When we consider the strength of feeling and passion that sport can unleash, and after a fantastic summer of sporting events, it’s no surprise that brands are considering how they can use sport to get their brand out to a wider audience and harness an experiential marketing opportunity.
Sporting events offer a massively expanded stage for brands to engage with their audience. They provide a brilliant opportunity for brands to communicate with people who are already passionate and receptive to content simply because of where they are.
From thrills to agony, we all know from experience that watching sport engenders feelings of excitement, passion and even joy. Anyone who has been in the crowd supporting their team has felt the sense of connection with however many thousands of others all doing the same thing.
It’s a powerful feeling that transcends entertainment and this emotional pull can be leveraged by brands to get themselves in front of potential clients and new customers.
By aligning with values increasingly associated with sport, for example inclusion and equality, a brand can tap into what makes people’s response to sport so powerful.
Think about the sporting values of teamwork, honesty, respect, determination and resilience, and imagine associating your brand with them.
By adding your brand to the collective sporting event and then creating a coherent brand experience around it can only positively reflect on your brand and promote it to an audience who are already open and receptive.
Using social channels with bought media before and during the event provides a wealth of ongoing touchpoints and any viral impact is only going to augment exposure and offer the potential to go global.
Brands have been marketing themselves with football shirts for years and Renault have recently returned to football after striking a deal with Monaco, but brands don’t have to be sports-related to leverage a sporting event for their marketing.
Vodaphone trialed their 5G powered GiveVision headsets designed to support the experience of visually impaired tennis fans at this year’s Wimbledon. The headsets streamed the live footage over 5G and enhanced it specifically to the individual wearer’s needs.
Emirates Airlines showcased their crashpad at the Australian Open when fans were able to climb the airstairs and leap onto a giant inflatable crash pad. Creating a buzz with a social media-friendly experience, the airline introduced itself to in situ tennis fans and beyond.
Creative partnerships, multi-sensory immersive experiences, engaging and interactive approaches provide almost limitless potential for brands to create memorable launches and experiences in a sporting environment where the audience is already primed for a positive response.
It’s a huge opportunity.