Three business drivers for sponsors
Sponsorships that don’t help the business are donations. Amazon’s multi-year partnership with the NWSL is a business decision. Awareness, engagement or sales are what sports entities can offer. And, everything needs to lead to the third. So, this is our job. Help with...
Adidas, show me the money
“We are not anti-sports, we are pro-profitability”. This is what Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, answered about why the streaming platform doesn’t invest in big sports events live streaming. The same statement could have been made by the President of the German FA (DFB)...
Investing USD 7M in a Super Bowl ad
Was it worth investing USD 7 million for a 30-second ad during the LVIII Super Bowl? While advertisers’ marketing departments prepare to prove a good result from Sunday, let’s reflect on its value for brands. The Super Bowl, as the World Cup or Formula 1 GP, needs to...
The language gap
In the last post the other side of the table, I shared some lessons learned about marketing partnerships from a sponsor perspective. On this one, the objective is to discuss how the interaction with potential sponsors can be improved. In other words, to speak the same...
The other side of the table
My journey in sports marketing started at a 2nd division football club in Spain in my hometown, Tarragona. An internship, which evolved into my first professional contract, became an accelerated MBA. After structuring the commercial inventory of the club, and...
Artificial intelligence and human work
Hey, ChatGPT, how can sports marketers stay relevant considering the growth of artificial intelligence? Sports marketers can stay relevant in the age of artificial intelligence by continuously educating themselves about AI and its applications in marketing, leveraging...
Getting a job in Sports Marketing
How can I take the first step? How can I level up in my sports marketing career? To those seeking job opportunities in the sports business, this is for you. Rather than a playbook, which doesn't exist, here are some insights from experience that could help. We do...
Solid product, growing business
The World Cup is back. Since 2019, women’s football has proven its impressive trajectory and promising future with several sponsorship, attendance and viewership records. Last year, the final of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations gathered 50,000 spectators, 91,000...
Thoughts about the experience in Qatar
Argentina won the FIFA World Cup. Qatar crowned one winner, except it wasn’t the only one. Our job is to deliver what winning means for fans, brands and media. The trophy can be found in exposure, engagement, community or business. Commonly, a combination of them....
Learning from Serena Williams’ brand
Is women’s sport narrative obsolete? A widespread message of equality, purpose and sacrifice builds most stories about female athletes, teams and competitions. But, are they all the same? The story we tell ourselves about the product is the product. On Running was...
What I learned in Sports Marketing
Doing work you’re proud of is the shortest path. A recent Harvard Business Review study shows how the habit of reflection, particularly on surprise, failure and frustration, can separate extraordinary careers from average ones. On my way to nine years in sports...
“The biggest women’s European sport event”
The sports industry is competing for attention and purpose-driven engagement like never before, with events like the FIFA World Cup, Formula 1 or Super Bowl and social causes like sustainability, gender equality and human rights. While FIFA aims to make the FIFA World...
CaixaBank’s Equal Pay
More than 50% of the digital conversation about banks in Spain is negative and, in general, 60% of Twitter users expect a response to their tweet within an hour. Evictions, non-payments, mortgage or bank bailout were the top negative mentions around banks in early...
City, F1 and the game of governance
Fans, fans, fans. We tend to think of fan-centric strategies as the only magic formula to drive engagement and business. But, do you know what was City’s biggest challenge in launching the successful Amazon Prime documentary? Getting the football side of the...
Marketing myopia in football business
“We are the only football club in the world that does not monetise social media, ironically there is a lot about how we supposedly want to monetise everything”, explained Manchester United’s CEO of Media Phil Lynch to SportsPro. While the football industry rushes to...
Fortnite, the closest to the Metaverse
The future will look a little bit like Fortnite. According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “the metaverse is the successor of the mobile internet, the next big technological challenge of the following decade”. Football is entertainment, and entertainment is...
The fan of the future is here
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”, said Henry Ford. Does data contain all answers? Did fans ask for fan tokens, now an industry generating more than $200 million in annual revenue? Our job is to push the boundaries of fan...
From sponsorship to digital marketing agencies
“Obsess over customers, invent on behalf of them and think long term”. These are the three main pillars behind the success of Amazon’s fan-centric strategy, according to their current executive chairman, Jeff Bezos. In their journey into entertainment, sports rights...
“We want to become the first big club of the XXI century”
If you had to design the club of the future, how would it look like? DUX Gaming is a club created by the founders of Vizz Agency, one of the top influencers agencies that works with Ibai Llanos and ElRubius, radically moved away from the traditional model. Focused on...
TikTok, the home of football culture
Is TikTok the “next big thing” in social media? Yes, with more than 2 billion downloads globally, the Chinese platform already overcame Instagram as the third most-downloaded app. Consolidated worldwide with increased downloads and engagement of 96% and 27%...
Becoming the ‘Netflix of football’
In the vital need of connecting to a disengaged young generation, football brands are transforming into entertainment hubs. Data and content are becoming strategic pillars of worldwide clubs, leagues and federations. An investment to not only offer personalised...
How the digital business is transforming football
“Football would be nothing without traditional local fans”. True. However, are we aware that most of the teams we admire would not probably win any trophy if it weren’t for their global audience? Manchester United’s stadium Old Trafford has a capacity of 76,000 seats....
“We move towards a more social sports industry”
Marketing is no longer about creating a product, the way we market is the product. Every single interaction from our fans with our brand matters, being football just a secondary detail in many cases. And, as our next guest explains, we are facing a mindset challenge....
FC Barcelona Women projects a revenue of 4.8M€
What are the main revenue streams of a top team in women’s football? In Spain, Primera Iberdrola registers multi-million euro losses each season and the pandemic prevented clubs from receiving up to 600,000 euros in TV rights last season. Clearly a market in its...
Behind Barça’s new digital strategy
“The future of any sports property is to be a media and data company”. With this statement for 2Playbook, Dídac Lee, former FC Barcelona board member who has led the biggest digital transformation in the club, developed a strategy designed to leverage the most...
2021: The new game of sports marketing
People would not care if 77% of brands disappeared. The truth is, brands are already disappearing because of the pandemic. How could sport help to fill that gap in meaning? The sports sponsorship market fell from $46.1 billion in 2019 to $28.9 billion in 2020, a 37%...
“We tend to quantify audiences, the social conversation is essential”
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. Peter Drucker, known as one of the greatest thinkers in business and management, made evident the need of knowledge to be able to improve. If return of investment in sports was difficult to be seen without a minimum of...
Guaraná, the accelerator of women’s football in Brazil
“First of all, I would like to apologize on behalf of the brand for not having understood how important women’s football was until last year”. Guaraná Antarctica, probably one of the brands with a more profound blend into any country’s culture. Brazil cannot be...
eSports, key for the entertainment of football
From geek to cool. In a highly-competed and global race for fans’ attention, eSports have emerged as a lifeboat to maintain football relevant. While two out of five young people simply don’t care about football, the intersection between technology and experience can...
“Nobody beats us when it comes to engagement”
“Secret, I bought this deodorant because you’re a sponsor of the NWSL”, or “My first Budweiser, thanks for supporting the NWSL”. According to the NWSL’s Vice President of Business Development, Lindsay Barenz, on a recent participation at the Athens Women’s Football...
Three business drivers for sponsors
Sponsorships that don’t help the business are donations. Amazon’s multi-year partnership with the NWSL is a business decision. Awareness, engagement or sales are what sports entities can offer. And, everything needs to lead to the third. So, this is our job. Help with...
Adidas, show me the money
“We are not anti-sports, we are pro-profitability”. This is what Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, answered about why the streaming platform doesn’t invest in big sports events live streaming. The same statement could have been made by the President of the German FA (DFB)...
Investing USD 7M in a Super Bowl ad
Was it worth investing USD 7 million for a 30-second ad during the LVIII Super Bowl? While advertisers’ marketing departments prepare to prove a good result from Sunday, let’s reflect on its value for brands. The Super Bowl, as the World Cup or Formula 1 GP, needs to...
The language gap
In the last post the other side of the table, I shared some lessons learned about marketing partnerships from a sponsor perspective. On this one, the objective is to discuss how the interaction with potential sponsors can be improved. In other words, to speak the same...
The other side of the table
My journey in sports marketing started at a 2nd division football club in Spain in my hometown, Tarragona. An internship, which evolved into my first professional contract, became an accelerated MBA. After structuring the commercial inventory of the club, and...
Artificial intelligence and human work
Hey, ChatGPT, how can sports marketers stay relevant considering the growth of artificial intelligence? Sports marketers can stay relevant in the age of artificial intelligence by continuously educating themselves about AI and its applications in marketing, leveraging...
Getting a job in Sports Marketing
How can I take the first step? How can I level up in my sports marketing career? To those seeking job opportunities in the sports business, this is for you. Rather than a playbook, which doesn't exist, here are some insights from experience that could help. We do...
Solid product, growing business
The World Cup is back. Since 2019, women’s football has proven its impressive trajectory and promising future with several sponsorship, attendance and viewership records. Last year, the final of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations gathered 50,000 spectators, 91,000...
Thoughts about the experience in Qatar
Argentina won the FIFA World Cup. Qatar crowned one winner, except it wasn’t the only one. Our job is to deliver what winning means for fans, brands and media. The trophy can be found in exposure, engagement, community or business. Commonly, a combination of them....
Learning from Serena Williams’ brand
Is women’s sport narrative obsolete? A widespread message of equality, purpose and sacrifice builds most stories about female athletes, teams and competitions. But, are they all the same? The story we tell ourselves about the product is the product. On Running was...
What I learned in Sports Marketing
Doing work you’re proud of is the shortest path. A recent Harvard Business Review study shows how the habit of reflection, particularly on surprise, failure and frustration, can separate extraordinary careers from average ones. On my way to nine years in sports...
“The biggest women’s European sport event”
The sports industry is competing for attention and purpose-driven engagement like never before, with events like the FIFA World Cup, Formula 1 or Super Bowl and social causes like sustainability, gender equality and human rights. While FIFA aims to make the FIFA World...
CaixaBank’s Equal Pay
More than 50% of the digital conversation about banks in Spain is negative and, in general, 60% of Twitter users expect a response to their tweet within an hour. Evictions, non-payments, mortgage or bank bailout were the top negative mentions around banks in early...
City, F1 and the game of governance
Fans, fans, fans. We tend to think of fan-centric strategies as the only magic formula to drive engagement and business. But, do you know what was City’s biggest challenge in launching the successful Amazon Prime documentary? Getting the football side of the...
Marketing myopia in football business
“We are the only football club in the world that does not monetise social media, ironically there is a lot about how we supposedly want to monetise everything”, explained Manchester United’s CEO of Media Phil Lynch to SportsPro. While the football industry rushes to...
Fortnite, the closest to the Metaverse
The future will look a little bit like Fortnite. According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “the metaverse is the successor of the mobile internet, the next big technological challenge of the following decade”. Football is entertainment, and entertainment is...
The fan of the future is here
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”, said Henry Ford. Does data contain all answers? Did fans ask for fan tokens, now an industry generating more than $200 million in annual revenue? Our job is to push the boundaries of fan...
From sponsorship to digital marketing agencies
“Obsess over customers, invent on behalf of them and think long term”. These are the three main pillars behind the success of Amazon’s fan-centric strategy, according to their current executive chairman, Jeff Bezos. In their journey into entertainment, sports rights...
“We want to become the first big club of the XXI century”
If you had to design the club of the future, how would it look like? DUX Gaming is a club created by the founders of Vizz Agency, one of the top influencers agencies that works with Ibai Llanos and ElRubius, radically moved away from the traditional model. Focused on...
TikTok, the home of football culture
Is TikTok the “next big thing” in social media? Yes, with more than 2 billion downloads globally, the Chinese platform already overcame Instagram as the third most-downloaded app. Consolidated worldwide with increased downloads and engagement of 96% and 27%...
Becoming the ‘Netflix of football’
In the vital need of connecting to a disengaged young generation, football brands are transforming into entertainment hubs. Data and content are becoming strategic pillars of worldwide clubs, leagues and federations. An investment to not only offer personalised...
How the digital business is transforming football
“Football would be nothing without traditional local fans”. True. However, are we aware that most of the teams we admire would not probably win any trophy if it weren’t for their global audience? Manchester United’s stadium Old Trafford has a capacity of 76,000 seats....
“We move towards a more social sports industry”
Marketing is no longer about creating a product, the way we market is the product. Every single interaction from our fans with our brand matters, being football just a secondary detail in many cases. And, as our next guest explains, we are facing a mindset challenge....
FC Barcelona Women projects a revenue of 4.8M€
What are the main revenue streams of a top team in women’s football? In Spain, Primera Iberdrola registers multi-million euro losses each season and the pandemic prevented clubs from receiving up to 600,000 euros in TV rights last season. Clearly a market in its...
Behind Barça’s new digital strategy
“The future of any sports property is to be a media and data company”. With this statement for 2Playbook, Dídac Lee, former FC Barcelona board member who has led the biggest digital transformation in the club, developed a strategy designed to leverage the most...
2021: The new game of sports marketing
People would not care if 77% of brands disappeared. The truth is, brands are already disappearing because of the pandemic. How could sport help to fill that gap in meaning? The sports sponsorship market fell from $46.1 billion in 2019 to $28.9 billion in 2020, a 37%...
“We tend to quantify audiences, the social conversation is essential”
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it”. Peter Drucker, known as one of the greatest thinkers in business and management, made evident the need of knowledge to be able to improve. If return of investment in sports was difficult to be seen without a minimum of...
Guaraná, the accelerator of women’s football in Brazil
“First of all, I would like to apologize on behalf of the brand for not having understood how important women’s football was until last year”. Guaraná Antarctica, probably one of the brands with a more profound blend into any country’s culture. Brazil cannot be...
eSports, key for the entertainment of football
From geek to cool. In a highly-competed and global race for fans’ attention, eSports have emerged as a lifeboat to maintain football relevant. While two out of five young people simply don’t care about football, the intersection between technology and experience can...
“Nobody beats us when it comes to engagement”
“Secret, I bought this deodorant because you’re a sponsor of the NWSL”, or “My first Budweiser, thanks for supporting the NWSL”. According to the NWSL’s Vice President of Business Development, Lindsay Barenz, on a recent participation at the Athens Women’s Football...