Sports marketing

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Sport marketing (or sports marketing in the United States) refers to the specific application of marketing principles and processes to sport products (e.g., teams, leagues, events, etc.) and the marketing of non-sports products (e.g., cigarettes, beer, long-distance phone service, etc.) through associations with sport.

The first sports management firms, which managed endorsement deals and contract negotiations for professional coaches and athletes, began forming in the 1960s and early 1970s with Mark McCormack's International Management Group (IMG), Bob Woolf (Woolf Associates), and Donald Dell's ProServ.

Similarly, the first full-service sports marketing and sponsorship agencies were founded in the mid-1970s with Millsport LLC (now part of The Marketing Arm) and ProServ, which had expanded beyond athlete management into event production and sponsorship negotiations.

The explosive growth of sports marketing came with the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when corporate sponsors used the Games as a platform to market their brands. Coca-Cola, for example, spent nearly $30 million in support of its official sponsorship of the Games.

As CEO and chief organizer of the 1984 Olympics, Peter Ueberroth, a former senior executive with Trans International Airline and Transportation Consultants International, is credited with demonstrating the power of sports marketing. After the Olympics, Ueberroth served as commissioner of Major League Baseball (1984-89). Today, he serves as Chairman of the Board for the United States Olympic Committee.

According to the Sports Business Journal, an industry trade publication, today, sports marketing is a US$250-billion industry and includes sports-related advertising and venue signage, athlete endorsements, facility construction, sporting goods and licensed merchandise, event management and marketing services, sponsorship and ticket sales, media broadcast rights, and multimedia — including sports-related websites, magazines, books, and video games.

New content distribution channels like the Web, email, voice messaging[1], streaming video and mobile are creating many new opportunities and challenges for sports marketers.

[edit] See also

  • Broadcasting right


Indeed it was the 1996 Summer Olympics at Atlanta where the big commercial break through was made, Coca-Cola were the main sponsors of the games, they had their headquarters in the city at the time. Not the 1980's games in LA that were mentioned!

This is currently a multi billion dollar industry. Players such as Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Peyton Manning and many more are finding ways to make millions of dollars. They are getting outstanding deals to wear clothing during events, or do a commercial, or a photo shoot for and advertisement.

Sports Marketing is becoming a current trend in business education in high schools now also. Many high schools are offering this elective class and Sports Management classes. Many colleges are now offering Sports Management programs to support the demands for employees in this industry.