Over the course of a year, there is an influx of major sporting events all around the world. You may be thinking to yourself, “Well that’s all good and well, but my company is only located in the U.S.”. Valid point. However, if you want to increase your market share or potentially tap into new markets, these events are a gold mine.
This post will take you through the views of consumers on sporting events, advertising, and especially their views towards patriotic advertising during sporting events.
A Little Bragging Moment from Corey Airport Services
This year, our own Laurel Hefner of Palm Springs International Airport made the news with her installment of the Tennis Channel’s first ever airport lounge.
Here is the video showing the lounge in all of its glory.
Consumer Attitude Toward Sporting Events
Sports are Embedded into Our Society
At one time or another, you have had a conversation with your coworker about sports. Whether this interaction was meant to break an “awkward” silence, or genuine interest, is up to you. Why are sports such a big deal and why do people use this as a tool to fill in pauses in conversations?
The answer: sports unify a group of people. It gives them a common ground and people are a social being.
How do we as marketer and advertisers capitalize on this need for a common ground? We believe the work is already half way done for us. In order to hold a somewhat decent sporting conversation with my friends and coworkers, I have to watch ESPN in the mornings. The audience is there, all we have to do is throw them our information in a captivating way to go the full 9 yards.
There is a Strong Sense of Nationalism within Sports
During the last Summer Olympics, were you cheering for Belize or for the United States of America?
Patriotism booms during international sporting events. This strong sense of nationalism is something that advertisers could and should capitalize on when advertising during these events. You are thinking “You are out of your mind, I do not have the budget to take out a one second advertisement in the Olympics.” Fret not my fellow advertiser, there are only a handful of companies that do have that budget. This does not mean that we should not join the camaraderie and tailor our advertisements to this re-instilled patriotic country! Although out of most of our budgets, this advertisement from Chrysler during the Super Bowl gave us the chills.
Advertising During Sporting Events
“During” as Opposed to “At”
As mentioned earlier, we do not all have the financial backing that Coca-Cola and P&G have, so we have to make due with what we’ve got. This should not hinder us from seizing an amazing opportunity.
Let’s say that you are a sports bar in Philadelphia (do they even have any other type of bar?…) and the Super Bowl is to be held there this year. Chances are, that the Eagles will not make it to this Super Bowl but you still want to capitalize on all of the tourists coming into your town. You may decide that printing out fliers and distributing them to the nearby hotels would be advantageous to reach this target audience. You might also decide that spending a little extra to be prominently displayed at an airport (shameless plug). But the last thing you are going to do is say, “I hate their teams so much that I refuse to take their money”. If someone has that mentality, I can’t wait to open my business in their foreclosed business.
But I am Nowhere Near the Action!
It’s okay! Take a deep breath and let us figure this out. We have established that people are much more likely to cling to their regional or national team. Not everyone will be able to make the trip to Philadelphia to watch the AFC champion and NFC champion battle it out on the field. Make sure that you are current with your ads or even make streaming of the game available at your location. Entice people to come to your establishment to watch the game. I can see it now: “for every touchdown the AFC champs throw, there will be a 10% discount for the next 10 minutes”.
Keep it simple, keep it fun, and most importantly:
Keep it close to home.