INSIGHT
EXPORTING SPORTS
Marketing a foreign sport in a new country is a long game. Mike Dodgson of Digital Fuel Marketing
looks at how some of the biggest local sports are making their mark on the world stage
THE EXPANSION OF POPULAR
domestic sports into new international
markets is on the rise, with varying degrees
of success. Here’s how they’re faring.
An American invasion of the UK
The biggest sports league in the world, the
US-based NFL, has made a loss on all of
its games in the UK in the past 10 years.
But in a Chicago Tribune report, NFL head
of international development Mark Waller
says that will change in the coming years
with increased marketing opportunities.
His outlook echoes the optimistic words
of NFL head of operations in Britain
Alistair Kirkwood, who states that the past
decade’s venture has been a “deliberate loss
leader”. In other words, it was an attempt
to increase the intrinsic value of the brand,
leading to greater marketing, sponsorship
and commercial distribution dollars.
report, legendary quarterback Peyton
Manning says expansion into China
is a “no-brainer”. The popularity of
meishi ganlanqiu (US-style football) in the
country’s heartland is growing with the
burgeoning profile of China Arena Football
League, China’s home-grown league.
Exporting AFL to Asia
Expansion into Asia isn’t unique to the
NFL. Australian Rules Football has also
been trying to stir up interest in its unique
brand of football in recent years.
A limited marketing foray into China
last year secured a local TV distribution
deal just days before the game, which saw
Port Adelaide beat the Gold Coast Suns.
Despite a seemingly small crowd of 10,000,
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan
viewed the expedition as a success.
Success in new markets
The burning question: is it working?
It looks as if it is. The league has doubled
its revenue from UK media rights since
2007 and British fans seem to enjoy the
sport. According to the Tribune, half of the
fans at last year’s games had attended the
year before, and a third had bought tickets
for the entire four-game series.
The NFL’s expansion may not stop
on British shores, either. In an LA Times
Less-than-enthusiastic rumblings from
homeland fans often offset the executive-
led positive spin on these expansions.
But one new-market expansion in recent
years that has enjoyed overwhelming
success has been cricket.
A traditional sport that conjures up images
of lush green ovals in the Commonwealth,
cricket suffered dwindling crowd numbers
and reduced sponsorship dollars in the early
2000s. The sport needed to attract
the next generation. Enter the England
Cricket Board’s attempt to reinvigorate
the colonial sport: Twenty20.
A faster, exciting, athletic version of
the former snoozefest, wrapping up in
a couple of hours versus the previous
one- to five-day versions of the sport,
Twenty20 quickly became a domestic
and international success.
From a marketing perspective,
US sports-style antics complemented
the obvious changes to the format.
Cheerleaders, pre-, mid- and post-match
entertainment, fireworks and vibrant
uniform colours were all an obvious
contrast to the dull white of Test cricket.
Today, a global Twenty20 cup
spearheads the international cricket
calendar, with local leagues in England,
Australia, India, Pakistan and elsewhere
attracting huge sponsorship and offering
enormous paydays for players both
domestically and internationally.
The expanding year ahead
The NFL recently continued its decade-
long expansion into the UK with four
matches in London scheduled for
September and October.
The AFL will also continue its run in
China, with Port Adelaide reportedly
pushing for a five-year deal, sacrificing a
home game for the opportunity.
And cricket’s Twenty20 saturation
continues to soar to new heights, gaining
popularity with each marketing step it
makes. A recent highlight was women’s
international Twenty20 matches, a step
the ICC is hoping will result in further
growth and popularity for a sport once
hindered by its antiquated beginnings.
MIKE DODGSON is
the current head of
paid search & operations
for Digital Fuel Marketing.
He has 10 years’ digital
experience and is AdWords
and Google Analytics-certifi ed.
iGB Affi liate Issue 65 OCT/NOV 2017
51