
Corporate Social Responsibility
Socially conscious companies walk a fine line. Excessive emphasis on perception management becomes ‘greenwashing’. Too little is ‘greenhushing’.
SPORTS MARKETING
By our News Team | 2022
With the growth of connected devices, almost 41% of global sports fans now stream live sports through digital platforms.
Nielsen Sports, a global leader in sponsorship analytics and fan intelligence, recently released ‘Fans Are Changing the Game’, its 2022 global sports marketing report.
The document reveals new behaviours fans have adopted during the pandemic to connect with the sports and teams they follow, whether through increased social media activity, betting, co-watching, or more. It also outlines how Nielsen predicts ‘Fandom’ in 2022 will impact sports sponsorship models, content distribution, the rise of crypto, e-sports and women’s sports.
Some of the key findings detail how a fan’s viewing experience has changed. With the growth of connected devices, almost 41% of global sports fans now stream live sports through digital platforms.
Photo by Riccardo from Pexels
In turn, this has led to the increase in over-the-top (OTT) media rights – which includes a 19% jump for the top European football leagues over the last two years at the local level, and a 31% increase forecasted for the men’s tennis ATP Tour through to 2023.
The demand for content remains high, with non-event broadcasts – such as highlights, recap videos and more – nearly as high as the event itself. Nielsen estimates that more than 39% of global fans will watch non-live content related to a live sports event.
In addition, sports viewership has become a multi-screen experience, with 47% of people who watch sports simultaneously interacting with other live content. This has increased by 5% over the last year.
Nielsen estimates there was a 146% year-over-year rise in unbundled sponsorship investment in women’s sports (UEFA, FIFA, World Rugby) compared to a 27% rise in 2020. With more women’s sports being televised, there are now increased sponsorship opportunities specific to women’s sport, which means that many brands are effectively reaching consumers that weren’t previously reached through sponsorships of men’s sport.
Fans are demanding new types of content
Says Marco Nazzari, Managing Director, International of Nielsen Sports: “From our work as a data-driven company and by surveying thousands of fans, it is clear to see that sports fans demand new types of content driven by innovative delivery platforms.
“In turn, this impacts how rights holders and brands should approach audience engagement and sponsorship outcomes. With sponsorship sophistication rising, measuring effectiveness at every step is now expected by brands. Predicting ROI and sales lift will be key for sports rights holders to remain relevant and secure marketing budgets from brands going forward.”
Other key trends identified in the 2022 Nielsen Sports Report:
“As traditional and digital worlds merge, the sponsorship lifecycle is now broadening, creating additional and more well-rounded monetisation opportunities,” said Nazzari. “It will become vital for brands to leverage new technology and utilise digital platforms to develop fan-engagement strategies that didn’t exist before in linear broadcasting. The fan is now the catalyst for huge change.”
Socially conscious companies walk a fine line. Excessive emphasis on perception management becomes ‘greenwashing’. Too little is ‘greenhushing’.
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