Could Your Business Benefit From Sports?
Every country has one or more favourite sports. It can be soccer, football, cricket, or any other for that matter. There’ll always be a group of enthusiastic sports fans somewhere, regardless of the sport. Can your business catch a ride on this speeding-up train? Keep reading and find out.
Business Goals
There are many ways your business can profit from sports-related exposure. After all, your content would be reaching your audience at an emotional moment: the game. Even when stadiums are empty, internet providers and streaming platforms get very busy.
This kind of campaign doesn’t reach only the TV audience, as there are many streaming sports platforms around. There are even themed game nights and watch parties that are sponsored by major companies for events such as the SuperBowl, EPL and the IPL. It is a big success in many industries and countries where people get involved in many ways. In the case of the IPL, for example, many make betting pools with the best cricket betting app in India, while many SuperBowl watch parties have been known to include a raffle, on top of stadium-inspired food and drinks.
Check some successful examples: in Europe, the delivery company Just Eat Takeaway partnered up with UEFA for Euro 2020. There’s also the partnership between the 2021 Champions League and Pepsico’s Lays. The most significant soccer competitions in the world are the perfect place to tap into the audience’s mind.
Yet, the food industry isn’t the only one to benefit from this kind of campaign. For instance, there’s the automotive industry and the ads on Formula 1 and NASCAR events. Sports events are also perfect for promoting health-related brands, like supplements, insurances, etc.
The Right Pitch
From a consumer’s perspective, there are two kinds of marketing campaigns: interesting and annoying. Those uncalled-for ads before your videos, or those random calls during the day, typically fit into the second kind. Meanwhile, sports marketing is proven to increase the audience’s acceptance of a brand.
According to the sports editor for Yahoo Canada, Steve McAllister, consumers see sponsorship as vital for sports. Soccer events usually host some of the most expensive campaigns. Still, there are other examples, like the U.S. and British Open, Tour de France, Wimbledon Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.
In 2005, GE decided to become one of the major Olympic sponsors and increased the company’s revenue to USD 1 billion in seven years. Audi also had a similar experience in 2010, with the Vancouver Olympics, when it saw a 34% spike in its revenue.
Big League Gains
Notice that it isn’t even a new strategy. Back in 1896, Kodak paid for an ad in the first edition of the modern Olympic Games. By 1912, the number of companies displaying their ads on that Olympic Games edition jumped to ten. Top companies paid over USD 100 million to get their brands in Sochi for the 2014 Olympic Games.
Yet, your company doesn’t need to be a global leader in its field to enjoy the advantages of sports marketing. Small businesses can also benefit greatly from this kind of strategy. Indeed, small businesses won’t have deep pockets like the giants do. Still, it’s possible to devise a strategy to get your brand out there and link it to exciting moments in your audience’s minds.
Consider putting your brand on high school teams and competitions, sponsoring local events, or putting an ad on your local radio. These options are considerably less expensive than major events and also do the job quite well with your local customers.
There are a few ways to do so, as there are many kinds of sports marketing. You can put your brand in the stadium, on a team’s uniform, streaming platforms, and even sports betting apps. Like any other marketing campaign, it requires careful planning and a deep understanding of the target audience.
