It’s been a great year in the sports digital industry with a handful of new marketing trends, event experiences, sponsor activations, and insights from sports business conferences across the globe.
Of course, there’s no better way to experience sports digital by staying connected while actually attending and participating in sporting events too!
I’ve done it all this year and have heard loud and clear the marketing and engagement strategies of some of the most influential brands in sports. Some key trends to consider:
- Continue to Focus on Engaging Millennials
In typical fashion, conversation around how sports brands should engage the millennial audience remains prevalent. As described at the 2015 Momentum Sports Marketing Symposium by Johnny Volk, Director of Social at StubHub, “They [millennials] want to be talked with, not talked to”. He explains that millennials are very smart and sensitive to advertising while then touching on the notion that people will keep scrolling if they don’t believe content is genuine and authentic.
“People will keep scrolling if they sense content is not authentic or genuine.” – @JohnnyVolk on social media content at #SBJSMS @sbjsbd
— Mirum Sports (@MirumSports) November 5, 2015
Similarly, Lisa Baird, Chief Marketing Officer of the US Olympic Committee, touched on the future for live streaming. She emphasized that a priority should always exist to first understand who exactly the audience is and why they are there in the first place. The use of technology to break regional barriers that formerly distanced athletes from fans has disappeared, especially as social has allowed further accessibility for fans to connect with athletes more than ever before.
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- Have a Mobile First Philosophy
While focus in the mobile space has continuously increased on the technology front, creativity in the mobile environment is now the hot topic. As sports digital technology becomes more stable and scalable everyday, decision makers in the sports properties space are encouraging creativity more than ever before, especially in mobile.
They understand that millennials and non-millennials alike are spending more times on their phones than any other device. When considering sponsorship assets in the mobile space, sports brands are no longer looking to satisfy their fans (and their sponsors!) with cookie-cutter activation opportunities. They are now able to consider very custom activations and unique sponsorship opportunities. These sponsorship opportunities are no longer chosen from a menu, but created with their partners to best suit their business objectives with creative and innovative marketing experiences. That being said, my next point…
- Be a Partner, Not A Vendor
More and more I’ve heard sports property organizations whether it be brandside, teams or leagues, taking a new stance toward setting the stage with their outside resources and agency relationships as Partners. Moving away toward the “Purchaser and Vendor” relationship, and into a true Partner relationship.
This is great news for agency folks as this mindset from these various sports properties (our clients!), enables a positive influence for a more creative and flexible work environment, lending itself to the collaboration that’s required for success when engaging with our clients. Not only the business model itself, but the perception between teams on the agency side and client side create a healthier, more productive atmosphere for success.
- Be Ready For Virtual Reality
Who remembers the premature burst of Virtual Reality being “cool” in the late 1990’s. To refresh your memory.
Well, now it’s 2015, and we are experiencing this same burst now in sports. The significant difference: The technology, the creative, and most importantly, the ability to activate Virtual Reality as a portable experience that elevates a brand has arrived.
- Everyone’s Talking About SnapChat
Last year Twitter, this year SnapChat. Don’t miss the bus, it’s rolling. In 10 second intervals that is.
- Responsive Design and Mobile App Combo
As sports teams, leagues and brands are shifting their websites to be responsive design (a web design framework optimized for a unified desktop/ tablet/ mobile experience), we are also noticing a trend to compliment their brand’s’ digital ecosystem with custom Apps as well.
This is a great way to allow their fans and users options that suit their preferences for digital experiences. Of course cannot fail to mention, apps are a great way to increase real estate for ad packages and engage fans in unique and custom ways that go beyond the responsive web experience.
Conclusion
Millennials have their heads down, their phones in hand, and content at their fingertips. If connections are real and content is genuine, sports brands and their sponsors can activate successfully through social and mobile digital platforms. The technology is there, the creative is elevating – and the space for sports media consumption is more competitive than ever before.
About The Author:
Stephen Mariucci is a Business Manager at Mirum Sports, a division of Mirum Agency. His role within the Mirum (a WPP agency) includes management of some of the world’s top sports brands’ digital properties. Follow @StephenMariucci & @MirumSports on Twitter.