Collegiate sports and consumer brand marketing challenges

Ben is joined by CMO at LEARFIELD, Jennifer Davis, to discuss the use of collegiate athletics for marketing success. Whether it’s football or baseball, win or lose, these events are always heavily sponsored. That is understandable as college sports events draw a huge audience. Today, Ben and Jennifer talk about collegiate sports and consumer brand marketing challenges.
About the speaker

Jennifer Davis

LEARFIELD

 - LEARFIELD

Jennifer is the CMO at LEARFIELD

Show Notes

  • 02:11
    Learfield IMG College
    Learfield IMG College is the top collegiate sports marketing company in the US. They are responsible for providing collegiate sports marketing opportunities, ticketing support and more to brands.
  • 03:54
    Why brands are thinking about collegiate sports marketing
    Audience and targeting overlap is one of the main reasons brands are seeking out collegiate sports marketing opportunities. Simply put, college sports have a huge fan base, most of whom are extremely emotionally and financially invested.
  • 06:39
    The brands that benefit the most from college sports marketing
    There are some B2B brands benefitting from college sports marketing. But the major stakeholders are B2C companies.
  • 08:17
    B2B brands versus B2C brands in collegiate sports marketing
    College sports attract millions of people across the country. That leaves a huge market for brands who want to reach a national audience, B2B, and those who are seeking out a smaller audience, mostly B2C.
  • 09:48
    Sports marketing on the local, regional, and national level
    After many years in the business, Learfield IMG College has mastered unique strategies to target both locally and nationally. This is done using mixed media marketing both in and out of the stadium. It all depends on the individual goal of the brand concerned.
  • 12:25
    Marketing strategies used by different brands
    Theres a lot of rivalry and loyalty in college sports fandom. Some brands hold on to this and wont sponsor a rival school. But other brands enter collegiate sports on a totally non-personal level and sponsor based on things like location.

Quotes

  • "Learfield IMG College is a leading provider of college sports marketing services to brands. We are the leading provider of multimedia rights." - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • "We build intercollegiate, athletic, official websites and apps. And we bring those together increasingly into a platform that allows brands to connect to fans" - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • "There's a high degree of overlap in what many consumer brands want to connect with... Audience targeting overlap is one of those key value propositions." - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “There are more college sports fans than there are fans of any professional link...” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “...their fandom is on their resume as much as it is in their closet with all their gear on the bumper sticker...” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “People love their Honeywell thermostat, but people are not mentioning those brands in their obituaries and they're not leaving money in their will…” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “...but people have that kind of multi-generational loyalty to their colleges.” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “There are some notable B2B campaigns, but overwhelmingly we are used as part of a B2C marketing mix...” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “There are 150 million college sports fans or more, and people see those as part of their potential audience.” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “Many brands for decades now have used college sports marketing as a way to integrate themselves into the community...” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

  • “Some brands absolutely would not sponsor their cross-the-river rival, but then there are other brands that want to attract audiences in particular states or geographies...” - Jennifer Davis, CMO, Learfield IMG College

About the speaker

Jennifer Davis

LEARFIELD

 - LEARFIELD

Jennifer is the CMO at LEARFIELD

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