As sports creak back to life, sports marketing agencies are seeking innovative ways to maximize the value sponsors receive from their partnerships in the months ahead. On the most recent episode of “SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead,” our Terry Lefton talks with POV Sports Marketing Founder & CEO Molly Arbogast about how sports marketing will evolve and develop during and after the pandemic.
On finding marketing value in uncertain times:
Arbogast: The first 6-8 weeks we were really looking at making sure we were appropriate to the environment, and now there’s an opportunity to deliver connection for brands to connect with consumers of the favorite team that they partner with or with the league. Our brand partners are really looking to us to not just sit and wait for ideas to come from teams, but really be proactive in what is true to that brand’s voice. … We need to lead more from the agency side.
On how sponsors are thinking differently about sports sponsorships:
Arbogast: It varies wildly per category, and it’s driven by the bottom line of businesses. Businesses invest in sports partnerships because it makes sense to their bottom line, and when that bottom-line shifts and adjusts we need to look at all the different mediums. You see a lot of brands all pulling out of home strategy because people aren’t driving to work. Even consumption of radio and television is shifting. Television ratings went up in April because everyone was home. Now we’re opening up the economy again, and those are kind of leveling out and balancing out again. … Brands that are used to investing in sports are looking at this as a long-term player. We as sports marketers need to understand that we need to be sensitive to what companies are going through.
On the importance of avoiding inundating the on-field signage market while fans are barred from arenas:
Arbogast: It’s about share of voice. If you’ve purchased court-side signage in the NBA, and they have layers of additional other signage … I’d be very upset if they put in a ton of additional signage because it really diminishes the investment that I made in court-side signage. Keeping it clean is going to be very important because there’s that tipping point of too much. I look at the ice for hockey a couple of years back. They added the in-ice by the nets, and I wonder what else are you going to add? Even the broadcasters have the virtual behind the net signage on the glass. At some point it’s just too much, and it’s not value to the fan experience. I caution sports to keep it real.
