In the arena of sports, success of a team is not just about a win or loss in the stadium, it is in fact found in the streets and alleys in the hearts and minds of fans. It is reflected in the passion and pride of fans after a win and their resilience and support after a loss.
Success in sports marketing is about building emotional connections with fans, athletes and communities. Emotional branding is the way to winning the minds of communities and is key to success and profitability.
Emotions in Sports Marketing
Sports are unparalleled and unprecedented in the power of evoking emotions and their expression in outbursts. Whether it is the excitement of a win in the last minute, the sorrow of losing grasp of that trophy in the last few minutes, the pride of seeing your cherished club win and raise that trophy, or the regret of injury to your favorite athlete, sports take you on an emotional roller-coaster of emotions.
Identifying the emotional drivers
To effectively employ emotional branding in the marketing of sports, it is essential to understand the emotions that drive and provoke fans. Different communities and different age groups have different emotional triggers. Pride, passion, nostalgia, a sense of belonging or patriotic fervor are a few examples of such triggers that drive fans.
For example, the passion of Manchester United or the pride of Boston Red Sox supporters are deeply ingrained in the psychology and identity of these teams.
Stories and Narratives
Great sports marketing goes far beyond selling tickets and merchandise for quick bucks. It is about telling a story and narrative that resonates with the fans so well that they set the story as an ideal in their lives. Take the example of “Nike’s Just Do It” campaign. It is not merely a story of selling shoes. Rather it inculcates the ambition of personal and collective achievements and overcoming obstacles.
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Athlete Personal Branding
Athletes are powerful assets in emotional branding in sports marketing. Great teams are aware that athletes’ personal branding is an essential part of the success of a team or franchise. The personal stories, obstacles and the struggles of athletes to overcome them, their achievements and even their personal lives inspire and move fans.
For instance, the miraculous career of basketball giant Micheal Jordan, his struggles against all the odds, and his journey from being cut from his high school basketball team to becoming an NBA legend has become a success mantra and continues to inspire generations.
Social Media Marketing
Now that social media has become a constant buzz, it has opened a new frontier for sport marketing to not only retain fans but also invade new territory. Brands and athletes need to ensure their constant and consistent presence on social media and live up to the fans’ fantasies and ideals.
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Investing in social causes
Fans care deeply about the decisions their brands make, the causes they invest in and the efforts they make to connect with people. For effective emotional marketing, it is necessary to give fans narratives to be proud of. When teams and athletes invest and care about noble causes, it helps the fans to inculcate these narratives in their lives and connect with the brand at deeper levels. Engaging with the community evokes a sense of belonging and shared pride. Teams can organize charity events and support local causes.
Fan Engagement
Emotional branding fosters and nurtures a deeper level of fan engagement. Fans, when emotionally engaged in the story of the brand, are more likely to buy tickets, attend games, support teams at rough and rocky waves, buy merchandise and take closer interest in the team’s performance.
Brand Loyalty
Emotional connection is essential for long-lasting loyalty. When fans are emotionally tuned with a brand, they are more forgiving of losses, more reliable and supportive in rough patches and less prone to invasive marketing of competitor brands. Such loyalty not only lasts for generations but can also be inherited to next generations.
Word-of-mouth
Emotionally-tuned fans are brand ambassadors of a brand. They share their passion and love for their favorite team or athlete with their friends and families. This word of mouth marketing is an asset to a brand, because it is highly effective, and carries more weight and significance than traditional marketing.
Consistent branding
Consistent efforts to keep the fans engaged is vital for emotional connections with the fans. Team and athletes should maintain a consistent visual identity and message and convey values across all touchpoints: from stadium to social media.
Interactive Content
Use digital platforms to enable outreach to fans, via streaming, polls, donations and Q&As with athletes that allows fans to participate in the team’s journey.
Facilitate when possible and appropriate, interactions of fans with athletes.
Conclusion
Emotional branding is a powerful tool to build lasting relations and connections with fans. By understanding the psychology of fans, creating compelling and inspiring stories and consistent engagement with community and fans, teams can win both the hearts and minds of fans, and make not only loyal fans and supporters, but advocates and brand ambassadors.
