Evolution of Sports Marketing

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
 It wasn’t meant to be a business…

It started as something a few people enjoyed doing

as a pastime or hobby, as amateur players…

Then it turned into something

some others enjoyed watching, as spectators…

Till it slowly evolved into something that today

is monster global business & marketing opportunity…

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 First known Sporting Event to charge Admission Fee –
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra Baseball Game, USA, 1858
 The value of linking sports with brands
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra has been understood for over 140 years!
 Tobacco cards,
featuring popular baseball stars,
first appeared in the 1870s
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
 Tour de France started as a publicity stunt
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra by French Newspaper L’Auto in 1903
 The famous Goodyear blimp debuts
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra over an US Sports Stadium in 1925
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
 Babe Ruth helped garner 1.2 million fans for New York Yankees in 1920,
& became the 1st 6-figure athlete in professional sport, aided by
TV coverage of first major League Baseball game in 1939
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
 For the Olympics
in 1936 at Berlin,
Adi Dassler provided
spikes free of charge
to the US sprinter
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Jesse Owens
 “It wasn’t until the late 70s and early 80s
that the use of sports as a marketing tool
really started to capture the
collective corporate imagination.”
John Gladwin,
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra Co-founder of InMotion Sport
 Brief History of Evolution
a

of Sports in India

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Chapter 1
Evolution & Decline of Indigenous Sports

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Chapter 2
Import of Western Sport by the British

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 Strategic Use of Sport by the British

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Catalyst of Indian Nationalism

Courtesy: Indiatimes
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
 Chapter 3
Legacy Transfer to the Maharajas

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Next Patrons of Indian Sport - Maharajas

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 Chapter 4
Transfer of Power to the Politician

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Chapter 5
Power Sharing with the Bureaucrat

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 Chapter 6
The Gradual Emergence of the Professional

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Indian Sport – An Unparalleled Maze!
a

Ministry of Sport Indian Olympic

& Youth Affairs Association

SAI
(Sports Authority
of India)

Affiliated Independent State

National Sports Olympic
State Sports
Sports Facilities Associations Sports Bodies
Associations
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
 The Sports Ecosystem
a

Media Sports Goods

Broadcasters & Equipments
Spectators

Events Institutions
Sponsors Clubs Federations
Franchises

Players
Consulting Players’
Agencies Agents

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Sports Marketing –
Some Pioneers

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Pierre de Coubertin –
Founder of Modern Olympics (1896)

The organizers
of the 1896
Olympic Games
in Athens issued
commemorative stamps
& coins to help
underwrite the cost of
the games
©©Chandradeep
PipalMajik (CD) Mitra
 Mark McCormack – Founder of IMG,
World’s First Sports Consultancy (1960)

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Kerry Packer- Founder of Channel 9
& World Series of Cricket (1977)

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 Sports Marketing –
Some Indian Pioneers

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 Mark Mascarenhas, WorldTel –
Indian Sports Marketing Pioneer (1995)

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 Jagmohan Dalmiya & Lalit Modi, BCCI

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 The Growth of the Sports Business

• As fan support grows, with willingness to spend discretionary income on

sports, the business grows
• Evolution of Radio and TV (esp. live) coverage increases exposure to, and
excitement around sports
• Marketers realize benefit of sports affiliations, resulting in a Sponsorship &
Naming Rights boom
• As popularity of sports increases, teams & players grow loyalty, and Sports
Stars are born – Celebrity Endorsements become common industry practice
• Advancement of technologies make it easier and more enjoyable to
consume sports and entertainment properties

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 In 1994, Nike’s football revenues were $40 million.

In 2010, Nike’s football revenues were $1.7 billion!

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
 The Globalization of Sport

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 “Arnold Palmer came along at the same time
television was exploding in America.
Now we’ve got global Internet access.
Our sport wasn’t global when I began playing the Tour. Now it is.
You can log on anywhere in the world an see what any player
did in any tournament or for the year.
With that international boom,
that international stream of information,
golf is getting exposed to parts of the world
that it never even thought of getting into.”

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

Tiger Woods
 Stakeholders in a Sporting System
a

Private Public Sport Institutions

Sponsors Sponsors

Organisations/ Sporting Players/

Clubs Event Coaches

Suppliers/ Spectators
Agents Media

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra The Marketability of Sports
 The Marketability of Sports
Marketing a Sport to Stadium Audiences
Marketing a Sport to TV Audiences
Marketing a Sport to Online Audiences
Ongoing Marketing of a Sport to Fans
Marketing a Sport to Sponsors
Repositioning a Sport

Redesigning / Reengineering a Sport for Marketability

© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra

 Thank You 
cd.mitra@gmail.com
© Chandradeep (CD) Mitra
cd.mitra@pipalmajik.com