As we all know, the wide world of sports is a prosperous field, with money changing hands in all different directions. Professional athletes are driving luxury cars, coaches dress to the nines, and the owners of sports franchises make the athlete and coach alike look like commoners. Still, players, coaches, owners, and other key players are all presenting a product for fans, and they are definitely not the only ones attempting to catch the attention of those fans. Large corporations see sporting events as tremendous opportunities to reach sports fans, both at the game and while at home. The implementation of corporate marketing and advertising in the world of sports is revolutionizing the field as a whole.

The Way Stadiums Used to Be

The classic song Take Me Out to the Ballpark is reminiscent of the days of yore. Baseball stadiums, football stadiums, and basketball arenas were frequently sold out, and tickets to regular season games were hard to come by. People went to games, rooted for the home team, and the action on the field, court, or ice was the main attraction. Furthermore, advertisements were sparse. Of course, there were advertisements lining outfield walls and around sporting venues everywhere. However, the actual stadiums were named to honor the team, the city, or an individual instrumental in bringing success to a particular franchise. The Detroit Tigers used to play at Tiger Stadium, the Milwaukee Brewers at Milwaukee County Stadium, and the Cleveland Indians at Municipal Stadium. Today, the historical names for stadiums have virtually gone by the wayside.

The Way Stadiums Are Today

Stadiums today are far from what they used to be. Truth be told, the major sporting venues currently used are more a reflection of corporate America than they are sport. The Detroit Tigers now play home games at Comerica Park, the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, and the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field, each of which is named for a large corporation. So why would professional sports franchises abandon the names of their stadiums? The answer is money. Each year, corporations pay millions of dollars to professional sports franchises for the naming rights of their stadiums. Like it or not, stadiums today are opening their doors to large corporations more and more, and it is only expected to increase in the foreseeable future.

Uniforms for the Future

For long, soccer clubs abroad have donned jerseys sporting corporate sponsors instead of team names or the city where they hail from. There’s an obvious financial incentive for sports franchises to have their teams jerseys and uniforms graces with corporate sponsors, and the trend is catching steam in the United States, with sponsors already existing on MLS kits and WNBA jerseys. Some insist there is no way that any of the Big 4 (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) franchises will go the way of corporate-sponsored jerseys, but there really is no telling who will give in to the dollar bill and when it might happen.

The Video Game World as a Marketing Medium

Creative marketers in the world of sport are now teaming up with firms that create video games involving sports, most notably, Electronic Arts, or simply EA. Try playing one of the more recent editions of EA’s Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour franchise, and you’ll notice that you can select to use clothing and equipment from premium names in golf, such as Ping, Cleveland, and TaylorMade. And guess who is paying for their products to be there in the virtual world. Even the Weather Channel is in on video game sports marketing and product placements, featuring real-time live weather conditions for a number of different video game franchises produced under the EA name.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to business innovation.

Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to business innovation. http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2013/05/31/ex-files-dotty-bollinger-embraces-new.html

Author Bio: Taylor Thomas is an experienced writer who has written for a number of notable publications. As a lifestyle expert, Ms. Thomas is able to offer advice and insight on a multitude of topics, including those pertaining to business innovation.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: Sports Marketing, Business Innovation, Advertising