- Sports marketing has not evolved in 50 years, says Aston Business School expert
- Many huge sports events including the World Cup are sponsored, but this form of marketing is ‘very weak’
- Future marketeers need to unleash the power of sport for their businesses – using storytelling that has an impact on society.
There’s much more to sports marketing than putting a logo on a football or rugby shirt, according to a new expert at Aston Business School.
Michael Inpong, who has just joined Aston Business School as a teaching fellow in marketing and strategy, explained that while sport is huge – with the World Cup in Qatar a prime example – its marketing is often “soft and weak”, especially when compared with other industries.
Mr Inpong, who is launching a sports marketing module at Aston University from January, was speaking in the latest episode of the ‘Aston means business' podcast, presented by journalist Steve Dyson.
He said that sports marketing in and around the World Cup had hardly changed since Brazil’s team with the legendary Pele took the trophy home in 1970. The tournament was often seen as the “epitome of sports marketing”, but he added there was much more to marketing with sport.
Mr Inpong, who in his career has marketed brands like Proctor & Gamble, L'Oreal, Nestle and Müller, said: “What we see at the World Cup is people putting a badge, a logo, in front of millions and millions of people that you get to know brands you didn’t know before. This has been the same trick since 1970.
“I think what’s much more interesting for brands and organisations is to take the power of sport activity and healthy lifestyle to develop a business … rather than just sticking a logo on the back of a board in the World Cup.”
Mr Inpong said his experience in sponsoring organisations such as British Athletics taught him of the “power” of sport, and led to him forming his own Sport&Brands consultancy based in Birmingham, focussing on sport, activity and healthy lifestyles.
He said:
“I think the next generation of sports marketeers is really about unleashing this, taking the best of brand building and marketing and applying it to sport so we can do much more than putting a logo and giving a big cheque to the World Cup.
“When you look at marketing and the way it’s used in the sport industry, and you compare it with the best in class of marketing at Proctor & Gamble, Nestle, actually sports marketing is quite weak.”
He said if marketing was a muscle, the way it is used in sport was “very soft” and added: “When you look at brand building and marketing, in FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) it’s really sharp and really toned, lots of methods, techniques and tools, but when it comes to sport it isn’t. The reality is that sport is huge, marketing is not.”
When working on marketing shampoos or a toilet cleaner, the understanding of the consumer, and the techniques being used, were “very sharp”, he said. “But when it comes to something so powerful and impactful as sport, the marketing is quite soft.”
Mr Inpong said there were three key reasons for this weakness: “When people say sport marketing, they actually really mean sponsorship. Putting a logo on the shorts of a rugby player was not marketing. Second, there isn’t really a playbook of brand building in sports marketing. I have sponsored many organisations. When you go to big marketing companies they have a method, proven and tested, but there’s no method here.”
He explained there was also what he called the “Emperor’s new kit”: “A brand with a name on a shirt doesn’t project any values. You don’t know what they stand for. There’s an illusion being created around sponsors that everything’s fine, but it’s not. Someone should say ‘you’re out of touch, you are not connecting with the right audience’.”
Mr Inpong offered a modern approach to sports marketing: “It starts with the mindset. We need to stop saying ‘sports marketing’ and start saying either ‘marketing with sport’, if you’re a brand, or ‘marketing in sport’ if you’re an organisation.”
After that, build a method that can apply to sport, then “lead with the mind and leave the emotions out”. Next “unleash the story-teller” by using human stories, and, finally, innovate, as sport marketing “hasn’t really evolved” for 50 years.
And he offered three top tips for any businesses thinking of using sports marketing to promote their company: “First, believe in this incredible marketing tool, second, remember it’s a business and go in with a business mind, and third, try to impact society.”
▪ Episode 8 in series 5 of the ‘Aston means business’ podcast can be found at https://www.aston.ac.uk/bss/aston-business-school/aston-means-business-podcast
- Notes to Editors
About Aston University
Founded in 1895 and a university since 1966, Aston is a long established university led by its three main beneficiary groups – students, business and the professions, and the West Midlands region and wider society. Located in Birmingham at the heart of a vibrant city, the campus houses all the University’s academic, social and accommodation facilities for our students. Professor Aleks Subic is the Vice-Chancellor & Chief Executive.
Aston University is ranked 22nd in the UK in the Guardian University Guide, based on measures including entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality and graduate prospects. The Aston Business School MBA programme was ranked in the top 100 in the world in the Economist MBA 2021 ranking.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Sam Cook, Press and Communications Manager, on (+44)7446 910063 or email: s.cook2@aston.ac.uk
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