Why Sports Marketing?
Here we examine why you should use sports marketing as part of your marketing mix –
There are few things in the world as widely loved as sports. From fanatics to casual viewers, sports capture the attention of more people than almost any other kind of event. Sports marketing is a powerful tool that many brands have leveraged over the years to go viral. Best of all, it works across virtually every industry. Why does it have such power? In short, it comes from the fans, but there’s a bit more to it than that.
Loyalty
“Loyal customers are six times more likely to think better of your brand, are six times more likely to behave better toward your brand, are six times more likely to buy more of your products, are six times more likely to rebuff competitive offers, and are six times more likely to recommend your brand,” loyalty and engagement consultant Robert Passikoff wrote for Forbes.
Passikoff wasn’t merely talking about brand loyalty though. His consultancy had stumbled upon an interesting phenomenon; the loyalty fans have for their team and for their favourite athletes. If you have a favourite sport, club, team, or athlete, you’ve no doubt experienced this connection first-hand. When you see someone wearing a jersey that represents your people, whomever they may be, there’s a connection. A kinship. This type of loyalty doesn’t exist in many industries.
Beverage companies such as Coca Cola and Heineken are using sports marketing as a tool to sell their products, knowing that people will purchase them when watching a game.
Engagement & Connectedness
Sports fans are anything but passive — just talk to someone about the upcoming English Premier League Games. They have pre- and post-game rituals, regularly hold parties and other events surrounding a game. There’s no time limit on their involvement with the sport or team they love.
Talking about sports fans is like talking about one large community and a multitude of communities at once. Fans share their love of the sport with friends and family, and then they head online to share it with even more people through message boards and social media.
Access to hard to reach consumers
Today’s consumer is harder to reach than ever before because of the options the consumer has to ‘block out’ what they view on a daily basis.
Sports marketing allows companies and brands to promote directly to their primary target market and stand out from the clutter of traditional advertising.
Extended Exposure
Sports Marketing provides consistent extended exposure throughout an event to a captive audience. With most events lasting about 2-4 hours, there is higher retention rate to the message
Sports fans are usually involved in pre and post match events which adds to the exposure as well.
As the new year starts and sports season heats up, don’t miss out on a perfect opportunity to reach your audience. Sports fans are a majority, and if you want your brand to be where they are and associated with what they care about, sports marketing needs to be part of your strategy. Get in touch with us today to learn more.
