Social Networking Arena

Sports has grown from a simple means of competition, recreation and fun, to a world stage of entertainment. Attracting fans means more than putting on a good performance. It means building relationships and reaching out. Prior to Lebron James leaving the Cleveland Cavilers, he himself had become an icon, attracting fans on a nightly bases. Players, coaches and franchises are using social networking sites, tweeting and advertising as a means of attracting fans.
These athletes and teams are recognized as a symbol more than they are just athletes athletes. Teams get involved in their local communities to create a good overall image. Furthermore, these professional franchises higher PR managers to insure that their athletes and teams are maintaining a steady ethical and moral image that their fans will appreciate and respect.
There's a lot more than simply pricing strategies when it comes to selling tickets and filling seats. Today your average fan wants to feel as if he or she is part of something much bigger than that, and that helps create more than a one time fan; it creates loyalty.

Sports Promotion

Promotional strategies are often measured by their success. When organizations and in this case sports team begin to promote their season, products and upcoming events the top two goals are sales and attendance. You see this all over the United States with most sports teams of all different calibers marketing their teams as a sense of locational pride. This strategy is always used in regards to creating a loyal fan base. Promotion is worth the trouble and necessary for every organizations success.
The Cleveland Browns having had a disappointing last decade is highly dependent on their loyal fans and promotion. Until this day some may consider the "Dog Pin" as one of the liveliest fan areas ever. Promoting fan loyalty is key to an ongoing success. If you compare the Browns to the Detroit Lions, who not to long ago invested a enormous amount of money into a brand new stadium, the Lions have trouble filling their stands and have had a huge decrease in their fan base. Promotion is important for both the successful and unsuccessful enterprises.

"Good Old Joe Earley Night"

Bill Veeck was a pioneer and innovator. His promotional strategies varied from gimmicks to memorable fan appreciation days like the one i am going to discuss. "Good Old Joe Earley Night" was a night that Veeck wanted to contribute to the average fan that although might struggle to make ends meet, always maintains their loyalty to Indians. The night that was chosen was the last home game of the year and Veeck swept it away with over 60,000 fans in attendance. The night went on with all sorts of prize giveaways and more importantly the home give away that was dedicated to Joe Earley, an inspiring fan.
This to me was both an exceptional presentation of appreciation to the fans and a great promotional strategy. In the end this increased fan loyalty and appreciation providing good standard for the oncoming future. Bill Veeck obviously believed in the future and realized that sometimes he had to give to receive.

Marketing Strategies for Ticket Sales

Ticket sales at both the college and professional level are key to the overall profits of the organization. Fan attendance and overall loyalty will often distinguish many other profitable factors such as; concessions and product sales. The first factor to consider when contemplating the question of whether to sell 10000 tickets at  $ 2.00 or 1000 tickets at $ 20 is the size of your facility. If we assume in this case that the facility can accommodate 20000 spectators then i would say definitely sell 10000 tickets at 2 dollars for the mere fact that, this will allow the majority of your spectators to be willing to spend money else where.
When a team or organization can max out their stadium sales in concessions, merchandise and other places will increase. Setting a low ticket price will help ensure that your facility is maxed out with spectators. Therefore, the next step to further increase profits would be proper promotion of your other products.

Superbowl Advertising

The Super Bowl is one of the best utilized sporting events when it comes to advertising and promotion. With over 100 million viewers including; those watching from home and those attending the event, companies take great initiative in strategic planning for their advertising investments. The stadium itself was full of advertising and promotional areas. Some of the areas used for advertising include; the scoreboard,  the surrounding of the field itself, the field (grass) and other high rise areas around the stadium. These areas are both viewable by those in attendance and those viewers watching all over the world.
Some of the companies that caught my eye were Bud Light, Chevy, and Fox. These companies both were advertised around the stadium, on the scoreboard and took advantage of the commericial times. NFL, the National Football League, used its own promotional strategy with their logo placed directly in the middle of the field. In the end the Super bowl was used to its best of abilities by many companies around the world.

Soccer Merchandise: Nike Buys Umbro

With the sport of soccer increasing in popularity within the United States in the past decade, sports gear manufacturers are eager to enter the market. With soccer, otherwise known as football around the globe, having such a wide market for gear Nike was eager to enter this market. In 2008, Umbro, at the time the leading supplier of soccer clothing, was bought by the largest sports equipment producer around the world, Nike. The esitmated sale of 582.2 million dollars to Nike meant Nike was now in control of the leading supplier soccer clothing and gear. Very soon after buying the company, Nike began to expand its soccer products to the Asian and European markets.

Umbro gain its upscale popularity by providing the Jerseys used to play for leading teams around the world including; England's top club Manchester United and many international teams including Brazil and England. With soccer being the leading sport of the world, entering the business is not a bad idea. The competitors include, Adidas, Rebok, Kappa and many other international companies.

"My Sports Autobiography" Rabii Karanouh

Since i was six years old, soccer has proved to be a huge part of my life. With both my father and older brother playing soccer as well, it seemed to simply run through the family. At the age of eight I began playing competitive club soccer in Windsor, Ontario Canada. Four years later my family made a move to Toronto, Ontario, and there my soccer career evolved tremendously. The potential, opportunity and competition in the Toronto area, being so highly populated, was a lot larger than I had first expected. It later proved to be one of the most crucial moves of my life as i began to get involved with the top soccer clubs in the area. Within a blink of an eye I had entered my high school years. Although high school soccer in particular was not as competitive as other sports, it was still a great experience. During my high school career I also expanded my horizons into all kinds of sports including; football, basketball, track and cross country. All year round i was constantly active and competing and where i grew up that was a lot better than what you were surrounded by in the streets.
In 2006 upon graduating high school i began my college career in Erie, PA at Mercyhurst College receiving a substantial scholarship. Although my career there proved to be short, it was both successful and enjoyable. After sitting out for one year, i migrated to Tiffin, OH to attend Tiffin University and continue my collegiate career.
Sports simply played a very dominate role in my life. In my youth and early adulthood it even gained precedence over my academics without a doubt. In my last few years of college i had to come to the realization that soccer and competitive sports would no longer be my priority. Rather, i would have to concentrate on my academics to see what my future had in store for me in the Hospitality industry.
Sports will always play a role in my life. If not recreational or as a coach, I can ensure that sports and athletics will be passed on to my children in the future, just as it was passed on to me. Furthermore, although I am not a Sports Management business major, my minor in Sports Management may one day lead me into some sort of athletic business career. I hope that one day I may work with some of the top professional soccer clubs around the world or any top sports teams for that matter.