Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective [Hardcover]

Matthew D. Shank (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0136218717 | ISBN-13: 978-0136218715 | Publication Date: December 29, 1998 | Edition: 1

This unique book explores the complex and diverse nature of Sports Marketing, presenting a framework to help explain and organize the sports marketing process. Written from a true strategic marketing perspective--by a professor of marketing in a college of business--it illustrates the application of marketing principles and processes to the sports industry.

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From the Back Cover

This unique book explores the complex and diverse nature of Sports Marketing, presenting a framework to help explain and organize the sports marketing process. Written from a true strategic marketing perspective—by a professor of business—it illustrates the application of marketing principles and processes to the sports industry.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Overview

One of the greatest challenges for sports marketers is trying to keep pace with the ever changing, fast-paced environment of the sports world. Since the first edition of this text was published three years ago, numerous changes have taken plate and challenges to sports marketers emerge daily. First, costs have been rising quickly. Athlete salaries continue to escalate. Alex Rodriguez was signed by the Texas Rangers for an unbelievable contract of 10 years and an average of $25.2 million per year, the largest contract in the history of sports. To pay for this, new stadiums and arenas have been built at a rapid pace. Industry experts estimate that more than $7 billion will be spent on new facilities for professional teams before 2006. This will lead to an increase in the number of seats. Each ticketholder will also pay more. Ticket prices continue to increase and drive the common fan out of the sport arena. For instance, the average seat at a NBA game climbed from $22.52 in 1991 to $51.02 in 2001. But this may not be the largest problem in sports now. For the first time in a long time, TV ratings for sports are sinking. NBC's coverage of the 2000 Summer Games drew the lowest ratings for a Summer or Winter Olympics since 1968. The NCAA men's college basketball title game dropped 18 percent from a year ago, which was the previous low since CBS started airing the event in 1982. The All-Star games for the NBA and baseball were the worst-rated ever and Fox Sports' telecasts of the New York Yankees' five-game victory over the cross-city Mets produced the lowest-rated World Series in history. New leagues such as the XFL and the WUSA continue to emerge, and established leagues like the CBA have played their last game.

The one constant in this sea of change is the incredible appetite of consumers for sports. We get sports information on the Web, watch sports on network and cable tv, read about sports in the newspaper and sports magazines, talk to friends about sports, purchase sports merchandise, participate in sports, and attend sporting events in record numbers. The sports industry has experienced tremendous growth in the 1990s and is currently estimated to be a $350 billion industry in the United States. Moreover, the sports industry is flourishing around the globe. The expansion of the sports industry has triggered a number of important outcomes: More sports related jobs are being created and more students are interested in careers in the sports industry. As student interest grows, demand for programs in sports administration and classes in sports marketing have also heightened.

In this book, we will discover the complex and diverse nature of sports marketing. Moreover, a framework will be presented to help explain and organize the strategic sports marketing process. Even if you are not a sports enthusiast, you should become excited about the unique application of marketing principles and processes to the sports industry.

Why This Book?

Programs and courses in sports marketing are emerging at universities across the country. Surprisingly, few sports marketing textbooks exist and none is written from a strategic marketing perspective. In the first edition of this book, I sought to fill this void. The second edition represents an effort to improve the first edition and capitalize on its strengths. My goals for the second edition are to provide:

• A framework or conceptual model of the strategic marketing process that can be applied to the sports industry. The contingency framework is presented as a tool for organizing the many elements that influence the strategic sports marketing process and recognizes the unpredictable nature of the sports industry. In addition, the contingency framework allows us to explore complex relationships between the elements of sports marketing.
• An appreciation for the growing popularity of women's sports and the globalization of sport. Women's sport issues and international sport topics are integrated throughout the text, and are also highlighted in each chapter with a "Spotlight on Sports Marketing."
• An examination of current research in the area of sports marketing. The study of sports marketing is still in its infancy and academic research of interest to sports marketers (e.g., sports sponsorships, using athletes as endorsers, and segmenting the sports market) has grown exponentially since the first edition of this text. It is important that students learn how academic research is applied to the "real world" of sports marketing.
• A balanced treatment of all aspects of sports marketing at all levels. This book attempts to capture the diverse and rich nature of sporting marketing by covering the marketing of athletes, teams, leagues, and special events. Although it is tempting to discuss only "major league" sports because of their intense media coverage, the book explores different sports (e.g., cricket and beach softball) and different levels of competition (e.g., collegiate and recreational). Moreover, the book discusses the activities involved in marketing to participants of sports-another area of interest to sports marketers.
• An introduction of the concepts and theories unique to sports marketing and review the basic principles of marketing in the context of sports. Even though many of the terms and core concepts are repetitive, they often take on different meanings in the context of sports marketing. Consider the term sports involvement. Although you probably recognize the term product involvement from your Principles of Marketing and/or Consumer Behavior class, what is sports involvement? Is involvement with sports based on participation or watching sports? Is involvement with sports deeper and more enduring than it is for other products that we consume? How can sports marketers apply sports involvement to develop a strategic marketing plan? As you can see, the core marketing concept of involvement in the context of sports presents a whole new set of interesting questions and a more comprehensive understanding of sports marketing.
• Comprehensive coverage of the functions of sports marketing. While some texts focus on specialized activities in sports marketing, such as sports sponsorship, this book seeks to cover all of the relevant issues in designing an integrated marketing strategy. Extensive treatment is given to understanding consumers as spectators and participants. In addition to planning the sports marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place), we will examine the execution and evaluation of the planning process.

Ground Rules

This text is organized into four distinct but interrelated parts. Each part represents an important component in the strategic sports marketing process.

Part I: Contingency Framework for Strategic Sports Marketing

In Chapter 1, we introduce sports marketing and illustrate the breadth of the field. In addition, we will take a look at the unique nature of sports products and the sports marketing mix. Chapter 2 presents the contingency framework for strategic sports marketing. This chapter also highlights the planning, implementation and control phases of the strategic sports marketing process. In Chapter 3, the impact of the internal and external contingencies on the strategic sports marketing process is examined. Internal contingencies such as the sports organization's mission and organizational culture are considered, as are external contingencies like competition, the economy and technology.

Part II: Planning for Market Selection Decisions

Chapter 4 presents an overview of the tools used to understand sports consumers—both participants and spectators. Each step in the marketing research process is discussed, illustrating how information can be gathered to aid in strategic decision-making. In Chapters 5 and 6, respectively, participants and consumers of sport are studied. Chapter 5 examines the psychological and sociological factors that influence our participation in sport, while Chapter 6 looks at spectator issues such as fan motivation. In addition, we will discuss the relationship between the participant and spectator markets. Chapter 7 explores the market selection decisions of segmentation, targeting, and positioning in the context of sport.

Part III: Planning the Sports Marketing Mix

Chapters 8 to 15 explain the sports marketing mix, the core of the strategic marketing process. Chapters 8 and 9 cover sports product issues such as brand loyalty, licensing, and the new product development process. Chapter 10 introduces the basic promotion concepts, and Chapter 11 gives a detailed description of the promotion mix elements of advertising, public relations, personal selling, and sales promotions. Chapter 12, the final chapter on promotion, is devoted to designing a sports sponsorship program. In Chapter 13, the sports distribution function is introduced. Then the discussion turns to sports retailing, the stadium as place, and sports media as a type of distribution channel. The final chapters of Part III tackle the basic concepts of pricing (Chap. 14) and pricing strategies (Chap. 15).

Part IV Implementation and Controlling the Strategic Sports Marketing Process

While the previous sections have focused on the planning efforts of the strategic marketing process, Part IV focuses on the implementation and control phases of the strategic marketing process. Chapter 16 begins with a discussion of how sports organizations implement their marketing plans. In this chapter, we see how factors such as communication, motivation, and budgeting all play a role in executing the strategic plan. We also examine how sports marketers monitor and evaluate the strategic plans after they have been implemented. Specifically, three forms of control (process, planning assumption, and contingency) are considered.

Pedagogical Advantages of Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective Retained from the First Edition

To... --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 553 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div; 1 edition (December 29, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0136218717
• ISBN-13: 978-0136218715
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,964,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A well structured approach to the subject., February 16, 1999

By 

Nigel Pope ([e-mail]) (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective (Hardcover)

Shanks has produced a solid undergraduate text. It has many examples and is well supported by case and discussion material. Also, the book makes good use of the Internet as a support medium. I am not aware of whether or not an instructors package is available. If not, that is a failing.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective (Hardcover)

It tackles the various topics in sports marketing with great clarity and all the chapters integrate seamlessly. It explains concepts with good, clear everday sport examples.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good condition product, delivery is too long., May 25, 2009

By 

Denis Zhukov (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective (Hardcover)

The condition of the book is decent as described. But the delivery was very very delayed. It took them about 2 weeks to ship the item and another 10 days to deliver it. That's not what I read when I ordered it. Be careful.