The Consumer and Sports Products
Economic Impact of Sports Marketing
2
Section 4.1 – The Consumer and
Sports Products - Objectives
Define the sports consumer
Explain market
segmentation
Identify sports products
Explain the differences
between sports goods and
services
Differentiate between the
product line and product
mix
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Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
The Sports Consumer
Sports Consumers are the target of sports marketing, because
the consumer makes purchases and helps sports organizations
make a profit
– Sports Consumer is a person who may play, officiate, watch,
or listen to sports, or read, use, purchase and/or collect
items related to sports
A purchase by a sports consumer shows support in a product
and encourages growth of the product
The job of sports marketing personnel is to plan marketing
strategies which encourage the sports consumer to act as a
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customer and purchase tickets or merchandise
Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Consumer Decisions
The two categories that affect the sports consumer’s decision
to spend money on or participate in sports are:
Environmental factors:
Individual factors:
– Family, friends
– Society’s attitudes and
values
– Cultural differences
– Climate and region
– Marketing influences
–
–
–
–
Self-concept or self-image
Physical characteristics
Learned characteristics
Motivation and attitude
Sports marketers must consider a combination of these factors
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to make effective decisions about marketing plans
Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Sports Consumers and Market Segmentation
Understanding market segmentation of the sports consumer
market is important in order to sell products and services
– Market Segmentation is a way of analyzing a market by
specific characteristics to create a target market
– Characteristics include:
• Geographics – where consumers live
• Demographics – personal characteristics
• Psychographics - easy to change characteristics (attitudes &
opinions)
• Product Benefits – consumers’ behaviors, needs, and wants
– Constantly shifting based on consumer interests
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Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Sports Products
Sports products provide the consumer with
satisfaction, entertainment, sociability, and
achievement
– Sports Products are goods, services, ideas, or
a combination of those things related to
sports that provide satisfaction to the
consumer
– Sports products can also be athletes
People who share in the process of
marketing sports products include owners,
sponsors, communication firms, city
governments, taxpayers, and consumers
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Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Types of Sports Products
The following sports products can be classified as goods or
services, or both:
– Sporting event – core product of sports. Include athletes and
arenas where the events take place.
– Sports information – News, statistics, schedules, and stories. Can
be any form of media
– Sports training – service such as instructions that is provided
through fitness centers, sport camps, and lessons
– Sporting goods – Wide range of products. Equipment, licensed
merchandise, collectibles, apparel, accessories, etc.
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Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Types of Sports Products – cont.
Difference between goods and services regarding planning and
implementing the sports marketing process
– Services, like events, are produced and consumed simultaneously and
has no formal channel of distribution
– Tangible goods must be produced by a manufacturer and sent to a
retailer to sell to customer. This channel of distribution requires careful
planning and managing
– Tangible products are physical goods that offer benefits to the
consumer
– Consumers purchase these products at stores or retail outlets
– Goods purchased at a sporting event can also include the service of
selling the product
Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Quality of Goods
Two basic questions to ask about characteristics of goods,
when judging the quality of manufactured products:
– Does the product conform to design specifications in the
manufacturing process?
– How well does the product perform it function in the opinion of
the consumers, or end users, of the goods?
Consumer’s opinion or perception about the quality of the
products is most important to marketing professionals
Organizations attempt to increase quality without significantly
raising prices so as not to lose customers
Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Sports Services
In contrast with sports products, sports services are intangible
products
– Intangible products are nonphysical services, such as tennis
lessons, personal training, and sports camps
– May include the experience of attending a sporting event,
while stadiums(teams) advertise to sell their tangible
appeal
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Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Quality of Service
Organizations try identify
characteristics of service quality to
help market their services
1980s researchers Parasuraman,
Zeithaml, and Barry identified ten
demensions of service quality
called SERVQUAL:
– tangibles, reliability,
responsiveness, competence,
courtesy, credibility, security,
access, communication, and
understanding the customer
Researchers McDonald, Sutton,
and Milne created TEAMQUAL
service quality dimensions:
– Reliability – perform promised
services dependably and accurately
– Assurance – employees knowledge
and courtesy
– Empathy – caring, individual
attention paid to pro sports
customers
– Responsiveness – willingness to
help customers and provide
prompt service
– Tangibles - appearance
Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Sports Product Classifications
Sports businesses or organizations that offer a variety of
products classify their products by product line and product
mix
– Product line is a group of closely related products manufactured
and/or sold by a company
• Satisfy a class of needs and may be used together, sold to same
customer group, sold through same type of outlets, or have same
price range (ex. Nike DryFit product line)
– Product mix is the total assortment of products that a company
makes and/or sells
• Companies can either specialize in one specific product mix or have a
very broad product mix (ex. Wilson Sporting Goods)
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Section 4.1 – The Consumer
and Sports Products
Sports Products and Product Extensions
Sports products differ from typical consumer products because
sports products have the ability to generate a greater variety of
product extensions
– Allows money to be made from products surrounding main
event
Sports goods and services have the potential to generate
income and affect the economy with one or more related
products
– All become the focus of marketing activities for businesses,
organizations, and consumers.
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Section 4.2 – Economic Impact of
Sports Marketing - Objectives
Explain the economic impact of sports marketing
Define opportunity cost
Identify the impact of grassroots marketing on sports
marketing
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Section 4.2 – Economic
Impact of Sports Marketing
Economic Effects
From the moment the
consumer inquires about a
ticket to a sporting event,
there is an impact on the
economy
The local economy improves
as a result of money spent at
sporting events
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Section 4.2 – Economic
Impact of Sports Marketing
Economic Effects – cont.
Each decision made at a sporting event keeps people involved
in the event employed in jobs at venue
– Employed individuals participate in paying taxes
– Tax dollars are spent for roads, new construction, public transportation,
and police
Each decision the consumer makes involves an opportunity
cost
– Opportunity Cost is the loss of the opportunity that is passed up in
order to receive something in exchange
– Affect sports marketing because it impacts how consumers decides to
spend his or her discretionary income
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Section 4.2 – Economic
Impact of Sports Marketing
Economic Effects – cont.
Satisfied customers will have a continuous impact on not only
the growth of the team, but also on the local economy
As the economy grows, the more infrastructure is needed to
support the athletic event
– Infrastructure is the physical development of an area, including the
major public systems, services, and facilities of a country or region
needed to make a location function
• Power and Water Supplies, Public Transportation,
Telecommunications, Roads, Schools
Entire process of economic growth leading to
infrastructure changes, contributes to the economy
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Economic Impact of Sports
Ticket
Agent
$
Parking
Garage
$
Food and
Merchandise
$
$
City Pride
Sporting
Sporting
Event
Event
$
$
Infrastructure
$
Sanitation
Taxes
$
The Internet
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Section 4.2 – Economic
Impact of Sports Marketing
The Sunshine State Case Study
Orlando, Florida, is the home of an NBA sports franchise called
the Orlando Magic
– Sports franchise is an agreement or contract for a sports organization
to sell a parent company’s (i.e., a national sports league) good or
service within a given area
By selling Orlando Magic T-shirts, caps, and other items,
investors were able to convince residents to make $100
deposits on season-ticket reservations
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Section 4.2 – Economic
Impact of Sports Marketing
Grass Marketing Efforts
To gain support from within their community, many teams get
heavily involved in grassroots marketing
– Grassroots marketing is marketing activities on a local
community level
• Example – Helping and assisting the community with charity
and fund-raising events
– Helps build a relationship between the community and the team
– A positive relationship between the community and the team can
help the economy of an area
– Economic success promoted by sports marketing for events and
products on a local level extend to regional or national levels
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