Lecture 6

The Sport Marketing Mix

“…the coordinated set of elements that sports organizations use to meet

their marketing objectives and satisfy customer’s needs” Shank & Lyberger, 2022

-all about consumers' needs 

-they are central 

“…the sport marketer needs to develop the right product at the right price offered at the right place and promote it with the right methods” (Pitts & Stotlar, 2002, p.174)

-all about product, price, place and promotion  

There should be a specific marketing mix designed for each targeted

consumer group

All marketing mix elements are interrelated, meaning each element affects the others

-process of developing based on research we have done  

Brand

“A brand is a cluster of meanings”

• You buy a product for what it does. You buy a brand for what it means.

• A product can quickly be outdated. A brand is timeless.

-A Brand is name, term, sign, signal, or design, or a combination of these

intended to identify the good and services of one seller or group of sellers

and to differentiate them from those of competitors

-Brands are differentiable from other comparable commodities, due to the

meanings encoded through their producer’s marketing strategy

Her examples: Nike, Olympic Rings, Toronto Maple Leaf's  

Building a Brand

1. The commodity stage;

2. Differentiation through branding

3. Brand as an icon – building a relationship with the consumer

Brand Concepts - created by the marketer

Brand Equity - created by the consumer

Building a Brand factors

• Brand Awareness is the process of working toward maximizing

recognition of a particular brand.

• Brand Image refers to consumer perceptions linked to a particular brand such as health, excitement, fun or family.

• Brand Equity is the value placed on a brand by consumers. (favourable)

• Brand Loyalty is a consumer preference for a particular brand as

compared to competitor products or services

-Takes a long time 

-consistent messaging and consistent adhered value to the brand?? 

4 Ps – Traditional Approach

Product (What you create for the consumer)

Place (Getting the product to the consumer)

Price (Exchange agreement with the consumer)

Promotion (Communication with the consumer)

7 Ps – Service Marketing

-Price

-Product

-Promotion

-Place

-People

-Process

-Physical Environment

Product

Any bundle or combination of qualities, processes and capabilities (goods, services, and/or ideas) that a buyer expects will deliver want satisfaction

-Design

-Technology

-Usefulness

-Convenience

-Value

-Quality

-Packaging

-Branding

-Accessories

-Warranties

-consumer experience to fulfil satisfaction  

Product Lifecycle

From product development to market exit

Indicates:

• The growth of a product

• The seasonality of a product

• Fads

• The decline of a product

-if you can map out the popularity of a product overtime you can determine where something may need to be changed 

-low at the start 

-increases overtime (incline stage) 

-decline stage (organizations need to make a decision on what to do) 

Product/Space Map

Visual representation of product offerings within a market

• Plot graph based on meaningful attributes (e.g., consumer perceptions)

• Helps identify competitive positioning within a market

Example 

Traditional/Inexpensive: Soccer 

Traditional/Expensive: Hockey 

Non-traditional/Inexpensive: Rock climbing 

Non-traditional/Expensive: Cheer 

Product/Space Map - Steps to create a product/space map

1. Select most important attributes

• E.g., price vs perceived quality; accessibility vs location

2. Research and plot competitors position

3. Plot and compare your position

Promotion

“…the sport marketer needs to develop the right product at the right price

offered at the right place and promote it with the right methods”

“…decisions concerning the elements in the marketing mix must be made

in relation to what the consumer wants, compared to what the competitor

has, considered for its fit for the company and considered against legal,

ethical, social, cultural, and political climates”

-How are we reaching and communicating with the consumer  

Promotion factors

-Special Offers

-Advertising

-Endorsements

-User trials

-Direct mailing

-Leaflets/posters

-Free gifts

-Competitions

-Joint ventures

-ways we can connect/reach consumers  

The AIDA Approach

Attract AWARENESS

Raise INTEREST

Arouse DESIRE (wanting to engage)

Initiate ACTION

-goal is to make our whole target audience aware in hopes someone will take action 

The Promotional Mix

• Advertising

• Public Relations (Media Relations, Publicity)

• Sales Promotion

• Personal Selling

• Direct Marketing

• Exhibitions / Trade shows

• Licensing

• Events / experiences

• User trials

• Endorsements

• Sponsorship

-typically will not employ all but usually more than 1  

Advertising

Paid tactics to inform people of a product

• Different advertising mediums: TV, radio, print, digital

30-second ads during the 2026 Superbowl 

-Average 8 million USD 

-most people tune in during halftime  

Public Relations (Media Relations)

Shape public perception of a product

• Leverages relationships with media

• Focus on building brand image

Sales Promotion

Leverage use if incentives

(temporary or short term)

• Types of sales promotions: discounts, coupons, contests,

giveaways

• Creating urgency with limited-time offers

-Early bird pricing  

-buy-one-get-one-free  

Personal Selling

Face-to-face, direct with consumers

• High-value sports products

• Nurturing customer relationships through personal interactions

• Tailoring selling approaches based on audience preferences

Direct Marketing

Communicated directly with consumers, rather than through a

third-party

• Direct marketing channels: email campaigns, newsletters

• Personalization and customization for fan engagement

• Collecting and utilizing data for targeted direct marketing

-used to see flyers  

Exhibitions / Trade Shows

Showcasing Sports Offerings

-less common in sport  

 

-clubs week, recreational sport  

Licensing

Legal agreement giving one organization the right to use another

organizations property (including logo)

ex. TFC with Adidas  

Events and Experiences

Immersive Brand Engagements

ex. KLM Tunnel Club  

User Trials

Encouraging Direct Engagement

-usually used by gym 

-small trial 

-free first time  

Endorsements

Public statement of support

• Between a brand and an individual

• Leverages individual’s credibilit

-ex. Cristine Sinclair x Subway 

Sponsorship

-(Sport) sponsorship is a mutually beneficial arrangement that consists

of the provision of resources of funds, goods and / or services by an

individual or body (the sponsor) to an individual or body (rights owner)

in return for a set of rights that can be used in communications activity,

for the achievement of objectives for a commercial gain.

• Between a brand and an organization/ event

• Aims to enhance brand image

-A promotional approach in which an organization or individual

offers resources (e.g., financial, in-kind) and/or services to support

a sport organization’s event program, or product offering

-organization to organization 

Why Sponsorship

• Integrated approach

• Use with other elements of promotional mix

• Maximize communications effectiveness

• Contribute to building brand equity

• Part of a marketing strategy

• Implications on the brand

Sponsorship: Key Conceptual Elements

SPONSOR

• Cash Investment

• Product Investment

• Service Investment

• Image Transfer

• Activation

• Evaluation

SPONSEE

• Revenue Generator

• Budget Reducers

• Marketing Platform

• Activation

• Exclusivity

• Evaluation

Best Practices for Sport Sponsorship

• Fit

• Relationships

• Employee Motivation/Involvement/Education

• Community/cause

• Knowing other parties’ objectives

• Exclusivity

• Utility

• Activation & Leverage

-ex red bull and the X-games (good fit) 

-most successful are relationships built over time  

-implemented by actual people (motivated employees = successful relationships) 

-community or cause connection supports the longevity of relationships 

-ex RBC funds and Olympic athlete and they win a gold medal  

-understand what each other want out of the relationship  

-Canadian Olympic Committee = wants/needs money 

-RBC = get brand image transfer 

-no other bank as a sponsor (exclusive) 

-providing value for the sponsor (the sponsee already gets stuff immediately) 

Exchange and Utility

The criteria needed for an Exchange to occur;

• Must have something of value to exchange

• Need to be able to communicate

• Must be able to exchange (under 18 drinking)

• Must want to exchange

• At least 2 people needed for an exchange to occur

The exchange process creates Utility

• Satisfaction, value, or usefulness a user receives from a good or a

service

-language barriers with global brands (need to be able to communicate)  

-usually sponsor ends relationship but can also be the other way around  

Exclusivity

• Reduced Clutter

• Increased Sales

• Positive Associations between Brand and Sponsors

• Better recognition of official sponsors versus non-sponsors

• Increased knowledge of sponsor contributions

-people see a lot of brands must make it clear for the consumer to understand  

-RBC training grounds contributes to talent identification  

Sponsorship Process

OBJECTIVE SETTING

-Long term vision

-Strategic goals

-Objectives

SCREENING AND SELECTION

-Feasibility

-Compatibility

-Integration

CONTENT OF THE CONTRACT

-Clarity of agreement

-Management of expectations and responsibility

ACTIVATION OF THE SPONSORSHIP

-Implementation

-Drive awareness and involvement

EVALUATION

-Critical review

-Effectiveness

-Impact

Objective Setting

• Direct Sales Development → To create and deliver directly

attributable sales / Reliable evaluation

• Brand Awareness → Increase product awareness for loyalty, new

target markets and brand extension strategies / Showcasing

product helps

• External Corporate Awareness → For position or re-position /

Community relations for credibility and show social responsibility

• Internal Relations Development → Integrated marketing requires

employee involvement (-more employee retention and involvement, boost morale, increase motivation)

• Competitive Advantage → By shutting out the opposition

Screening and Selection

• Awareness

• Image

• Drive Sales

• Market Position

• Competitive Advantage

-aligned with our objectives  

-which organizations can help us achieve them  

-prob not going to choose a sponsee that is not well known 

-has a good reach 

-strong hold within a certain target market (if you want to reach a new one) 

Content of the Contract

1. Fixed packages (If you give us X we give you Y (this one is common) 

2. Custom agreements (Coming up with a spoken agreement)

• Fees and / or Sponsorship in-kind → Exchange resources

• Solus Sponsorship → Single sponsor receives all the benefit

• Tiered Sponsorship → Hierarchical rights across categories with

associated value

• Flat Sponsorship → All sponsors with equal status (though rights /

benefits may differ)

Fees = Lululemon outfits for athletes in Olympics  

Solus = RedBull AirRace World Series (less common) 

Tiered = Gold, Silver, and Bronze sponsor  

-or primer national partners (different names at different levels meaning they gave different amounts) 

-more common 

Flat = everyone has equal status (even though they could have given different things) 

Content of the Contract - Sponsorship rights

• Title sponsor

• Official sponsor

• Presenting rights

• Naming rights

• Category rights

Ex. Title = in the name of the event (RBC Canadian Open) 

Official = consumers are made aware but not in the title (Premier, national, and official sponsors) (not set categories), official sponsor of... 

Presenting = name not in title but is presented by the organization  

Naming = with facility, long term exposure (ex-Scotiabank Arena used to be the ACC) 

Category = (national partners, official Supports, Official suppliers) usually very specific, set categories, official (category) of... 

Content of the Contract - Developing Sponsorship Agreements: Consideration

• Rights & Benefits

• Physical → Zones, Halls, Venues, Pitches, Rooms

• Territory → Local, Regional, National, North/South

• Time → By day, session, qualifying rounds/finals

• Program → Ceremonies, Seminars, Charity events

• Supply → Kit, Equip, Transport, Hotel, product

• Status → Title, Presenter, Category, Naming Rights

• Communications → Digital, Print

Activation

-driving consumer action through brand interaction

ex. anytime you make the consumer aware of the sponsor and the sponsee 

-RBC and the Canadian Olympic Committee  

Leveraging

-strategic use of the brand image of the sponsee to amplify brand of the sponsor

ex. RBC Training Ground 

Activation - Two key elements

• ‘Standard’ activities

• associated commercials, advertising, service, and onsite

product sampling

• ‘Value-added’ activities

• creative efforts that seek to maximize the effect of the

sponsorship (such as hospitality, VIP hosting, creative

marketing, etc.)

Evaluating Sponsorships

Pre-determined criteria for success

• Measuring participation

• Photographic record

• Media Monitoring

• Measuring Awareness (exit interviews)

• Market Share

Why Sponsors Fail

• No budget for activation

• For every dollar a company spends on a rights fee, to

maximize the sponsorship, they spend another $2 to $3 on leverage

• No measurable objectives

• No local extensions

• Not long-term

• Insufficient human resources

-have to tell the consumer how they want them to engage 

-common for sponsor relationships to be short-term