Menu
Marketing and Sponsorship

Gift idea for 2015: How about GPS for changed media landscape?

With the calendar changing soon, we thought it was time to suss out what the industry’s principal concerns are heading into a new year.

We got a variety of feedback from property, marketing and agency types. Foremost among them, in response: figuring out the media landscape.

“Outside of selling more razors, our principal concern as we move to 2015 is reaching consumers at a time when media consumption habits are changing with a speed that’s never been seen,” said Greg Via, director of global sports marketing at Gillette, which has been a leading sports marketing practitioner and buyer since before sports were broadcast on the radio — and even before there was radio.

“Media consumption habits are changing with a speed that’s never been seen.”

GREG VIA

GILLETTE
Photo by: MARC BRYAN-BROWN
You get the idea that a GPS that would work across the fractured and more recently unfamiliar landscape of consumer media consumption would be a most welcome holiday gift for any marketer.

“Being able to talk authentically and one-on-one to consumers on whatever device they are using remains our biggest marketing challenge,” said Sharon Byers, senior vice president of sports, entertainment and community marketing at Coca-Cola, another brand that’s been one of the biggest buyers of sports marketing assets since long before they were known as such. “Once you figure out how to reach your target effectively, there’s a lot of noise to deal with, because they are bombarded on every device.”

Across the industry, the question of finding new ways to tap into American consumers when they are spending more time on wireless devices than in front of TVs seems to remain the biggest mystery. For property marketers, there are two tangential and paramount issues: the dilemma of the in-venue experience versus the at-home experience, and choosing the best match of medium to content.

“Our biggest concern heading into 2015 is our ongoing ability to deliver the type of fan experience our fans demand in-stadium, in-market and beyond, as well as our ability to respond to their feedback,” said Ari Roitman, Philadelphia Eagles senior vice president of business. “The biggest story I’ll be following next year is the continued convergence and blurred lines between the cable, wireless and technology industries, and their collective effect on content delivery.”

“We need to stay ahead of delivering our content to customers and fans wherever they are.”

RON SKOTARCZAK

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Photo by: MARC BRYAN-BROWN
Added Ron Skotarczak, Madison Square Garden executive vice president of marketing partnerships: “We need to stay ahead of delivering our content to customers and fans wherever they are. In-venue, everyone’s got a device. Even at home, and certainly while traveling, they want to watch on a tablet. What the expectations are for which device at which time and is it different for millennials or the older fan base — those are the critical issues as far as providing more value to sponsors at a time they all want proprietary content.”

The issue of sponsors asking for singular assets and property rights holders continuing to sell the same packages of signage, electronic media and category delineations is also of concern across the industry. If sponsors covet what has traditionally been sold to media rights holders, a new model is needed. Is something that transformative coming?

“For a decade, it was all about sponsors activating and moving product,” said Dennis Mannion, president and CEO of Palace Sports and Entertainment, parent of the Detroit Pistons. “Now, sponsors want to own assets; we’re having to adjust to that. So it’s less about packaging than creating proprietary assets.”

There’s also the question of whether the marketing landscape will change as much as the media landscape has, especially since sports is one of the things still supporting the traditional model.

“We’re all looking to see if the face of sponsorships will be altered drastically as the consumption of sports changes,” said Keith Bruce, president and CEO of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee. “You’re looking at a sponsorship environment where content will be at a premium, so that ought to mean creativity will be at a premium.”

As Octagon President Jeff Shifrin pointed out, there are pressing concerns when it comes to both live and televised sports events.

“There’s nothing better than the in-stadium experience, but the cost of attending an event continues to escalate as the in-home experience continues to get better,” Shifrin said. “So what are the reasons for people to sit in traffic and pay 15 bucks for a beer? Conversely, in a world of a thousand screens these sports are viewed on, how do you reach your target consumer? Those are the issues that keep us all up.”

As for areas the sports business cognoscenti will be watching next year? Seth Jacobs at CAA and others said daily fantasy and all the new revenue it’s generating is a space to watch. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s advocacy of legalized sports betting seems to have raised the most eyebrows.

“You look at that, along with the NBA taking equity in FanDuel and the loosening of alcohol marketing restrictions, and it was all caused by the recession,” said Wasserman Media Group consulting chief Elizabeth Lindsey. “I can’t imagine those things happening five years ago, so it really caused some creativity, and I’m looking for that to continue with more new areas opening up.”

Many singled out the pending combination of MLB’s digital and traditional businesses as the biggest story to watch in the year ahead. Of course, those with global clients and ambitions are already looking at the run-up to the 2016 Olympics as the most important pending development in sports business.

“The next big thing is finding the emerging global property here in the U.S.,” said Ben Sturner of Leverage Agency, noting the recent success of rugby in the States. “Moving forward, my feeling is that if you are not doing global work in sports, you’re going to be left behind."

Terry Lefton can be reached at tlefton@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2014/12/08/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/The-Lefton-Report.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2014/12/08/Marketing-and-Sponsorship/The-Lefton-Report.aspx

CLOSE