INTRODUCTION

1.1 Sports Marketing is a subdivision of marketing which focuses both on the promotion of

sports events and teams as well as the promotion of other products and services through sporting
events and sports teams focussed on customer-fans.[4] It is a service in which the element
promoted can be a physical product or a brand name. The goal is to provide the client with
strategies to promote sports or to promote some other product, service, business or cause through
sports. Sports marketing i s also designed to meet the needs and wants of the consumers through
exchange processes.[5] These strategies follow the traditional four "P"'s of
general marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Another four "P"’s are added to sports
marketing, relating to the fact sports are considered to be a service. The additional 4 P’s
are: Planning, Packaging, Positioning and Perception. The addition of the four extra elements is
called the "sports marketing mix."[6]

Sports marketing is an element of sports promotion which involves a wide variety of sectors of
the sports industry, including broadcasting, advertising, social media, digital platforms, ticket
sales, and community relations.[7]

Sports marketing is divided into three sectors. The first is the advertising of sport and sports
associations such as the Olympics, Spanish Football league, NFL and the IPL, as well as sport
teams like Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings Real Madrid and the New York Yankees.
The second concerns the use of sporting events, sporting teams and individual athletes to
promote various products. The third category is the promotion of sports to the public in order to
increase participation.

In the first case, the promotion is directly related to sports. In the second case, the products can
but do not have to be directly related to sports. When the promotion is about sports in general,
the use of this kind of strategy is called “Marketing of Sports.” When the promotion is not about
the sports but sports events, athletes, teams or leagues are used to promote different products, the
marketing strategy is denominated “Marketing through sports." When the promotion is about
increasing participation among the public, it is called "Grassroots Sports Marketing." To promote
the products or services, the companies and associations use different channels such
as sponsorships of teams or athletes, television or radio advertisement during the different
broadcast sports events and celebrations, and/or advertisement on sporting venues.

“Street marketing of sports” considers sports marketing through billboards on the street and also
through urban elements (street lighters and sidewalks, etc.) to help promote and gain publicity
during major worldwide sporting events such as the Football World Cup, the Olympic Games,
the Cricket World Cup or the Super Bowl.

Sports marketing uses sports, in any form, to help sell goods and services. This particular style of
marketing is less about using a single strategy and more about using the content of sports to
assist marketing efforts. This is not limited to professional sports, and may include college
athletics, minor leagues, or alternative sports.

Since sports can be watched on a variety of platforms, sports marketing can take many different
forms. Teams sell advertising space inside their stadiums to marketers who want to purchase
billboards and other print ads, while TV networks sell airtime during the events. Famous athletes
also sign contracts to work as celebrity endorsers and lend their images to marketers.

The biggest advantage of sports marketing is that it allows marketers to piggyback on the
popularity and devotion many fans feel towards their favorite teams and athletes. If a baseball
fan has loved a specific team since childhood, any marketer who associates themselves with that
team gains instant credibility in that fan’s mind. Since the revenue ultimately goes to support the
team, the marketer is considered a sponsor and invested in the team’s success.

The only major disadvantage is that the sports marketing industry is so large that it can be hard to
stand out in the crowd. A fan who watches a three hour football game will be exposed to dozens
of different marketing messages. Marketers must advertise to a wide range of customers, but risk
that their ad gets overlooked by fans more interested in the game. 

Examples of sports marketing

Allstate – The insurance company sponsors NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne. His car is covered in
prominent Allstate ads and he appears in the company’s print and TV ads.
Reebok – The sneaker maker lead one of the most memorable ad campaigns of all time when
they created a fictional rivalry between decathletes Dan O’Brien and Dave Johnson. This created
buzz for both the Olympics and Reebok.

Coke – An iconic ad featuring football player Joe Green signing an autograph for a young boy
helped introduce the slogan “Have a Coke and a smile.”

StubHub – The ticket agents featured a common sports sound, the buzzer signaling the end of a
period, at the ends of their ads. When fans heard the sound in the course of a game, they thought
of StubHub.

Budweiser – The beer maker invests heavily in TV marketing during the Superbowl. Viewers
look forward to the humorous new ads almost as much as the game itself.

Citi Bank – The company paid millions of dollars for naming rights to the home field of the New
York Mets, now called Citi Field.

The sports sector is currently one of the most lucrative sectors. People all throughout the world
follow major sports like cricket, football, and tennis in addition to national favourites like
baseball, American football, rugby, and other sports. Because of sports, people are willing to
spend money on merchandise as well as on trips to watch sporting events. A wide range of
consumers are drawn to things that athletes recommend, much like products that stars advocate.
A tried−and−true marketing tactic is to advertise items during broadcast athletic events.

It is very common for brands to use athletes, players, and team endorsements to advertise items
that are related to the field.

In simple terms, sports marketing is the practise of promoting sports in general and other items
by means of sports. It is, however, more effective to use sports to support the marketing
initiatives than it is to employ a specific approach. When a major athletic event is taking place
and there is a lot of public attention, this may particularly be very successful. Billboards, boards
inside stadiums, television commercials, print ads, and social media ads are just a few of the
mediums used for sports marketing.
For Example, in India, where cricket and football are the most popular sports, one would often
see cricketers or footballers endorsing a sporting footwear brand or a health/energy drink.
Sporting events are also advertised to the general audience. To ensure a higher viewership,
major events like the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, English Premier League and the Cricket
World Cup are marketed and advertised through a variety of media.

1.2Various Sports Marketing Strategies Some common Sports Marketing Strategies are as listed
below.

Concentrating on one group of people

Before beginning any kind of advertising campaign, it is vital to first identify and learn about
one's intended demographic. Think about the features of your target demographic.

Depending on your location, you should think about the sports teams and athletes that your
clients could root for. Use methods like email segmentation to target your message precisely.

What are the preferences of your target market? Do they like cricket, football, hockey, kabaddi,
or swimming? If you can get more particular with your marketing, you'll strengthen your
relationship with consumers.

Be familiar with the preferences and aspirations of your target audience. Is their goal to
participate in sports just for fitness purposes, to become professional athletes, or to take in
games as casual fans?
The disposable income of your target market can have a significant impact on their discretionary
spending habits. Be aware of the fitness goals and current levels of your target audience. What
appeals to a runner training for a marathon might not appeal to someone who sometimes goes
for a jog An advertising aimed at Eastern India who enjoy football more may appear very
different than one aimed at Western India where people may be more receptive to Cricket.

Producing interesting material

Sports enthusiasts, and by extension your target audience, will always be interested in material
featuring their favourite athletes or sportsmen. Increasing your reach requires you to tap into the
communities of people that have a passion for sports, and if you succeed in doing so, you'll have
Aiming for the optimal timing

Use advertising in the days leading up to an event to ride the surge of excitement among fans.
Take

advantage of public moments to applaud winning teams. Keep tabs on popular athletes and
release content

when they are in the public eye, or when their supporters will miss them the most.

Consistent timing is a must when scheduling programmes for many channels. You should think
about employing automation once you've found the sweet spot for posting content and designed
an efficient email campaign to keep a steady stream of material flowing to your clients and
potential customers.

Creating Sponsorship and Brand Partnerships

The connections between sports marketing and famous sportsmen are among the industry's most
fascinating aspects. You should think about the following while crafting your sports marketing
strategy Using competitions as a promotional tool is a great way to increase brand awareness
and get people interested in your business and your social media pages.

Building brand alliances is a cornerstone of sports marketing, and this may be done in a variety
of ways, including promotions. There is frequently a close link between a sports team and a
sports brand. You should use creative methods to attract customers.

Obtaining sponsorships is a great strategy for increasing exposure for your company. Think
about all the times you've seen a brand logo on a player's jersey, in a stadium, on the court, or on
a helmet. Sponsorship relationships may be a great way to skyrocket your visibility.

Using Social Media

While the newsfeed on Facebook can be a distraction from other marketing efforts, the platform
can also be used to great effect in sports marketing.
Engage with your audience, raise brand recognition, and prompt them to act all by using
Facebook.

As a visually oriented platform, Instagram is perfect for spreading the word about events and
attracting attendees.

Twitter is a great place to start up a discussion with your friends and followers. If you want to
engage with potential consumers, this is the place to do it, since it is frequented by fans who
want to know what their favourite players are up to.

My Survey finds that the more fans are engaged year-round the more likely they will spend on
tickets and merchandise during the season. Further, off-season engagement can be a lever for
moving fans up the tiers of fandom—pushing a casual fan who only watches games on TV to
finally attend a game in person. The survey results highlight the following data points regarding
year-round fan engagement:

Ninety-five percent of fans today have some form of interaction with their favorite team or
league in the off-season

In-depth content consumption was associated with 20 percent higher spend than general news
consumption

Forty percent higher preference among Millennials than Baby Boomers for using social media to
obtain information on their favorite team and players

More than 60 percent of fans say a great “year-round experience” would make them more likely
to be more engaged with the team in the coming season, and 55 percent say it would make them
more likely to purchase a ticket in the future
Tracking fan engagement

While the intensity of fan interest generally subsides once the season ends, it doesn’t completely
disappear. In our recent study on fan engagement, 65 percent of fans said they want some form
of content or information at least monthly during the off-season. As expected, fanatics engage at
a much higher frequency than their casual and love-it counterparts.

Also not surprising, increased frequency of off-season consumption is correlated with higher fan
spend. Across all fan types, those who engage only once a month in the off-season spend 40
percent more than fans who have no engagement in the off-season.

Identifying where to focus customer engagement activities in order to produce optimized

financial outcomes requires some deeper analysis at the fan-type level. For instance, a casual fan
who has an off-season engagement frequency that is higher than zero but less than monthly
spends 52 percent more than the casual fan who has no off-season engagement. An example of
this could be using team media properties to engage a casual fan, who may not even be aware the
club produces content in the off-season.

However, organizations have to be strategic with where they focus. For instance, trying to ratchet
up a casual fan’s engagement frequency to daily could have potentially adverse effects because
casual fans who engage daily in the off-season spend on average 4 percent less than casual fans
who engage weekly in the off-season.

While casual fans may see daily notifications in the off-season as an annoyance, fanatics crave
them. The key is to find the optimal frequency based on the profile of each individual fan.

Creating a connection with content

During the season, live game action is the most important content that teams can offer fans. But
in the off-season, teams typically need to be creative with the media and content they produce for
fans. Although the organic content faucet is turned off in the off-season, this reset can present an
opportunity for teams to differentiate themselves through customized off-season experiences that
drive revenue.
Digital sports news

Perspectives

Sports marketing strategies to stay connected year-round

Off-season fan engagement ideas

With the proliferation of 24/7 sports TV channels, dedicated radio stations, and independent
podcasts, there is no off-season. And there have never been as many opportunities for sports
organizations to stay connected with their fans. Learn more about sports marketing strategies to
boost year-round engagement.

Explore content

Tracking fan engagement

Creating a connection with content

Picking your channel from a universe of options

In a league of their own

Gearing up for next season

Introduction

Our survey finds that the more fans are engaged year-round the more likely they will spend on
tickets and merchandise during the season. Further, off-season engagement can be a lever for
moving fans up the tiers of fandom—pushing a casual fan who only watches games on TV to
finally attend a game in person. The survey results highlight the following data points regarding
year-round fan engagement:
Ninety-five percent of fans today have some form of interaction with their favorite team or
league in the off-season

In-depth content consumption was associated with 20 percent higher spend than general news
consumption

Forty percent higher preference among Millennials than Baby Boomers for using social media to
obtain information on their favorite team and players

More than 60 percent of fans say a great “year-round experience” would make them more likely
to be more engaged with the team in the coming season, and 55 percent say it would make them
more likely to purchase a ticket in the future

Download the full report to learn more about how understanding the fan as an individual and
optimizing the combination of frequency, content, and channel for each fan can be key to
maximizing revenue streams.

Engaging sports fans year-roundDownload the PDF

This article is the third in a series addressing three individual aspects of fan engagement. The
series started with the stadium experience, then examined engagement through over-the-top
streaming and broadcast media, and now wraps up with the year-round fan experience. The
series of articles comprises findings from a Deloitte survey of more than 15,000 respondents who
were asked about relative importance and level of satisfaction within key attributes of fan
engagement.

The Deloitte survey asked each respondent to self-identify their level of fandom for each of eight
sports/leagues: esports, Major League Soccer (MLS), Major League Baseball (MLB), National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), National Basketball Association (NBA),
National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and Women’s National
Basketball Association (WNBA). For each sport/league, fans could self-identify at one of five
levels: fanatics, love-it fans, casual fans, knowing the sport but not a fan, and not being familiar
with the sport. Fanatics were defined as never missing a game—either in person or on TV; love-
it fans were defined as watching often and going to live events when they could; and casual fans
were defined as watching every now and then.

Tracking fan engagement

While the intensity of fan interest generally subsides once the season ends, it doesn’t completely
disappear. In our recent study on fan engagement, 65 percent of fans said they want some form
of content or information at least monthly during the off-season. As expected, fanatics engage at
a much higher frequency than their casual and love-it counterparts.

Also not surprising, increased frequency of off-season consumption is correlated with higher fan
spend. Across all fan types, those who engage only once a month in the off-season spend 40
percent more than fans who have no engagement in the off-season.

Identifying where to focus customer engagement activities in order to produce optimized

financial outcomes requires some deeper analysis at the fan-type level. For instance, a casual fan
who has an off-season engagement frequency that is higher than zero but less than monthly
spends 52 percent more than the casual fan who has no off-season engagement. An example of
this could be using team media properties to engage a casual fan, who may not even be aware the
club produces content in the off-season.
However, organizations have to be strategic with where they focus. For instance, trying to ratchet
up a casual fan’s engagement frequency to daily could have potentially adverse effects because
casual fans who engage daily in the off-season spend on average 4 percent less than casual fans
who engage weekly in the off-season.

While casual fans may see daily notifications in the off-season as an annoyance, fanatics crave
them. The key is to find the optimal frequency based on the profile of each individual fan.

Creating a connection with content

During the season, live game action is the most important content that teams can offer fans. But
in the off-season, teams typically need to be creative with the media and content they produce for
fans. Although the organic content faucet is turned off in the off-season, this reset can present an
opportunity for teams to differentiate themselves through customized off-season experiences that
drive revenue.

At the most basic level, many fans just want to keep current with their team during the off-
season. General team news is the most popular type of content followed by news related to
player/coach roster changes and injury updates. Despite the higher demand for basic content, it
doesn’t really “move the meter” when it comes to consumer spending. Instead, it’s the more
personalized and in-depth content that is most closely associated with higher spend.

Additionally, our survey found that only 40 percent of fans find that the content they pay for is
meeting their expectations, while they place an above-average-importance score on having
quality content. This presents an opportunity for teams to offer premium content at a discount in
order to increase the overall fan spend throughout the year.

Digital sports news

Perspectives

Sports marketing strategies to stay connected year-round

Off-season fan engagement ideas

With the proliferation of 24/7 sports TV channels, dedicated radio stations, and independent
podcasts, there is no off-season. And there have never been as many opportunities for sports
organizations to stay connected with their fans. Learn more about sports marketing strategies to
boost year-round engagement.

Explore content

Tracking fan engagement

Creating a connection with content

Picking your channel from a universe of options

In a league of their own

Gearing up for next season

Introduction
Our survey finds that the more fans are engaged year-round the more likely they will spend on
tickets and merchandise during the season. Further, off-season engagement can be a lever for
moving fans up the tiers of fandom—pushing a casual fan who only watches games on TV to
finally attend a game in person. The survey results highlight the following data points regarding
year-round fan engagement:

Ninety-five percent of fans today have some form of interaction with their favorite team or
league in the off-season

In-depth content consumption was associated with 20 percent higher spend than general news
consumption

Forty percent higher preference among Millennials than Baby Boomers for using social media to
obtain information on their favorite team and players

More than 60 percent of fans say a great “year-round experience” would make them more likely
to be more engaged with the team in the coming season, and 55 percent say it would make them
more likely to purchase a ticket in the future

Download the full report to learn more about how understanding the fan as an individual and
optimizing the combination of frequency, content, and channel for each fan can be key to
maximizing revenue streams.

Engaging sports fans year-roundDownload the PDF

This article is the third in a series addressing three individual aspects of fan engagement. The
series started with the stadium experience, then examined engagement through over-the-top
streaming and broadcast media, and now wraps up with the year-round fan experience. The
series of articles comprises findings from a Deloitte survey of more than 15,000 respondents who
were asked about relative importance and level of satisfaction within key attributes of fan
engagement.
The Deloitte survey asked each respondent to self-identify their level of fandom for each of eight
sports/leagues: esports, Major League Soccer (MLS), Major League Baseball (MLB), National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), National Basketball Association (NBA),
National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and Women’s National
Basketball Association (WNBA). For each sport/league, fans could self-identify at one of five
levels: fanatics, love-it fans, casual fans, knowing the sport but not a fan, and not being familiar
with the sport. Fanatics were defined as never missing a game—either in person or on TV; love-
it fans were defined as watching often and going to live events when they could; and casual fans
were defined as watching every now and then.

Tracking fan engagement

While the intensity of fan interest generally subsides once the season ends, it doesn’t completely
disappear. In our recent study on fan engagement, 65 percent of fans said they want some form
of content or information at least monthly during the off-season. As expected, fanatics engage at
a much higher frequency than their casual and love-it counterparts.

Also not surprising, increased frequency of off-season consumption is correlated with higher fan
spend. Across all fan types, those who engage only once a month in the off-season spend 40
percent more than fans who have no engagement in the off-season.

Identifying where to focus customer engagement activities in order to produce optimized

financial outcomes requires some deeper analysis at the fan-type level. For instance, a casual fan
who has an off-season engagement frequency that is higher than zero but less than monthly
spends 52 percent more than the casual fan who has no off-season engagement. An example of
this could be using team media properties to engage a casual fan, who may not even be aware the
club produces content in the off-season.

However, organizations have to be strategic with where they focus. For instance, trying to ratchet
up a casual fan’s engagement frequency to daily could have potentially adverse effects because
casual fans who engage daily in the off-season spend on average 4 percent less than casual fans
who engage weekly in the off-season.

While casual fans may see daily notifications in the off-season as an annoyance, fanatics crave
them. The key is to find the optimal frequency based on the profile of each individual fan.

Creating a connection with content

During the season, live game action is the most important content that teams can offer fans. But
in the off-season, teams typically need to be creative with the media and content they produce for
fans. Although the organic content faucet is turned off in the off-season, this reset can present an
opportunity for teams to differentiate themselves through customized off-season experiences that
drive revenue.

At the most basic level, many fans just want to keep current with their team during the off-
season. General team news is the most popular type of content followed by news related to
player/coach roster changes and injury updates. Despite the higher demand for basic content, it
doesn’t really “move the meter” when it comes to consumer spending. Instead, it’s the more
personalized and in-depth content that is most closely associated with higher spend.
Additionally, our survey found that only 40 percent of fans find that the content they pay for is
meeting their expectations, while they place an above-average-importance score on having
quality content. This presents an opportunity for teams to offer premium content at a discount in
order to increase the overall fan spend throughout the year.

Picking your channel from a universe of options

In such a fragmented and competitive media landscape perhaps the biggest challenge for teams
in executing fan engagement ideas is identifying the most appropriate channel. There’s a broad
range from social media to broadcast, print to podcast and radio, and many more platforms fans
use today. To navigate the current media landscape, teams should understand where fans are
going to read, watch, listen, and interact with their favorite team.

Fans go to different channels depending on the content they’re searching for. For comparison, we
categorized informational needs into two groups: rapid update and in-depth analysis. When
seeking rapid updates, fans prefer to use sports news websites, television, and social media.
Sports news websites and television remain the top preference for fans when seeking in-depth
analysis, but social media is significantly less preferred, with sports radio and traditional print
journalism ranking higher.

Gearing up for next season

The sports season might be about wins and losses, but after the season is over, teams and leagues
still have some plays and audibles to call to keep fans and consumers engaged. The message is
clear: Maintaining year-round continuity of fan engagement can generate value.
More than 60 percent of fans say that having a great “year-round experience” would make them
more likely to be more engaged with the team in the coming season—and 55 percent of fans say
that it would make them more likely to purchase a ticket in the future. A challenge for teams is to
recognize that each fan is different across a multitude of factors, and it’s important to develop a
mix of sports marketing strategies that capitalizes on the differences across frequency, channel,
and content.

Engaging fans in person and at home

Nothing can beat a great stadium experience—or can it? Fans at home these days enjoy better
camera angles, augmented and virtual reality, and multiplatform, multimedia experiences,
ratcheting up pressure on stadiums to deliver an experience the living room can’t match. Luckily,
fans are clear about what they want from their stadium experience, and teams that deliver reap
the ultimate reward: more loyal, engaged fans.

1.3 Procedure For Sports Marketing

1. Targeting a specific audience

As with any form of marketing, it is crucial first to determine and understand your target
audience. Consider the characteristics of your niche audience, such as:

Location: Keep in mind the local sports teams and athletic heroes that your customers might
have. Are you targeting a regional or local audience? Speak directly to specific audiences with
tools like email segmentation.

Interests: Is your audience into basketball, sailing, golf, or hiking? The more specific you can be
in your marketing strategy, the deeper the connection you will build with customers.

Lifestyle: Know the lifestyle and goals of your customers. Are they trying to get in shape, be a
serious athlete, or enjoy sports as spectators?
Income: How your target audience chooses to spend their time and money can be affected by
their income.

Age: Your marketing tactics may need to be adjusted depending on the age of your target
audience. Try to narrow down a specific bracket.

Level of athleticism: Have an idea of your customers’ level of athleticism or aspire to achieve. A
casual jogger may not be interested in the same services or products as a marathon runner.

These factors can inform the details of your marketing campaigns.

For example, a campaign designed for young people on the West Coast who value an athletic,
outdoor lifestyle will look vastly different from a campaign designed for older adults who might
be more partial to nostalgic sports references and basic healthy lifestyle choices. Similarly, a
campaign designed for youth and their parents will require its nuances.

While sports marketing centers on athletes, it doesn’t always target them. When considering your
target audience’s athletic level, brainstorm ways you can appeal to them in unique ways.

2. Creating engaging content

If there is one thing sports fans — and your customers — are continually interested in, it is
engaging content with their favorite sports figures. Should you be able to maximize the pre-
existing networks of enthusiastic sports fans, you will open up your audience to new capacities.

Nike continues to reign as a brand that executes some of the most iconic sports marketing
examples. They often pair with fresh new athletes and celebrities to create engaging content.
To fully tap into this plentiful resource of potential customers, consider using content marketing
in the form of:

Creating YouTube videos

Starting a blog

Developing press releases

Getting started on Twitter

Suppose you can provide potential customers with compelling video, photo, and written content
across multiple platforms. In that case, you can harness the excitement for celebrity and the
passion for sports that many fans share. Content that features or interacts with their favorite
sports players can be extremely engaging.

3. Timing your content perfectly

With sports marketing closely tied to seasonal sports and live events, it is important to consider
the most effective time to post your content. For example:

 Ride the wave of pre-game buzz by marketing leading up to an event.

 Jump on opportunities to congratulate championship teams when everyone is watching.

 Keep a close beat on celebrity athletes and time content when they are most visible
during the season — or when fans miss them in the off-season.

Timing is essential when scheduling content across all platforms. Consider when emails will be
more effective versus social media. Once you’ve created the perfect rhythm for posting content
and have developed an effective email campaign, consider using automation to keep consistent
content rolling out to your customers and potential customers. 
5 Essential Sports Marketing Strategies

Even though 2020 was a game-changing year in every sense of the word, the sports industry is
poised to bounce back and flourish in the coming years. With sports projected to thrive and fans
hungrier than ever for sports content, now is the time to develop sports marketing strategies to
grow your business. .

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The goal is to provide the client with strategies to promote sports or to promote
some other product, service, business or cause through sports. Sports marketing is
also designed to meet the needs and wants of the consumers through exchange
processes.

1)Identify the components of the marketing mix

2)Understand the target market

3) Identify the five bases of segmentation

4) Illustrate the concept of positioning