advanced theory and practice in sport marketing - Marshalls University

DIRECT SPORT MARKETING VIA E-COMMERCE
Active Marketing Group and Road Runner Sports Team Up
Road Runner Sports (www.roadrunnersports.com), is a multi-channel
retailer with over two decades of history providing top quality running products
at competitive prices through several branded running and fitness catalogs,
corresponding shopping websites, and retail stores located on the West
Coast of the United States. In September 2005, they implemented an online
marketing program that included display ads, customized emails and a Shoe
Blog – all strictly targeted to an athletic audience and more specifically to
recreational runners. As a result, the running gear superstore had increased
its new customer base substantially and is well on its way to achieving
desired conversion rates.
With a go-to-market plan focused on getting runners into the right gear to run
injury free, Director of E-commerce Peter Taylor and his team sought an agency’s
expertise to align Road Runner Sports more closely with its target customer. The
team turned to Active Marketing Group (www.activemarketinggroup.com),
who is a full-service promotion agency division that helps brands develop
authentic relationships with active customers. The agency offers access to millions
of active Americans involved in sports and activities, an understanding of
consumer behavior, and a portfolio of consumer promotional services.
A four-step plan was implemented – identify the target market, choose the
appropriate media channel, drive sales conversions, and engaging customers.
An initial challenge was identifying the true target market, especially since it
was very diverse due to a marketing mix that included catalog and web marketing.
Road Runner Sports wanted its online effort to drive new customers
and increase brand presence. The result was a monthly online advertising
program that drove direct sales by serving online display ads and customized
emails to a very specific targeted audience. The main reason for this move –
new customers (especially younger ones) use e-commerce more often to
make purchase decisions, rather than through print catalogs and other traditional
means. The premise behind this decision was that display ads provide
a good foundation for building the brand; however, the added email component
was critical to driving conversion percentages and sales.
Next was the choosing of appropriate media channels to reach the active
customers. Active Marketing Group chose Active.com as the online medium
for the display ads, placing ads on the running and triathlon pages of
http://www.active.com/. The site is an online community for active lifestyle
consumers and one of two active consumer media channels the agency has
direct access to. Active.com attracts active consumers involved in multiple
sports and activities, offering activity-specific content and services such as
online event search via a database of more than 100,000 events and activities
in more than 5000 cities, and online event registration. Active.com also
offers specialized web pages dedicated to individual sports with local event
calendars, health and fitness information, and training tools.
324 ADVANCED THEORY AND PRACTICE IN SPORT MARKETING