Notes on New Media Sportscape: Branding and the Internet by Alex Jarman

AUTHOR'S PURPOSE/CENTRAL THESIS

  • Main focus: Explore the construction of the sport experience through new media and the internet.

  • Consumer personalization: Advancements in interactive technologies enable consumers to personalize their sports media consumption based on preferences.

  • Evolution of sports brands: Changes in sports brand operations have transformed the relationship between producers and consumers, especially concerning sports products.

  • Brandscapes: Flagship stores like Nike Town have transitioned into immersive brandscapes, rich multimedia experiences that can greatly influence consumer engagement.

  • Power dynamics: The shift allows consumers to generate their own interpretations and experiences, indicating a significant change in power dynamics in sports media.

TERMS

  • Sportscape: The environment or context where sports events occur.

  • New media objects: Content made available through technological advancements.

  • Interactivity: The capability for users to actively engage with or influence the content/experience.

  • Brandscaping: The design process where architecture and interiors enhance brand communication.

BRANDING: BRANDING THE EXPERIENCE OF SPORT

  • Adidas '+10' campaign: A global football marketing initiative focused on teamwork and promoting the '+teamgeist' match ball.

  • Brand rivalry: Examination of the competition between Adidas and Nike, highlighting branding as a medium in itself.

BRANDING: SPORT BRAND AS A NEW MEDIA OBJECT

  • Celia Lury's brand theory: Shift from a stimulus-response model to an exchange-based model in branding.

  • Brand dimensions:

    • Width: Number of product lines.

    • Depth: Number of products within each line.

    • Consistency: Relatedness of products concerning usage, production, and distribution.

  • Umbro product line & trademark laws: Focus on the importance of trademarks in protecting Olympic symbols and terminology, contributing to brand integrity.

BRANDING: POSITIONING THE SPORT BRAND

  • Transition in advertising: Shift from traditional advertising to brand positioning aimed at providing meaning and personal connection to consumers.

  • Examples:

    • Sony portable television model: An innovative approach to targeting markets.

    • Nike's female-targeted campaigns: Efforts to promote female participation in sports with empathy-driven campaigns and the famous "Just Do It" slogan.

LOGO: LOGOS AND THE FRAME OF SPORT BRAND

  • Brand identity significance: Logos and branding are crucial as they represent the brand’s identity and producer.

  • Dynamic nature of logos: Highlights importance of repeated exposure to logos and brands like Nike.

LOGO: CELEBRITY FACE OF THE SPORT BRAND

  • Celebrity associations: Linking sports celebrities with brand identity, e.g., using athletes in marketing strategies.

  • Risks of celebrity endorsements: High-profile athletes can impact brand negatively through scandals.

BRANDSCAPING: NIKETOWN

  • Experiential branding: NikeTown offers three-dimensional immersive experiences central to brand identity.

  • Virtual vs. physical experiences: Evaluation of how brand emotion is encountered through these different modes.

SPORT AND THE INTERNET

  • Influence of sports websites: The NBA’s website and various platforms are shifting how sports information is consumed and interacted with.

  • Digital culture impact: Information technologies are crucial in molding business as well as personal engagement with sports.

NEW MEDIA CHARACTERISTICS

  • Multimodality: Combining text, animation, music, and video for engaging content.

  • Permanence and ephemerality: Content can be permanent yet is constantly updated for relevance.

  • Navigation and interconnectivity: Hyperlinks create seamless navigation while fostering user interactivity and diverse content engagement.

INTERNET: PLEASURES

  • Comparison with traditional media: New media provide unique, varied experiences with each user interaction.

  • Digital divide: The inequalities in access leading to segmented enclaves within the digital landscape.

INTERNET: IDENTITY

  • Identity representation: The internet provides platforms for flexible identity crafting, leading to concepts like identity tourism.

  • Impact on self-perception: Online anonymity challenges established notions of social identity, offering escapism from fixed identities.

ANALYZING SPORT WEBSITES

  • Engagement through hyperlinks: Websites use narrativity in hyperlinks to enhance user interaction and experience.

  • Web design elements: Choices in text styles and visual presentation impact identity and navigability.

CASE STUDY: ADIDAS

  • Global adaptability: Adidas’ website is tailored to user location, enhancing multimedia experiences based on geographical context.

  • Consistent branding: While the content adapts to specific regions, core branding elements remain unified across all national platforms.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. How has the internet and digital technology transformed the marketing and consumption of sports?

  2. In what ways has technology reshaped how audiences engage with sports?

  3. Considering VR and AR, what future trends will arise in sports viewing and consumption?

The main focus of the author's work is to explore the construction of the sport experience through new media and the internet. Advancements in interactive technologies have enabled consumers to personalize their sports media consumption based on their preferences, leading to a transformed relationship between sports brands and consumers. This evolution in how sports brands operate is particularly evident in flagship stores like Nike Town, which have transitioned into immersive brandscapes. These multimedia experiences significantly influence consumer engagement, indicating a shift in power dynamics in sports media where consumers are now empowered to generate their own interpretations and experiences.

In terms of terminology, a sportscape is the environment or context in which sports events occur. New media objects refer to content made available through technological advancements, while interactivity denotes the capability for users to actively engage with or influence the content and experience. The process of brandscaping involves designing architecture and interiors to enhance brand communication.

The branding aspect illustrates the brand's pursuit of creating experiences around sports, with the Adidas ‘+10’ campaign serving as a notable example of a global football marketing initiative that emphasizes teamwork and promotes the '+teamgeist' match ball. Additionally, the competition between Adidas and Nike is examined, showcasing branding as a medium in itself.

According to Celia Lury's brand theory, branding has evolved from a stimulus-response model to an exchange-based model, where brand dimensions include width—referring to the number of product lines, depth—the number of products within each line, and consistency—the relatedness of products regarding usage, production, and distribution. The importance of trademarks in protecting Olympic symbols and terminology is also highlighted, contributing to brand integrity.

As for the nature of brand positioning, there has been a shift from traditional advertising to a focus on providing meaning and personal connection to consumers. Examples include innovations in targeting markets, such as Sony's portable television and Nike's empathetic campaigns aimed at increasing female participation in sports, reinforced by their famous "Just Do It" slogan.

Logos play a crucial role in establishing brand identity, with repeated exposure to logos like Nike’s underscoring their dynamic nature. Associating sports celebrities with brand identity, through marketing strategies, presents opportunities but also risks, as high-profile athletes may negatively impact the brand in instances of scandal.

NikeTown embodies experiential branding, offering three-dimensional immersive experiences important to brand identity. The contrast between virtual and physical experiences is significant in how brand emotion is encountered.

The influence of sports websites, such as the NBA’s platform, is reshaping how sports information is consumed and interacted with, demonstrating the critical role of information technologies in personal engagement with sports. Key characteristics of new media include multimodality, which combines text, animation, music, and video for engaging content, and the dual aspects of permanence and ephemerality, as content is constantly updated while retaining some permanent features. Navigation and interconnectivity through hyperlinks foster user interactivity and diverse content engagement.

New media differ from traditional media in providing varied experiences through each user interaction, though the digital divide highlights inequalities in access that can lead to segmented enclaves within the digital landscape. The internet allows for flexible identity representation, contributing to concepts like identity tourism and impacting self-perception due to online anonymity that challenges established notions of social identity.

In analyzing sport websites, engagement is enhanced through the use of hyperlinks and narrativity, while web design choices in text styles and visual presentation significantly impact identities and navigability. A case study of Adidas reveals its global adaptability, with the website tailored to user location, enhancing multimedia experiences based on geographical context while maintaining consistent branding across national platforms. The note concludes with discussion questions concerning the transformation of sports marketing and technology’s role in reshaping audience engagement.