Why Sports marketing is all about tailor-made!

Why sports marketing is all about tailor-made!

In my last article I was talking about 6 “SMART” fan engagement tools for 2017!, so I decided to take the story one step further. Making an impact and creating a connection is very important in the sports industry. Adidas really made a great connection with me earlier this year and they have understood how to bring content not for all, but through each of your perspectives.

Why is this relevant to you? Well, content and story that is trying to connect with an audience matter because we, human beings, are hardwired to receive information and transmit information as stories. Brain scientists say that, by telling stories, we are actually telling ourselves who we are. By storytelling, we make sense of the world.

Social media networks have proven to be great platforms to engage and create new stories, and the majority who operate on these platforms are millennials. Millennials are increasing and becoming a really important target group to connect with. They might be tricky to connect with because they like to consume and produce their own interest, but it is important to adapt and learn from this generation to stay on top of the game. We have seen that social media has changed the way sports are being consumed and smartphones and tablets are practically becoming a “part of our bodies”. So lets take a look at why the traditional mass marketing is sitting on the bench while the tailor-made marketing is calling shots at the end of the game.

Wait! Isn’t tailor-made all about clothes? No, it’s about you

I know this might not be completely clear to you so I will try to show you with a few examples. First of all, we all have the picture in our head when you are standing in front of a mirror and having a tailor measuring you. Basically that’s what we are all doing nowadays in the sports industry but instead of measuring the old fashioned way we are gathering data, which is individualized.

It is not only the Millennials that want to own and manage what to consume or produce. This pattern is also followed by the sponsored brands that are trying to be unique; they don’t want to be shown together with all other sponsors on a backdrop or on the team uniform. Yes, I know we can see that everywhere but, to be honest, I believe we are nowadays turning more to owning and managing our content in a tailored and individual way.

So let’s get down to business. You have probably heard about the Snapchat Spectacles, right? Maybe you have tried them out yourself (if you have, please let me know your thoughts) or seen them in use for some engagement activities? Well I thought it was just a cool gadget to have and one that allows you to capture the moment without having to walk around with a phone in your hand.

Like I tried to say so far, you need the ‘wow factor’ to attract (new) viewers or participants. People in general (and especially sport fans) are always seeking fresh content so they hop from one provider to another unless you have something really unique, like Spectacles! These glasses provide a human view so you as a person can really identify the feeling in an authentic way.

“Specs make memories, from your perspective.” – Spectacles.com

As Snapchat describes it, “someone’s story/memory from your perspective”.

Adidas football on Snapchat has created this unique and “wow” factor, but unfortunately I can’t show you their stuff so my advice for you would be to follow them straight away. Just tap in their nickname “adidasfootball” or take a screenshot:

There aren’t a lot of examples that I can show you, especially for those of you who don’t have a Snapchat account. But there are two examples of how this “new view” in sports can show that in-the-moment feeling through your eyes. Yeah, that’s right – your eyes.

How long will this be a hype? I have no idea, but one thing I do know is that this just started and we want more. There is a great example from the NHL where I can get the feeling of being a part of the Minnesota Wild. This kind of storytelling is focused on the regular people! The uniqueness of Spectacles is the way to share your perspective.

“We’re always looking for new ways to bring our fans closer to the team and the game. The Spectacles certainly delivered, providing a cool, new point-of-view that was really simple to execute.” – Phil Ervin, digital managing editor and content strategist for the Minnesota Wild

At this moment the Spectacles are very exclusive. They can’t be bought wherever, you need to find a Spectacles bot, which is like a vending machine, so cross your fingers and look out for a bot through this link.

Avoid the one-size-fits-all syndrome!

Sports are spontaneous and hard to predict. It’s the same with how fans react to content, it cannot be controlled or predicted. Good CRM could help you with this because you don’t want to annoy your fans/website visitor with banner ads with club merchandise. That is not always the best way to encourage more engagement. For sure, it depends a lot on the products, services, local culture, value proposition, etc. The good thing about social media and, for example, Snapchat stories is that you can skip through them with a click, but the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) phenomenon will always kick in, and you will come back to see more.

Did you also want to find out how if feels to shoot and dunk like this?

“How we look at it is that almost everyone we come across loves sports and their sports team is like a religion so we are looking at the 24 hours a day life of a fan, Current projects include personalizing the fan experience on mobile devices using artificial intelligence to get them the videos, stats and other information they want in real-time”. – Naveen Rajdev, CMO at IT and consulting services giant Wipro.

Individual approach is something somewhat new in the marketing world, but many marketers realize that it might be the way to go. We need to “study” our consumers/fans individually, and give each of them exactly what they are looking for. That way they feel appreciated and heard because they are getting exactly what they want from your team or brand.

Conclusion

Tailor-made marketing is all about seeing things from an individual perspective. A great way to start working this way is by finding your nearest Spectacles bot and getting those authentic 10 second clips that connect with your audience from your own perspective.

It’s about giving people something they can’t get elsewhere, such as the unique access to your favorite sports team and content from behind the scenes. This ownership is incredibly valuable to us. Content is king and stories are made to engage. So let see which sports club or brand will be the best Spectacles creators of 2017!

Three takeaway points from this blog are:

Get authentic with your content by having Spectacles
Tailor-made marketing approach allows the consumer to feel special and unique
Personalizing the fan experience on mobile devices

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

With today’s rapid sports technology development, we will be able to watch (and already are) whatever game, wherever and whenever we want, all while having access to live game stats. The next cool thing I read about was the HoloLens, which is a cool mixed reality gadget from Microsoft.