Space for women!
After all, sports are a tremendous reflection of society. As a result, it's no surprise that women are playing a larger role in this sector. Soccer, for example, is attracting a larger female following. Consider the recent European women's soccer championships, which were held in Italy as well.…and also for seniors
The population is becoming older, especially in the Western world...but it's also getting more energetic and vibrant.
Because of their purchasing power, “seniors” are (and will be) an increasingly important target for sports marketing (an aspect not to be overlooked).
In this regard, the Adidas "Break Free" ad is a fascinating and daring example.
Young people and esports
If earlier sports marketing trends focused on older demographics, this one is primarily focused on younger demographics...who are also among the most difficult for businesses to reach. Learning to do so, on the other hand, is essential: it's also crucial to understand the market's movements.Responsibility and sustainability
Another element that is rapidly attracting the attention of younger generations is that of brand social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
It's clear that people are more sensitive to these concerns. It's enough to look around: from Future's Fridays to social media hashtags, as well as "vintage" TV advertisements.
Intercepting communities
There are highly close groups of fans, enthusiasts, as well as technicians and experts, who gather around sports.
It is critical to intercept these communities. And it may be done in a variety of ways: for example, through Big Data analysis; through the use of influencers and micro-influencers (which we will return to in the following two paragraphs); or, even better, by combining the two techniques.
Super Influencers…
We frequently hear that influencer marketing has been shrinking in recent years. And it's true: prominent influencers are no longer seen as "genuine" as a result of their growing fame (and this was their strength). But there's a catch: there are two methods to fix the problem.
The first isn't anything new: look to celebrities, or "Super Influencers."
…and Micro Influencers
Picking up where we left off, the polar opposite – but as successful – approach is to resort to "Micro Influencers" or "Nano Influencers."
These are people that have a far more direct and genuine contact with their audience, which results in higher levels of engagement and loyalty.
Intercepting individuals
We started with the huge numbers and are now working our way back to people in a more "surgical" manner.
Personalization is the true trend in sports marketing, and it is the most potent and successful.
Personalization is wearable
A very interesting example of the collection of personal data, which is fundamental for personalized marketing, is the increasingly widespread diffusion of wearable devices, known as wearables (in this segment, again, Nike takes the lion’s share; for more details see here).
According to a recent survey, sales of wearables will reach $95 million by 2021 (statista.com).
Needless to say, the many opportunities lurking in this specific sector are on the rise.
AR, VR, MR: what are we talking about?
Let's start with the abbreviations: AR stands for Augmented Reality, whereas VR stands for Virtual Reality. MR (Mixed Reality) is a less well-known term that refers to the so-called Hybrid Reality, which is an environment in which "digital things" and "physical objects" coexist and interact.
This is no longer science fiction, and it has been for some years.