Dec 14, 2022
Author: Evan Mullings, Senior Marketing Strategist
Major league sports are special for a lot of reasons. Everybody has a team that they root for, their favorite player, and their favorite gameday snack.
That said, as a marketer, what if I told you about another reason sports could be special?
As fans that watch mostly on television, it’s easy for some of us to assume that marketing in sports doesn’t go much further than the commercials that we see from our couches. I’m here to show you today that it goes well beyond that. Some examples of marketing in sports are more in your face, while others can easily get slipped under the rug.
Here are my Top-5:
I. Taco Bell: “Steal A Base, Steal A Taco”
Taco Bell’s partnership with Major League Baseball is a masterclass. The first player to steal a bag during the World Series each year wins free tacos for America! In the 2022 Fall 
Classic, it was Massachusetts native Kyle Schwarber who stole second base in Game 1 to activate the promotion. All you have to do is download the Taco Bell app, join the Taco Bell rewards program, and claim a free Doritos Locos Taco within ten days.
The public perception of Taco Bell has dropped over the last decade with the nationwide emergence of Chipotle and Qdoba. It’s a strong and fun marketing technique that reels consumers back in.
II. Louis Blues and The Urge
After a goal is scored by a home team in the NHL, a goal horn and song blast through the loudspeakers. It does a great job of getting fans up on their feet and excited about what’s happening down on the ice.
Each team has its own unique goal horn and song. For example, if you’ve ever been to a Bruins game, you may recognize the Kernkraft 400 chant. The Calgary Flames use T.N.T. which makes a lot of sense given their team name.
The St. Louis Blues take a different approach. The Urge, one of the most famous bands from St. Louis partnered with the Blues back in 2018 on a new goal song for the team.
Lead vocalist Steve Ewing said, “The Blues came to us and asked us to put a few ideas together for a new goal song. We looked at what was happening in other goal songs and said ‘OK, we know where we need to go with this.’ We went into the studio and put together four or five songs before settling on one. I think it turned out really nice.”
The Urge may just reel in a new generation of fans in the Mound City if their goal song carries on and it’s proven to be a phenomenal way for them to market themselves over the last few calendar years.
III. Arena and Stadium Names
This one is probably going to be the most boring one on my list, but one of the most impactful.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ legendary stadium name ‘Heinz Field’ is no more this season. 21 years ago, the Steelers agreed to a 20-year/$57M naming rights deal.
It became evident as time went on that Heinz did not want to pay the price on a new potential agreement with the yearly cost more than quadrupling this go around. As a company, Heinz is arguably famous enough that the change won’t hurt their business. That said, Vanitha Swaminathan, a marketing professor at the University of Pittsburgh believes the change will leave some unhappy Steeler fans, “I think you’ll find a lot of Steelers fans who don’t embrace this change. Extremely loyal fans don’t like these kinds of changes, and there could be some loss of equity for the Steelers if the backlash is significant.”
If an up-and-coming company has the necessary financial resources available, coming to terms on a naming rights deal with a professional sports team should boost profits immediately. Companies simply just have to ask themselves if it’s worth it which illustrates that marketing in sports brings involves the big bucks.
IV: Social Media Teams
Some of the best content on Twitter comes from professional sports teams. If you don’t believe me, check out what the Carolina Hurricanes sent out after they trounced the Nashville Predators from the playoffs a couple of years back.
The New Jersey Devils who went on an improbable 12-game winning streak earlier this season were also soaking it in on Twitter.
Quality content across all social media platforms is crucial to engage fans and it’s evident that pro sports teams have mastered that practice.
V: The Influence Athletes Have
Professional athletes are some of the most famous people in the world. The influence that many have on young men and women in society is unmatched.
Back in 1984 Nike wanted $3M in Jordan sales by 1988. Today, Nike generates $3M in Jordan sales every five hours, per Jon Erlichman.
Those numbers shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the fact that Gen Z’s purchasing decisions are strongly based on celebrity ties and endorsements, and you also have to imagine that some of the attachment from middle and high schoolers comes from when Jordan got cut from his varsity high school basketball team.
In general, there have been a lot of other powerful and influential sports figures through the years including Jackie Robinson, Serena Williams, and Muhammad Ali. Their impact on today’s consumers cannot be understated.
To Wrap:
There are so many examples of marketing in sports beyond ticket sales and it’s a microcosm of how much marketing is around us. I challenge you the next time that you’re at a professional sporting event to note as many examples of marketing as you can. I think I’ve given you enough to get started!
Schlagenhauf, Wes. “The Cost of Stadium Naming Rights Is Becoming Too Rich for Some Big Name Brands.” The Hustle, 30 June 2020, https://thehustle.co/kraft-heinz-naming-rights-steelers/.
Santana, Danni. “Inside Taco Bell’s World Series ‘Steal a Base, Steal a Taco’ Campaign.” Front Office Sports, 6 Aug. 2020, https://frontofficesports.com/taco-bell-world-series-advertising/.
NHL.com, and Chris Pinkert. “Blues Partner with the Urge for New Goal Song.” NHL.com, NHL.com, 1 Oct. 2018, https://www.nhl.com/blues/news/blues-partner-with-the-urge-for-new-goal-song/c-300496464.
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