Is it an opportunity to carry out marketing actions at university sporting events?
Posted: Tue Jan 07, 2025 6:27 am
Marketing has evolved a lot in the last year due to the pandemic. Strategies have to adapt to times where rushing takes priority and sometimes, we lack the reaction time to address the right audience. With this situation, it is normal for renewed ideas to appear that help us impact our user through other types of scenarios.
Sports marketing is one of them, although with digitalization, this type of action has been modified, or rather adapted, to the new consumer demand . Thus, sports sponsorships have changed their scenario to move from mainstream sports to another sporting trend developed on digital platforms.
eSports are the new paradigm of sports marketing, which brands have begun to focus on due to the wide coverage they have , especially among younger generations. But to find out more about the advantages offered by this type of action, MarketingDirecto.com has contacted Ana Belén Perdigones , Director of the Master in Sports Marketing Management at ESIC, who reveals the reality of this strategy.
What has changed in today's sports marketing compared to traditional marketing?
The pandemic has brought forward the digitalisation of companies by 5 years. This has also happened in sports companies and institutions, as well as in the consumption and practice of sports. Hybrid systems and Zoom meetings are now commonplace; these channels are the ones through which a lot of sports content has had to diversify. Also the consumption of sports itself, varying in platforms, schedules and style of consumption, as well as the practice itself, merging the digital with the in-person. For example, you can run a stage of the Tour de France from your home, do collaborative competitions with other players remotely or attend a fitness class with your digital teacher.
What are the differences between sports marketing and eSports marketing? Is there a need to differentiate between the two?
Sports marketing has inherent characteristics of sport, such as the fact that we are managing fans and followers and not consumers who are driven by price. Competitions or tournaments make sports sponsorship increasingly stronger, and the product we “sell” are the values of sport or what an athlete represents and the experiences. E-sports marketing also has a lot of that, but it also has its own ecosystem, such as influencers, platforms like Twitch and even the dynamics of its competitions that are capable of breaking attendance ratios around the globe. Something I would highlight is the focus of E-sports on generation Z and the youngest. This social group historically never had much attention from marketing experts given that they did not have their own spending budget, but today, 12-16 year olds can not only have their own budget but are also authentic influencers of spending in their family economies. Therefore, targeting these segments now is a differentiator.
Why does a brand have to focus its message beyond mainstream sports such as football or basketball?
I think there is no “small” sport. Each brand has to focus on what it wants to convey and who it wants to associate with. When you generate sponsorship, a symbiosis is created between both participants where everyone wins. Therefore, there will be brands that are interested in being in certain sports because of the profile of their followers, others because of the values that the sport represents, or because of the geographical impact it has. There are several factors and the fact that football or basketball has a lot of media coverage is not the main driver of choice for brands and with the new trends it will be less and less so.
Does the result of the team or athlete affect the brand image?
When a team or athlete does not reach the podium, it is a disadvantage for the brand because it loses many “headlines”. It should not be forgotten that sponsorships play with the visibility of the brand and beyond the fact that it is always better to be with the winning team, the difference lies in where the journalists put the spotlight. That said, the brand image is not damaged when the athlete or team does not win, but it will always get more (visibility and recognition) if it wins.
In the United States, college sports resonate a lot. I think that Spain is a country with a very sporty qatar number data culture and that it is increasingly valued as a lifestyle. Investing in college sports would not only give Spanish athletes a greater career and professionalize the athletes themselves, but would also generate a greater offer in the range of sports entertainment and marketing options.
When choosing sports figures for our brand image, what factors should a company take into account?
The first thing to do is to review the values that the company has, how its customers or potential customers see it in the market, and where it wants to position itself (or reinforce its current position). This will give you greater visibility of who you want to "associate" with, since you will be associating your brand with the athlete and everything that he or she represents. All of the athlete's actions count, both on and off the court.
How has the pandemic affected sports marketing? What changes will be consolidated after this health crisis?
I think there is a new way of consuming sports, both in terms of sports practice and entertainment. There are habits that will remain and will even become stronger, such as the incorporation of technology. What we will leave behind will be the measures that had to be taken as part of security – distance, masks, sharing with other people – these actions will be reduced and even completely eliminated since human beings are social animals, and therefore we will give greater relevance to social experiences in the sports field.
At ESIC we understand sports marketing not only as that linked to events and competitions, but as the strategy for generating a strong, consolidated and positively recognized brand in its environment. For this reason, the Master in Sports Marketing Management goes from the design of the strategy, the financial impact on the profit and loss account, to the specific actions of events or functional digital marketing strategies, which enable you to take the reins from an agency, club or brand.
Sports marketing is one of them, although with digitalization, this type of action has been modified, or rather adapted, to the new consumer demand . Thus, sports sponsorships have changed their scenario to move from mainstream sports to another sporting trend developed on digital platforms.
eSports are the new paradigm of sports marketing, which brands have begun to focus on due to the wide coverage they have , especially among younger generations. But to find out more about the advantages offered by this type of action, MarketingDirecto.com has contacted Ana Belén Perdigones , Director of the Master in Sports Marketing Management at ESIC, who reveals the reality of this strategy.
What has changed in today's sports marketing compared to traditional marketing?
The pandemic has brought forward the digitalisation of companies by 5 years. This has also happened in sports companies and institutions, as well as in the consumption and practice of sports. Hybrid systems and Zoom meetings are now commonplace; these channels are the ones through which a lot of sports content has had to diversify. Also the consumption of sports itself, varying in platforms, schedules and style of consumption, as well as the practice itself, merging the digital with the in-person. For example, you can run a stage of the Tour de France from your home, do collaborative competitions with other players remotely or attend a fitness class with your digital teacher.
What are the differences between sports marketing and eSports marketing? Is there a need to differentiate between the two?
Sports marketing has inherent characteristics of sport, such as the fact that we are managing fans and followers and not consumers who are driven by price. Competitions or tournaments make sports sponsorship increasingly stronger, and the product we “sell” are the values of sport or what an athlete represents and the experiences. E-sports marketing also has a lot of that, but it also has its own ecosystem, such as influencers, platforms like Twitch and even the dynamics of its competitions that are capable of breaking attendance ratios around the globe. Something I would highlight is the focus of E-sports on generation Z and the youngest. This social group historically never had much attention from marketing experts given that they did not have their own spending budget, but today, 12-16 year olds can not only have their own budget but are also authentic influencers of spending in their family economies. Therefore, targeting these segments now is a differentiator.
Why does a brand have to focus its message beyond mainstream sports such as football or basketball?
I think there is no “small” sport. Each brand has to focus on what it wants to convey and who it wants to associate with. When you generate sponsorship, a symbiosis is created between both participants where everyone wins. Therefore, there will be brands that are interested in being in certain sports because of the profile of their followers, others because of the values that the sport represents, or because of the geographical impact it has. There are several factors and the fact that football or basketball has a lot of media coverage is not the main driver of choice for brands and with the new trends it will be less and less so.
Does the result of the team or athlete affect the brand image?
When a team or athlete does not reach the podium, it is a disadvantage for the brand because it loses many “headlines”. It should not be forgotten that sponsorships play with the visibility of the brand and beyond the fact that it is always better to be with the winning team, the difference lies in where the journalists put the spotlight. That said, the brand image is not damaged when the athlete or team does not win, but it will always get more (visibility and recognition) if it wins.
In the United States, college sports resonate a lot. I think that Spain is a country with a very sporty qatar number data culture and that it is increasingly valued as a lifestyle. Investing in college sports would not only give Spanish athletes a greater career and professionalize the athletes themselves, but would also generate a greater offer in the range of sports entertainment and marketing options.
When choosing sports figures for our brand image, what factors should a company take into account?
The first thing to do is to review the values that the company has, how its customers or potential customers see it in the market, and where it wants to position itself (or reinforce its current position). This will give you greater visibility of who you want to "associate" with, since you will be associating your brand with the athlete and everything that he or she represents. All of the athlete's actions count, both on and off the court.
How has the pandemic affected sports marketing? What changes will be consolidated after this health crisis?
I think there is a new way of consuming sports, both in terms of sports practice and entertainment. There are habits that will remain and will even become stronger, such as the incorporation of technology. What we will leave behind will be the measures that had to be taken as part of security – distance, masks, sharing with other people – these actions will be reduced and even completely eliminated since human beings are social animals, and therefore we will give greater relevance to social experiences in the sports field.
At ESIC we understand sports marketing not only as that linked to events and competitions, but as the strategy for generating a strong, consolidated and positively recognized brand in its environment. For this reason, the Master in Sports Marketing Management goes from the design of the strategy, the financial impact on the profit and loss account, to the specific actions of events or functional digital marketing strategies, which enable you to take the reins from an agency, club or brand.