SPORTS MARKETING

Bert Van der AuweraLecture, Coventry University, Nov. 22, 2011

1.The Basics…

KNOW WHOYOU ARE

(And write it down in a mission statement)

The Mission Statement

• is sacred

• and the basis of your framework

• which determines your playground

• for everything you do

• and anything you want to achieve.

HERITAGE TODAY

NEVER THE SAME…

…ALWAYS THE NEW YORK KNICKS

FUTURE

There were days before you…

• history was made, if you like it or not

• history will be remembered anyway

…and there will be more days after you.

• modernisation = adaptation

If you want to work for a brand

but you can’t live with its past,

then don’t lose any more time

and find yourself another job.

HISTORYNo Brand Management

YESTERDAYBrand Awareness to Brand Development

TODAYBrand Management

IDENTIFY YOURSELF… LOGO

Your logo…

• expresses your identity

• in a visual way

• that will be recognised

• and give a feeling of familiarity

• which can never be beaten by

coolness alone.

Royal Sporting Club AnderlechtPremium Belgian Football Club

EXPRESS YOURSELF…NAME & TAGLINE

A tagline is the expression…

• of your brand

• of your values

• of your mission statement

• and nothing else

Premium Belgian Football Club

• we are a Football Club

• we are Belgian and proud of it

• ‘Premium Belgian Beer’ and ‘Belgian

Chocolates’ are well-known all over the

world Premium is our quality label (and it

fits as we are Belgium’s #1 sports club)

CLAIM YOUR ORIGIN

Your origin will always be part of you

• be proud of it

• use the best of it

• claim it

• market it

• it’s the start of your globalisation

‘NY’ FROM CITY TO CLUB

KNOW YOUR MARKET

Know where you are and who’s around you

• know where you operate

• know your opponents

• get a stable spot in your home market

• use that stability to develop yourself

• so you can grow and expand

• no homebase = no base at all

NOT EVERY MARKETWILL BE YOURS

Know where you will go

• the image is not always the reality

• other cultural habits

• your brand will never be their brand

• get a clear focus on what you want

• and never lose focus on who you are

KNOW YOUR FANS

Know your fans

• no two fans are alike

• they all are managers

• you have determined the strategy

• they have an opinion

• use it to strengthen your brand

…ALL YOUR FANS

Know your fans

• not all fans are your friends

• not all fans share your values

• fans can destroy your image

• dare to stand up for yourself

DATA = KNOWLEDGE

Data

• know the data you need

• know the cost

• know the revenue you look for

• data do live so update, update, update

• be transparent in what you do with it

Use data to determine your strategyand to adapt it when necessary

Individual, linear data Marketing strategy

Marketing strategy

• based on your fans

• but on all of them: from those who

are close to you, ‘till those you will

never see but who like you anyway

and who keep the buzz going on.

KNOWLEDGE =BETTER COMMUNICATION

UEFA Champions League

• nobody has done it better

• they know what their audience wants

• stars: players – teams – matches

• they’ve incorporated the stars in each

and every part of their image

• UCL: a star itself hosting the stars

2.The Business…

three videosexpressing

today’s reality

1st Video:

Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht“song4rsca”The Launch

YouTube link:http://youtu.be/zAdPfYgMMkU

2nd Video:

adidas“adidas is all in”

YouTube link:http://youtu.be/0A0jVkFs3C4

3th Video:

eristoff“island” / “dreams”

YouTube link:http://youtu.be/fhjueHYhTV4

RSC Anderlecht “song4rsca”

• local club with sponsor for 1 action

Adidas “all in”

• global brand, personally connected

Eristoff “island”

• creativity to beat the legal restrictions

But all three… expressing emotions

SPORTS = EMOTIONS

Emotions are valuable, but dangerous

• emotions make people connect

• emotions sell

• but to sell, you need to do business

• and emotions don’t run businesses

SPORTS = BUSINESS

Sports clubs, sports brands…

• are companies

• operating in a market

• competing with other companies

…so don’t forget to run it as a company and always keep an eye on your figures!

THERE IS ONLY #1

It’s hard to get to the top, but it’s much harder to stay there.

• sports business is about competition

• in a competition, only the best wins

• so try to be the best

• but know your own limits

• and grow step by step

• or all you’ll ever do, is fail.

BUT ALSO REGULATIONS

Know your legal framework

• it’s looking over your shoulder at

whatever you do

• you can try to ignore it but it will knock

you down faster than anything else

• so study it, analyse it, and never forget

about it

AND ALWAYS A BUDGET

Know your possibilities

• when your Mission Statement

determines your framework, your

budget determines your strategy.

• work with it and try to make it grow,

complaining about it won’t help

anyway.

Sports are part of a globalised world

• new investors

• new markets

• astronomic budgets

• more and more brands shifted from

advertisers to owners

• sports have become an industry

NEVER UNDERESTIMATEEXTERNAL FACTORS

You don’t operate alone

• financial & economic crisis

• investors have smaller budgets, but they

want bigger returns

• you know your contacts, but seldom do

you know the decision makers

• the personal connection is gone forever

In a globalised world…

• know what your investors want

• adapt yourself to the market

• analyse all possible risks

• create multiple strategies

• because anything can happen and you can

only control yourself, never the others

In today’s sports

• there is no existing risk management

instrument

• there is no existing rating system

• so… what if it really is a bubble…

…and what if that bubble will burst?

3.To Do…

USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO

INNOVATE(AND TO DEVELOP

INNOVATIVE IDEAS FROM OTHERS)

GO WHERE YOUR FANS GO

BUT BE EXCLUSIVE

USE TECHNOLOGY

BUT OFFER MORE

USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO

BE WISE(AND TO LEARN FROM STUPIDITIES OF OTHERS)

Q&A

Bert Van der AuweraRoyal Sporting Club Anderlecht

e-mail bert@rsca.betwitter @Bert_VdA