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LEVERAGING THE SPORTING INDUSTRY
TO ENHANCE MARKETING EFFICACY
Allison H. PIERPONT, William F. CRITTENDEN
Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.
Abstract
This paper examines the effects of select marketing methods on a company’s ability to achieve various
business objectives within the sporting industry. These objectives include brand awareness, brand
enhancement, increased market share, improved customer goodwill, and successful new product
introductions. The chosen marketing methods include celebrity endorsement, sponsorship, product
placement, advertising, and ambush marketing. Many organizations favor celebrity endorsements in the hopes
of establishing an association between the company brand and the athlete. Furthermore, celebrity
endorsements also have the potential to benefit such products and services as automobiles, watches,
beverages, financial services, electronics, restaurants, and clothing. However, athlete endorsements,
particularly those outside the sporting goods realm, contain character risk. Sport sponsorship has proven
significantly beneficial in achieving brand trustworthiness. Product placement at sporting events is often used
as an extension of sponsorship deals. Advertising associated with sporting events is found to serve two
potential purposes: to promote products and services to current and potential customers, and to channel
communication to current and potential future investors. Finally, ambush marketing is noted as more
frequently effective at reaching consumers and creating a longer lasting impression than official sponsorship.
Keywords: marketing, athlete endorsement, event sponsorship, advertising, product placement, ambush
marketing, strategy, sporting industry, brand risk, marketing efficacy.
Introduction
Sports have long been a part of global culture. Today, the importance of the sports industry
spans far beyond athleticism and competition. Businesses from myriad industries use global
sporting events and athletes to position themselves as leaders in their respective fields.
With the cost of endorsements, sponsorships, product placement and advertising escalating
significantly, corporations expect substantially valuable outcomes in return. Interpreting
these outcomes in the context of the sporting industry is critical to understanding efficacy.
Each method has different associated benefits, costs, and risks. Using such knowledge to
increase the accuracy of decision making can greatly improve a company’s competitive
advantage. In this study, we looked at five prominent marketing tactics: celebrity
endorsement, sponsorship, product placement, advertising, and ambush marketing. These
methods were chosen based on their frequency of use and the availability of applicable
information regarding their relevancy and potential outcomes. We chose to analyze these
methods through the scope of a systematic review in order to obtain relevant and
informative research over a range of well suited case examples for the purpose of our
investigation.
We then reviewed sought-after objectives—including brand enhancement, increased brand
awareness, market share growth, improved customer goodwill, and successful production
introductions—and likely outcomes that coincide with the aforementioned marketing
methods. We selected such outcomes based on the frequency with which they were
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