Tactics For Marketing Sports

Tourism based on marketing sports events won't save the bottom line if there is a prolonged economic downturn, said Steve Eberhart, general manager of The Buttes Marriott Resort in Arizona. But it does positively affect local profits, especially since many of the sporting events are on weekends, when business travelers empty out of hotels, he said. The Super Bowl can bring roughly 125,000 out-of-towners to a local area, so the impact can be rather profound on the regional economy as a whole, with venues such as restaurants, hotels and shops. When you're considering advertising specialties and cross-promotion, be aware that all networking channels will be open to you, so finding prominent partners may be an avenue that could increase business for the both of you.

You have a gold-mine if your team is doing particularly well. Other businesses and corporate sponsors know this. Therefore, it's important that you take time to consider the wants and needs of your sports fans. There are some givens, of course. For instance, alcohol and marketing sports just seem to go hand-in-hand. If you've ever seen a rabble rouse of maniacal sports fans running down the block to the stadium with two beer cans in hand, yelling at the top of their lungs, covered in war paint and wearing logo products, then you know this.

Local restaurants and hotel chains may also be willing to do business with you, as food and sports or travel and sports often go hand-in-hand as well. They'll be making a ton of money, so coughing up some cash to sponsor your event won't be an issue. This area of marketing is particularly salient if your team needs a new stadium or training facility.

Another big focus of marketing sports is presenting your target audience with innovative imprinted merchandise. This is where things get tricky. You need to connect with your audience and push them one little step further to consume. Sure, they'll buy the baseball tickets and the footlong hotdog and the beer, but will they buy the NY Yankees hat or hooded sweatshirt? Will they buy the imprinted pens and the key tags?

Perhaps you need to catch your fans slightly off guard by offering promotional items in a venue they wouldn't expect. For instance, you may run a promotion with a popular college eatery, offering promotional merchandise along with a certain menu item for just a few dollars extra. Or you can make use of modern technology to reach your audience via their cell phones! The Celtics basketball team has been reaching their target audience through a partnership with an Indianapolis-based voice messaging company Vontoo (vontoo.com), which is being used to increase ticket renewals through personal messages from player Delonte West. The Memphis Grizzlies saw an increase of $30,000 in sales following just one round of phone calls!

Sales of all sports merchandise -- not just team-named goods from the major pro sports but also products from the Olympics, professional wrestling, automobile racing and other sports -- increased 9 percent last year to $12.1 billion, from $11.1 billion in 1991, and 66 percent in the last five years, from $7.3 billion in 1987. People whose lives are based around marketing sports are watching the trends like hawks. Their target audience is picking logo products that look appealing, provide functionality and are placed in an accessible location.

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