USING SPORTS TO MARKET PRODUCTS 4.1

A wide range of demographic groups enjoy sports. The young market flocks to the X Games. Baby boomers with hearty disposable income and a focus on personal fitness are participating in all types of sports. Sports medicine and training centers are in every major city. Web sites for participants and fans are innumerable. Many businesses want to align themselves with a sports team or athlete. Sports events attract more viewers and participants than any other form of entertainment today. Market Audience Size

In 1997 records show 24.7 million golfers records show 36.7 million. The number of junior golfers (ages 5 – 17) rose by 38.6%. Total advertising expenditures for media – broadcast, print, and outdoor advertising - were $117.3 billion in $5.7 billion was spent on Internet advertising. Sponsors paid $1.8 billion during the 2000 Olympics. The price for a 30-second commercial was $600,000

Sports sponsors fully understand the size of the sports audience today. An audience full of fans is captive. Sponsors are successful because if the audience wants to see the game, or the athlete, they have to see the advertisements.

The Power of Emotional Ties More time and money are spent on sports than on any other recreational pursuit in the country. Sports fans also spend a lot of mental energy on their favorite teams and athletes. The power of athletics as a marketing aid can be explained partly by the emotional ties people feel toward sports. The elation that some fans feel about a team victory is also very powerful, as evidenced by rioting after college and professional sports championship games.

Following recent riots at Ohio State, Washington State, Clemson, California, Stanford, North Carolina State, and other schools after football games, colleges are scrambling to find fast solutions to an all-too-familiar part of today’s sports scene. In addition, many fans overlook an athlete’s tasteless or criminal behavior as long as he or she still scores or entertains. Examples?

Power of New Markets The rising popularity of women’s athletics is causing companies to take a closer look at their marketing campaigns, especially in light of WNBA attendance of 8,800 per game and 2 million television viewers for a New York Liberty game. WNBA and Women’s World Cup Soccer players are members of the first generations of girls who grew up with sports as a real option and a regular activity. Thanks are due in part to Title IX, the prohibition against gender discrimination in school programs that received federal funds.

Women make 80 percent of all purchasing decisions. Women also spend more than $5 billion a year on sportswear. Companies have started to rethink their campaigns to attract more of this money. Men still have a much larger portion of promotion and endorsement dollars, but women are closing the gap. Venus Williams received a $40-million contract from Reebok, the largest ever paid to a female athlete.

Powerhouse endorsers like Tiger Woods can deliver a product message successfully to urban markets while drawing general audiences because of their status. The buying power of affluent African-Americans is projected to reach $292.4 billion by 2006, with the entire African-American market totaling $683.5 billion. Advertisers seeking a piece of this multibillion-dollar pie often turn to the power of celebrity to generate huge revenues, with the added benefit of mass- market appeal.

Mass marketing is using a single marketing plan to reach all consumers.

List some of the products that Tiger Woods endorsed? General Motors (Buick) Titleist General Mills American Express Nike Accenture Gillette Gatorade EA Sports

Marketing Cycle Marketing products through sports is an interconnected process. First, a company buys the rights to advertise during a game or to use a logo on products it makes.

Next, television and radio stations and networks sell broadcast time to teams and their sponsors. Cities buy the rights to host teams, but they often must sell this idea to taxpayers. Finally, the consumer buys the product advertised during the game.

How Companies Decide Many companies hire outside consulting firms to help them advertise their products through sports. Other companies have stated their own special sports marketing groups within their marketing departments. Marketing products through sports involves sponsorship by companies, promotion of products, and endorsement of the products by athletes.

One of the largest marketing-information firms is ESPN Sports Poll. This group, begun in 1994, offers demographic data, as well as information about the mood of the sports consumer at any point in time and advice on how a company can best attract a particular market. Clients include major league sports, sponsorship companies, sporting goods manufacturers, and media.