Sport marketing is a broad concept that involves various processes to communicate the value of a product or service to customers through a sports context. These sport marketing strategies can be divided into two distinct groups: marketing through sport and marketing of sport.
Marketing of sport is the process of promoting the sport as a product in itself. The objective of this strategy is to increase spectatorship, fan bases and overall participation in the sport. If this is achieved, revenue streams through broadcasting, sponsorship and memberships can be created.
On the other hand, marketing through sport uses an element of sport in order to promote products or services. These products or services are not necessarily related to sport. Instead, they use the popularity and wide viewership of sport to expose their product or service to consumers.
To gain a clearer understanding of the distinction between marketing of sport and marketing through sport, see the examples below.
Marketing of sport is the process of promoting the sport as a product in itself. The objective of this strategy is to increase spectatorship, fan bases and overall participation in the sport. If this is achieved, revenue streams through broadcasting, sponsorship and memberships can be created. On the other hand, marketing through sport uses an element of sport in order to promote products or services. These products or services are not necessarily related to sport. Instead, they use the popularity and wide viewership of sport to expose their product or service to consumers.
To gain a clearer understanding of the distinction between marketing of sport and marketing through sport, see the examples below.
MARKETING THROUGH SPORT
Gillette, one of the world's most identifiable brand of personal care products, frequently uses professional sportspeople to market their razors and antiperspirants. Last year, Gillette enlisted four well-known NFL players (Clay Matthews, Victor Cruz, Danny Amendola and Doug Martin) to advertise their new Fusion ProGlide Razor in a series of television commercials. In one particular commercial, images of the footballers wearing their face masks can be seen as the voiceover states "guys don't put all of this high-tech gear on their face only to go home and wreck it with just any razor." Gillette utilises both the popularity of these NFL players and and the wide viewership of the sport in an attempt to market their product effectively. Although razors do not have a direct link to sport, Gillette draws a comparison between footballers protecting their faces on game day to protecting their skin whilst shaving in order to market their product to consumers.
Once again, although not directly related to sport, Emirates markets their services through their major team sponsorship of the Collingwood Football Club. As their website states, "Collingwood Football Club is one of the most famous and widely supported sporting clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) and across all sports in Australia. This popularity was enough to convince Emirates to become a Premier Partner of the Club in 1999." It is clear that Emirates' marketing strategy is to capitalise on the large supporter base of Collingwood in order to promote their airline services to customers. As a result, the Emirates logos appear on the players' football jumpers and Emirates signage can be seen during press conferences as well as in the club rooms.
The last example of marketing through sport can be seen through Kia Motors and their sponsorship of the Australian Open Tennis Championship. The Kia signage appears around each court, on the tennis nets and throughout the Melbourne Park 'live site' area. Further, Kia vehicles are provided to transport the tennis players, VIPs, officials and media during the Grand Slam event. In a statement on the Australian Open website, "Kia has been partnering with the Australian Open since 2002 to help raise its brand awareness and provide added momentum to its transformation into one of the leading global automotive brands." Therefore, the Australian Open provides Kia with the ample opportunity to increase their brand awareness by reaching the large audience that follows this international sporting event.
The AFL alongside one of their major partners, NAB, are currently marketing a campaign called 'Footify Fansplant'. This initiative is an attempt to convert sports fans from around the world into AFL supporters by 'transplanting' them into AFL-passionate Australian households. Marketing of sport is evident as the overarching purpose of this campaign is to promote the game of Australian Rules Football internationally, expanding the game into new markets. It is striving to grow the sport's fan base, viewership and participation. NAB's tagline makes clear the ultimate goal behind the campaign: "we don't just sponsor footy, we grow it".
MARKETING OF SPORT
The AFL alongside one of their major partners, NAB, are currently marketing a campaign called 'Footify Fansplant'. This initiative is an attempt to convert sports fans from around the world into AFL supporters by 'transplanting' them into AFL-passionate Australian households. Marketing of sport is evident as the overarching purpose of this campaign is to promote the game of Australian Rules Football internationally, expanding the game into new markets. It is striving to grow the sport's fan base, viewership and participation. NAB's tagline makes clear the ultimate goal behind the campaign: "we don't just sponsor footy, we grow it".
Over the past few years, sports have begun utilising cameras in change rooms as well as attaching microphones to players and officials. Major sporting leagues (such as the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB in the United States; and the AFL and NRL in Australia) are implementing these innovative ideas. This practice further illustrates the marketing of sport. This is so, as it provides fans and potential supporters unprecedented access to the sport. In doing so, these tactics aim to retain supporters by providing new insights to rejuvenate their passion in the sport, whilst also attempting to cultivate a set of new fans. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers provide a virtual tour of the team’s locker room for their fans on Facebook in an attempt to further engage fans. In addition, the NHL have allowed supporters to "be brought 'inside the glass' through behind-the-scenes access to players and dressing rooms, additional camera positions, and players wearing microphones".
The KFC T20 Big Bash League are implementing a new initiative ahead of the next season. The concept will involve a reward for the fan who catches the ball hit for a six. After conducting an open poll to the public, a new ball signed by the player who hit the six was the preferred choice for supporters. This concept builds further fan engagement in a competition that is still in its formative stages. Similar to the home run catches in the MLB, the crowd interaction strategy developed by the Big Bash League creates a sense of excitement to market the sport of cricket with the overarching intention of engaging more fans for the future.
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