Sports marketing is a multibillion-dollar industry, and it’s only getting bigger. If you want to get in on the action or know what sports marketers do, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll cover: how the industry got started, how much money is made, who does what, and some of the most popular sports.
The Definition of Sports Marketing
Sports marketing is a large, multi-billion-dollar industry that has earned much attention over the years, but it can be pretty tricky to define. The root of the word “sports” dictates that it is about participants (yes, “sports” and “participants” are the same), but it can also refer to events. There are sports leagues, as well as public spectacles, that have become highly commercialized.
Sports marketing can be broadly defined as promoting a product or service across traditional and nontraditional media channels to increase sales. The following are the three major categories of sports marketing:
- Media and PR
This category focuses on traditional media, like television, newspapers, and magazines. Placement is essential in this area because many companies try to raise awareness among consumers. It’s a good idea to keep track of which companies have acquired the rights to games or other 먹튀컷 sports events that you’re interested in (e.g., the NBA is ESPN, so if you’re a fan of basketball, it might be best to make sure you know when ESPN has games you want to watch).
- Event Marketing & Ticketing
This is where event promoters come in. They’re responsible for putting on a sporting event and also focus on promoting it, sometimes even partnering with traditional media. They also try to get fans involved as much as possible (e.g., having contests to see who owns the most championship rings or making a bet that offers “OU / OSU” tickets in exchange for the game being played in their hometown).
- Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Marketing
This is one of the fastest-growing categories within sports marketing. This involves sports teams selling their merchandise and sponsoring sports events (such as NASCAR, hosted by Nationwide Insurance). CPGs are particularly popular among sports teams because they have a reasonably high-profit margin for T-shirts and jerseys, especially if you consider that they’re mostly made overseas.
As previously mentioned, sports marketing can be defined as a broad marketing category that encompasses many different activities and, thus is difficult to pinpoint. A more specific area of sports marketing could be compared to sponsorship—bringing your brand on board with an established team/league/promoter to increase your product’s exposure through the team’s or league’s media channels
