Technology: The marquee signing and MVP for sports marketing success

Sports and sports marketing involve blockbuster fixtures won or lost by defining moments. These moments are determined by the quality of decision-making and pre-determined strategies.

However, here’s the real kicker: Technology. When purposefully adopted, it is a proven game changer.

England’s elimination from the 2010 FIFA World Cup serves as a case in point. During England against Germany, the referee’s failure to award England a legitimate goal was the match-defining moment. FIFA has since introduced real-time technology to confirm if a ball has crossed the goal line, helping referees make informed and correct decisions. In addition, teams are partnering analytics providers to capture sophisticated player data, and formulate strategies such as players’ diet plans, training regimes and tactics, for optimal match-day performances.

Off the pitch, the narrative remains the same. Interest in domestic and international sporting events is growing – the 28th SEA Games, Asian Mixed Martial Arts tournament, ICC Cricket World Cup and Indian Premier League were recently added to a regional broadcast roster that already includes the Barclays Premier League, English FA Cup and Formula One, creating an attractive environment for brand-fan engagement via sports sponsorships.

In 2014, a projected US$12 billion or 28% of global spending was invested in sports sponsorships in Asia Pacific (APAC), and that number is set to increase by 4.4% in 2015[1]. As shareholders relentlessly pursue product sales through partnerships, cash investment is being scrutinised more than ever before. The aggressive demand for informed decision-making and accountability is on the rise.

Furthermore, as fans come to expect personalised content, the goal posts have shifted. Success is now dependent on a brand’s ability to identify opportune moments and effectively engage sports audiences.

Taking a scattergun approach – mindlessly placing commercials across multiple TV channels throughout the day, or slapping a logo on-screen at every given opportunity – and then hoping for the rub off the green is becoming ineffective in raising brand awareness and product purchasing intent.

Today, brands must identify the precise moment where they can take advantage of the rich emotional attachments that leagues, teams and athletes have with the fans that support them. And understanding the following technological trends will score a brand its first sports marketing hat-trick.

Trend No.1: “Make your own luck” with data analytics

Sports fans epitomise loyalty, also a barometer for brand engagement and business profitability. Research has validated that engaged consumers are more loyal and more likely to purchase products. However, engagement is now a game of inches. Straight off the bat, marketers need to adopt a data-driven approach to understand and address needs and wants.

With an integrated business intelligence framework – a single view of fan behaviour or preferences – brands can integrate anonymised data from the following advanced analytics tools to cover all bases. Data is then used to formulate strategies by selecting the most relevant advertising media based on niche audience segmentation to optimise sports sponsorship investment:

1. Sports channels’ viewership data from a household’s pay-TV set-top box.
2. Sports-related web browsing data from internet broadband subscriptions.
3. Sports-related mobile usage data from a 3G/4G mobile subscription.
4. Research on household demographics and purchasing preferences for each product category.
5. Message testing conducted to a select group of registered consumers.

Trend No.2: Geo-analytics (literally) enhances a brand’s positional awareness

Imagine this: The 2018 FIFA World Cup is underway. Public community centres in Singapore screening “live” matches are attracting huge crowds daily. During half-time, viewers receive messages on their smartphones highlighting a discount for food orders in the next two hours, encouraging them to visit a nearby outlet of an official World Cup food and beverage sponsor. These messages are personalised based on an individual’s geo-analytical data and profile.

Geo-analytics enable marketers to short-list and rank locations by density of potential customers. Businesses can even open new outlet locations or adjust operating hours to catch the anticipated crowds. By interpreting historical and real-time footfall volume, sports marketers can target consumers at the right moment to meet a specific need or want.

Trend No.3: Video technology the next big hit for brand integration and fan engagement

Virtual advertising uses virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology, embedding three-dimensional, larger-than-life brand images into a “live” TV broadcast. Sports marketers can then create and tell editorially relevant stories, while ensuring that the content is not missed altogether. While such ad formats previously required significant financial investment, the technology has made its way into APAC and become more affordable.

With VR and AR technology, sponsors are no longer limited to advertising during commercial breaks. Virtual advertising ensures that the attention of audiences is captured when viewership is at its peak, so advertisers can stay in the game.

Huffing and puffing is the lifeblood of sports teams and marketers. However, a proverbial advertising arms race and a market of fragmented consumers means that endeavour alone is insufficient.

As the saying goes: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” There’s no better time than now for brands to leverage technology and create opportune moments for engagement across multiple platforms.

As England’s international football team and FIFA would attest – technology-led decision-making and game plans are no longer an option, but a necessity. Sports marketers must do more with technology, to avoid the ignominy of being blindsided by the high-stakes, high-pressure demands of fans and shareholders.

Anurag Dahiya is the head of content and advertising sales for group consumer at Singtel. (pictured)

[1] PwC. Changing the game: Outlook for the global sports market to 2015.