Marketing leaders speak out: The evolving role of sports in the marketing portfolio

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 | 8:55 p.m. | By John Ourand | 1 Comment | Print

For the most part, marketers are thrilled to be part of the sports business, since sports hits the right demos and invokes such strong passions. Occasionally, however, sports don't work as well, such as last summer when Barry Bonds was breaking Major League Baseball's home run record.

The ball Bonds hit in AT&T Park that night flew right over a Charles Schwab "Talk to Chuck" sign, which should be great news for the company, right?

View A Slide Show From The Marketing Leaders Speak Out Roundtable Panel

Not necessarily, said Becky Saeger, Charles Schwab's executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

"I'll take the publicity," she said. "I'm not 100 percent certain that it's all good."

AT&T, which holds the naming rights to the park, faced a similar problem. Both AT&T and Schwab made peace with being part of an allegedly tainted record by identifying more closely with the team — the Giants — rather than the player.

"The Giants are a pillar in San Francisco," said Wendy Clark, AT&T senior vice president of advertising. "The community of San Francisco is incredibly proud of their team. That's why we're there."

Olevia experienced a similar problem when it sponsored a cycling tour, given the sport's allegations of rampant steroid use. Hope Frank, Olevia HDTV's chief marketing officer, said she stayed in close contact with tour organizers throughout.

Asked if she would consider another cycling deal, Frank said she didn't know.

On the other side of the coin, one of Reebok's athletes, Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte, admitted to using steroids. Since he handled the allegations gracefully, Reebok's head of global marketing communications, John Lynch, said the company would continue to work with the player.

"The way he's handled it has been 100 percent appropriate," he said. "I don't have a problem with him continuing to be part of our team."

Another interesting aspect of the panel dealt with how often marketers are using digital platforms to get their messages out. By all accounts, it's increasing widely.

Saeger said digital platforms account for 25 percent of Charles Schwab's total media budget, including paid search. "It's been at 20 to 25 percent for the last two to three years," she said.

Clark said digital makes up the "fastest growing piece of our media mix."

Reebok makes some of its campaigns completely digital in some markets, such as Korea, Lynch said.

Frank and Jorge Consuegra, vice president of international marketing for Yahoo!, said it's part of every deal they do.