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.
Sarah Francis 