabriel Jesus
This emotive campaign carried out by Adidas appears, at first glance, to be a tribute to the Brazilian footballer. When Gabriel Jesus was a 16-year-old teenager, he painted the streets of his town, Jardim Peri, in Brazil.
However, 4 years later, Gabriel Jesus had already become a star footballer in world footballand it was then that Adidas decided to pay tribute to him and paint a mural on the buildings of his hometown in recognition of his past.
If you are interested in working in the world of sports marketingThis article is a good place to start. While it is a complicated sector to enter from new, it is also one of the most satisfying industries there is.
It is important that you are a passionate about sportIn this way you will be able to better understand what your audience is looking for, what sensations and feelings you want to awaken in them and in this way you will be able to connect and differentiate yourself.
