As many of you already know Sports merchandising is the use of various marketing techniques applied to the world of sports with the aim of increasing a brand’s engagement..
These types of techniques are highly valued by consumers and followers of a brand as they are associated with healthy living and physical activitywhat we all practice more or less.
The purpose is on the one hand Reach your target group that doesn’t know you yet and, on the other hand, build even more customer loyaltyand we can achieve this with different measures depending on the hobbies of your target group or your budget.
Not only do you have to consider that sports merchandising involves large-scale actions such as sponsoring a club, a jersey or running a tournament or city race; There are also other very common promotions such as gifts to your customers or suppliers: personalized water bottles, t-shirts, towels, caps with your company logo.
Sports Merchandising Goals
Continuing the above, there are different goals for merchandising and in this case sports merchandising These are actions of great value to strengthen your brand.
The first thing you need to do before thinking about implementing any marketing technique is Identify your target customer, know their likes and hobbies. Once this step is done, we must analyze what are the goals I want to achieve with this action:
1. Strengthen the brand to keep our goaland expand our image to attract a larger audience with the aim of distinguishing ourselves from our competitors.
2. Association of the image with a brand that shares our values (social, cultural or demographic) and that helps us to gain more customer loyalty and reach new customers.
3. Business goals to attract new customersincrease sales, launch a new product or line of business.
4. Close relationship with people and companies in this environmentthat allow you access to this area and guarantee future relationships.
Types of sports marketing
There are different actions that we can carry out depending on the goals we want to achieve, the public we want to reach and the budget available.
Considering that we will reach a huge audience with many of these actions, We need to ask ourselves whether we’re interested in making a large investment and achieving a goal that doesn’t identify with our brand, or whether we’d rather be doing something smaller to achieve our stated goal.
These are the different types of sports marketing you can do and no doubt some of them are just what you need:
1. Marketing of sports products
It is the most common and practical of all, as it is not only the cheapest, but also Give your goal a giftand in this way a more direct and personal relationship is formed with them, which they undoubtedly appreciate, because Something fundamental and in demand is closeness and friendliness.
Another advantage is the product customizationsince you can insert your brand’s image or slogan.
You can choose from a wide range of products for every sport such as bike bottles, water bottles for running, thermal shirts, caps, pants, glasses, polo shirts with the design you prefer…
2. Sponsorship of sporting events
This is the type of merchandising that we focus on Associate our brand with a major eventB. as a sponsor of a race, a tennis, paddle tennis or golf tournament.
It’s a big investment, big impact action that will quickly generate brand recognition., and you’ll reach a larger audience than you’ve ever known. In order to achieve this goal, you have to choose the event well.
As an event sponsor, it is common practice to be present at the awards ceremony, so you can present an award to the winners.
3. Sponsorship of sports teams
Without a doubt, this marketing technique It is the most expensive, but at the same time it is the one that has the greatest impact. By performing such an action, you can, on the one hand Link your brand to a team’s values And on the other hand, that your image is not only recognized locally.
You can Put your picture on t-shirts, t-shirts, billboards and on the web and even on behalf of the team, as occurs in sports such as basketball, handball or volleyball, where the sponsor becomes the image of the team.
You must carefully analyze whether this action is the most appropriate, because depending on where you sponsor, you will reach the audience that interests you.
4. Associate your brand with an athlete
One of the sports marketing campaigns that in recent years is growing more. For many, a top athlete is an icon, someone to emulate, and for this reason brands have jumped at the opportunity to use them as ambassadors of their image.
This is not about the representation of the brand in conventional advertising, but about Use this brand in other scenarios, such as while participating in a competition or at a party or celebration to which they are invited. A clear example is that some tennis players use the watch during a game or only put it on when accepting the award or speaking to the cameras.
The character you choose must perfectly match the philosophy of your company or the goal you are striving for.
