|
Philip Kotler, marketing contemporary, sport marketing, marketing, communication, media, entertainment, Max Guazzini, Stade Francais, rugby match as an event, consultancy, managing and planning marketing strategy
|
|
|
|
|
Sports Marketing as I see it
Philip Kotler, a well-known guru of contemporary marketing, wrote that “marketing is both a science and an art: there is constant conflict between structure and creativity”.
If this is true for marketing in general then it is even more so for sports marketing. As an undeniable reality with immediate relevance must be taken into consideration: the achievements of the athlete or team. |
|
Philip Kotler, contemporary marketing, sports marketing
|
|
|
|
Furthermore, sport is a wide and diversified target incomparable with normal parameters.
In marketing terms, sport is much more complex: it is a product sold in an enormous market on an immense stage that today, above all else, is the media; it is an industry, a gigantic money machine; it is a formidable medium of communication and one of the most widely used in the world.
In sports marketing the technical and structural aspects must come into conflict (much stronger than in the marketing of traditional consumer goods and services) with the creative sides of imagination and invention: a conflict that can reach breaking point, thinking far out of the box, breaking rules and exploring new places. Marketing that is raw and pure and taken to the nth power, is the form of marketing that I prefer. |
|
sport, marketing, communication, media
|
|
|
|
An example of this point of view is the "entertainment factor", one of the most successful strategies of sports marketing.
Consists of giving the sporting event an added value, an additional show-in-a-show that goes beyond the sport and links itself to other events with the objective of enhancing interest in and increasing attendance figures for the sport. |
|
entertainment factor, sports marketing, a show
|
|
|
|
The world of the “Super Bowl” have “played” the game well, yet rugby also has the story of Max Guazzini, president of the Stade Francais. In just six years, and starting from the third division, it was his revolutionary strategy that earned his club the French league title and then six years later the rugby world title.
His secret? Simple, ingenious and at times controversial. Max presented the game as an event: shows and music mixed together with eighty minutes of rugby.
The result? Other than titles, Guazzini has also repeatedly broken the record for stadium attendances in the rugby championship and has the highest figures out of all other French team sports. |
|
Max Guazzini, Stade Francais, a rugby match as an event
|
|
|
|
| Putting it all into context, I am riding the same crest of the wave: in my vision of sports marketing “the consumer” (the spectator, the average follower, the fan, the sponsor, the institution) has to be 100% involved by any means possible to make it “fun” and be total enjoyment, before, during and after the sporting event which must remain the core business upon which all else revolves. |
|
sports marketing, event
|
|
|
|
In sports marketing, rugby has many cards to play with, more so now as the main traditional sports, i.e., football/soccer appear to be in trouble.
In Italy, rugby is a new and rapidly growing sport, whereas all over the world it is already a consolidated, global and very popular sport: the rugby world cup represents the third most watched event after the Olympics and the football world cup championship, with more than four million viewers.
Rugby is seen as an alternative sport, thanks to a series of unique characteristics in full syntony with our present day lives: other than having a high level of achievement and entertainment it is also a sport with values, not only in words but also in actions; it’s a sport untouched by personalities and corruption; it’s a sport made of teams par excellence, without a leader as all are leaders; it’s a sport of primordial combat, body against body that is expressed instinctively but within the rules, the perfect metaphor for an ancient battle; it’s a sport rich in stimulating contradictions, tough but not violent; common, but with just the right dose of snobbery; of combat, but with the upmost respect for an adversary; of mud and sweat, but with extraordinary cleanliness and nobility. I could go on and on. |
|
|
|
|
|
| We are faced with what in marketing is traditionally called an exclusive product and one that has a USP, (Unique Selling Proposition) strong and motivating and suitable for who needs to communicate (companies, institutions etc) and who wants to make it based not only on the numbers of potential contacts, but, more importantly, on positive contents. It is the perfect ground upon which to build winning marketing strategies. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Information and contacts
For any further information you can contact me by filling out the form provided, by going directly to my blog or by telephone with the numbers specified. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ITA
ENG
