Sports Marketing Ideas

Sports marketing, like any other form of marketing, takes planning, proper execution, flexibility and evaluation during each marketing campaign. Unlike other marketing platforms, however, marketing sports requires the ability adjust to how well a team is playing. Public perception often dictates how a team is to be marketed. This fluctuation in the baseline of the marketing plan certainly makes for an interesting campaign. In no other form of marketing is the ability to foresee problems and rapidly make changes to the campaign an essential part of the sports marketing methodology.

1. Marketing Objectives

   • Several objectives need to be outlined in an effective sports-marketing campaign. The outlined objectives should include the planning, organizing and control of marketing activities. First-year plans should cover introducing the sport to people who have no knowledge of the sport, comparing the sport to other sports and marketing to other countries or demographics. Three-year plans should increase public knowledge of the sport or individual team, increase the team's profitability so the organization can improve itself and boost the popularity of the sport or team.

   Problems

   • Most problems with a sports-marketing campaign usually occur during the growth stage of the marketing plan. The growth stage will have the biggest imbalance of spending vs. rewards due to development costs such as market research and failed campaigns. An effective strategy to help keep these problems from getting out hand is by slowly growing the campaign. Test runs of the different marketing ploys should be done before fully committing to any given marketing method to avoid significant working-capital loss.

   Campaign Objectives

   • For each marketing campaign, there will be several individual objectives to achieve. The primary objective is to grow the popularity and support of a sport or team. The second objective is to boost or renew interest in a sport or team. The third main objective is--and this one is very important--is to make the marketing campaign memorable. Take, for instance, the commercials that are seen during the Super Bowl--the ads are generally humorous and very memorable.

   Which Media Method to Use?

   • Of course having the ability and funds available to use television is always a great way to promote a sport or team due to the visual impact and far-reaching audience, but it is also very expensive compared with other media formats. Unlike television, the Internet has become a very cost-effective way of marketing; the major downfall is that the sport of team is not always being marketed to the right audience, especially when it comes to promoting an individual team. Another effective way of marketing is called merchandizing. However, this method is contingent upon the sport, and in more cases, an individual teams' popularity and success. Although merchandizing is a passive marketing tool, it is also highly visible; always a good thing in marketing.

   Evaluating the Marketing Plan

   • Evaluations need to be done at various times throughout the campaign. It is vital to the marketing plan's success to know exactly how each of the individual objectives performed at different stages; not just the final outcome. Usually the success is measured in the sport. Proper evaluation of the different marketing methods and strategies is highly important. to the team's monetary success. Taking public-opinion polls throughout the campaign will tell idenrify the popularity of a sport or team, which is a direct correlation of how well the campaign performed; not only overall but at each stage.

SOURCE : http://www.ehow.com/