Wisdom from “The Suits”
Several days ago, a swarm of sports marketers in black suits descended on LA’s JW Marriott Hotel for the 2010 Sports Business Journal’s World Congress of Sports. 
While I’m ashamed to admit my conformity with the dress code at this annual gathering of League commissioners, team executives, and sports brand managers, I was fortunate to participate in a dialogue that yielded three important themes for athlete marketers:
1. Storytelling is an important weapon in the arsenal of the sports marketer.
2. Sports marketing is most effective when the athlete plays a central role.
3. Don’t forget . . . it’s about “the love.”
Over the course of three successive blogs, I’ll share my reflections on these themes from the 2010 World Congress of Sports.
Sports Marketers As Storytellers
There’s an old proverb that speaks to the importance of storytelling to human communication:
Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.
We spend a good part of our lives accumulating facts, whether in school or life. And, while these facts may be important, the impression of a fact can be fleeting. For example, how much do we really remember from college?
From a marketing perspective, I appreciate the proverb’s insight, as it speaks to the greater value of impressions that live in the heart, as opposed to fact-based messages. If we’re to create more valuable marketing ideas for our clients, storytelling presents us with a powerful tool.
Fortunately, the world of sports is replete with marvelous stories: overcoming challenges, winning against all odds, and personal redemption are a few examples. The 2010 World Congress of Sports highlighted marketing strategies harnessing the emotive power of storytelling in sports.
The best illustration of how emotive storytelling can positively impact consumer perception of your brand came from Mike Lynch of credit card procesor VISA. Lynch brought his ad agency creative director and VISA’s catalog of Beijing and Vancouver Olympic Games commercials to the Congress.
VISA’s Olympic marketing strategy was both simple and brilliant. As an official sponsor of the Olympic Games, VISA had the right to connect its brand to the brand of the Games, as well as all the Game’s compelling athlete stories. Through its sponsorship, however, VISA did more than simply connect its brand to a sports property.
It told the emotional stories from the Games. For instance, Dan Jansen’s courage in competing in an Olympic speed skating event the day he learned of his sister’s death. The inspirational story of the Jamaican bobsled team. An injured Derek Redmond finishing his track event with the help of his father.
All stuff that gives you goose bumps when you hear the stories. And before the goose bumps fade, while they still have the consumer’s complete attention . . . “Visa, proud sponsor of the Olympic Games, and the only card accepted there.”
Holy cow! These guys took the unbelievably mundane process of helping banks clear credit card transactions, gave you the goose bumps, and attracted the lions share of commercial attention at two Olympics. Their stories will likely live in your heart for a long time … along with VISA.
Now, that’s a story.
Next blog entry: “It’s All About the Athlete.”
Posted by Ken Ungar
