Trends to watch for in sports marketing for a modern marketer

Whether you’re an athlete yourself or a fan of sports, follow an individual team or a player, or just casually watch from time to time, sports will bring out your team spirit and provide inspiration or hope in untold ways.

Sport brands have a very powerful role in their fans’ lives, which means that they need to think about how they operate their business, how they engage fans and what kind of messages they deliver to society. The concept of creating a shared value between sports teams, local communities and fan communities is stronger now than ever. Though it’s hard to know what’s coming, keep reading to see what’s trending in the world of sports marketing as I see it.

1. Experience it: Sports marketing is increasingly about giving customers the feeling that they are a part of something good, something that contributes to their life in a meaningful way. As we slowly crawl out of the coronavirus pandemic, we are all eager to experience life in its full glory and participating or attending sporting events, live events, is at the top of the list. Brands will continue to drive authentic engagement through experiential marketing activities on ground by delivering experiences that matter. At Hyperice, we take great pride in recovering athletes at the finish line.

2. Healthify it: Having access to the latest in health tech will become a competitive advantage. It is now evident that better fitness levels, better physical and mental health, have a positive impact on athlete’s performance. Athletes and sport/fitness facilities will continue to invest in health tech & recovery technology.

3. Track it: Among emerging opportunities, wearables and internet services for tracking physical exercise which incorporates social network features will continue to thrive amid increased focus on individual activities such as running and cycling. Brands will continue to create, engage and inspire these communities. Example, the advent of Strava challenges by brands like Trek bikes is one of my favorite.

4. Invest in it: Despite the constraints of the pandemic, be it training in a limited setting, or not being on the field playing in front of thousands as they normally would, athletes saw this as an opportunity to focus on other things including their businesses and investments. Most of the investments made by athletes have been driven by personal experience with the products they have used and come to love; or products that fuel their passion. Athletes will continue to turn investors in relevant start-ups and business as we go along. Example, Virat Kohli became the first Indian Hyperice athlete-investor to join the growing list of athlete-investors such as Naomi Osaka, Earling Haaland, Amanda Nunes, Daniel Riccardo, Rory McIlroy, Ja Morant, and many more.

5. Merchandise it: Majority of the products are purchased for emotional reasons and a smaller percent for functional reasons. We are all collectors at heart, and we like to pronounce our support for our choice of sport, team or a player. And if you attend a sporting event in person, you want to celebrate and commemorate the experience. Licensed merchandise is the trend that will continue to foster under sports marketing - If you have a strong sport brand, it’s time to think about brand licensing, gain from additional retail visibility and promotion, plus rake in the royalties.

6. Post it: Brands leverage their athletes, and the available fan base to further drive a narrative through authentic content on social media. We will see continued rise in athlete voices on social media as they inspire their audience on staying active, being fit and to start taking care of their overall wellbeing. We will see more content collaboration with athletes ,especially with Instagram’s new collabs feature that allows brands to continue to leverage the athlete’s fanbase and vice versa. Brands and consumers are placing high importance on authenticity and relatability, which translates to greater engagement even with athletes seen as influencers or brand advocates who have smaller followings but who are aligned with brand values. Brands will continue to nurture innovative partnerships that deliver high engagement and authenticity through UGC content for social media.

7. Digitize it: Digital content is more important today than ever. Younger fans continue to consume differently than older generations—so short-form, unique content, surrounding events/athletes is going to be a huge emphasis. Not to mention the importance of second-screen content. Of course, there is a sizeable audience for live matches, but the audience for ancillary content on the second screen is equally appreciated. We are already seeing increased original content from both professional and amateur athletes. Sports marketers will draw more emphasis to unique, platform specific ancillary and non-live content through new and emerging content distribution channels.

8. Globalize it: Catering to international fanbases is challenging – one such challenge is that live broadcast cannot be at a convenient time to many fan bases internationally. Here digital will be huge not only for highlights and content, but also for other creative ways to enjoy the sport’s momentum apart from normally watching it on TV. This will give a boost to opportunities like multi-viewing Or, working with local influencers or athletes to create content around the experience in a locally relevant way for a particular market.

9. Esports: Video games are becoming increasingly popular especially after the pandemic, and more and more gamers are finding their way into the world of eSports. There will be more focus on both casual/amateur and professional player development too as we go along. There is an emerging trend of esports players now taking their fitness and recovery seriously to have longevity in their career. We will also see more brands wanting to be a part of the game play by being featured in the games in an interactive way, and we will see more livestream integrations with the e-sports athletes too.

10. Women in sport: For decades, the sports business was a male domain. Thanks to the changes in society, the sports industry is also being strongly mixed up. With this we will see more support from brands towards women in sports and the sports for women. This is also since women are an increasing financially strong group of buyers too.

Note to readers: Storyboard18’s new Month In Focus initiative spotlights themes and topics that are pushing marketers to reshape and rethink how brands interact with today’s customers. Our first theme is Just Sports, a special spotlight on sports marketing presented by Sports18. We bring to you stories of how marketers are harnessing the power of technology, innovation and creativity in sports to create powerful storytelling in campaigns that increase affinity and loyalty with audiences. From traditional sports platforms around cricket to emerging games and the rise of esports, we get leading voices from the marketing and sports worlds to give us sharp and fast insights into future-facing marketing practices. Also, tune in for analyses which will surface ideas and strategies that are helping brands to level up experiences and storytelling with authentic collaborations. So watch this space for Just Sports.