The Year Ahead: what will define Sports Marketing in 2021?
Last year Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the sporting calendar. With events being rescheduled, 2021 is set up to be the biggest year in sporting history. The overwhelming passion for sport across the globe is irresistible for many marketers aiming to drive value for their brands. We highlight how brands can succeed in 2021.
The Feel Good Factor
2018 saw packed fan zones, waistcoats, and thousands of jubilant thrown pints of beer which seems like a lifetime ago. The good news is that 2021 will once again see a summer of ‘feel-good’ vibes.
With a plethora of well-documented re-arranged sporting events, combined with a nation raring to claw back some positivity, 2021 is the perfect storm. This halo effect on the nation will have a positive impact on so many industries that have suffered in 2020. We will look at how the sports industry can really recover to thrive.
Positivity is KING!
The industry needs to collectively pull together and ride the feel good wave in 2021 when we finally get back to the things we love the most. There will be simple things about sport and entertainment events that may have seemed trivial or unremarkable that now are so poignant for consumers. Things such as a social beer before the match, the journey to the concert, purchasing your festival wellies, and things that should be savored in 2021.
Even though there will be some disruption this year, we need our industry to stand up and take responsibility for making the world a little bit better. Step by step. This will have favorable consequences for multiple sub-industries within our sector: venues, hospitality, ticketing, partnerships…the list goes on.
There is a real risk though, if this positivity from marketing teams doesn’t start now they will miss the boat. In a ‘normal year’ plans for a summer like this would be signed off months ago. If we wait for BOJO (Boris Johnson) to say we can go out again in the summer (highly likely) there simply will not be enough time to execute to maximum impact.
Crowds are back
Watching your favorite sport or event has inherent benefits that run deep below just having a good day out. The emotional turmoil of not being able to do what you have done for years has been excruciating for fans over the past 12 months.
There’s a risk that if rights holders and sponsors only open the doors to corporate ticket holders, promotion winners, and other ‘day-trippers’ they will be slightly out of kilter with their core audience/fan groups. Here are 4 key factors to consider for rights holders and sponsors when entering the arena once again this year;
1. Be Authentic: When fans return to stadia brands must keep consumers at the heart of the decision-making process. Fans will see through any quickplay gimmicky attempts to piggyback on the buzz of the return of sport. Try something original that works for your brand and your consumers.
2. Remember your core audience: Try and aid the organic consumer experience, rather than create brand new (potentially) brand building audiences. This will all come in time but 2021 should be a year to reconnect with the people that have served the industry well in recent years.
3. Don’t over complicate: The consumer may not be as sophisticated as 18 months ago given this disruption to their normal. Don’t try and re-invent the wheel as it may get lost in the pure desire to get back and see live action. Think about what will help the consumer along their way.
4. Think Win Win: Now more than ever brands must harness a Win Win mentality towards athlete’s and right-holders, coming to an agreement that benefits all parties. Rights Holders and partners will absolutely try and ‘recover’ in 2021, although it is important to appreciate that fans will be needing this recovery time too. Pricing, ticket giveaways, scheduling, promotions will all need to think about the benefits for all parties.
The fight for space
With the number of major tournaments taking place this year and ‘Feel Good Factor’ sweeping the nation. Ambush Marketing will play a key role in 2021 giving brands the opportunity to push boundaries, blur the lines, and make noise without risking the fees. With intellectual property and protected sponsor categories, controversial strategies might score you a significant amount of coverage, but is it worth the backlash? If you’re not experienced in this area it can be seen as a risk, but on the flip side, there’s real potential to drive brand awareness through tactile campaigns. With pressure on organisers to provide value to sponsors during these challenging times, the rules on unauthorised commercial association will be tighter and more regulated than ever before. With 20+ years of experience in managing Global and European sponsorship rights, we know the right plays to ensure campaigns won’t receive any red cards…
2020 has been a watershed moment for athletes across the globe, in which athlete’s yet again have challenged the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Rule 40 interpretation to give athletes greater freedom when promoting personal sponsors during events. Colin Kaepernick and Marcus Rashford have shown us the influence athletes and icons have to create societal change. To cut through the noise in 2021 brands can find value through authentic athlete endorsements broadcasting messages which resonate with fans.
It’s important brands recognise that things can go wrong quickly, one ill-conceived tweet can lead to a media meltdown. Being clear on the athlete’s contractual obligations, social media interaction and termination rights will help to negate most risks.
Red Bull has an impressive case study of Ambush campaigns, backing Ben Stokes as he single handily won the 2018 Cricket World Cup and forming an affiliation with Liverpool football fans through their ‘Cant wait to see you’ campaign with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Act with Purpose
Now more than ever, people and communities across the world are experiencing real difficulties. As a society, it feels as if we are at a tipping point for change with regard to key issues such as racial discrimination, food poverty, and climate change, amongst many others. Brands have begun the shift change to prioritising a ‘purpose’ within their marketing strategies, but 2020 felt like the year in which purpose marketing was taken to another level.
A key factor in this was the high-profile campaigning of well-known athletes who used their platforms to lead the change themselves, such as Marcus Rashford’s campaign to end Child Food Poverty, or Héctor Bellerín planting trees and helping the environment. Athletes, as well as all kinds of influencers, have a unique power to engage with their followings, by nature of being a role model, and brands must tap into this. It’s clear the impact athletes have made and will continue to make over the coming years, but now brands have a fantastic opportunity to join forces and show a promise to changing the world for the better. Putting a logo on a shirt is no longer enough, so brands must show and prove their commitment to meaningful long-term values that fans can relate to.
Old El Paso, for example, did this brilliantly by launching their #MessFreeChallenge campaign, donating hundreds of thousands of meals to food banks around the world, and collaborating with Tennis stars such as Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios, which made the campaign take off on social media and drive the awareness Old El Paso were looking for. More brands should follow suit — as Henry Ford once said ‘coming together is a beginning, staying together is a progress, and working together is success’.
