Title: Major Leagues Sports Marketing in North America and Its Emergence Internationally
Abstract:ABSTRACT Sport marketing is a relatively young professional and academic field. Young in that it only recently has received the attention befitting an aspect of the overall marketing field that holds ...ABSTRACT Sport marketing is a relatively young professional and academic field. Young in that it only recently has received the attention befitting an aspect of the overall marketing field that holds the number of opportunities to create significant relationships between consumers and corporations. Of the four major leagues of sport in North America, the ones that place an emphasis on marketing themselves well are easily separated from those that have not. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has experienced 12 years of growth in large part due to the presence of gifted marketers in high ranking positions (Lefton, 1996). The National Hockey League (NHL) began its own growth spurt after naming a former NBA executive as its commissioner (Cohen, 1994). These two leagues have taken similar routes, and are both arriving at success. That's more than can be said for their brethren, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL). These two leagues have found their own paths to lackluster fan interest, sagging merchandise sales, and poor overall images. The retirement of one sport's commissioner and the death of the other's have altered the marketing leadership for each league. Combined with labor stoppages and an increase in franchise mobility, the lack of a creative marketing emphasis in each league's strategic planning has caused significant difficulties for the organizations and their members. This paper discusses the marketing efforts of each league and provides recommendations to improve the reputation, value, and salability of each league in the consumer's mind. These recommendations are based on a literature review of selected trade magazines and journal articles and pertinent information derived from the marketing discipline.Read More
Publication Year: 1999
Publication Date: 1999-12-31
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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