Sports are becoming increasingly global, with more and more major leagues and competitions holding events and matches outside their native countries. For instance, the National Rugby League of Australia's recent opening round double-header in Las Vegas is an example of a sporting code entering a market from a base of very low awareness. On the other hand, the Los Angeles Dodgers' and San Diego Padres' upcoming season opener in Seoul shows the MLB looking to compete with the local KBO League in a country already mad about the sport.
As leagues and franchises look to grow their brands and tap into new markets, careful planning and positioning is key to connecting with audiences who may be unfamiliar with the team or the sport. At Allied, we help clients define their objectives, identify high-potential markets, and craft culturally-relevant communications across paid, owned, and earned channels to drive results from awareness through to ticket sales and viewing.
While emerging markets offer enticing opportunities, each has its own dynamics. Having global teams in place to conduct in-depth market research allows us to develop data-driven strategies tailored to local interests and preferences. We analyse factors like sports participation rates, media consumption habits, the competitive landscape, and infrastructure considerations to determine market viability.
Kicking off a winning campaign
Once locations have been selected, we launch integrated campaigns to start raising awareness and position the brand as an exciting, accessible event. We identify engaged fans and lookalike audiences to drive ticket sales and, closer to the event, broadcast tune-in. Owned channels like the event's website and social profiles provide a hub for rich storytelling content about athletes and competitions. Media partnerships, dynamic paid digital campaigns, enhanced social media presence, strategic partnerships, smartly selected influencer and athlete appearances, collaborations and promotions, and grassroots activations all play their part in piquing interest and educating potential new fans.
Creatively, we develop concepts that tap into cultural passion points beyond just the sport itself, especially important when the sport lacks existing cultural resonance in the target market. The key is crafting a campaign that feels locally relevant, not foreign. Clear messaging regarding access to tickets and broadcasts ensures easy entry points into the fan experience.
Measuring success
Clearly defining and planning against the most relevant key success metrics is vital to optimising in-market delivery and demonstrating ROI, be they ticket sales, local and national media coverage and reach, social chatter, sentiment or broadcast viewership. Equally vital is establishing benchmarks for future events.
Beyond gameday
With the considerable investment required for a sport to enter a new market, a successful gameday is not enough. It should be a platform for ongoing activity that maintains and builds audience engagement until the next event rolls round, bigger and more highly anticipated than the one before. Captured audiences represent powerful customer acquisition opportunities for post-event content and gear. This not only provides added revenue streams but also sustains engagement beyond a one-off event.
Get in touch to learn more about our methodology for helping global, regional and local sports successfully expand their footprints with sound data-driven strategies tailored for success in new markets.
