Sports Marketing in India and Sri Lanka - Essay Sample

At least 80% of the leading brands in various industrial sectors in India employ sports marketing in the pursuit of commercial objectives (Madani and Mitra, 2010). The prevalence of sports marketing among leading brands exemplifies its effectiveness compared to other marketing channels such as music and movies. The expenditure in sports is not just a resource that helps deliver a desirable return on investment, but a long-term investment that enhances brand competitiveness. In neighboring Sri Lanka, cricket has attracted one of the largest sponsorship deals in the South Asian continent. Leading telecommunications company Dialog Axiata has, in the last three years, sponsored Sri Lanka ticket to the tune of Rs. 745 million. The sponsorship deal earned the telecommunications team the title of the official sponsor of the National Cricket team, enhancing the visibility of its brand locally and overseas. In addition, Sri Lanka has attained a global reputation as a destination for sports tourism, which has enhanced the viability of sports as a marketing channel for firms and brands in Sri Lanka.

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The effectiveness of sports marketing in enhancing brand awareness and preference among consumers explains why Indian and Sri Lankan companies take a strategic and long term view in how they associate with sports. Sports increase the salience of peoples emotions and passions, which makes it possible for brands to leverage them to establish an emotional connection with the fans. Empirical evidence suggests that as much as 65% of Indian brands have invested in sports because emotions and passions are a fundamental element of sports (Deepam and Sumith, 2014). Indian consumers perceive competitive brands as young and energetic, which is one of the images that define sports. With the Indian consumer market majorly comprising young people, it follows that sports offer brands a valuable platform for interaction with a significant segment of the consumers.

Indias economic growth has created a middle class that is conscious about healthy lifestyles. As such, it has become imperative for firms to position their offerings on addressing the consumers health concerns. Sports convey the image of an active and healthy lifestyle, which provides sports marketers the opportunity to connect with consumers who are conscious about healthy lifestyles. Sports marketing primarily entail advertising spending and the purchase of spots during telecasts of sports events. Sponsorship is also a favored marketing channel among Indian sports marketers, with as much as 67% of top Indian brands having investments in sponsorships (Kumutha, Kirubakar and Margaret, 2010). The Indian Premier League has taken the lions share of the resources that companies have invested in sports sponsorship.

The opportunities for sports marketing have expanded as participative sports emerge; one survey suggested that at least 40% of Indian sports marketers employed participative sports as a marketing channel (Kumutha, Kirubakar and Margaret, 2010). It is not difficult to figure why there has been a phenomenal rise in the preference for marketing using participative sports when we consider how participative sports facilitate direct engagement and involvement with consumers of a brand (Goldman, 2011). Over the recent past, the Indian sports landscape has seen the sprouting of sports leagues that have created opportunities for marketers to sponsor teams and leagues. Researchers suggest that at least 44% and 35% of sports marketers have sponsored, respectively, teams and leagues.

Considering the enormous resources that Indian sports marketers have invested in sports marketing programs, they have found it essential to value the programs appropriately. One of the most important yardsticks that Indian sports marketers use in evaluating sports programs is the size of the spectator and participant base. Sports marketing programs cannot attain their intended goals if the target audience is not large enough. The spectators and participants in a sports event will hardly matter if the event does not provide adequate opportunities to leverage a given brand. Thus, sports marketers also consider the opportunities for leveraging their brands when deciding to invest in sports marketing programs.

Leading Indian brands have business objectives that they aim to attain when undertaking sports marketing programs, and the most important one is the change of consumers attitudes towards a brand. A key challenge of sports marketers in India is how to leverage sports sponsorships for to attain marketing success continuously and over the long term. Sponsorship programs are important in enhancing the reach and visibility of brands, but it is more crucial to leverage the programs to meet the broader marketing and organizational objectives. Few brands in India have invested resources on a scale that permits the leveraging of sports marketing programs for the attainment of broader marketing and organizational objectives.

The phenomenal success attained by the brands that have embraced sports marketing as a marketing tool implies that there will be an increase its preference as a marketing tool. Surveys have shown that the firms that have invested in sports marketing programs intend to increase their investment in future, while brands that are yet to adopt sports marketing as a marketing tool are interested in employing it in the future (Mazhari et.al, 2012). While there are limited avenues for investing in the sports in India, the growth of other sports apart from the dominant ones like soccer, hockey, and cricket implies the evolution of sports marketing.

There has been an increase in the Indian peoples exposure to the non-traditional sports, and with the growth in channels, media coverage, and international success of the non-traditional sports, people will gain more interest in the non-traditional sports. An increase in peoples interest will expand the fan base of non-traditional sports, creating further avenues for sports marketers. The increase in the popularity of other sports apart from the traditional ones will require the sports marketers to change their strategic approaches in utilizing sports as a marketing channel.

References

Deepam K. J. and Sumith P. P., 2014. Sports marketing in India-Bangaluru Football Club.

Goldman, M. M., 2011. Post-Crisis Sports Marketing Business Model Shifts. Managing Global Transitions: International Research Journal, 9(2), pp. 171-184

Kumutha, N., Kirubakar, S.G. and Margaret, G.D., 2010. Prospects and strategies for sports marketing in India: an overview. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(Suppl 1), pp.i80-i80.

Madani, A.S. and Mitra, C.D., 2010. Sports marketing in India: Development of a fan relationship strategy for an IPL team in the off season (Royal Challengers Bangalore).

Mazhari, M., Madahi, A., Sharifpour, Y., & Mirzai, M., 2012. The Status of Female Sports Marketing Products, Management Science & Engineering, 6(2), pp. 79-85