SPORTS MARKETING AND BRAND BUILDING
Marketing Management - II Prof. Sanjay Patro

Section C - Group 5 George Antony B13148 Mayank Siotia B13156 Vijender Kaur B13180

SPORTS MARKETING AND BRAND BUILDING
An Introduction

Not that long ago, a company that wanted to reach 20 million young Americans could do it easily—place an ad on Friends on Thursday night. With the proliferation of media types and channels, though, such large and predictable audiences are few and far between. Among all the media touch points, for example, cable has the highest share—34 percent—and of course cable audiences are highly fragmented. Broadcast television gets only 20 percent. Getting people’s attention at all is difficult enough; getting them to pay attention is well-nigh impossible. Sports is the exception. Because it is live, and because there is so much free publicity around major events— everything from water-cooler gossip to blogs to newspapers—sports breaks through the static. It is one of the few areas (music and fashion are others), where people are admittedly passionate. In that passion is opportunity for marketers. Because fans are already invested in the event or their team— think how insufferable New York Yankee or Manchester United fans can be—companies can tap into these emotions to connect with consumers and build an emotional bond with them. And because sports are best watched live, it’s harder to skip the ads, as Tivo- or DVR equipped viewers increasingly do. To begin with, borrowing the equity of global sports events helps build brand equity. Also, as more and more consumers show more purchasing intention for brands involved in marketing with a cause, sponsoring wellselected sports can contribute to building brand power as well. Sports also allow companies to create marketing activities that consumers can actually participate in; this can result in stronger,