3 Things Every Sports Marketer Should Know

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 55 seconds

Many people overcomplicate what it means to be a marketer. Simply put, marketing is promoting and selling. No matter what industry you are in or what company you work for, as a marketer you are hired to promote and sell a product, brand, client, proposal, or even a business.

In deciding to take the journey of being a sports marketer, there were so many things I thought I knew but had no clue about. I came to learn that there are a few things you should always stay up to date on and as I say, ahead of everyone else on. Below are three things that every marketer should be ahead of the game on when starting your journey or as you continue your education and career.

1. Who and Why

It is important to understand the target market and target audience. Know your audience's names, know how many kids they have and their kid's names, and know how much they paid on a slice of pizza at the downtown movie theater when they went to see Black Panther for the third time. Seriously, as sports marketers, we are of no need if we do not know who we are promoting and selling (marketing) to, why we are marketing to them, and why they even care that we are marketing to them. Know your audience, become your audience, and be able to predict their next move. Be of the market while also understanding the market. 

2. Trends

The sports industry is continuously evolving. From new technology to emerging competitive sports such as esports. There are also constant changes in the relationship between the sponsee and sponsor as new trends come in and old trends are faded out. Staying updated on trends within your industry surrounding technology, target audience, and sponsor objectives are vital as a sports marketer. Continually educating yourself on what’s going on in your industry and in other sectors (directly or indirectly related) will take you a long way in the world of sports. 

3. Emotional Accounts Over Bank Accounts

One of my favorite quotes about sports business is a quote by Peter Guber which states, “We are in the emotional transportation business.” We should all know that the end goal is to increase revenue and gain the most ROI (return on investment) and ROO (return on objective) for our teams, clients, sponsors, and businesses. But to increase that bottom line, we have to understand the importance of aiming at the emotional account, not the bank account.

If you are marketing a team, a new product, a new idea, or even a player, you have to engage your target audience. The best way to engage someone is to establish an emotional connection between that person and what you are trying to promote and sell (refer back to one and two). Once you have gained the attention, time and effort of your audience (the emotional account), they are willing to spend more for the better seats, stay at the arena longer, or make a donation at a community event sponsored by your team (the bank account).

After you have tapped into their emotional account, now you have open opportunity to make them participants and owners of your process and your product.

“You fail if they’re passengers, they have to be participants” - Peter Guber

Although this article was written with the Sports Marketer in mind, this article can also serve as a reference for anyone who is pursuing a career or is in the marketing or business industry.