Pairing Brands with Sports Content and Sporting Events
Sports Marketing allows for brands to align themselves with certain sports, teams, events, athletes, and communities. This alignment serves as the path to target a very engaged, larger audience attending viewing live events or relevant sports content. This particular segment of advertising proves versatile, as channels and tactics can be used at smaller or larger investment levels.
Why is sports marketing important and beneficial?
Sports marketing is important because it gives brands the competitive advantage of cutting through the noise and clutter, targeting an audience fully connected with excitement and loyalty. Brand awareness can be achieved by way of a sound strategy and compelling creative. Through sports advertising you can connect with the audience at a more granular level by choosing tactics and creating content that will leave a lasting, memorable impression. Additionally, you can improve your brand’s perception among a specific group of people that are more likely to spend.
Tactics and trends in sports marketing
There is a vast array of formats when it comes to advertising in the sports subdivision of marketing. According to a 2023 Nielsen study, the global sports market is estimated to reach $623 billion.
Media and digital strategies can include TV commercials, radio spots, OTT, CTV, display ads, social media marketing, print, and outdoor advertising. The creative plan for these channels is vital and can push the boundaries a bit by creating content targeted at captivating and resonating with the viewers, some of whom you’re reaching in real-time. For example, big events such as the Super Bowl, allow brands to tap into the largest audience platform to get their messaging seen and heard, converting these impressions into awareness producing revenue.
Sponsorships are another great tactic to get your brand messaging spread and connect with the community. Based on the partnership, brands can develop content that creates an experience such as contests, giveaways, and fan interactions. In addition, sponsorship advertising can include signage inside the events, logo inclusion in print pieces, branding on swag, and live messaging announcements.
Sports extend beyond game days and so should your marketing efforts. Sports content and fandom continues to grow each year through video games, podcasts, fantasy sports leagues, and beyond. Brands are advertising within these outlets as another space to get in front of their targeted sports enthusiasts.
How to build a sports marketing plan
1. Identify your target audience.
Sports advertising can expose you to large audiences. For example, the NFL delivers massive viewership numbers. According to Nielson, 93 of the top 100 most watched TV broadcasts of 2023 were NFL games. This means you will reach a wider audience than other types of programing.
College level sports will help you reach a regionally specific demographic.
If you want to target at a local level and community is an important part of your brand, then high school and club sports marketing can make a huge impact on the perception of your brand.
Events like the Super Bowl, World Series, March Madness, and the Olympics are some of the largest, most celebrated moments that attract all types of audiences. These are cultural experiences that bring multiple demographics together to witness some of the most talented athletes make history.
2. Develop your media plan and creative strategy.
Media planning and creative strategy sets the guide and parameters for your campaigns. Identifying KPIs will help determine the WHY of your advertising efforts. Extensive research and ideation are imperative in developing these plans and strategies to help determine the HOW. This includes market, competitive, and audience research.
3. Launch and measure the campaign.
Once you have a compelling campaign, negotiated media buys, and have all creative assets complete, its launch time! During the flight of a campaign, performance needs to be monitored, analyzed, and optimized. The information gathered will be vital for historical data on future campaigns.
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