Author: Mike Selvon

Sure, one could argue we’re in the midst of an economic downturn, that people are spending less on luxury items, that the tourism industry is suffering, but don’t kid yourself. Marketing sports is still a lucrative business. It always has been; it always will be.

When you see people running down the street, double-fisting beer, wearing facepaint and loaded up with imprinted merchandise, it’s hard to think that these manic sports fans are governed by logical reasoning. Sports marketing is fun because you’re connecting with people’s emotions, their local pride, their competitive spirit and their quest for distinction. In many ways, you couldn’t ask for a more perfect set up.

You have a gold-mine if your team is doing particularly well. Other businesses and corporate sponsors know this. Therefore, it’s important that you take time to consider the wants and needs of your sports fans. There are some givens, of course.

For instance, alcohol and marketing sports just seem to go hand-in-hand. If you’ve ever seen a rabble rouse of maniacal sports fans running down the block to the stadium with two beer cans in hand, yelling at the top of their lungs, covered in war paint and wearing logo products, then you know this.

Local restaurants and hotel chains may also be willing to do business with you, as food and sports or travel and sports often go hand-in-hand as well. They’ll be making a ton of money, so coughing up some cash to sponsor your event won’t be an issue. This area of marketing is particularly salient if your team needs a new stadium or training facility.

Another tactic for marketing sports is to redesign fresh logo products. They may have purchased the Buffalo Sabres jersey last year, but since you’ve redesigned the logo this year, they may feel like, “Well I don’t have THAT one!” said Karen Raugust, editor of Brooklyn trade publication Licensing Letter.

She says that marketing managers must keep up with aesthetic trends to keep their bottom line healthy. “Although sports have become more a part of our popular culture, people are buying these sports clothes mainly because they like the way they look,” Raugust explained. “It’s become a fad. A lot of these folks are wearing t-shirts, and they don’t even know what sport the team plays.”

As well, you can focus your marketing sports efforts on offering unique imprinted merchandise, like bobblehead characters, stress relievers, imprinted pens or “beer koozies.” Watches, telephones and videos have become hot ticket items, experts say. Many cross-promotional efforts are marketing unique gifts.

Author: Carol Bentley

Why is direct response marketing and direct response copywriting more cost effective for businesses - especially smaller or start-up businesses? And what’s the difference anyhow?

Direct response marketing is when you expect to get an immediate reaction to your marketing activity. For example if you attend a trade show where you are selling your product off the stand - you are getting an immediate response to your offer. If you have a stand offering your service and you arrange appointments to visit someone to discuss how you can help them; you have a direct response to your marketing activity.

Part of your direct response marketing activity includes writing; direct response copywriting. This is when you write an advert or letter about your product or service to which you expect people to take action; they ask for more information; place an order; attend a seminar; visit your website etc.

Because your letter or advert is written in a specific way to generate a response you can measure how effective your communication is - e.g. if you send a letter to 500 people and you get 5 responses then you know your direct response rate is 1%; if you got 15 then it would be 3%.

The opposite is general advertising, like you see in glossy magazines, on the TV or hear on the radio - they tend to be ‘branding’ marketing; getting the company’s brand or product known rather than getting people to take action because of the advert.

More Cost Effective

One of the advantages of direct response marketing and copywriting is you can monitor exactly how much each new customer is costing you to acquire. Which means you can make an informed decision about whether or not your advertising or mailing is worth continuing.

For example: You place an advert in a local paper that costs you £200 (aprox $400). The advert invites readers to request a free report. Let’s say you get 10 requests - I’m keeping the numbers simple to make it easier for me to work the figures out! :¬). You send the reports and then follow up with a phone call or whatever strategy you use.

Suppose from the 10 who inquired you got 2 new customers. That initial cost to acquire is £100 ($200) per new customer (the original cost of the advert divided by the number of people who bought). If the sale you made was £50 ($100) your initial reaction might be the advert was not a good thing to do. But you need to look at the whole picture before deciding…

What Is Your Customer Really Worth?

You need to know how much a customer (on average) is likely to spend with you over time. Let’s say your new customer spends £50 in the first transaction. They like what they get and they continue to buy from you; say another £300 ($600) over the next couple of years. Now compare that to your initial cost to find that new customer. £100 ($200) spend to get £350 ($700) worth of business may seem more attractive.

Building On Your Success

But the real power of direct response copywriting is that you now have the knowledge to improve that first result you got.