The DataPOWA view on the most important talking points in the worlds of sport sponsorship and digital.
The smart application of data is critical for the growth of women’s sport in the UK, according to a new Ticketmaster report.
The company’s annual State of Play study found that 60% of the 12,000 people surveyed agreed that women’s sport is increasing in popularity, but only three in ten said they’d actually attend a women’s sport event in 2019.
While this is undoubtedly a problem, Adam Newsam, managing director of Ticketmaster Sport, believes it’s one that can be overcome with data.
“It is a huge opportunity for us,” he explained. “We are in this unique position whereby we can leverage the research and insight and apply it and get more bums on seats.
“Forget sport, there are 30 million people in our transactional database – those 30 million people are live event fans.
“Just because they bought a U2 ticket, that doesn’t mean that they only like U2. We are absolutely uniquely positioned to get new live sports events in front of live event fans and consumers.
“We need to make sure we are not doing the marketing of 15 years ago by just sending 30 million people an email. That is another way in which the industry has changed and a way in which we have changed in how we market and analyse and how we do the insight.
“It is about getting the right message in front of the right people at the right time, but based on science rather than just based on guesswork.”
For more on this story, please visit Sports Pro Media
Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has invested more than £200 million into Premiership Rugby.
The company has bought a minority shareholding, thought to be around 27%, having previously had a bid for 51% rejected earlier in 2018.
The funds will be spent on improving club venues and facilities and growing the sport around the world.
“This is a landmark new partnership,” said Ian Ritchie, chairman of Premiership Rugby. “It is positive news for the league, the clubs and the game. It takes the clubs to a new level and is the heralding of a new era.
“They key thing for the next few years is to build the facilities, the infrastructure and the investment in central marketing.”
For more on this story, please visit BBC Sport
The Football Association has teamed up with Twitter to give football supporters around the world access to FA Cup highlights through the platform’s Direct Messaging functionality.
Fans of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City who live outside the UK will be able get clips of matches featuring those teams by following an official FA Cup account.
Up to eight 30 second clips (four from each half) will be available during and just after the game. At midnight following the match, another two-minute clip will be sent, with a 10 minute highlights package made available at noon the next day.
The FA’s head of marketing Georgina Lewis explained: “The partnership with Twitter is vital to ensure the competition remains at the forefront of fan engagement and ensures that fans across the world have live access to some of the biggest fixtures, regardless of their daily schedule or location.
“This approach fits within our overriding strategy to be innovative in delivering experiences in line with how modern fans are consuming sports media and want to engage with the competition in the future.”
For more on this story, please visit Sports Pro Media
Betting companies invest over £263.6 million a year in sports sponsorship, according to new figures released by SportCal.
Football, horse racing and basketball are the most popular sports, with football claiming 58% of the 358 deals that are currently active, horse racing earning 14% and basketball 8%.
Conrad Wiacek, head of sponsorship at Sportcal, explained: “Due to marketing and advertising restrictions in numerous territories, the betting industry hasn’t been able to gain a foothold outside of certain key markets.
“In the UK, for example, partnerships with betting brands are well established and numerous, especially in sports such as soccer and horse racing.
“Horse racing is particularly dependent on the betting market, but soccer has leveraged partnerships with betting brands to tremendous effect, with many smaller teams using partnerships with betting brands to significantly increase their sponsorship revenue.”
For more on this story, please visit Compelo
Manchester United’s decision to part company with Jose Mourinho is likely to have had such strong impact on the brand that the club will enjoy significant financial benefits.
United’s stock market value increased by £170m after the announcement, and Kieran Maguire of the University of Liverpool believes that there’s more still to come.
“They’ve probably made money by sacking him,” he said.
“[Mourinho] was turning into a toxic brand for the club. The opportunity to have someone in who could be a bit more media friendly, have a positive impact on commercial sponsors and advertisers – the stock market likes the idea of that.”
However, Maguire sounded a note of caution, insisting that on-field results must arrive soon to keep the financial positivity going.
“Manchester United, their success in the stock market and as a commercial entity, is very much based on delivering trophies on the pitch. They can’t go for a sustained time without that.”
For more on this story, please visit Sky Sports
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