Globally, social and digital media have allowed leagues, teams and athletes to cut out the middlemen and interact directly with their fans. Sports properties are investing in creating content that brings fans closer and setting up "communities" that let fans interact. They understand that they need to provide a constant flow of valuable and interesting information to keep fans engaged, something their media partners have long done. South African marketers are yet to properly utilise this very important part of fan engagement - even worse they are yet to incorporate it into their marketing strategy and budget.
Former Head of Olympic Marketing at Lloyds Banking Group in the UK, Gordon Lott, comments saying "...sponsorship must always be seen within the wider brand marketing portfolio. It should be part of an integrated strategy to help businesses meet their objectives. For example, digital and social media has had a transformative effect on advertising as well as sponsorship, which has created new opportunities for sponsorship (and 'partnership marketing'), particularly in terms of one-to-one brand engagement and helping brands build a dialogue with consumers."
Lott will be among the many high profile speakers lined up to discuss these issues and share their expertise at the inaugural Sports Sponsorship & Marketing conference, which will be taking place on 16 - 18 July 2012 at The Wanderers, Illovo, Johannesburg.
For more information, visit the website, www.iir.co.za/sportsmarketing or contact Katia Selibas on +27 (0) 11 771 7227, az.oc.rii@sabilesk.
