Sport Marketing

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 7
  
• Convenor: Professor Geoff Walters
• Prerequisites: please note that the module Principles of Marketing is for non-marketing students and is a prerequisite for all specialist marketing modules.
• Assessment: a 4000-word marketing report (100%)

In this module we introduce you to the role of marketing as a key organisational function. We will consider the main principles of marketing and demonstrate how these principles are relevant for a variety of sport organisations. For example, professional sports teams that face competition from a variety of other leisure activities need to understand the needs of their supporters and develop effective strategies to maintain and increase attendances. For National Governing Bodies, marketing a development programme to increase the membership base is critical to increasing participation. In a globalised and connected world, many sport organisations must engage with their fanbases on a worldwide scale in order to build and maintain their brands. For a local health and fitness centre, strong marketing initiatives are essential for attracting new members and encouraging them to remain loyal.

Our focus will be on the application of marketing principles and processes to the sport industry, with an emphasis on research-based literature. The key components of the marketing mix are critical in order to understand the role of marketing in the sport industry. Throughout the module, the use of case study examples will enable you to develop an understanding of how marketing is applied within the sport industry and encourage you to develop your own approaches to marketing in sport.

Indicative syllabus

• Sport marketing perspectives
• Understanding and segmenting sport consumers
• Relationship marketing and fan relationship management (FRM)
• Product and pricing strategies in sport
• The experienscape: destination, venue and sport service delivery
• Creating value through brands
• Sport promotion and integrated marketing communications (IMC)
• Social media and sport
• Sport sponsorship

By the end of this module, you will:

• understand approaches to contemporary sport marketing and in particular the role of the marketing mix in the strategic sport marketing process
• appreciate how academic research can be used to understand the sports industry
• understand the roles of market research, marketing planning, product management, promotion, advertising and sponsorship, and pricing in sport management
• be able to apply the principles of marketing to a real sport industry challenge.