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Korean consumer & society

attraction of sports Marketing as Means of communication

LEE Dong-Hun

Sports marketing is once again in the spotlight. Ignited by the splendid achievements of Korean athletes at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, the 2010 World Cup Games in South Africa have only added more fuel. While the Winter Olympics may be considered a representative advanced-nation sports event, the World Cup garners tremendous mass appeal. Because of this, the World Cup has become a marketing battleground where global companies compete to expose their logos and brand names via national teams and their star players. The influence of sports on society is profound. After her record-breaking performance in Vancouver, Korean figure skater Kim Yuna was in Time magazines 2010 100 Most Influential People list. And Britains Guardian stated, Manchester Uniteds Park Ji-Sung, who scored against [Italys] AC Milan in the 2009/2010 UEFA Champions League is helping promote Koreas brand value. As these cases illustrate, sports have gone beyond simply watching and enjoying, evolving into a socio-cultural phenomenon, as well as a medium that influences a na-

tion, its people, and the world. Against this background, this paper addresses the importance of sports marketing as a means of communication and examines ways to utilize it.

ReconsideRation: spoRts in eRa of soft poweR

Joseph S. Nye of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University argued for the importance of soft powerthe ability to get what a state wants from other states through attractionin addition to the traditional hard power that gets the same via coercion. He advocated that elements of soft power such as culture, inter-

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national exchanges, and communicationcompared to the military and economic strength of hard poweris a source of national competitiveness. Since the end of the Cold War, competition among countries has increasingly shifted away from wars toward corporations, culture and arts, and sports. The International Institute for Management Development and the World Economic Forum, the two major organizations for ranking national competitiveness, define national competitiveness as a nations ability to create a corporate-friendly environment that can ultimately boost economic growth and quality of life. This means that corporate management takes on an essential role in raising national competitiveness. Meanwhile, Rolf Jensen, a renowned futurist and director of the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies in Copenhagen, predicts that the post-information age will be a dream society, where dreams, emotional values, and the culture and arts are the basis for building such a society. The sports have also positioned itself as a gauge for national competitiveness. Even with the criticisms of sports nationalism and commercialism, one cannot deny the growing influence of international sporting events, e.g., the Olympics, World Cup, and World Baseball Classic. Prior to the 1990s, there was some reluctance among countries to host these events but, more recently, even heads of countries are taking on an active role. For example, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went skiing with delegates to promote Russias bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Games after three previous attempts, while Sydney and Athens won the 2000 and 2004 Summer Games, respectively, on their second attempts. Countries across the globe are also improving policies and increasing budgets to strengthen competitiveness in sports, all of which reflect the growing importance of the role of sports in the era of soft power.

ReinteRpRetation: spoRts MaRKeting as Means of coMMunication

Realizing that sports provide a powerful means of creating a common ground with viewers and consumers, companies are actively employing sports marketing to enhance their image and strengthen brand equity. It is crucial in this sense that companies reinterpret sports marketing as a strategic means of communication. According to scholarly literature, there are two dimensions in sports marketing: marketing of sports and marketing through sports. The former refers to marketing directly to sports consumers, while the latter refers to marketing products or services through the use of sports promotion.1 Then when did sports marketing and sports commercialization start? The popular 1997 movie Jerry Maguire was based on the true story of sports agent and sports marketing pioneer Mark Hume McCormack. After realizing he was not quite good enough to be an amateur golfer, McCormack tapped into the business of being an agent for professional athletes after graduating from Yale Law School and becoming inspired by the portrait rights of sports players. He founded the International Management Group (IMG) and began to gain attention after signing professional golfer Arnold Palmer as IMGs first client. Meanwhile, the term sports marketing was first coined in 1978 by Advertising Age, a US-based magazine that covers news on advertising, and defined it as obtaining marketing effects by sponsoring international sports organizations like the International Olympic Committee and International Federation of Football Association, and the teams and players. Coca Cola has been an Olympic sponsor since 1928 and has enjoyed huge sports marketing effects. It is clear, in this re-

1 Bernard J. Mullin, Stephen Hardy and William A. Sutton, Sport Marketing (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1993).

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Attraction of Sports Marketing as Means of Communication

gard, that sports marketing, whether it is marketing of sports or through sports, is a growing element in corporate marketing as sports is becoming more deeply embedded in the minds of the people.

RediscoveRy: fouR attRactions of inteRnational spoRting events

Various marketing communications methods have recently emerged, among which social network services such as Facebook and Twitter as well as digital signage are becoming undoubtedly promising tools. Yet there are not many methods like sports marketing that have such a powerful impact on the mass public. In particular, the Olympic Games and World Cup are very effective in advertising corporate logos and brands to many people in a short period of time. This is due to the unique experiences that international sporting events offer. First, sports is a universal language. It is clear and easy to understand, and it can bring people together, transcending the so|Figure 1

cial, cultural, and ideological differences. Second, it is drama without a script and captures the hearts of the people. People are touched by movies, musicals, and plays, often being brought to tears or to the edge of their seats even if the plot is obvious. But sports deliver unexpected results and upsets and such drama and excitement often go beyond what written stories can offer. Third, sports attract wide attention. The 2006 World Cup games in Germany had 32 participating countries and 26.2 billion viewers (cumulative figure), while the 2008 Beijing Olympics had 205 participating countries and 49 billion viewers. With the development of various forms of media including the Internet and the distribution of IPTVs and 3D TVs, the actual viewing rate is likely to increase further. Due to such wide interests, sporting events offer areas of common interest, increase the spread of information by word-of-mouth and other means, and improves the storage of peoples memories, thereby proving a very attractive medium. Fourth, cheering for national teams at international events heightens a sense of oneness, encouraging national unity and social integration. Since good perfor-

Four Attractions of International Sporting Events

Universal Language

Simple and easy to understand Transcending social, cultural, language and ideological barriers

Drama and excitement as if watching movie Competition, personal stories, rivalry, wins and losses, comebacks, cheers, tears

Drama without Script

Attractions of International Sporting Events High viewing rate Growing influence due to development of media forms (cable TV, Internet, 3D TV, etc.)
2006 World Cup in Germany: 26.2 billion viewers 2009 Beijing Olympics: 49 billion viewers

Unity and Integration

Sense of community, social integration, and national unity Performances become source of pride, backed by systemic, economic, and scientific support

Worldwide Attention

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LEE Dong-Hun

mances are achieved based on a nations systemic, economic, and technological support, they can lead to national pride. This is a common phenomenon worldwide. In France, its hosting of the World Cup in 1998 served as a basis for unity. It helped Frances social mainstream class to shift their stereotypic views of Arabic, South Pacific, and African migrants, to which Algerian descent soccer star Zinedine Zidane made a huge contribution. In Japan, the impressive records achieved by swimmers at the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympic Games encouraged Japanese people, who were disheartened by the recession that followed World War II, to regain pride and reunite. Finlands Paavo Johannes Nurmi, also known as one of the Flying Finns, seized nine gold medals as well as three silvers in three separate Olympic Games (1920 Antwerp, 1924 Paris, and 1928 Amsterdam), instilling a sense of pride into the Finnish people after the nation gained independence from Russia in 1917.

|Figure 2

Two Targets in Brand Building

Brand Awareness Brand Recognition/ Familiarity

Brand Recall

Brand Recognition

Brand Image Favorable Brand Associations

Brand Favorability

Brand Preference

Brand Uniqueness

Re-application: Moving Beyond MeRe Recognition

Kevin Lane Keller, a marketing professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth Collegeone of the worlds most respected authorities in brandingclaims that building brand power first requires enhancing brand awareness and then building a brand image, i.e., creating a favorable impression and stimulating preference. Unique associations capable of distinguishing one brand from another are also essential sources. Accordingly, companies are promoting diverse communications activities to not only raise brand recognition but also to create strong, favorable and unique associations. Branding strategies may differ among companies depending on their situations. Some brands are

highly recognized by people, while others are very new to the market. For low-profile companies or brands, sports marketing offers a very effective tool since it instantly enhances brand recognition. Nevertheless, sports marketing should not remain confined to simply increasing recognition, but upgraded in a way that it creates associations that are favorable and unique.

ReoRganization: cooRdinating BRand identity and spoRts MaRKeting

To improve coherence between brand identity and sports marketing projects, companies need to reorganize their strategic systems. The first
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Attraction of Sports Marketing as Means of Communication

Sports marketing is a tool that has a strong tendency to boost sales. However, it may be limited to delivering a short and simple message to consumers.

eral differentiating points should be devised. Rather than limit itself, the company should market beyond a mere product endorsement or ad endorsement. Meanwhile, decisions should be made cautiously when it comes to ambush marketingthe practice of sports marketing where an advertiser is not an official sponsor and, hence, avoid paying sponsorship fees. Attempts to make itself known one way or another without taking into account the moral and social responsibilities can degrade the companys image. Sports marketing is a tool that has a strong tendency to boost sales. However, it may be limited to delivering a short and simple message to consumers. It should be a complementary tool and not a means to wholly replace traditional marketing methods. After all, sports marketing offers only one facet of communication strategies.
Translation: RHEE Oak Jung

step is to reanalyze the characteristics and tendencies specific to the sports, teams, and players they sponsor, since the fans are likely to share similar tendencies. It is crucial to understand why people become immersed in one team or athlete over another. The next step is for the company to target goals for sports marketing and brand identity, especially concerning the direction and coherence strategy of the brand identity that it seeks to create. In this case, sports marketing can serve as a powerful tool that raises both brand recognition and improves brand image. Meanwhile, a company may discover that there is a lack of coherence in strategy with a team or player already under contract. In this case, since it can be costly to cancel the contract, repositioning is the best option. For example, when the existing object lacks a certain image or the image needs to be thinned out, it can be utilized as another means of communication. Finally, companies should find ways to effect powerful brand recognition. Since a company may face competition from rivals that wish to sponsor the same popular players or teams, sev116 | www.seriquarterly.com

Keywords sports marketing, sporting events, soft power, means of communication, brand recognition, brand image, brand identity, branding

LEE Dong-Hun is research fellow at SERI. He was a visiting scholar at Columbia University. His areas of expertise include marketing strategy and consumer trends. He holds a PhD in Business Administration from Sogang University. Contact: seridhl@seri.org.

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