How to use sports marketing to develop the US market
The founder of Bel Oak Marketing has years of experience in sports marketing in the American market. This article shares insights and experiences about sports marketing. Sports marketing in the United States is a primary way to increase company visibility, brand influence, and product sales.
1. Preface
The United States is a sports powerhouse, with sports culture deeply ingrained in every aspect of American life, and the sports industry is the most developed in the world. According to Forbes’ 2017 list of the world’s 50 most valuable sports teams, 44 of them are American, including 29 out of 32 NFL (National Football League) teams and 8 out of Major League Baseball teams, and 7 out of the National Basketball Association teams. The Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, while not as globally well-known as Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid, have topped the list for several years in a row.
In addition to professional sports teams, college sports in the United States also have strong revenue-generating capabilities, especially in college football, where some games between traditional powerhouses are just as influential as NFL games, such as the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia. Most Americans are fans of their college sports teams, and may even receive support from their entire families.
According to sponsorship.com’s projections, the North American sponsorship market will grow by 4.5% to reach $24.2 billion in 2018. Among all sponsorship expenditures, sports sponsorship accounts for 70%, far surpassing the entertainment market in second place. The influence of sports events determines the attractiveness of sports assets, so large companies spare no effort in sports sponsorship. For example, AT&T, the American telecommunications company, invests 50% of its annual sponsorship budget in sports sponsorship, including about $19 million annually to sponsor the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium.
2. How can companies use sports marketing in US market
Chinese companies are engaged in sports marketing in the United States, and the popularity of American sports in China is closely related. In 2002, Yao Ming joined the Rockets, which quickly grew to become one of the most popular NBA teams in China. Many Chinese companies took advantage of the Rockets’ influence and media exposure to engage in a series of collaborations. Many of Yao Ming’s teammates subsequently secured sponsorship contracts from Chinese companies. Role players like Battier and Hayes also received favor from Peak and Li Ning, respectively, which are Chinese companies.
With China’s economic development, an increasing number of Chinese companies are extending their businesses to the United States. For some Chinese companies, especially those targeting consumer markets, sports marketing has become a logical step. In this regard, Lenovo and TCL, among other large multinational companies, have become pioneers. Lenovo signed a partnership with an NFL team, while TCL/Alcatel sponsored a team in the American football league MLS.
The NBA’s deep roots in China have gradually made it one of the country’s most popular sports leagues. Even after Yao Ming retired, the Rockets continued to enjoy popularity in the Chinese market, with Peak sponsoring the team for a long time. With the Rockets’ recent steady improvement in performance, their attractiveness to the Chinese market has only grown. In 2016, the Rockets hired two employees who speak Chinese and specifically targeted the Chinese market, subsequently signing contracts with companies such as China-Pu Car Room Network. In recent years, Linglong Tire has expanded its market to North America, collaborating with the Cavaliers, Rockets, and others. Goldfish Electrical Appliances and the Chicago Bulls, Jinko Solar and the Warriors, and Maotai and the Warriors are other examples.
The upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in China has brought ice sports gradually into the public eye. Aurijin Packaging has partnered with the NHL. TP-Link, a leading enterprise in the router field, has partnered with the Los Angeles Kings hockey team.
In addition to traditional enterprises, internet startups have also begun to venture into sports marketing. For example, the Nets have partnered with DJI, You and I Loan with the Rockets, and Maotai with the Warriors.
Chinese companies utilize the television broadcast and online streaming of American sports events in China to expose their brands on site and then use television broadcasting to influence domestic consumers. This is a commonly adopted approach by many Chinese companies. However, there are also many successful cases of Chinese companies using sports marketing to expand their local market in the United States, enhance their brand’s influence in the US market, and increase purchases by local US consumers.
3. Triangle Relations In Sports Marketing
In sports marketing, there exists a triangular relationship: sponsors, sports media, and fans, or enterprises, sports assets, and user groups. The interactive relationship among them is the foundation for sports marketing to create value.
Here, we will briefly analyze the relationships among these three parties: The first layer of the relationship is the connection between fans and leagues, teams, and athletes. In sports marketing, this relationship is the cornerstone, and without it, sports assets and ordinary advertising are indistinguishable. Moreover, the most significant characteristic of this layer is the absence of direct interest. Fans can like any sport, any team, and any athlete and can change at any time. The relationship between fans and the latter is based on emotions, which have complex backgrounds, such as family, school, and city, among others. Of course, some fans follow sports purely for entertainment, without any significant inclination. This is generally the case when fans follow sports they do not necessarily love, such as the World Cup, Olympics, etc.
The second layer of the relationship is the connection between enterprises and sports assets. Sponsors pay to sponsor leagues, teams, and athletes because they believe that the latter can bring substantial returns. There is a clear transactional relationship between the two. For businesses, they need to purchase sports assets, while leagues, teams, and athletes need to enhance their monetization capabilities. For leagues, they need to improve the influence of sports events through event operations. For teams, they need to improve their performance and asset management capabilities. For players, their individual athletic performance is undoubtedly key, but at the same time, their appearance and communication abilities with fans are also crucial.
The third layer of the relationship is the connection between sponsors and fans, as well as between enterprises and user groups, as fans are essentially users. However, this layer of relationship is not as clear and is more challenging to control since it uses the psychological principle of “liking the whole package” and does not involve any contracts. Even if a product is designated as official merchandise, it is not required for fans to purchase it. Fans may consider the official sponsor of the team when choosing similar products, but such emotional transmission requires sponsors to invest more effort. Of course, fans inevitably participate in the dissemination of sponsored brands and products when participating in team events and activities, endorsing sponsors, such as wearing team T-shirts with sponsor logos. The third layer of the relationship is the core of the entire sports marketing, as well as an important link for enterprises to evaluate the ROI of their sponsorship investments. Process indicators, such as brand awareness and fan growth during sports marketing, ultimately need to be reflected in product sales to demonstrate their value.
If the efficiency of sales and dissemination does not meet expectations, it is necessary to analyze whether the targeted fans are not their target user group and adjust the selected sports assets accordingly.
Chinese companies mainly use sports marketing in three stages:
1) Increase Brand Awareness
Using sports sponsorship to enhance brand awareness is probably the fastest way. Sports events, especially professional games, have high levels of attention. In addition to the tens of thousands of spectators on site, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people can watch them through TV and online streaming media.
2) Increase Relevance
As sports sponsorship deepens, the connection between the enterprise’s brand and the sponsored object continues to strengthen. Especially if the enterprise becomes the official sponsor of a team, such as the official smartphone, a relatively strong association will be formed in the minds of fans. As the association strengthens, fans’ acceptance of the brand gradually increases. When purchasing similar products, the official sponsorship relationship of the team will gradually become an essential factor that cannot be ignored.
3) Increase Product Sales
Using sports sponsorship assets to increase product sales is the ultimate goal of many companies to engage in sports sponsorship. Chinese companies’ purpose in coming to the United States is mainly to open the US market and obtain sales returns. Although sports marketing is one of many marketing methods, and in the overall marketing strategy, sports marketing also needs to be coordinated with other marketing methods, the most direct way to measure whether sports marketing is effective is still to see whether product sales have increased and whether the company’s revenue has grown.
In practical operations, many companies often achieve the first and second steps but find it challenging to move to the third step. There are many reasons for this, which will be elaborated on in the following text.
4. How To Select Sports Assests
The most important principle of sports assets is the match between the product and the user group, where the user group generally refers to the followers of the sponsored sports media (such as fans). Since the choice of sports assets has already researched which sports league, which team, or even which star athlete, the target user group has a basic positioning. However, there are often significant differences in specific operations.
Sports assets can be roughly divided into three categories based on the different owners: sports organizations, sports teams, and athletes. Among them, sports organizations can be professional leagues or amateur associations, which are the largest rights holders of the sport, including the right to use the league’s trademark, national or global TV broadcasting rights, and stadium advertising rights. Sports teams, including professional teams, are part of the entire league. Usually, the team will have the right to use the team’s trademark in a certain area of the city, stadium advertising for local TV broadcasts, and the team’s own social media. Generally speaking, the sponsorship rights of the team cannot conflict with the rights of the same type of exclusive sponsors of the league. Athletes, especially star athletes, are also an important part of the overall sports assets. In individual sports events, the appeal of a star athlete can even determine the influence of the league and team. The rights of star athletes are generally limited by the exclusive sponsorship of the league and team. Therefore, when star athletes endorse corporate products, the trademarks of the league and team cannot appear. In addition, there are some other related assets, such as stadium naming rights.
In the use of sports sponsorship, the most important principle is the match between the product and the user group. Here, the user group generally refers to the followers of the sponsored sports media (such as fans). Since the choice of sports assets has already been researched in terms of which sports league, sports team, or even star athlete to sponsor, the target user group has a basic positioning. However, in specific operations, there are often significant differences.
Sports assets can be roughly divided into three categories according to their owners: sports organizations, sports teams, and athletes. Among them, sports organizations can be professional leagues or amateur associations and are the largest equity owners of the sport, including the right to use the league logo, national or global television broadcast rights, and stadium advertising rights, etc. Sports teams include professional teams and are part of the entire league. Usually, the team will have the right to use the team logo in a certain area of the city, stadium advertising for local market television broadcasts, and the team’s own social media, etc. Generally speaking, the sponsorship rights of a team cannot conflict with the exclusive same type of sponsorship rights of the league. Athletes, especially star athletes, are also an important part of the overall sports assets. In some individual sports events, the appeal of star players even determines the influence of the league and teams. The rights of star athletes are generally restricted by the exclusive sponsorship of the league and teams. Therefore, when the star athletes do product endorsements for companies, the league and team logos cannot appear. In addition, there are some other related assets, such as stadium naming rights.
Although the relationships among sports organizations, sports teams, and athletes involve both competition and integration, when choosing these assets, it is necessary to consider the breadth and depth of their impact on the target consumer group.
Taking the NFL as an example, the league’s influence is wider than that of teams and players, but the emotional connection between fans and the league is relatively weak. Sponsoring the league is more about making consumers feel that the enterprise has strong strength, highlighting its brand image as tall and high-end. The product promoted by the sponsor must be universal and already have a good consumer base. If the sponsor is a team, the target user group will have a geographical location. Sponsoring the Dallas Cowboys will not only fail to influence the fans of the New York Giants in the NFC East, but even have a slightly negative impact. If the sponsored enterprise has strong regional businesses, such as some local companies, choosing a team will be more effective than choosing a league. For Chinese companies, although there is no clear regional specificity when entering the US market, there will be a priority order in market expansion, and they will often choose big-city teams first, such as the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams, and then find other suitable sports assets in the process of gradually pushing the market forward. If the business of Chinese companies is almost expandable nationwide, sponsoring the league can solve the coverage problem, but sponsoring the team is still necessary for deep expansion. Sponsoring star athletes relies on their personal influence and specific fan groups, but sometimes stars are also restricted by geographical and team influences, making it difficult to achieve wide coverage. However, there are also nationally influential stars in the NFL, such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rogers. Due to the different lifestyles and social circles of star athletes, sometimes their influence can even surpass the sports they engage in, even beyond the sports field, but there are also risks of negative effects.
When Chinese companies enter the US market, they need to have a certain research on the target user group of their own products in order to find suitable sports assets and how to use these assets efficiently.
5. How To Use Sports Assets
Sports marketing in the US market can be categorized into three main channels based on the method of communication: in-venue, out-of-venue, and online. Different channels of communication require different techniques to be effective, and they also reach different audiences and establish different types of connections.
1) In Arena Communication
In the US sports marketing for the American market is mainly divided into three categories according to the mode of transmission: in-stadium, out-of-stadium, and online. Different modes of transmission also come with different tactics and there are significant differences in the target audience and how to establish connections.
In-stadium marketing refers to the presence of a sponsor’s brand and products in the stadium, including fixed and digital billboards around the venue, 360-degree screens in the stands, and large screens in the center of the field. In addition, there are pre-match, mid-match, and post-match activities in the stadium, such as fan activities sponsored by companies, product giveaways, and sponsor activities on the outside of the stadium. In-stadium sponsorship is usually the most direct and the core part of the sponsorship package. In addition to being seen by tens of thousands of fans in the stadium, which cannot be ignored, the brand and product exposure in the stadium can also be seen by tens of thousands of television viewers and live streaming viewers.
Although in-stadium marketing is direct, it also has its limitations. Firstly, in some professional leagues, teams sell tickets on a season-ticket basis, which accounts for a high percentage of overall ticket sales, with some teams reaching 80% to 90%. Therefore, although brand repetition is ensured, coverage is still limited, making it difficult to reach a larger audience. Secondly, although there is a chance to be seen on television broadcasts, it is difficult to notice in the fleeting time and it is not deliberately focused on. This method is far less effective than inserting sponsored ads during television broadcasts.
Another advantage of in-stadium marketing is the opportunity to interact with fans and participate in brand activities and product experiences. Generally, in the sponsorship package, the sponsor is provided with a marketing area during the match for brand promotion and product display. Some teams provide out-of-stadium fan activities during the playoffs or finals, such as the Cleveland Cavaliers’ playoff carnival, which is an excellent opportunity for sponsors to conduct marketing. At the same time, the content of the activities can be packaged and spread through secondary marketing.
2) Out-of-Arena Communication
Off-field marketing refers to the use of sponsorship rights to conduct marketing activities outside of the stadium or arena, within a certain radius (e.g. 150 miles for the NBA, specific states for the MLS) based on the permission of sponsorship rights, as well as in accordance with the regional boundaries set by the league and the players. Companies can choose how to connect with sports assets based on the characteristics of their products.
Off-field marketing generally includes three aspects: product, sales channel, and user. On the product side, sponsorship rights can be reflected in product design and packaging, such as offering limited edition custom products featuring a particular team. These products are typically priced higher than regular products due to their limited edition and collectible value. Packaging can also include league or team logos to enhance the distinction of the product and create a certain premium. On the sales channel side, the connection between the brand and sports assets can be reflected in sales channels, such as placing posters or brochures in large retail stores or regional retail stores with the message “Brand X is the official product of Team Y”. Online sales can also feature similar posters on e-commerce platforms. On the user side, the influence on the purchasing tendencies of team fans can be enhanced by giving away small gifts with the enterprise and team logos, thus increasing user goodwill and stickiness. Some gifts, such as T-shirts with the enterprise and team logos, can also serve as a medium for secondary dissemination.
Another way of off-field marketing is to participate in league or team charity events, such as the NBA’s Season of Giving campaign held before Thanksgiving in the Western tradition. Companies participating in these events can not only conduct brand promotion but also enhance their corporate social responsibility.
In addition, off-field marketing also includes brand ambassadors promoting enterprise sponsorship of the team at offline events and offering small gifts related to the team. Team logos can also be placed on the company’s mobile experience vehicles to increase attention.
3) Online Communiation
Online communication has become an efficient way of marketing with the rapid development of digital marketing. Online communication mainly includes social media and digital advertising. Social media communication mainly utilizes the massive fan base of sports teams. For example, the official Facebook account of the Cleveland Cavaliers has 8.75 million followers, while the population of Cleveland is only around 400,000. Therefore, it can be seen that most of the team’s fans are not local, or even not in the United States. Online communication can break through traditional geographical limitations. Since the sponsor has sponsored the team, fans around the world have the opportunity to see the sponsored brand and products. Therefore, the rights on the team’s social media are also very important in the negotiation of sponsorship rights. The team is also actively developing various online rights products, such as inserting sponsor logos in each score report during NBA games (such as AT&T’s logo in Rockets games). The process of sports games is also the time when fans are most active on social media, and the official social media accounts of teams receive the most comments and reposts. Therefore, it is important for sponsors to take advantage of the heat.
Digital advertising, on the other hand, is relatively simple. Sponsors can use it as one of the advertising elements to enhance the overall attention of digital advertising. In addition, in targeted digital advertising, it is also possible to target the corresponding audience of sports assets, such as delivering digital advertising with NBA-related content to NBA fans, or delivering digital advertising with “Golden State Warriors Official Smartphones” to NBA fans in the San Francisco area.
6. Relationship between sports marketing and supporting fund
Supporting fund refers to the additional investments needed to maximize the effectiveness of sports sponsorship. These investments may include television and digital advertising, on-site events, gifts, and promotional items.
There is no fixed ratio between sponsorship and accompanying investments, with ratios ranging from 1:0.1 to 1:10 being possible depending on the form of the accompanying investment. The purpose of accompanying investments is to amplify the impact of sports assets. Although sports assets have an impact within a certain range, consumers may not be aware of the relationship between the sponsor and the sports asset. Therefore, the greater the accompanying investment, the larger this relationship can be amplified. This amplification is usually achieved through broad coverage, such as advertising, and therefore the investment is relatively large. If the target audience of sports assets is a specific consumer group, the investment will be relatively small, typically through targeted digital advertising. If the purpose of sports sponsorship is to achieve secondary content propagation, such as on the company’s social media platforms, the accompanying investment can be very small.
There is no ideal ratio for accompanying investments, and everything depends on the purpose of sports marketing. If the main objective is to increase brand awareness, the larger the accompanying investment, the greater the brand exposure and the more people will be aware of the relationship between sports sponsorship and the brand. If the objective is to increase sales, it needs to be combined with appropriate sales activities. Generally, the larger the sales volume, the larger the accompanying investment.
Furthermore, the accompanying investment also depends on the influence of sports assets. If the influence of sports assets is local, then national advertising may not be effective. If the sports asset has a certain level of national recognition but limited influence, such as a team that cannot compete for the championship within the league, then no matter how large the accompanying investment, it is still limited by the team’s appeal.
7. Sports marketing in conjunction with other marketing methods
In the US market, sports marketing is an effective marketing strategy, but in the overall marketing of enterprises, such as product launches, sports marketing as a powerful weapon also needs to be coordinated with other marketing methods.
Firstly, the event characteristics of sports marketing are typical of marketing methods that generate attention through events. Different sports leagues generate different levels of excitement throughout the year, with the NFL running from September to February the following year, NBA from November to June the following year, and MLB from March to October. Throughout the sports season, the impact of the pre-season is not as strong as the regular season, and the regular season is not as strong as the playoffs, with the playoffs culminating in the finals. Therefore, the value of sports assets varies at different times. On the one hand, the effectiveness of sports marketing is limited by time, and on the other hand, the optimal time for utilizing sports assets needs to be considered in the overall marketing plan.
If the overall marketing plan of the enterprise coincides with the season of sports assets, then the maximum value of sports assets can be realized. The overall marketing plan of enterprises usually considers several aspects: firstly, product launches. Sports events, especially key games, always receive high levels of attention. If a product launch is conducted in cooperation with a league or team during this period, it will naturally receive a high level of attention. Instead of creating hype, leveraging existing hype is a better strategy. Even if the enterprise is very powerful, it is difficult to compare with the influence of a sports event. If managed well, it can create strong brand association and even achieve immediate success. Secondly, advertising. Advertising products during the season and having endorsement from leagues or teams can amplify the efficiency of the advertisement. Furthermore, promotions related to leagues or teams can influence consumers’ purchasing decisions, especially for items related to the games. In addition, product experience activities in the stadium can also be conducted, which is an important part of the overall product launch. At the same time, due to the season, the social media accounts of teams are very active, and the exposure of sponsored brands and products on team social media will receive more impressions. In addition, if a player is sponsored, the player can also participate in activities and sales channels sponsored by the enterprise during the season, further enhancing interaction between the enterprise and consumers.
Sports events and social media are a perfect combination, with the attention generated by sports events and the interactivity of social media driving efficient marketing. The combination of these two sources of attention is based on their respective characteristics. Firstly, as a sports event, watching a game with other fans is a common social activity. In the lives of Americans, perhaps Sunday is reserved for the NFL, whose games are scheduled from noon until late at night, to the point that the NFL has considered scheduling games on Saturdays, but faced resistance from many leagues. Watching the game is the best way to socialize, especially while BBQing and drinking beer. Cheer at exciting moments, vent at bad ones. Even after the game ends, many scenes from the game remain popular topics for various occasions that can last for weeks until another topic appears. The rise of social media has moved the topics related to the game from limited real-life situations to the internet. Therefore, in important sports games, many of the hottest social media topics are often related to the game, even becoming national topics. The official social media accounts of many teams often receive hundreds or even thousands of comments in response to each tweet. Every touchdown or interception in an NFL game can generate a tidal wave of comments. Sponsors can take advantage of the social media heat generated by the game and carry out corresponding related activities, even promotions, such as holding a fan draw for every touchdown or giving away a discount coupon for purchases over three touchdowns in the entire game. This way, the attention of fans to the game and the marketing activities of the company are tied together in moderation. In some special occasions, such as when a sponsored team wins a championship, sponsors can even use this opportunity to conduct a round of promotional activities to reward long-term support from fans (e.g., buying products and getting championship commemorative shirts, or getting all products at an 80% discount), further strengthening the relationship between the team’s official sponsor and fans, and celebrating the team’s victory with fans.
In building and maintaining customer relationships, sports marketing often has unique advantages. As mentioned earlier, executives often have their favorite teams or may support a team because of their company’s location or their own city of origin or alma mater. Inviting customers to watch games of their favorite team can often enhance customer relationships. However, if customers are unknowingly invited to watch games of their team’s archrivals, it can often have the opposite effect. Usually, sponsored sports assets will include boxes and tickets for games, which can be used to invite local customers and partners. On the one hand, this can make them feel the company’s investment in the brand, and on the other hand, it can also demonstrate opportunities for joint brand promotion. Additionally, in sponsorships of the US golf tour, there are opportunities for Pro-Am, where professional and business players play together, and playing golf with customers is an important business socialization method.
8. Sports Marketing With Small Investment
Sports marketing is not just something that large companies can handle. Small businesses can also operate sports assets through small and clever ways.
On one hand, among many sports assets, it is important to choose sports assets that match the brand and product, and to fully understand the target user group of one’s own product.
On the other hand, small investments in sports marketing need to be combined with hot sports events. Large sports events in the United States are almost throughout the year, such as the NFL Super Bowl in February, the NHL Stanley Cup and NBA Finals in June, and the MLB World Series in October.
On one hand, it is necessary to accurately grasp the preferences of the user group for sports, and on the other hand, to plan how to generate corresponding associations. Giving away small football-related gifts before the Super Bowl is definitely more effective than before the NBA Finals.
Secondly, event marketing should be utilized. Although it is difficult to predict future events, different plans can be designed for different outcomes, as well as preparing contingency plans for unexpected events. While phenomena of seizing the heat on social media are commonplace, the key is to be able to react quickly and make the most relevant associations.
Small investment is also reflected in the purchase of sports assets, accurately understanding what are the most needed and influential assets. In general sports organizations, there are three types of sports asset owners: leagues, sports teams, and athletes. Although these three can all bring consumers into contact with the sports event, they differ in space and time dimensions. Leagues and sports teams have strict exclusivity in terms of time and space. For example, if it is a game broadcast nationwide, the sponsor of the sports team itself needs to be blocked in the broadcast screen. In terms of space, the use of general team assets is also restricted, such as NBA team assets having a range limitation of 150 miles. Players can participate in sponsor activities during the game, but cannot wear clothes with team logos.
If the time, location, and audience of the sports asset can be accurately known, the sports asset can be effectively purchased. If it is necessary to cover key markets in the United States, such as New York, then the New York Knicks team can be considered. If it is only necessary to amplify the brand and product through sports marketing during the product launch period, then a single sponsorship of one or several games can be considered, and even a small product launch event can be held during the game period, utilizing the exposure in the stadium (large screens and fan activity areas). If a specific audience needs to be impacted, popular or potential players can be sponsored to establish a connection with fans through player activities. Some players may not be popular nationwide, but may be stars in specific cities. They can visit sales channel stores, hold autograph sessions, or even sponsor self-help fan meetings. There are even some creative reality show activities, such as the American real estate website realtor.com sponsoring Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green as its ambassador in a reality show program, where Green acts as a real estate salesperson and promotes real estate to customers, achieving very good results, and the video has received nearly one million clicks.
If sports assets are utilized well and creatively, small investments can also reap big rewards by breaking through the traditional way of product endorsements and advertising.
Another way of small investment is to cooperate with customers. Many large companies in the United States participate in sports marketing. If AT&T or American Airlines, sports marketing is an opportunity that all large companies do not have marketing budgets for. When operating sports marketing, these companies also invite suppliers to participate and combine products in their sports advertisements. Such opportunities often require small investments, which are much smaller than the sponsorship investment with sports organizations.
9. Summary
As a common marketing method in the American market, sports marketing is something that Chinese enterprises can take advantage of when entering and expanding in the American market. However, as the saying goes, “Paper cannot hold a fire.” To make good use of sports marketing, it is necessary to consider all aspects. Matching the right sports assets, products, and target audience is crucial for achieving efficient results. If the match is appropriate, the results will be satisfactory; otherwise, it may fall short of expectations. Sports marketing is a field that requires a lot of practical experience, and it is often difficult to predict the outcome of a particular method without practical application. Similarly, the effectiveness of activities during a game day can vary depending on whether it’s a weekday or a weekend because of the different time constraints on fans. For example, sponsor activities at NBA games are typically brief and rushed, while sponsor activities at golf games are more relaxed and often more interesting to fans due to the leisurely nature of golf.
In the process of using sports marketing to expand into the American market, Chinese enterprises can learn from each other and find the most suitable way of sports marketing for themselves.
