One thing that all effective campaigns have in common is that they connect with their audience at one level or another. Because of the sheer nature of athletic pastimes, sports marketing campaigns can help build rapport with consumers – as long as it’s set up correctly that is.
Regardless of the channel, audience, or product that you want to market, building an engaging campaign that appeals to a particular set of emotions will most likely boost any campaign’s performance.
At the same time, modern marketing practices revolve around tracking metrics and making the right modifications while harnessing the intensity and passion that sports bring to the table. Doing this can create a fantastic marketing campaign that creates a long-lasting bond with your customers.
The Power of Sports Marketing
Sports marketing can be defined as a set of techniques that focus on promoting products, services, and brands through sporting teams or events. This includes everything from simple ads that feature a team logo to sweepstakes that send fans to a game.
But, before going over the creation of sports marketing campaigns, let’s take a look at the power of the many different disciplines out there.
The love for sports is one of the few things that all countries and regions around the world have in common. While they vary in rules, environments, the number of players, and scoring mechanisms, sports have brought people together for centuries.
By using sports in your marketing efforts, you have the possibility of:
Reaching Millions of Fans
One of the reasons why corporations pay millions of dollars to have their logos on the uniforms of the best teams is because they can reach millions of consumers at the same time. Just to put it in perspective, it’s estimated that football alone has approximately 4 billion followers worldwide.
Connecting at an Emotional Level
Despite the fact that people think fans always support their home teams, the truth is that many sports enthusiasts choose a club or squad that they connect with. At the same time, fans love their city’s team. They follow some old sports traditions, which gives their fandom a whole new meaning.
Enter an Established Ecosystem
The success of sports marketing partially relies on the popularity of these athletic pastimes. If you dedicate some of your company’s budget towards a sports campaign, you’re investing in a well-established form of marketing.
Besides having millions of followers today, the sports industry is poised to grow exponentially in the next few decades. Just in the US alone, it’s estimated that the industry will generate more than $74 billion in revenue by 2019, which should work as an indicator for what’s to come for the sports market segment.
Achieving Local, Regional, and Global Reach
The beautiful thing about sports is that it features influencers and fans at every social and economic level. This translates to opportunities for all budget sizes. You can choose to partner with a team or organization that has local, national, regional, or even global reach.
Boosting Your Brand’s Image
Sports teams usually bring joy to their fans, so showing support and providing a sponsorship is very important to die-hard fans. This is even truer if the team has the community’s support. Your contribution may even be appreciated as a public service.
How to Build a Winning Sports Marketing Campaign
Like all marketing campaigns, there isn’t a silver bullet that suits all companies. Building a strong campaign requires time and recurring adjustments until you find the winning touch.
However, there are some best-practices you can implement to improve your chances of success.
Prepare the Terrain
Keep in mind that fans will be your main target when building your sports marketing campaign. And, all major major events make an effort to build the hype before it takes place. Mimicking this technique will help you build rapport from early on, especially if you launch promotions that run simultaneously to the event.
Make Sure Consumers Can See You
Although it’s a basic concept for all types of marketing, getting in front of your audience is the most important part of your efforts.
You can build the best campaign in the world, but it will not be effective unless it reaches your target. Use the different platforms you have available to reach your audience, especially wide-reaching channels like social media.
Don’t Lose Focus of the Event or Sport
Many advertisers try to ride the sports marketing train. However, they overlook the importance of the team or event itself. Remember these are sports fans, so you should always center your efforts on the event or team you’re supporting. Take advantage of the opportunity to market your company, not the other way around.
Create Promotions and Rewards that Run with the Schedule
As we mentioned before, take advantage of the duration of the event, season, or game to launch promotions. These can help boost your engagement while showing fans you’re truly keeping up with the sport.
Choose a Sport that Appeals to Your Target
Even though we all have our preferred teams, it’s important that you choose a squad that appeals to your target. With that said, be careful not to sabotage yourself. Backing up an unpopular team just to cater to a few consumers may be a risky move!
Innovation and Creativity are Key
One of the reasons why fans follow the best players, rather than the funniest or most charismatic ones, is because they appreciate their innovation and creativity. Some of the most marketable names in the world have revolutionized their sports with technical masterpieces. Sports fanatics tend to be more receptive to newer techniques and channels, such as digital promotions and mobile devices.
Whenever Possible, Make a Dream Come True!
One of the most satisfying things about sports marketing is the positive feedback you get from fans. If your company has the budget or resources to arrange it, you should push to make a fan’s dream come true. For example, giveaway raffle tickets to a significant game or event.
Not only will you earn a customer’s loyalty for life, but you’ll also show consumers that you value their love for the sport as much as their business.
Build the Most Effective Sports Marketing Strategy for Your Business
Either through sponsorship deals or by purchasing advertising rights directly from an organization, sports marketing can be a nice way to boost your sales and brand recognition at the same time.
Interested in learning more about sports marketing and other alternative techniques? Get in touch with Chameleon Collective today!
