Poll shows multichannel marketing now ‘essential’ for sport brands

A new survey of sports fans which shows they use a variety digital feeds to access sports news underlines that sports brands should be using multichannel marketing to drive event ticket sales, generate fan loyalty, boost event viewership and grow kit/merchandise sales according to the leading multilingual digital marketing agency in Europe.

The poll of 1,127 carried out by AccuraCast discovered that sports fans first choice for news was online newspapers and magazines (42%), followed by Facebook (20%), Twitter (10%), Online blogs (7%), Instagram (5%) and Snapchat (5%).

AccuraCast, whose clients include UEFA, UFC, London cricket ground Lord's, ATP Tour and Tottenham Hotspur have also published a whitepaper, Online Multichannel Strategies for Sports brands, which outlines eight of the primary marketing channels users typically use and have linked them to the best multichannel channel strategies for sports brands.

With multichannel marketing targeting customers in the right place at the right time using two or more channels and consumers today hardly ever use a single channel in the journey to conversion,  AccuraCast, UK Managing Director Farhad Divecha explains “they may be in discovery mode on Instagram, then use search to learn more about a product, and finally be reminded to purchase via email. To successfully target a brand's audience or fans, it is essential to find the best platform mix that grabs their attention.”

In the whitepaper, the eight major channels are highlighted in terms of usefulness for ticket/merchandise sales, fan loyalty and event viewership, in addition a multichannel strategy is presented for each stage of sports branding.

Facebook - Used for awareness and engagement in the early stages of a campaign, as well as lead generation and sales further down the line.

Instagram - Similar to Facebook. Although it generally has a younger audience, it is still geared towards discovery, engagement and sales.

Twitter - Used at the mid stages of a campaign, when there's a conversation to be had. Unless your audience lives on here.

YouTube - Used in the early stages of a campaign to generate awareness, unless promoting an event, then use throughout to keep people interested.

Google Search and Shopping - Ideally suited to service existing demand, so should be used in the latter stages of a campaign.

Email - Email marketing is best used for direct response and re-engagement, as you already have your target's details.

Programmatic - Can be used throughout a campaign but requires a larger budget in comparison to other methods.

Google Display - Primarily for raising awareness and driving consideration and can be considered a smaller scale alternative to programmatic.

Farhad adds “the sports digital marketing landscape is ever changing and constantly evolving so it's easy to miss opportunities if you are not completely up-to-date.

“This is particularly important for the 18 to 34 age group who are extremely social media focused."

Click here to download the Online Multichannel Strategies for Sports brands white paper.

For more information go to www.accuracast.com