Hi!
Mark your calendars.
On April 3, 2025, I’ll be in NYC, lecturing at NYU to a sports marketing class.
I may stick around for the Tartan Week festivities of the weekend.
Let’s see.
This morning, I wanted to share a preview of what I will teach about integrated marketing communications.
A top 10 list for students to keep in mind to be successful in marketing and selling sports:
You are not your customer:
Foundational.
Everyone comes to your games with a unique perspective.
Know your touchpoints.
The fan journey goes on longer than you imagine.
It starts sooner than you know. And it goes on long after the game is over.
Watch them.
Don’t focus on the amount of spit going into the pipe, focus on the spit you are putting into the pipe.
This should be clear…
I don’t mean spit.
Too much advertising and marketing is about volume. Not enough is about the focus, the strategy, and the quality.
Focus on your brand.
Winning comes and goes.
Your brand is forever.
Act like it.
Trends are great, but never lose sight of your unique position.
Always think, “Why Me?”
You can do too much.
Less can be more.
You can have too many offers.
You can run too many promotions.
You can have too much stuff on sale.
Don’t be afraid of the enemy.
There is a reason Alabama football draws great ratings.
Everyone needs a villain.
One of marketing’s greatest gifts is picking an enemy.
“Discounts are for Dummies!”
“Codify! Codify! Codify!”
Those are the words of one of my brand management professors, Mark Ritson.
Burn them into your brain.
You want to know your brand codes and use them on everything.
Logos. Colors. Images.
“Zero Based” is your friend.
Zero-based budgeting is a term thrown around poorly.
When I tell you “zero based” is your friend, I mean it that you don’t allocate your budget and your attention to something because it has always been done that way.
Every campaign and every season, is an opportunity to rethink how you are talking to your fans.
Sports is emotional. Your communications should be as well.
Duh!
What do you think?
Let me know what I am missing. Let me know what you think I should point out.
DW