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What’s New in Sports Marketing?

Sports marketing is a type of marketing that is specifically designed to promote and market sports-related and non-sports-related products and services. It is a broad field that can encompass everything from advertising and sponsorships to event management and public relations.

With millennials switching to new platforms to access sports, the role of traditional media and sports marketing is changing. Especially for small college athletics programs, such as those in the NCAA Division III, relying on revenue from ticket sales to sustain the program is no longer enough. New revenue streams must be found and marketing strategies must be adjusted to fit the new landscape.

In the past, sports marketing was all about endorsements and TV commercials. But today, it’s about so much more — sports marketing has become a complex and multifaceted discipline.

Sports marketing is a long-term investment that can drive sales through increased brand strength.

Streaming platforms

The shift to streaming doesn’t just mean that people are watching sports online instead of on cable. It also means that they are consuming content differently.

For example, Amazon’s takeover of Thursday Night Football (TNF) was a big move in the sports streaming world. It is estimated that about 20.4 million people watched Amazon’s live stream of the NFL’s opening game between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals — making it the third-most viewed TNF game since 2018.

While this shift in sports marketing may pose some challenges, it also provides new opportunities for brands. No longer are advertisers confined to the traditional commercials that air during breaks in the action. They can now create ads that run before and during the game on the streaming platform itself.

Cryptocurrency marketing in sports

Cryptocurrency and sports have always had a close relationship. In fact, one of the first real-world uses for Bitcoin was to buy tickets to see the Dallas Mavericks play.

There are several advantages to using cryptocurrency in sports marketing, including opening up a whole new world of marketing opportunities for teams and brands. For example, a team could offer exclusive digital assets to fans who purchase tickets with cryptocurrency. These assets could then be traded or used on popular cryptocurrency exchanges. This would create a whole new revenue stream for the team while also increasing its visibility in the burgeoning world of cryptocurrency. 

However, there are also some disadvantages to using cryptocurrency in sports as it is still a relatively new and volatile technology.

Many famous athletes have started to embrace cryptocurrency in recent years. For example, NBA star Spencer Dinwiddie has been an early adopter of crypto, launching his own digital token last year. Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather and football star Ronaldinho have also launched their own digital currencies.

Marketing promotion via cybersport

The growth of cyber sports, or competitive video gaming, has created a new opportunity for sports marketing. Cyber sports leagues have sprung up all over the world, with teams of professional gamers competing in front of live audiences and online viewers. Just like traditional sports, these leagues generate a lot of revenue from sponsorships and advertising.

Brand integration is a key part of marketing in cybersports. For example, many leagues require that all teams use the same energy drink or brand of computer hardware. This ensures that there is consistent product placement throughout the league’s broadcasts and events. 

Others sponsor an individual gamer or team by providing them with equipment or even paying them to wear your company’s logo during a match. As well, verbal mentions by hosts and commentators are also valuable to help promote a product or service during the broadcast of a cyber sport event.

ChatGPT capabilities for sports marketing

ChatGPT-4 could potentially be used in sports marketing in various ways. Here are a few examples:

1. Personalized content creation: ChatGPT-4 could be used to create personalized marketing content for sports fans. The model could be trained on data from individual fan interactions, such as social media engagement, to generate content that is tailored to their specific interests and preferences.
2. Fan engagement: ChatGPT-4 could be used to engage with sports fans in real-time during games or events. The model could be programmed to respond to fan inquiries and provide updates on the game or event as it unfolds.
3. Predictive analytics: ChatGPT-4 could be used to analyze data from previous games or events to help sports marketers predict fan behavior and preferences. This could be useful for creating targeted marketing campaigns and improving fan engagement strategies.
4. Athlete endorsements: ChatGPT-4 could be used to identify athletes that are most likely to resonate with specific fan demographics. The model could analyze social media engagement data and other factors to identify athletes that have a strong following among certain fan groups.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Sports Marketing

Just like with other channels, before launching a sports marketing campaign, a brand needs to set some goals and KPIs that it wants to reach. Clear objectives will make it easier to evaluate the campaign results, but sports marketing has some differences from traditional advertising media. It’s not always easy to link sales directly to a specific event where a product had been advertised. Another important thing to keep in mind is that sports marketing contributes to sales in the long-term by increasing brand strength. According to McKinsey, brand strength drives 60-80% of all sales. To measure and forecast brand awareness companies can rely on Media Mix Modeling (MMM) and metamodels. With enough data, statistical models can calculate how a specific campaign contributed to brand awareness and how it will affect future sales. From this comparison of top AI-based tools that allow you to build all kinds of models and optimize marketing investments, you can choose one that best suits your needs.

You can also try using our AI service and, by answering just a few questions, plan your KPI for the future period.