As defined within the literature Greg
Monroe Bucks Jersey , sports marketing represents those activities
intended to meet the needs and wants of sports consumers through exchange
processes (Mullin, Hardy & Sutton, 2000, p. 5). Quick, Shilbury and
Westerbeek (2003) clarified that sports marketing is a social and managerial
process within sports by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and
want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. As such, as
noted by Quick et al., the identification of consumer needs and wants is a
critical aspect of the marketer's role, with marketing strategies based on known
consumer needs.
Quick et al. (2003) explained that it has been assumed
that in sports the original form of the game tends to be naturally attractive
and therefore satisfies consumer needs. However, as emphasized by the authors,
this is an outdated view, with many sports now having modified rules to make
their games more attractive. Particularly, for younger consumers, many sports
have been significantly modified to satisfy the desire of many more young people
to participate in the game (Quick et al., 2003). According to the authors, this
change has led to the recognition that younger consumers want to develop game
skills through actual participation, to have fun, and in general to be with
their friends through the sport setting. This awareness helps to further
emphasize the importance of identifying the needs and wants that are to be
satisfied when considering sports marketing activities. As noted by Quick et
al., dentifying the needs of various segments of the population is the challenge
inherent in the early phase of the marketing process. Obtaining this information
offers the sports marketer the opportunity to communicate the benefits of the
sport product as a means of defining the sports positioning to different
segments of the market (Quick et al., 2003). Such exchange processes help to
clarify the importance of using a mix of marketing strategies in order to
influence different consumers to buy sport products, via either attendance or
participation. Quick et al. indicated that these processes identify the four
primary variables involved in sports marketing including product, price,
promotion and place, otherwise known as the traditional four Ps of
marketing.
According to Mullin et al., sports marketing has developed two
major thrusts including the marketing of sports products and services directly
to the consumers of sport, and the marketing of other consumer and industrial
products or services though the use of sport promotions. As further explained by
Mullin et al., sports marketing also involves the promotion of the game itself.
For example, as noted by the authors, both professional leagues and member
franchises are active in the promotion of their teams and sports through
advertising and Web sites. Marketing through sports has become increasingly
popular as companies outside of the sports industry recognize sports as a medium
for marketing their own products and services (Mullin et al., 2000). The
purchase of stadium naming rights by companies including Coors and America West
Airlines and the sponsorship of NASCAR teams by Home Depot and Valvoline are but
a few examples of marketing through sport (McDonald & Milne, 1999).
Sports Marketing and the Media
In relation to sports marketing,
media organizations have emerged as assuming a critical role. The media is
active in the marketing of sports, as they provide the various communication
vehicles through which sports games are seen, read about, and heard (Thorne,
Wright & Jones, 2001). Media companies traditionally have included
television, newspaper, and radio (Thorne et al., 2001). According to Thorne et
al., media rights, especially through television, have symbiotic or closely knit
relationships with sport, with sports aiding in building the media while media
exposure aids in further building and establishing an audience for the sports
industry. Consequently, as noted by the authors, as efforts are made by the
media and the sports industry to enhance the numbers of viewers, readers, and
listeners, stronger advertising revenue for the media firm are generated. As a
result of this relationship, owners of media companies have increasingly
acquired professional teams, leading to further complexity in the relationships
that can exist between sports and the media. As further explained by Thorne et
al., media interests often clash with those of teams and leagues under the
Sports Broadcasting Act (1992, 15 U.S.C. 1291-95), which granted an antitrust
exemption for broadcast rights to leagues, though teams' sale of broadcast
rights is subject to antitrust review.
Future Trends
According to
Kotler, Rein and Shields (2007), the direction of future trends in sports
marketing are evidenced in a number of areas. Increasingly, the owners of sport
properties form their own media company, providing a means for those in sports
marketing to interact directly with consumers without the filter of traditional
media (Kotler et al., 2007). An example of this trend offered by Kotler et al.
is that of the National Football League (NFL), with most television networks
recognizing the NFL as a competitive asset for its value in high ratings and
promotional lead-in to other programming. As noted by Kotler et al., the NFL has
begun building its own television channel which competed against ESPN with its
own NFL draft show and broadcast eight regular season games during the 2006
season. Additionally, as pointed out by the authors, the NFL is investing its
own media brand rather than selling its Thursday and Saturday night television
package to other networks. Consequently, the NFL network is rapidly developing
into a backup source for whenever other networks fail to pay the right fees for
NFL programming.