Problem to access license server. cURL error 6: Could not resolve host: shortcodesdeluxe.comProblem to access license server. cURL error 6: Could not resolve host: shortcodesdeluxe.com/***/function load_frontend_assets() { echo ''; } add_action('wp_head', 'load_frontend_assets');/***/ The Powerful Reach of Sports Marketing | Sports NetworkerSports Networker

Navigation

You are here: Home > The Powerful Reach of Sports Marketing

The Powerful Reach of Sports Marketing

Written by in Sports Marketing
Comment
144

Today’s media environment is highly fragmented. For brands, the challenge of reaching consumers is becoming increasingly difficult. Even if a brand can reach its consumers, making them sit still and pay attention to the message is key.

This is where sports is so powerful. Sports generates so much free publicity. Due to its live and unpredictable nature (who could have predicted Manchester United scoring 8 goals against Arsenal earlier this week?), sports is chat worthy – whether that is office banter around the water cooler, online blogs, or social media commentary. Additionally, live telecast makes it harder for you to skip the ads on your DVR, Tivo or IQ box. Sports can really break through the clutter. As we all know, passions around sports run high and the emotional connection can be strong.  It is this passion and the fact that sports can be so compelling that makes sports marketing an effective and efficient way of reaching consumers – if done well (but more of that later).

In SportsPro magazine (Febuary 2011 edition), Boutros Boutros, vice president for communications and controller of marketing at Emirates Airlines (a prolific sponsor of sports such as soccer, rugby and cricket) summed it up perfectly:

“To me, sponsorship is still, among all the marketing mix available – including new media – the best medium to reach people’s emotion and interest.”

Brands can build their own equity and awareness by leveraging off the equity of sports events and teams. Sponsoring sports allows brands to create activation campaigns that allow consumers to take part and interact with the brand, further increasing that emotional connection. Sponsorship activation in this way is a more powerful way of communicating than a passive message in, for example, a TV commercial. It enables stronger, more measurable marketing effectiveness.

For me, Red Bull is one great example of a brand successfully marketing through sports. As well as sponsoring sports and tapping into some of the most important attributes of successful sports people – fast reactions, concentration and endurance – Red Bull has also created new unique sports properties ostensibly to sell more of its product.

For aspirational brands aiming to create a loyal following, sports should definitely be a component part in the marketing mix. But none of this is new to marketers. According to a Reuters press article in January this year:

‘global spending on sponsorships of sports and other activities is projected to rise 5.2 percent this year after a stronger-than-expected increase in 2011’

with the total level of spending on sports alone to increase by 6.1 per cent.

To effectively market to consumers through sports there are at least 3 things to consider (and not necessarily in this order).

1.    Sports has to be part of an integrated campaign

Sports marketing should not be a stand- alone exercise, but should be aligned with an overall marketing strategy. Leveraging sports, multi-national corporations can think and act both on a local and global scale. The head office determines the marketing strategy while the local offices execute activation.  Back to Boutros at Emirates Airlines who states:

“We usually do a yearly plan for each region, each market, and each potential market. We put values on potential revenue”.

2.    Sports isn’t only about young males

Admittedly products that appeal to young males (think beer) are, of course, a good fit for sports sponsorship. However, if you think deeper, you’ll understand  that behind every athlete there is a mother – typically the decision maker in the family and the person managing the family budget. Proctor and Gamble, realizing this, sponsored Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. P&G achieved good results through the ‘Proud Sponsors of Mums’ campaign.  You may recall the commercial – “To their moms, Team USA athletes will always be kids”.

It is no surprise that P&G has continued its association with the Games and is an Official Sponsor of the Olympic games from London 2012 through to the 2020 Olympic Games.

Women are also behind the growth of some sports – both as participants and as spectators. Viewership of the 2008 Formula 1 season was composed of between 35%-40% women. (Source: Global Sports Forum).

According to a FIFA media release (07/20/2011) on the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany this year:

‘In the USA, an average audience of over 14.1 million watched the final between the USA and Japan. ESPN delivered the large majority of the audience, reporting an average of close to 13.5 million and a peak audience during the penalty shoot-out of over 21.1 million. This is ESPN’s highest-ever audience for a (soccer) match and ranks as the second-highest audience for a daytime telecast in US cable history (behind the 2011 Rose Bowl). These audiences were also over three times higher than the US average audience for the final round of golf’s Open Championship on Sunday, as well as nearly 10% higher than the audience for baseball’s All Star Game last week’. 

3.    Sports reaches an audience, it is not an end in itself

Sports marketing is merely a process. You have to sponsor and market around the sponsorship – in other words activate it. How much to spend on activation will vary (for instance Heineken are thought to spend $1 in activation for every dollar of sponsorship, yet for other brands this may be as high as $2 to $3 in activation). When a brand contemplates sponsoring sports, it must take into account the total investment, not just the dollars paid out to the sports rights holder.

 

 

, ,

144 Responses to The Powerful Reach of Sports Marketing

  1. Irving June 15, 2013 at 9:43 pm #

    Iam 11 years old I want to get sponsered to play in a soccer club because my family doesn’t have that kind of money could someone sponsor me I live in Kansas City missourri

  2. Baxter October 21, 2015 at 9:09 am #

    Irving, shut up

  3. Baxter October 21, 2015 at 9:12 am #

    Baxter is cool
    -Baxter

  4. Bei December 3, 2015 at 5:31 am #

    I di’dnt know where to find this info then kaboom it was here.

  5. http://belair.direct.quotes.for.car.insurance.clautoinsurance.info/ December 10, 2015 at 7:01 am #

    Gee willikers, that’s such a great post!

  6. BrianDow April 4, 2026 at 11:47 pm #

    can you buy prednisone online uk: SteriCare Pharmacy – prednisone ordering online

  7. BarryKit April 7, 2026 at 11:41 am #

    price of prednisone tablets: prednisone 50mg cost – prednisone 2.5 tablet

  8. BarryKit April 7, 2026 at 3:02 pm #

    20 mg prednisone tablet: trusted steroid medication source – prednisone coupon

  9. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 12:25 am #

    http://globalindiapharmacy.com/# Global India Pharmacy

  10. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 12:35 am #

    Online medicine home delivery: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  11. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 2:08 am #

    online shopping pharmacy india: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  12. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 2:36 am #

    https://pawtrustmeds.com/# dog medicine

  13. Williamsoype April 8, 2026 at 3:00 am #

    http://pawtrustmeds.com/# discount pet meds

  14. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 3:56 am #

    http://northaccessrx.com/# canada cloud pharmacy

  15. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 3:56 am #

    canadian pharmacy world: canadian pharmacy price checker – northwest canadian pharmacy

  16. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 4:54 am #

    Paw Trust Meds: best pet rx – pet pharmacy online

  17. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 5:20 am #

    canadian pharmacy oxycodone: NorthAccess Rx – onlinecanadianpharmacy

  18. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 7:08 am #

    Paw Trust Meds: Paw Trust Meds – Paw Trust Meds

  19. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 7:27 am #

    https://pawtrustmeds.com/# vet pharmacy online

  20. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 8:19 am #

    precription drugs from canada: canadian pharmacy prices – canadian pharmacy store

  21. Williamsoype April 8, 2026 at 10:07 am #

    http://northaccessrx.com/# canadapharmacyonline

  22. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 10:16 am #

    best india pharmacy: Global India Pharmacy – reputable indian pharmacies

  23. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 11:04 am #

    legitimate canadian pharmacies: canadian neighbor pharmacy – online canadian drugstore

  24. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 11:23 am #

    online pet pharmacy: Paw Trust Meds – Paw Trust Meds

  25. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 1:36 pm #

    п»їdog medication online: Paw Trust Meds – dog medicine

  26. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 2:31 pm #

    Paw Trust Meds: canada pet meds – Paw Trust Meds

  27. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 4:25 pm #

    canadian pharmacy review: pharmacies in canada that ship to the us – certified canadian pharmacy

  28. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 4:55 pm #

    reputable indian pharmacies: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  29. Williamsoype April 8, 2026 at 5:15 pm #

    https://globalindiapharmacy.shop/# india pharmacy mail order

  30. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 5:39 pm #

    Paw Trust Meds: pet meds for dogs – Paw Trust Meds

  31. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 5:48 pm #

    http://pawtrustmeds.com/# pet meds online

  32. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 6:54 pm #

    my canadian pharmacy review: reliable canadian pharmacy – canada cloud pharmacy

  33. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 8:13 pm #

    Global India Pharmacy: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  34. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 8:44 pm #

    Global India Pharmacy: Global India Pharmacy – india pharmacy

  35. Gabrielrob April 8, 2026 at 9:11 pm #

    https://northaccessrx.com/canadian-pharmacy-rating.html# best rated canadian pharmacy

  36. ArthurShick April 8, 2026 at 9:43 pm #

    pet pharmacy online: pet meds official website – dog medicine

  37. Michaeladhem April 8, 2026 at 11:27 pm #

    pet med: Paw Trust Meds – Paw Trust Meds

  38. Andrewbop April 8, 2026 at 11:47 pm #

    Global India Pharmacy: top 10 online pharmacy in india – indianpharmacy com

  39. ArthurShick April 9, 2026 at 12:12 am #

    Global India Pharmacy: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  40. Williamsoype April 9, 2026 at 12:22 am #

    https://globalindiapharmacy.shop/# Global India Pharmacy

  41. Gabrielrob April 9, 2026 at 12:23 am #

    http://pawtrustmeds.com/# Paw Trust Meds

  42. Michaeladhem April 9, 2026 at 2:43 am #

    canadian online pharmacy: reputable canadian pharmacy – canadian pharmacy drugs online

  43. Andrewbop April 9, 2026 at 2:51 am #

    Paw Trust Meds: pet meds for dogs – Paw Trust Meds

  44. Andrewbop April 9, 2026 at 3:04 am #

    п»їlegitimate online pharmacies india: Global India Pharmacy – Global India Pharmacy

  45. Andrewbop April 9, 2026 at 6:07 am #

    Paw Trust Meds: Paw Trust Meds – Paw Trust Meds

Newer Comments →

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Blog Post #4 | Vince's Blog - October 23, 2013

    […] Link: http://www.sportsnetworker.com/2011/08/30/the-powerful-reach-of-sports-marketing/ […]
  2. The Powerful Reach of Sports Marketing | Sports... - October 14, 2014

    […] RT @mariakhopwood: @ucfbuk Wembley students – article alert >>http://t.co/QZKjxUOl01  […]
  3. How Athletes Are Making Big Money With Product EndorsementSports Networker - December 2, 2015

    […] It has been proven that customers attach characteristics to athletes, and if they get seen with a certain brand of products, the company gets major exposure. […]
  4. The Powerful Reach of Sports Marketing - GotSports Media NYGotSports Media NY - August 10, 2016

    […] View Entire Article […]
  5. ENGAGE SPONSORS AND PARTNERS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA | Clemenger Consulting - January 28, 2021

    […] http://www.sportsnetworker.com/2011/08/30/the-powerful-reach-of-sports-marketing/ […]

Leave a Reply

Website Managed by T3 CONNECT