Life in the Sports Marketing Playground

A guide to your Marketing methodology - playground style.....

Having spent the early formative years of my life at some of the world’s most exciting playgrounds, and some of the later years working in some of the globe’s most interesting sporting environments - I feel perfectly well placed to look at how the two intertwine......

There are many approaches that you can take when managing your sports marketing efforts and resources - but with a quick look at the various options available in the playground - life becomes a whole lot easier.....

For childish advice - read on.....

The Slide - often the first ride you head for but... it takes a huge effort to reach the start and you expend all your energy before you get any results.  Then - as soon as you ‘let go’ - you are out of control until arriving at the end - normally arriving oh too quickly and with a bump....  so - lessons learned.....

• the ‘big splash’ is a risky way to go...  You should normally undertake your work in stages (even if you build up to a big splash at the key date)... 
• you should always have control over your results - so you can adjust on the fly if need be....

The Swing - less effort to get moving than the slide - you can build momentum as you control your speed, but it is a one person journey that constrains you in the (2) directions that you can go....

• a good option if you are new to the game/ground - but pretty limited in the results that you can deliver
• It’s tough to involve others (more resources) once you have started...

The Cargo-Net - this at least lets you go in different directions, as you clamber around.    It sure is a lot of fun thrashing about (do you really know where you are going....?) - but you can get stuck or bogged down if you slip... Your friends can join in but it needs a lot of looking after to make sure no one gets hurt....

• it just feels like this might be a tad messy / disorganized....  there needs to be a plan behind your marketing efforts - a direction that you know you want to head in...
• real success will be delivered on the basis of a solid foundation (of knowledge / market research / planning) - the holes in the net are just too big to be fully stable in the C-net..

The Tree-House - sold base, safely surrounded with a roof and some walls, with room for your friends to squeeze in.  You even find time and room for some toys or some dolls to entertain you...  Surely the can’t miss metaphor for good marketing practices.....  We’re getting closer for sure - but sadly the treehouse is not Marketing playground nirvana - 

• walls are never a good idea - they simply constrain your efforts and your view...  let’s not get started on the roof - no one wants to see a ceiling on our aspirations / targets (certainly not when marketeers are involved)
• tree houses are generally ...... in trees - tough to get to and dangerous if you fall...
• and there was always something a bit elitist about the treehouse....

So - after all that negativity - what’s the ultimate playground ride to show you the marketing way....  drum roll......

The Roundabout - surely everybody’s favorite ride (unless you are the one to get left on too late after an ‘overspin’).....  Here’s why it’s my Marketing bliss - 

• You have full control over your efforts....  you can start slow and speed up....  you can stop, go back, change direction pretty much whenever you want (admittedly if you are flying it takes a bit of effort)......  you are fluid / you are flexible / you are adaptable...
• your range of view is 360 degrees - and you look out onto your playground with a full 360 degree pretty much 24/7 (as you spin round and around)....
• you can do it alone, but you can welcome your colleagues onto the ride whenever you want - and there are controls / constraints within the ride to keep everything working smoothy (even at great pace - we can all hang on)....
• If everything is working well - then the results keep getting better and better - and as you put more effort in - the results will follow...
• and most of all.....  It’s pure unadulterated fun gawdarnit.....

Thanks for playing / listening - I am off to have some fun....