Northwestern University Newsfeed

June 26, 2006

REIN: You have limited time and money. People are just very busy, You have new media with the opportunity for all these different sports to reach people and fragment the market, and …finally…you’ve got globalization, which means that you have sports invading other countries, other places. What really you have is an incredible marketing mix that’s never existed before in sports history.

Rein says sports organizations must do a number of things in order to adapt to today’s marketplace…

REIN: That means really getting inside the fans mind and how they understand things…building real connections…engaging them in ways they’ve never been engaged before. Also, with new media, people are just eight…nine times a day using media…various forms. Finding those platforms and developing the storylines in order to connect with them…that’s really essential. And also, the bar has gone up. That is, people expect better facilities, better food, better hospitality than ever before in sports history.

Rein says it’s important for sports to use all available media tools…

REIN: For years…for decades really, sports have depended on the free media for publicity, promotion, and marketing. And because of the fact that media is fragmented…in some cases like newspapers, they’ve begun to disappear…what you are seeing is that successful sports are figuring ways to get on the net using streaming, podcasts, whatever…to tell their story and in doing so are getting a tremendous advantage in the marketplace.

Rein says there are a number of sports and organizations that have adapted well to the changing marketplace...

REIN: You could take a look at the way soccer, for example, is expanding in the United States. They made a decision that they needed their own dedicated stadiums…small stadiums…their own stadiums so they can create the kind of fan atmosphere and control the elements that they know are necessary to build the sport. Or you can go down to the high school level and take a team like Southlake Carroll, which is a suburb of Dallas. They basically built a program on tremendous fan commitment from the people who live in the various areas, and then built a world-class stadium to house it. Including an elaborate place where people can buy their products.