Sports Fan Research Paper
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|A key reason sports brands are so successful is the relationship they have with each of their consumers, or fans. Being a sports fan—and |
|loving a team brand—transcends a person’s job, family or social status. “Fans experience pleasure and satisfaction with successful teams,” |
|writes Baylor University marketing professor Kirk L. Wakefield in his book, Team Sports Marketing, “but, they also experience feelings of |
|delight or excitement that deeply resonates within the identity of the individual fan, such that the effects are likely …show more content…
Or fans might be intent on supporting a single team brand, often because of school or hometown affiliation. And then there are|
|the multisport fanatics, supporting several sports, leagues or teams at once. Typically, each of these leagues or teams positions itself as |
|a distinct brand with its own logo, merchandise and marketing program. |
|This presents a big branding challenge: There are so many sports brands in existence that sports fans in general may be spread thin. In |
|their book, The Elusive Fan, authors Irving Rein, Philip Kotler and Ben Shields say competition among sports brands for market share is |
|increasingly intense because of fragmentation. They believe there are six distinct sports sectors vying for fans’ attention: older sports |
|(such as European soccer and Major League Baseball), reemerging older sports (such as cricket, rugby and golf), school sports (high schools,|
|youth development teams and the like), new sports (extreme sports and paintball, for example), declining older sports (such as boxing and …show more content…
According to Reuters, MLB teams are facing “an attendance decline of as much as 10 percent this year.” All four leagues have|
|experienced cutbacks of one kind or another (“U.S. sports bosses say economy forces more price cuts,” Reuters, May 6, 2009). Also according |
|to Reuters, “smaller teams and leagues, especially those without hefty broadcast rights deals…will be squeezed as sponsors and fans slash |
|spending…” Thought to be particularly vulnerable are the new leagues, Women’s Professional Soccer and United Football League (“Smaller |
|teams, leagues suffering in downturn,” Reuters, Nov. 27, 2008). |
|Sports leagues and teams continue to attract and retain sports fans, as well as commercial sponsors, but for the first time in a long time, |
|the sports world is feeling a money pinch. In fact, a recent study indicates that over half of companies surveyed “plan to cut 2009 |
|sponsorship spending, including sponsorship in the sports world, while almost as many are seeking to get out of current deals…” (“Over half
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| |
| |
|A key reason sports brands are so successful is the relationship they have with each of their consumers, or fans. Being a sports fan—and |
|loving a team brand—transcends a person’s job, family or social status. “Fans experience pleasure and satisfaction with successful teams,” |
|writes Baylor University marketing professor Kirk L. Wakefield in his book, Team Sports Marketing, “but, they also experience feelings of |
|delight or excitement that deeply resonates within the identity of the individual fan, such that the effects are likely …show more content…
Or fans might be intent on supporting a single team brand, often because of school or hometown affiliation. And then there are|
|the multisport fanatics, supporting several sports, leagues or teams at once. Typically, each of these leagues or teams positions itself as |
|a distinct brand with its own logo, merchandise and marketing program. |
|This presents a big branding challenge: There are so many sports brands in existence that sports fans in general may be spread thin. In |
|their book, The Elusive Fan, authors Irving Rein, Philip Kotler and Ben Shields say competition among sports brands for market share is |
|increasingly intense because of fragmentation. They believe there are six distinct sports sectors vying for fans’ attention: older sports |
|(such as European soccer and Major League Baseball), reemerging older sports (such as cricket, rugby and golf), school sports (high schools,|
|youth development teams and the like), new sports (extreme sports and paintball, for example), declining older sports (such as boxing and …show more content…
According to Reuters, MLB teams are facing “an attendance decline of as much as 10 percent this year.” All four leagues have|
|experienced cutbacks of one kind or another (“U.S. sports bosses say economy forces more price cuts,” Reuters, May 6, 2009). Also according |
|to Reuters, “smaller teams and leagues, especially those without hefty broadcast rights deals…will be squeezed as sponsors and fans slash |
|spending…” Thought to be particularly vulnerable are the new leagues, Women’s Professional Soccer and United Football League (“Smaller |
|teams, leagues suffering in downturn,” Reuters, Nov. 27, 2008). |
|Sports leagues and teams continue to attract and retain sports fans, as well as commercial sponsors, but for the first time in a long time, |
|the sports world is feeling a money pinch. In fact, a recent study indicates that over half of companies surveyed “plan to cut 2009 |
|sponsorship spending, including sponsorship in the sports world, while almost as many are seeking to get out of current deals…” (“Over half