Dispelling Sports Marketing Myths

Sports marketing is gaining ground in the battle for acceptance by mainstream marketers. But what do non-marketers think about the discipline within which we work? Judging by recent coverage of falling attendance in English soccer, not a lot. Commentators have variously suggested that sports marketing does not exist, or else is irrelevant, unnecessary, a fad or largely the domain of rampant capitalists more interested in money than in sport. Such views are outdated and inaccurate; inevitably they do little to further our cause. Having used my previous editorial to define sports marketing, I think it now appropriate to establish what it is not.

Myth 1: Sports marketing is about selling things to people If, for example, a governing body wants to introduce an initiative to promote the grassroots development of sport, it needs to have a clear vision of what it is trying to achieve, how it might be done, at whom it will be directed and how it could be communicated. This demands careful consideration of how to market the initiative. Nothing is being sold, no goods change hands and there may be no direct financial return. Marketing is not solely a commercial or selling activity: it performs a multitude of different functions.

Myth 2: Sports marketing is all about putting a gloss on the commercialism and ‘commodification’ of sport. Sport faces intense competition from other leisure and entertainment activities and from other goods and services. Marketplaces are crowded, so communication is vital. Marketing builds a differential advantage for sport by emphasizing the appeal of the core product while highlighting its key features. This is not gloss: it’s about maintaining the relevance of sport.

Myth 3: Sports marketing is all about making money from supporters. The purpose of any business is to make money. If a business is not profitable, ultimately it will cease to trade. Marketing contributes to the activities of many sports businesses, helping them maximize the revenue they earn from the products they sell. This can be exploitative, but some sports organizations are increasingly receptive to the power of the customer. (Think of the customer service charter on the Man Utd website.) Sports marketing involves trying to understand the needs and wants of the marketplace to produce goods and services that satisfy actual or latent demand – the ‘win-win’ for every party involved in producing and consuming sports products.

Myth 4: Sports marketing is about leading customers to believe things that may not be true. Take an evening soccer match in the middle of winter, when the rain is falling and the temperature plummeting. Watching the game is likely to be a cold, wet experience. But some fans enjoy it, and this may be the basis for maintaining and developing this type of contest. The essence of sports marketing is to establish whether or not this is the case. If people want something different, trying to convince them of the appeal of what is on offer is difficult. Developing the product is one role that marketing performs. Equally, it might be to make fundamental changes to the product, such as moving games to times or locations that generate bigger crowds.

Myth 5: Sports marketing is a corruption of the purity of sport If anything, sports marketing is about celebrating the purity of sport. As spending and consumption patterns change, sports organizations have to remain relevant to people’s lives. Making sport one of the first choices for consumer spending is a fundamental function of sports marketing.

Simon Chadwick