SPORT(S) MARKETING

Bert Van der Auwera | Coventry University & Business School Lecture | November 9, 2012

one

THE BASICS

SPORT(S)MARKETING

Definition?

• Marketing of sports• Marketing through sports

Gray and McEvoy, 2005

• Domains of Sports MarketingFullerton and Russel Merz, 2008

SPORT(S)MARKETING

Sale Image

Spectator Sports Participation Sports

B2C B2B

Sports Products Non-Sports Products

Traditional Approach Integrated Approach

Licensor Partner

Sponsor Partner

Athlete / Club Organisation

Theme Based

Alignment Based

Product Based

Sports Based

But… whatever you want to do…

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.

History can’t be changed

• 1905• Champions: 1955 … 2005/6/10• To 2nd division in 1975 ‘til 1989• Financial troubles• Sold to Abramovic in 2003

But the future is yours

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 … the 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.

Express yourself … the tagline

Royal Sporting Club AnderlechtPremium Belgian Football Club

This is not the same as your slogan

We Are Anderlecht

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 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

COUNTERINGCOUNTERFEIT?

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

two

THE STRATEGY

Use data to determine your strategyand to adapt it when necessary

Individual, linear data Marketing strategy

Is ‘Big Data’ the future?

Complex system, clear target

• Fan• Football player• Father• Man

• Season Ticket• Magazine subscr.• Website visitor• Sports on TV

Two examples…

…unlimited possibilities

Marketing strategy

• based on your fans

• but on all of them: from those who are

close to you, ‘til 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 hosting the stars

three

THE BUSINESS

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

So never forget…

SPORTIS

BUSINESS(And there’s a lot of money in it)

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

Legislation is everywhere

• Local• National• European• Sports specific• Business• Commercia• IP• Safety & Security• and so many more…

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 & economical 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

• there is no overall licensing system

• so… what if it is nothing else but a bubble…

…and what if that bubble will burst?

four

INNOVATION

USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO

INNOVATE(AND TO DEVELOP

INNOVATIVE IDEAS FROM OTHERS)

Check where your fans are

And follow them

Determine exclusivity

Offer more

Offer experiences

Offer rewards

USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO

BE WISE(AND TO LEARN FROM STUPIDITIES OF

OTHERS)

Q&ABert Van der Auwera

email - bert@rsca.betwitter - Bert_VdA