This fall, the return of sports is generating more excitement than ever. Many sports fans suffered immense disappointment when sports had to shut down unexpectedly. As sports teams begin to gear up this year, they're generating a huge amount of enthusiasm.
What does that mean for your business? An opportunity to bring that excitement to your business, encouraging your current and potential customers to connect with you. With these strategies, you can position your business alongside sports this fall, allowing you to experience those critical advantages.
Capitalizing on the Return of Sports
The return of sports will be pivotal for many businesses. It's an opportunity for you to set your brand apart: a way to distinguish yourself from your competition as you show that you support consumers in your local area. Sports fans are incredibly loyal, and that translates to the businesses that support them. An emotional connection can transfer to your business, which can help increase your sales. Sports fans want to support the brands that support their teams, and your brand can take advantage of that critical connection.
Sports advertising this year is more important than ever. The emotion surrounding the return of sports is incredibly high. People are more excited than ever about supporting their local sports teams. They're more invested and eager for the upcoming season. Sports not only represent an important pastime and a chance to support their teams, but they also represent a return to normalcy. By connecting your brand with those sports teams, you can connect that excitement to your business, leading to more customers coming through your doors.
How to Align Your Brand with Sports
This fall, your business has several opportunities to align your brand with local sports teams. You don't have to rely on expensive sponsorship of your local sports teams. Instead, look for ways to align your brand with sports and take advantage of all the benefits.
On social media, you can generate excitement about the upcoming games. Share information about how your brand can help consumers make the most of game day, whether they're tailgating or watching the game from home. Do you have some great recipes or decorations that can help enhance the overall experience? Are you a restaurant that can offer fantastic tailgating food? You could also try offering gameday deals. Provide a discount just for game days or offer a specific discount if your local team wins. Get creative, then share that information on social media.
Sports fans are eager to discuss their excitement about returning games. They know that this year's games may look very different or that they may not be able to attend as many games in person, but they're excited about that return nonetheless. When you offer a place for sports fans to talk about those upcoming opportunities, you connect that enthusiasm and excitement to your business. This can encourage customers to make purchases from your store or check out what you have to offer.
In your television ads, connect your brand with those local teams. Share information about those gameday promotions. Use your team's colors and talk about how excited you are for the return. A local sports bar, for example, might do a commercial on game days that offers a special delivery, takeout, or dine-in order just for the game. Let viewers know when they have to order by in order to guarantee delivery before the game starts.
You don't have to rely on specific ads alone, either. You could also choose to sponsor a sports-related segment. Position your commercials before, during, or after games. Local hospitals might want to sponsor the injury report, while a restaurant might sponsor a segment that shows off coveted game day recipes. While you want to be creative, it’s important to make sure your ads maintain your branding.
Your game day ads are something that you should start working on now. You want a comprehensive advertising plan set in place before the season actually begins. Aside from the content itself, it’s equally important that you get the prime commercial spots you are looking for. This will position your brand in front of your target audience at the right time.
It's time to start thinking about how you can position your business alongside sports this fall. Connect with a local media partner to get critical insight on every aspect of the process and start working on your upcoming sports promotions. A media partner can help you put together those ads, come up with your strategy, and evaluate the success of your ads while providing vital information about your local demographic and the aspects of this season they'll connect with the most. Sports fans are excited for the upcoming season. Don’t miss out on a chance to connect your brand with that enthusiasm!
