Kenneth Cortsen, PhD, University College of Northern Denmark
You probably think you've spent a fair bit of time thinking about sports, marketing and branding. Well, I guarantee that you haven't done nearly as much ruminating as Kenneth Cortsen, one of only a handful of people in the world with a PhD in sports marketing. We've translated his 5 Tweets from their original Danish (JK: his English is better than ours...) to get insight into his thinking on how sports can advance marketing objectives.
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Because sports are so dynamic, time and context are crucial. Marketers must take great pains to be relevant for fans and other stakeholders 'right here, right now.'
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Hybrid Sports Branding (HSB) emphasizes the importance of brands interacting at several levels of sports. Success depends on a multi-tier strategy using personal (player), products & organization (team).
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For marketers, HSB also emphasizes how co-branding, content co-creation and strategic alliances are vital ingredients required to effectively commercialize sponsorships.
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Strategic corporate social responsibility remains an under-exploited area in branding and sports sponsorship. Sports present a fertile ground and audience for sharing corporate good works.
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Above all: minimize ambiguity at all costs. To be effective at using sports for marketing purposes, strong, powerful messages are essential for breaking though enormous clutter.