KEN BANKS’BLOG APRIL 2024
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BRANDING HITS THE FIELDS!
Well, March Madness has come and gone and national champions were as predicted. The big news, however, centered around Caitlin Clark who not only led her Iowa Hawkeyes to the Final Four, but also brought more spectators and fans than ever before for not only women’s basketball but for all college sports. The increase in viewership was significantly improved and not just for the championship game. Iowa games were featured more on national media than any other female sports events. It’s likely this will translate to the pro’s as Clark moves to the WNBA.
Athletics is no longer primarily a male activity. Female sports at all school levels have increased significantly in participation and fan support over the past several years. No sport has benefited from this trend than soccer. The growth at all levels of education has been phenomenal and only surpassed by the boom in amateur club soccer at all levels from age 3-18 years and beyond. While little league baseball has diminished, the soccer fields are more active than any other sports fields in the US. Research shows that there are over 810,000 soccer players at the high school level and over 10000 amateur teams nationally. And the numbers will significantly increase in the next few years. Evidence for this is the growth of public soccer fields throughout the major metro areas. While little league fields have diminished in popularity, they normally only have 2 or 3 fields per center. Soccer complexes now boast up to 20 fields and the tournaments bring participants from all over the state and nation to compete. Soccer is now the number one amateur participant sport in America. It has been that in Mexico (where it there are over 60 million soccer fans. Europe and Asia have long been soccer (football there) meccas. The participants are younger, being 54% younger than any other sport.
The Olympics and World Cup games certainly has fueled this increase in popularity and with it comes increased branding opportunities for the sport. Nike has long been a major supporter and Reebok, Adidas and Under Armor continued to expand. Other brands like Capelli, Emirates Air, and many local marketers are featured not only on jerseys and shorts but also at the growing number of venues. I can remember my first little league team requires us 8 year olds to sell a uniform sponsorship to pay for my “Yanks” team outfit. Fortunately, my uncle owned a local hardware store and I got my uniform. Now the national sponsors work with the clubs and schools to get new uniforms every year with logos on every one of them. It’s an opportunity that starts with the toddlers and continues through the teens and beyond. Let’s not forget the sports drinks, water jugs and mugs, as well as cleats and socks. There’s gold in them thar fields and smart marketers will take advantage of this remarkable trend
GREAT CREATIVE. I am always on the lookout for marketing campaigns with great creative and here’s one that caught my eye. In Belgium, here’s an effective way to get more people out of their cars and on the bus systems. Well done spots that build a great brand. CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW.
Ken
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