The Effect Of Sports Marketing Strategies On Spectator’s Purchase Decision The Case Of Football.pdf

中 原 大 學 ChungYuan Chritian University Department of IMBA Master Degree Dissertation The Effect of Sports Marketing Strategies on Spectator’s Purchase Decision The Case of Football 運動行銷策略對於[.]

ChungYuan Chritian University

Department of IMBA Master Degree Dissertation

The Effect of Sports Marketing Strategies on Spectator’s Purchase Decision: The Case of Football

運動行銷策略對於觀眾購買決策的影響：以足球為例

指導教授: 李正文博士

中華民國 107 年 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to say thanks a million for Dr Cheng-Wen Lee for her guidance and support

me during this time I also want to say a sincerely thank Dr 林震岩 and Dr 林仲廉 for their time and their comment to build my final dissertation better There are no words to show my appreciation to my department: College of Business, especially Ms April, she helped me a lot Finally, I am thankful to my friend, Lehang Vu She helped me set up and solved any computer technique for me Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything

摘要 本研究從體育營銷角度，特別是從足球市場營銷的角度出發，從兩個角度分別從運動商業角度（使用體育營銷的商家）和非體育商業（贊助商）角度（使用體育營銷的商家）以表明為什麼今天的企業認為體育營銷如此重要。

本研究的目的在於確定營銷在體育業務和非體育業務足球領域的作用，並著眼於在足球領域有效和成功進行的營銷策略。更具體地說，這項研究試圖調查一些突出的策略對觀眾的購買決定的影響。

論文的理論來源於包括書籍和文章刊物在內的各種贊助文獻。實證研究是通過對觀眾的調查研究和問卷調查進行的。問卷是基於本研究中使用的理論和關於足球場營銷實施如何影響贊助商的表現和客戶行為的信息，特別是觀眾。

研究結果可能表明，足球場營銷策略的實施是幫助體育企業存在，提高和創造競爭優勢的關鍵之一。對於贊助商來說，他們不太需要不必要地冒險，因為形象好，觀眾範圍廣，所以願意贊助不同的目標板塊。此外，這項研究也對體育事業和足球領域的潛在讚助商具有理論和實踐意義。這項研究可能會大大有助於對足球業務，贊助和關係營銷的現有知識。

關鍵詞：體育營銷，體育經營，非體育經營，贊助商，觀眾，消費者行為，消費者購買決策。

Abstract

This research looks at sport marketing and in particular marketing in football from two perspectives: The sport business perspective (the businesses who use marketing of sport) and the non-sport business (sponsor) perspective (the businesses who use marketing through sport)

in order to show that why businesses today consider sports marketing so important

The purpose of this research is determined the effect of marketing in football field of the sport business and the non-sport business and focus on their marketing strategies that they perform effectively and successfully in football field More specifically, the study attempted to investigate the effects of some stand out strategies on spectator’s purchase decisions

The theory of the thesis was collected from various sponsorship literatures that included both books and article journals The empirical study was conducted by survey research and questionaire for the spectators Questionnaires were based on the theory used in this study and the information on the outcome how the implementation of marketing in football field affect sponsor’s performance and customer’s behavior(s), in particular spectators

The findings will probably show that the implementation of marketing strategies in football field is one of the most crucial way to help sport businesses exist, improve and create their competitive advantages Toward the sponsor, they are not too keen on taking risks unnecessarily and are willing to sponsor various target segments because of the good image and

a wider audience range In additions, this study also has both theoretical and practical implications for sport business and prospective sponsors in the field of football The study will probably contribute significantly to existing knowledge about the football business, sponsorship and relationship marketing

Keywords: sport marketing, sport business, non-sport business, sponsor,

Table of content

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

摘要 ii

Abstract iii

Table of content iv

List of table vii

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1.1 Background research: 1

1.1.1 Marketing of sport 1

1.1.2 Marketing through sport: 2

1.1.3 Understanding Spectator Behavior: 2

1.1.3.1 Definition 2

1.1.3.2 Marketing Implication 3

1.2 Problem Statement: 4

1.3 Research question 4

1.4 Significance of this study 4

Chapter 2: Literatures Review: 5

2.1 Sport marketing 5

2.2 Football Marketing: 6

2.2.1 Sport business (who do marketing of sport) 6

2.2.2 Non-sport business (who do marketing through sport): 7

2.4 Sport Marketing Strategy - Marketing Mix 12

2.4.1 Sport Product: 13

2.4.2 Sport Pricing: 14

2.4.3 Sport Place 14

2.4.4 Sport Promotion 15

2.2.5 Typical example - The marketing mix of Manchester United Football Club 16

Chapter 3: Data and Methodology: 18

3.1 Research Hypotheses and Research Model: 18

3.2 Data Size and Sampling: 20

3.3 Questionnaire and data collection 21

3.4 Control Variables 21

Chapter 4: Results 22

4.1 Statistical data and results 22

4.1.1 Frequencies Data 22

4.1.2 Reliability& Validity Test 24

4.1.2.1 Reliability 24

4.1.2.2 Validity Test 24

4.1.3 Correlation Analysis 26

4.2 Regression Analysis 28

4.2.1 Hypothesis Test 28

Chapter 5: Discussion 34

5.1 Discussion and Limitation 34

5.1.1 Discussion 34

5.1.2 Limitations and further research 34

5.2 Implication relating to sport and non-sport business 34

5.3 Suggestions 35

Reference 36

Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire 38

List of Figure

Figure 2 1 Evolution of Real Madrid Revenue 7

Figure 2 2 The Sport Marketing Framework 11

Figure 2 3 Marketing Mix Model 13

Figure 2 4 Sportscape Model 15

Figure 3 1 The Research Framework 18

List of table

Table 4 1 Demographic Data 22

Table 4 2 Showed the reliability of the variables 24

Table 4.3 Showed the Validity of the variables 25

Table 4 3 Mean, Standard Deviation and Correlation Coefficient of Variable 26

Table 4 5 Linear Regression of Model 2 30

Table 4 6 Linear Regression of Model 3 31

Table 4 7 Linear Regression of Model 4 32

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background research:

There is a hobby or free time activity for most people, they call “sport” Nowadays, it is also strongly considered that sport is also a business (Chadwick, 2008) This study was emphasized on the football industry – a king sport industry It now is an international business; international professional competitions are held, players are transferred all over the world and the Europa League finals and FIFA World Cup finals are top media events with television broadcasting all over the world Variety of people also suppose that football is the most popular sport globally (Richelieu, Lopez & Desbordes, 2008) And despite of the economic unstable recently there has been a steadily increase in European football sales, indicating the uninterrupted loyalty of the supporters and the undeniable attraction of football to the sponsors and broadcasters That proves Sport Marketing is probably one of the good solution for sport business as well as non-sport business in any circumstance

Aaron Smith (2012) argued that: Sport marketing is the application of marketing concepts

to sport products and services, and the marketing of non-sport products through an association

to sport There are two main characteristics of Sport marketing Firstly, it is the implementation

of common marketing methods for sports-related products and services Secondly, doing the marketing of other consumer and industrial products or services through sport As usual, fulfilling the needs and wants of consumers is usually a main task of marketing, not except sport marketing Every business always focusses on their consumer behavior and satisfaction in order

to create new Marketing strategies to affect them It achieves this by supplying sport services and sport-related products to consumers However, a strengthen aspect that sport marketing is different with conventional marketing is it has the ability to encourage the consumption of non-sport products and services by association It is important to understand that sport marketing means the marketing of sport as well as the use of sport as a tool to market other products and services

1.1.1 Marketing of sport

Aaron Smith (2012) mentioned in his book that Sport marketing including the marketing

of sport and marketing through sport The former one directly to sport consumers could include sporting equipment (In football, it is football shoes, shin guards, ball, socks, jersey, etc.); professional competitions (In football, it is the matches of Divisions in the world, final UEFA Champion League, Europe League, etc.); sport events (In football, it is World Cup, CONCACAF, EURO, CAN, etc.) And another simple example is the team advertising, designing a publicity stunt to promote an athlete, selling season tickets, and developing licensed apparel for sale

With regard to football field, it is the main strategy of sport businesses (sport organization) such as:

- The providing sport products business: Adidas, Puma, Nike, Under Amor, New Balance, etc

- The professional football club: Manchester United (England), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), Juventus (Italia), etc

1.1.2 Marketing through sport:

In contrast, marketing through sport happens when a non-sport product is promoted and sold through an connection to sport Some examples could include setting up the advertising sign board on the pitch, a celebrity athlete endorsing for a brand, a corporation sponsoring a sport event, or even an sport event could be witnessed a monopoly right of a company to provide their products for all (Aaron Smith – 2012)

Concerning football field, the non-sport business (the sponsors) who do the marketing through sport such as: Car brand Chevrolet is a kit sponsor of Manchester United football club, Beer brand Budweiser is the golden sponsor of World Cup Korea 2002, Cristiano Ronaldo – the most famous player in the world is an endorsement of Coca-Cola, KFC, Tag Heuer, Konami, etc

1.1.3 Understanding Spectator Behavior:

1.1.3.1 Definition

Aaron Smith – 2012 said that: There are variety of sport consumer definition, most of which swing around identifying different kinds of sport products or services However, before getting this definition, the important point to make is clarify a difference between sport consumers and sport stakeholders When a person buys a sport or sport-related product or service directly (like using cash to buy a ticket to a game) or indirect way (like purchasing a television or upgrading internet package in order to enjoy sport as an entertainment solution)

In the other hand a stakeholder is an individual or group who have an interest in a sport product

or service For example, the government and corporate sponsors are stakeholders in that they have an interest in sport products and services, but they are not consumers Sport consumers are the end users Sport consumers may be spectators, participants, and business sponsors

However, in this study we only discuss about one kind of consumers that is spectators and their behavior Figure 1.1 showed all aspect of them

Figure 1 1 Spectator Categories

Based on the figure 1.1, marketers can easily to classify and target their consumer appropriate with their products, their strategies, their capability as well For instance, the sport business (Nike, Puma, Adidas, professional football club, etc.) should focus on Passionate partisan, Reclusive partisan or even Champ follower The non-sport business like drink or fast food brand can concentrate on Aficionado and Theatergoer

1.1.3.2 Marketing Implication

Sport marketer speaking, these categories highlight the different segments of the sport fan market Especially, it consolidates the importance of supporting the passionate partisan and the aficionado However, the obviously point here is the motivations of partisans and aficionados are kind of different The theatregoer, champ follower and reclusive partisan also demonstrate their potential for increased attendances In each case, to generate greater frequency of attendance, the provision of suitable incentives may be used more The theatregoer would be attracted to comfortable seating arrangements, promotion of ticket, event before the match, the readily food and drink, and closing contest, whereas the reclusive partisan and champ

followers would concentrate on the games that their teams had a good opportunity of winning and were in the championship race but their loyalty is unstable

In case of passionate partisans, it would be essential to have many stunning words to describe their loyalty, their emotion depend on their team performance, they always beside their team in any circumstance A big gap between them and champ as well as reclusive partisans mean the strategies apply for each are also different

As usual, every marketer is met with the risks and hard task, not excluding sport marketer It is ensuring that the sport product provides for good watching conditions, a balanced competition, uncertainty of game and seasonal outcome, and the loyalty depend on what kind

of spectator are consumer While a sport competition changes the structure of (like new recruiting laws, the relocation of teams or the merger of clubs) are likely to reduce the loyalty

of supporters, it must be considered against the attraction that such changes have for the other spectator categories, particularly the champ as well as reclusive partisans

1.2 Problem Statement:

The general problem was to determine How effectiveness the implementation marketing strategies in football impact on spectator’s behavior(s) nowadays and how potential football marketing to sport business and non-sport business in the future

- How potential is sport marketing, in particular football marketing in the future?

1.4 Significance of this study

Sport is more and more advanced mean it will probably also become a potential economic sector, especially in the football industry Nowadays, not only sports businesses but non-sports businesses also want to concentrate on investing huge amounts of money on football marketing because of its effectiveness This study indicates an overall view about positive effect

of marketing strategies in football and the benefits that it brings to businesses Further research needs to be conducted in order to better understand the belief, and other factors influencing on spectator’s purchase decision Since it further reinforces the success of businesses that have been implementing this kind of marketing and inspire the entrepreneurs learn and market through football

Chapter 2: Literatures Review:

This section introduces the literature on sport marketing and on football as well as sponsorship, sport product, non-sport product, consumer’s behavior, in particular spectator case and finally summarize what research has been done in the area of (professional) football marketing

2.1 Sport marketing

The more sport improves, the more effective and diversified in sport marketing It’s undeniable that sport nowadays is a reservoir of potential benefits because of its popular, especially football We also have numerous books and articles research about this With the

2008 Summer Olympics fast approaching, Du Wei, the Vice Chairman of the Institute of Beijing Olympic Economy, recently stated in comments directed to Chinese companies that

"sports marketing has become one of the most effective of all marketing strategies" (Anonymous, 2006)

Fullerton and Merz highlight the work of Mullin, Hardy, and Sutton (2000) who define sports marketing as "consisting of all activities designed to meet the needs and wants of sports consumers through exchange processes." There are two major directions that has developed of Sport marketing The first one is determined as the marketing of sport products and services

directly to consumers of sport, while the second element considers to the marketing of other

products or services through the usage of sports promotions There were three basic principles

of sports marketing that founded by them: the nature of its concentration, the nature of the product being marketed (whether it is sports-related or non-sports), and the level of integration

of sports within marketing the strategy, which can revolve around traditional techniques or collaboration with the sponsor For example, the British soccer star David Beckham as having

a ‘phenomenal' influence in this regard He played a crucial role in the success of many famous brands in their Marketing plan such as:

- About the sport business (who has been selling the sport products): Adidas

- About the non-sport business (who has been selling the products through sport): Pepsi, Castrol, Breitling Swiss Watches, H&M, Samsung, Armani v v

Obviously, the celebrities’ endorsement strategy always is the one of best choices of Marketers

David Shilbury Shayne Quick and Hans Westerbeek (2009) released the book

“Strategic Sport Marketing” They integrating consumer interest in sports with traditional marketing theory, this book presents a strategic sports marketing model intended to meet diverse markets of participants, sponsors, and spectators Detailed examples including case studies and opinion writings from international sports and media illustrate the unique features

of sports marketing It triggers the sports administrators will benefit from the discussions of sponsorship and the role of services theory

2.2 Football Marketing:

2.2.1 Sport business (who do marketing of sport)

We have been having a bunch of people who crazy in football, a good potential market not only for sport business but it also brings a variety of opportunities for non-sport business to implement Marketing plan successfully Football is a multi-billion-dollars global industry driven by the marketing of its products Consumer retention targets place an increased emphasis

on organizations to develop their relationships with fans and consumers The emergence of digital platforms has provided football organizations with the tools to reach a range of stakeholders on a local and global scale Consequently, elite and lower league clubs require increased expertise to apply online and offline tools such as websites, social media, advertising and direct mail to increase their brand communications When they did it, the other sport business (e.g Nike, Adidas, Kappa, Puma, Under Amor…) or non-sport business automatically

make a collaboration As can be seen from the fact, implementation football Marketing can create a big profit for both A number of studies also support this idea Forcadell noted about

the success of Real Madrid FC - the best football club in Spain at this time Florentino Pérez, the Real Madrid’s President did the restructuring and professionalization of the organization in the three management areas—sporting, marketing, and corporate-economic-financial He not only wants to create a best football club in the world but he also wants to make Real Madrid become a successful sport organization

With regard to the club’s marketing strategy, Promoting the exploitation of its brand is

the Real Madrid’s priority task, transcending its supporters into customers of its products and

services They highlight that the brand is “its best asset, and so it has become the club’s best guarantee for the future.” They got into the emerging soccer markets such as: south-east Asia (China, Japan, and South Korea), the Arab world, and India Soccer players’ image rights in the big advertising contract and then signing of strategic alliances to collaborate with leading firms

in different sectors are some of their direction with football marketing strategies This create for them huge opportunities and power via collaboration with strong brand around the world Their success appeared in this following result:

Figure 2 1 Evolution of Real Madrid Revenue

As can be seen from figure 2.1, Real Madrid is truly a successful sport organization in the world Overall, this club went up gradually from the season 2000/01 to 2004/05 Indeed, there is a slightly raising in the first period of time Later on, from season 2001/02 to 2004/05 witnessed

a dramatically increase in all three aspects: Match day, Broadcasting, Commercial This proved

a correct path is waiting for Real Madrid and President Floretino Perez

2.2.2 Non-sport business (who do marketing through sport):

Non-sport business (or Sponsor) looks sports sponsorship is a marketing tool that is used

by companies to reach widely and deeply to the spectators as well as lifting their own competition capability and then they can create a higher profit margin Due to this, they can easily to approach the specific target audience alongside potential customers who are reached

by penetrating through quite effectively in the promotional mix and as such, is a significant method being used by many organizations

Concerning this aspect, there are a number of books and articles that research it deeply With their own reputation, Manchester United football club attract more and more new global sponsors every year, General Motors (Chevrolet) is not exception This car brand signed

an amazing contract with Manchester United football club, worth over $559m over a

Seven-Year; although their symbol was not appearing on the shirt until the 2014/2015 season it still delivered around £12m in that year (Deloitte 2014) In addition, a big name of logistic in the world also signed a contract to become one of the big sponsor for this club Due to Manchester United’s name, DHL became more competitive in their own market, expand more customer around the world By sticking their own name in Manchester club’s training kit, they are automatically known by more people

The other perfect example of the entrepreneurial potential in sport and the unique strategies and activities undertaken by the Red Bull They made the difference, they have seriously made one of the most successful revolution in marketing through sport, in particular football They bought the football club or established a new club and created many miracles In

2005 Red Bull made a decision was taking over SV Casino Salzburg and changed the club’s name to FC Red Bull Salzburg, also changing the club colors and the logo, that nowadays becoming a logo similar with the logo of the Red Bull brand Red Bull continued to took over Metro Stars football club in the MLS, United State in 2006, and once again completely rebranding the franchise, changing the name (now the New York Red Bulls), team colours and logo which once again remind everyone about Red Bull’s, totally unmistakable Surprisingly, Both Salzburg and New York right now are standing on top in the leagues that they are joining, Red Bull also got an easily to approached more customer

In 2009 Red Bull bought the SSV Markranstadt, an unnamed fifth Division team in Leipzig in 2009 They changed the name of the club to RB Leipzig (Rasen Ball sport Leipzig), because German football regulations do not have the name of the sponsor in front of the club name Red Bull's first goal was to bring the club up to the Bundesliga level in eight years, and now they have achieved it in just over six years

When it was first stage, the club was criticized only for Red Bull marketing But now, RB Leipzig is regarded as the beacon of East German football Right in the first season, 2009-2010,

RB Leipzig dominated the league and won the fourth place In the 2012-2013 season, they won the Division Four championship without any defeat, thus reaching third Division The following season they finished second in the Bundesliga and became the first team in the league to qualify for the promotion after only one season It is not difficult to understand that throughout Germany,

no one can stand RB Leipzig, except for their fans Many protests have taken place, but it seems that Leipzig has gradually confirmed that they are the victors As long as the football order in Germany is not reversed, the situation is acceptable, but with Leipzig being able to use the money

to advance to the top, the Bundesliga's long-standing values may be threatened

across all the sports Red Bull has invested in, they’ve presented teams with an investment model that presents both support and growth

Gorse, Chadwick and Burton, (2010) also assessed Red Bull’s self-sponsorship, marketing and branded content have helped the Austrian fizzy drink company become something much larger than a drink manufacturer Ongoing with those steps, Red Bull still rapidly grow later on without doubt

Besides, what a mistake if this aspect is not mentioned When sponsoring a major global sporting event, the amount of money that is spent to have their companies name associated at the sporting event is from £8million to £120million (Wilson 2014) Football is extremely potential tool for every company; a billion project waiting for investors every four years with FIFA World Cup – a biggest football event in the world or European Champions League Final every year, such a huge opportunity to marketing their image and create profit (Colantuoni 2013)

Indeed, Dea Ryun Chang (2011) mentioned the sponsorship revenue earned by the 2002 FIFA World Cup was about $676 million Surprisingly, this figure only came from official sponsorship; it does not include the marketing and the sales generated from the unofficial with the big event by non-sponsors The notable official sponsors in Korea were KT (Korea Telecom), Coca-Cola, Hyundai, POSCO and Adidas Some note-worthy unofficial sponsors were SK Telecom, Nike and Samsung Let take a look with one stand out example, Korea Telecom (KT), which is one of the largest telephone companies in Asia and the mother company

of KTF, a mobile communication service provider, they seemed it as an official stage to confirm their position and name in the communication and information technology industry It coined the campaign slogan ‘e-World Cup’ to promote its dominant presence in broadband networks, its pioneering CDMA mobile service track record and its expansion into digital HDTV What

a irrefutable, they got a success with their plan

Due to the huge benefit that enterprises can got in that event, many unofficial sponsor implemented a “back door” strategies – ambush marketing, this is also a big risk that the official company must face If we can count margin profit from them, the number does not stop at $676

Sport Marketing Framework (SMF)

“Another significant difference in the sports market is that sports products often evoke emotion, togetherness, and individual loyalty of consumers toward the sport That make the value of sports goods / services is no longer appropriate with its real value (because of the change, the increase in mental value); This is also rare in other markets So in order to be successful in sports marketing, especially football marketing, not only do you have to master the basic principles and stages of marketing, you need to understand the sports environment as

well as the specific situations that sport can bring for sports consumers Thus, getting and applying the SMF is one the most important work to any sport business and non-sport business”

- The author Smith, 2012 has reviewed and explained it

Sports Marketing structure is expressed through model diagram SMF (Figure 2.3) Overall, the SMF includes the following 4 stages:

- Identify Sport Marketing Opportunities

- Develop a Sport Marketing Strategy

- Plan the Sport Marketing Mix

- Implement and Control the Sport Marketing Strategy

Stage 1 involves three parts Firstly, the enterprises should perform the classical analysis about external marketplace (such as competitors’ activities, technology, legal restrictions and the economic climate), the internal environment of a sport organization (such as its strengths and weaknesses) as well Its mission, vision, objectives, performance measures and stakeholders are going to analyze is the second part Third is the analysis of the market and its consumers via market research Once stage 1 is completed, the assembled information is used

to undertake stage 2 of the sport marketing framework—Develop a Sport Marketing Strategy’

Based on the analyses built in stage 1, stage 2 consider creating the key decisions about the strategic direction a sport marketing program What is crucial here is to establish the strategy within the boundaries of both objectives and performance measures that is a key to evaluate the success of the marketing program Stage 2 also involves identifying the specific tactics that will be used during the strategy, such as how to create stand out product (differentiate) the sport product or classifying customer (segmentation), and what marketing mix decisions (this is a term covering the elements of product, pricing strategies, promotional strategies and distribution systems) will be employed to implement the strategy

Figure 2 2 The Sport Marketing Framework

In stage 3 of the process, the sport marketing mix is documented in detail The 'marketing mix' (also known as the 4Ps) is a foundation concept in marketing The marketing mix has been defined as the "set of marketing tools that the firm uses to pursue its marketing objectives in the target market" Thus the marketing mix refers to four broad levels

of marketing decision, namely: product, price, promotion, and place Yet in the sports

marketing field, in addition to the 4Ps, the sports marketing plan is supplemented by two other sponsorships and services Hence, there are 6 elements to implement Sports Marketing Mix plans

At this stage, the marketing management department must carry out a variety of tasks according to the process and requirements included:

- Produce sports goods / services that make standing out the value of sport, distinguish sports goods and services and non-sport goods / services, improve their quality

- Determine the cost of services and goods and pricing for the consumer market

- Research consumption and distribution channels, through it to communicate with new members

- Promote through the different form such as: media, setting banner in the pitch, etc., consider the impact of the consumer

- Finally, stage 4 involves putting the plan into action and making sure it remains on track The process includes:

- Establish the marketing management apparatus with obviously organizational structure, functions and tasks for each department and each employee to carry out marketing activities

- Examine, evaluate and regulate sports marketing activities in the sports industry

Marketers need to develop a system of assessment indicators, identify key assessment methods

and procedures for implementing activities, and then propose marketing adjustments

Beside, sport marketing in this period is also concerned about the sponsorship factors and services that are indispensable steps

With figure 2.2, every sport marketer can clearly come up with the creative and suitable strategies in the specific environment of the football business This is the good basic theory for marketer

2.4 Sport Marketing Strategy - Marketing Mix

Sport marketing strategy refers to the conceptualization of a plan (strategic planning) and the specification of the steps for implementing it (operational planning) The basic concept employed in this plan involve several components They would include the price, the place, the type of promotion, and their relationship to the public This is commonly related to as a marketing mix

Indeed, the concept of marketing mix indicates that in the market, some variables are closely related This means that a variable must be considered along with other controllable marketing variables and all elements of the marketing mix need to be harmonized to increase the likelihood of success (Kotler, 1994) Therefore, a broad mix of elements associated with a market offering is what marketer need to consider We start with “4Ps” to Marketing, introduced

by McCarthy (1960): Product, Price, Place and Promotion In Sport Marketing, after a sport organization has divided the total market into sub-groups, chosen a segment and identified a positioning strategy for that segment, they must then develop a Marketing Mix for each segment

Figure 2 3 Marketing Mix Model

Generally speaking, for each marketer, Marketing Mix Model as a basic tool that they should understand and use it competently, especially for football marketer, they must face with may obstacle that different with other fields For example: the unpredictab le of the match will probably restrict them promote the match like: “Please, come and watch the match today because of it attraction”, they cannot know how the player play today, they also cannot know the tactic of the club today, etc So with deeply com prehensive about Marketing Mix, football Marketer can easily to solve those problems

2.4.1 Sport Product:

Applied to Sport Marketing Mihai (2013) mentioned that the centerpiece of a marketing mix is the product A product is anything that satisfies a nee d or wish and is acquired to do so In sport marketing aspect, there are two important concepts that sport marketers should be considered The first is the core product, defined as the actual game or something related to it, over which the sport marketer has no control The sport marketer must be very careful not to over-promise in terms of how good the game will be or how well specific athletes may perform

The second concept is the importance of product extensions to the overall marketing effort It is easy to think of the word product as referring to a physical, manufactured item The term product can also refer to services, people, places, ideas and the benefits that a sport organization offers consumers However, in any circumstance, company must make sure they did good products for customer such as design, packaging and even merchandise Quality products must ensure in high level

Packaging the sport product is one of the most important element with sport marketer

to encourage selected target audiences to purchase it Because consumers differ, marketers must present the product in different ways Packaging the core product of sport (the game or event

itself), however, involves communicating the expectations of the product and providing information before the point of purchase

2.4.2 Sport Pricing:

The price of a product represents what a consumer relinquishes in exchange for a sporting good or service the value of a product is reflected a matching price Price not only remind about financial terms, but it also includes other things such as: expectation, waiting time (e.g waiting an authentic kit from the club that we cheer for) or social costs (e.g being in an aerobics class with others instead of a one-on-one instruction) Price is the factor that is most visible and impressive, especially in sale off season Creating a pricing strategy is integral to the success of a sports organization because it has a significant impact on the success of the overall sports marketing plan In addition, prices are directly affected by external factors including government policy, economic and political

Determining price is the top challenge for the sport marketer Due to complex and unpredictable characteristic, a correctly sport pricing strategies come out is a key f or the success of the marketing plan Therefore, more reducing price for each kind of spectators, more opportunities to succeed For example, sport organizations can create a membership card for spectator who is passionate partisan and agree to buy ticket for whole season Sport organizations may also change prices according to the market environment (e.g., lowering prices during a recession or economic downturn) or the team’s performance (e.g., increasing prices as a team’s performance dramatically improves)

In the final analysis, sport marketers must determine how the value of products affect consumers, compared with all competing products and use that information to set an appropriate price

2.4.3 Sport Place

Sport Place or Sport Distribution is the crucial process of getting the sport product to the consumer Choosing a favorable place to distribute is a key to run an effective distribution strategy, the marketer should have their own right place The right place means: where the consumer is, shops, or will travel For instance: For football product, Place should be around stadium or arena, the point of origin for distributing the product (ticket sales at the stadium, sales by a toll-free telephone number, or internet), the geographic location of the target markets (global, national, regional, state, communities, cities) Those factors related to the location of the sport can have a positive or negative impact on the marketing plan To ensure efficiency, sports facilities should be easily accessible (highway systems, parking lots, walkways, ramps);

Wakefield and Blodgett (1996) study found that “layout accessibility, facility aesthetics, seating comfort, electronic equipment and displays, and facility cleanliness all have a significant influence on how sport fans perceive the quality of the stadium In turn, the higher this perceived quality of the sportscape, the higher the sport fan’s satisfaction with the sportscape If sport fans are more satisfied, they are likely to stay in the stadium for a longer period (and spend more money); also, they are likely to return more often” These relationships are showed in figure below:

Figure 2 4 Sportscape Model

Through a reality example about sportcape, the football marketer get more understanding about the importance of football Distribution, improving service in the “right place” is one of the non-negotiable condition for success of any football strategies

2.4.4 Sport Promotion

Promotion is the process of promoting Promoting means raising awareness Therefore,

a simple definition of promotion is: the process of making people aware of something There are various methods for attracting the attention of potential consumers In sport marketing is not excluding case Sport marketers are going to try gain as much more customer’s attention as good They stimulate the interest and awareness of consumers, and encourage them to purchase

a sport product Promotion is about in traducing and taking more benefit for consumers

The purpose of promotion is to encourage consumers to develop a good view about a sport product which is aligned to a predetermined positioning strategy, and then to stimulate consumers to try the sport product Promotion focus on selling the product along extra benefit for consumers The elements of sport promotions (also known as the sport promotional mix) include advertising, sponsorship, public relations, licensing, personal contact, incentives, and atmospherics Media Advertising is one of the best solution for expanding promotion, although the expense must be paid is high However, Media Advertising can help marketer easily approached to a reservoir of potential consumer In sport marketing, advertising may include broadcast commercials, direct mailings, facility signage, and manufactured media Sponsorship

refers to the relationship between a corporation and a sport organization as a tool to develop brand image and customer loyalty as a result of the association

“Incentives are the benefits or reduced costs that are offered to motivate a sport consumer to purchase the specified sport product or service Atmospherics utilizes the design

of visual communications in an environment, such as lighting, colours, music, to entice the sport consumer’s perceptual and emotional responses to purchase the sport product or service There are a number of generalizations that can be made about promotion Promotions temporarily increase sales substantially; promotion in one product category affect sales of brands in complementary and competitive categories; and promotions can result in increased traffic Most of the generalizations are true; however, it is important to understand how to utilize these elements in order to ensure that the results are longer lasting, and lead to maintaining current and attracting new customers” Mihai (2013) argued

2.2.5 Typical example - The marketing mix of Manchester United Football Club

With regard to Marketing Mix, Manchester United football club is one of the most successful sport organization in the world (Hitesh December 5, 2016)

Product: Manchester United’s products is the team itself They sell their image, using

their reputation for worthy collaboration The football players are excellent model and they also are celebrities to introduce club’s products Their products are very diversified such as: footballer kit, soccer academy, image, etc Manchester United has its own television channel and as it plays at various venues, it broadcasts its matches at its own channel A big profit also come from here, a variety of other channels want to buy the right to broadcast Manchester United’s match with different prices The club also implement ecommerce with a serviceable website and various social network pages to sell their product faster and more effective It has also tie-ups with other websites who have the authorization to sell the company’s products

Place: Hitesh (2016) mentioned that: “In the early years, the Manchester United team

played its matches on a field that was located on the North Road The crowd capacity over there was of 12,000 spectators In the year 1893, the club was banned to play at this ground and then they shifted to “Bank Street Ground” that was located in Clayton After the temporary closure of this ground in the year1902, a ground for temporary matches was found in

“Harpurhey” In1909, the club shifted to “Old Trafford” and until this date Manchester United plays all its home matches at Old Trafford” As a football team in one of the most attractive division in the world, Manchester United play not only in their home pitch, but they also play

in many places around the world, especially around Euro Everywhere they got, every potential