The Characteristics of Sport as a Service

That which defines it as a service as opposed to a good;

1. Heterogeneity

This refers to the individuality of each performance which provides inconsistency and variability. This applies to sport because there is no way to ensure performances are the same each week, they in fact depend largely on who is performing the activity. It can be considered both good and bad; the unpredictable nature provides excitement, but also may mean some people are disappointed with the product if it does not go their way, particularly when it is expected to.

2. Intangibility

This refers to the fact that nothing about the product can be sensed prior to its consumption. It also refers to the fact that be engaging in the sport product, either by watching or playing, there is frequently no tangible product to be taken away from the event.

3. Perishability

This refers to the inability to reclaim the product. You cannot attend a sport match and capture it and keep that exact same experience following the match. It represents lost revenue which is unable to be retained.

4. Simultaneous production and consumption

The production of the product (that is the playing of the match) and the consumption of the product (spectators watching the match) both happen at the same time. This characterizes sport as a service rather than a good.

Active Ageing in Queensland

In a bid to improve the physical activity levels of older Queenslanders, particularly before the Baby Boomers generation swell the percentage of the population that is over 50, the Queensland Government decided to implement the program known as ‘Active Ageing Queensland’.

After reading the case, and thinking back to the ‘Marketing Myopia’ article by Levitt last week, do you think this case study suggests another possible industry that sport could position itself within?

The case study suggests that typically, older Queenslanders were not engaging in competitive sport for various different reasons, but were preferring to engage in other lighter activities such as reading. Despite this, there was still a large percentage of older Queenslanders who were engaging in exercise for the purpose of keeping fit. This could suggest that there is a market in which competitive sports have the opportunity to market towards older generations to help them keep fit but also provide regular, structured competition for them.

The case gives us a general situation analysis, what are your first impressions of who the target markets might be? Why?

Upon first impression, the case study suggests the target markets are people aged 50+ or people who will be aged 50+ in the near future. More specifically, it suggests the target markets are those over 50 who aren’t physically active or as physically active as they would like to be. This appears to be the suggested target market as the aims of the program are to introduce a greater amount of programs for older people to become physically active.

We have already been given some objectives, what are your first impressions of the strategies that can be used to meet these objectives?

My first impression of some strategies which may meet the objectives include encouraging individual competitive sports to design modified versions of their game to meet the needs of older people. Having age specific modifications for the elderly would, similarly for younger people, give them the confidence to join in and perhaps overcome the perceived fear of not being able to keep up or being embarrassed by younger ages.

Understanding the Sport Consumer

A Gold Coast Suns Case Study

The Gold Coast Suns have been arguably one of the most successful new sport establishments in recent history. Here is some possible theory as to why:

Imagine you are the marketing manager of the Gold Coast Suns. What strategies would you develop to engage fans using psychological, personal and environmental factors?

Due to being a marginalised sport, it is important for the Gold Coast Suns to target the NRL focused Gold Coast market in as many ways as possible to encourage fan engagement, particularly during the early stages of their existence. It would be important to develop strategies which cover all of the following:
Psychological
Psychological inputs come internally from the sport consumer and are their beliefs and feelings about the apparent outcome of a sport experience. Many different ways of initiating psychological reactions to a sporting experience have been developed by sports marketers and include provoking consumers by highlighting the entertainment, socialisation, vicarious achievement and physical skills of players which could all be gained by attending an AFL match. In the case of the Gold Coast Suns, providing these would mean to market their game as a more exciting and social option as opposed to attending other sports matches on at the same time. One way in which this could be achieved would be to introduce a pre-match or half-time entertainment program involving showcasing local musical talents or established musicians. This would help encourage those who were otherwise inclined to attend another sporting match or not engage in the sport experience at all.
Personal
Personal inputs refer to the individual characteristics of the population, these can be defined by their demographics. One strategy which may target the personal inputs of individuals in the market is to promote the game and/or club as a highly diverse game which can be enjoyed by all, whether their ethnicity, gender, age or other factor.
Environmental
Environmental factors, unlike personal and psychological, are external to the sport consumer and create the ‘pull’ towards a particular sporting activity. As the marketing manager at the Suns, one way to encourage a greater environmental pull would be to create family memberships to promote whole family attendance. Or perhaps a ‘Bring a Friend’ campaign whereby people who often come to the AFL can get a second ticket half price for a friend who rarely attends or has never attended a Gold Coast Suns match before.

Apart from being more competitive on the field, how can the Gold Coast Suns improve their crowd and member numbers?

The Gold Coast Suns can improve their crowd and member numbers perhaps by introducing membership and ticketing packages whereby units become cheaper the more are purchased. An example of this could be buy 1 adult membership and get a children’s membership half price, or perhaps buy 2 adult ticket and a child can come for free. This would help to increase ticket sales and hopefully encourage further support for the team.

Are the psychological, personal and environmental factors the same in choosing to attend a Gold Coast Suns game instead of attending a Gold Coast Titans game? If not, what are the key differences?

I believe that the psychological and personal factors for attending a Titans game as opposed to a Suns game are very similar. Both outline that the sport consumer is attending the match for the enjoyment of the sport and/or to fulfil their own desires in attending, such as feeling part of something. However both teams have different environmental ‘pulls’ in Australia’s multicultural society, for example the Titans would attract a higher crowd of Maori’s, New Zealander’s and Pacific Islander ethnicities. Whereas alternatively, the Suns would attract a higher percentage of Australian Indigenous people. This could be largely due to the environment in which each relative audiences have been brought up, and due to their historically traditional interests.

Marketing Myopia – Harvard Business Review

What did you get out of reading this article?

In reading this article, I learned that there is no room for complacency when trying to sell a product. The sense of complacency inhibits the ability of the organisation to recognise the need to pounce on growth opportunities, which have so often then become the source of their demise.

What was the result of the railroad industry not defining its industry correctly?

In not defining its industry correctly, the railroad industry found that their customers were drawn to other methods of transportation such as cars and trucks, over using railroads. Railroad companies are now a competitor to these alternate industries which ultimately sell the same product; transportation.

In Levitt’s article what did the oil industry continue to do and what was its consequence?

The article explained that oil companies were consistently reliant on outside companies/industries to save them from becoming obsolete. Ultimately, their inability to expand their industry to include more innovative products of the same or similar purpose meant that those few who did believe in the growth opportunity of natural gas quit their jobs and pioneered the production of natural gas. Ultimately, the oil industry missed out on what would have been a multibillion dollar business for them.

What are the implications of this article to sport in general and to sport marketing industry in particular?

The implications of this article to the sport marketing industry show us that there needs to be a high focus on what sport can provide for the consumer whilst also trying to improve sport as a product itself. If little or no focus is placed on the customer then it may be likely that they won’t recognise the importance of sport to them and look elsewhere to be entertained or for a hobby. Sport must continue to change and adapt to the needs of the consumer.

Marketing through sport vs Marketing of sport

MARKETING THROUGH SPORT
When typically unrelated products use the marketing power of sport to sell their products:

Swisse TVC featuring Australian Cricketer Ricky Ponting

The Swisse Vitamins range uses a selection of talented athletes to market their various vitamin products; using the athletes to highlight the benefits of each of their products. An example of this is Ricky Ponting being used to market their Mega B+ range, claiming that by using it he is able to reduce stress and support energy production and as a result improve his performance. By marketing through athletes they are able to target typically physically active individuals who are looking to improve their performance in ways which the athletes claim the products have helped them to improve.

AFL is one of Australia’s most popular sports to both watch and play. By Toyota having naming rights to the entire Championship season means their brand name is seen and recognized a large portion of the Australian population.

Euskaltel is a Spanish telecommunications company based in the Basque (Euskadi) Country in northern Spain. By sponsoring a team in the UCI World Tour, Euskaltel were able to promote both their company and their region’s talent internationally, and most significantly across Europe, Canada and Australia where championship races are held. Unfortunately the team folded at the end of 2013 due to Euskaltel becoming engulfed in economic turmoil in the Basque region of Spain.

MARKETING OF SPORT
Using the marketing mix (4 P’s) to promote participation in or support of sport.

Cricket Australia Summer of Cricket TVC

Cricket Australia used this TVC to inspire support of the Australian Cricket Team in the upcoming International summer series by appealing to a sense of patriotism and unity, and creating excitement around the event. The use of colloquial terms and phrases such as “come on, mate” helps to unite the Australian public to support the cricket team and in return supports their final phrase of “it’s what unites (a)us”.

AFL 9s Promotional Video

The AFL used this advertisement to promote participation in their modified version of the game which is created in order to increase the number of people who are able to play AFL. They use the ad to highlight the ways in which AFL 9s is different from AFL and how it can be easier to join in and play well for more, particularly highlighting the ability for women to join in with the men’s game.

This advertisement appeared in Melbourne’s ‘Herald Sun’ to promote attendance and memberships of the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championship. This is an example of marketing of sport as it directly promotes support of the netball team through purchasing memberships.