What is Sports Marketing?
This question probably resounds
across maturing FMCG sectors and ad making agencies. There’s a consensus that Sports
Marketing is the new golden girl and all want their pie share. But do they
fully understand the underlying principles and foundations on which this
industry revolves. In academics, the 4 P’s of general marketing are Product,
Price, Promotion and Place but we need another 4 P’s to understand sports
marketing which originate from the fact that sports are considered to be a
service. The additional 4 P’s are: Planning, Packaging, Positioning and
Perception. The addition of the four extra elements is "sports
marketing mix”.
Television broadcasting was never the same once 1936 Summer
Olympics at Berlin were broadcasted on live television for the first time as
live coverage of a sports event. But till
date, organizations believe Sports Marketing to be nothing more than star
players endorsing cold drinks and wearing logos. The big business houses
perceive Sports Marketing as promotion, personal selling, advertising or sales
strategies. For the insulars, it starts at Sachin Tendulkar endorsing RBS,
Boost or Pepsi and it ends at Federer using Gillette or wearing a glittering Rolex.
But it’s much much more. The depth is deeper than what meets the eye.
To sum it up, Sport marketing has two closely
defined angles: one is the marketing of sport products and services, while the
other is marketing through sport. A optimum marketing strategy is required to
tap the potential of both avenues.
