Marketing Funnel Going Through The Tunnel

Sports marketing has become a lifeline for fashion brands, especially luxury ones, in this time of financial uncertainty and luxury slowdown. In the previous article, Raha Arian and I explored the product element in fashion marketing, and here, in the second edition of the sports marketing series, Raha and I will talk about the "promotion" aspect. If you haven't caught our product deep dive, you should check it out first. But if you're ready to see how promotions are scoring big, let's dive in!

 Fashion always is where the eyes are and stands in the spotlight. With the first Olympics after the pandemic, it was a sure guess that people would tune in to watch ceremonies and competitions. BBC Sport's coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics was streamed a record-breaking 218 million times online—more than doubling the 104 million streams recorded during the Tokyo Games three years ago. NBC reported that over 30+ million people tuned in each day to watch competitions.

One may say that this sensation can be only true for the Olympics since it is an event that takes place every four years but it seems that the love for sport is a "fashion" of its own:  in February 2023, Super Bowl LVII set the record for its most-watched iteration of all time, attracting over 115 million viewers, per Nielsen Media Research. As we previously discussed, the current relationship between fashion and sport signals a broader societal and cultural change toward healthy living. We have come a long way from smoking everywhere, even in airplanes, the heroine chic that dominated for too long, to drinking matcha and actively choosing chia seeds on our plates. 

So, fashion follows the eyeballs. Now that we've sorted it out, Let's explore this trend more. 

Fashion brands, whether offering their products to the masses or positioning themselves as premium or luxury, have been working non-stop to cash on this sports marketing trend and have been doing it masterfully. These brands have designed 360-degree campaigns, and we will be exploring different aspects of it below:

1.      New celebrities are born: Athletes have become celebrities in their own rights, replacing TV and movie stars (a little bit harsh, but true). Christiano Ronaldo currently holds first place on the most followed person on Instagram, followed by Lionel Messi, with 635M and 503M followers, respectively. So it is only natural for fashion brands to tap them as ambassadors, ask them to star in campaigns and photoshoots, or, in the Olympic case, become their sponsor, as adidas sponsored 850 people for the competitions across all games. 

This trend is not limited to world-renowned athletes; you can see brands approaching high school kids as well, more than before, at least.

2.      A complete 360-degree stretch: Fashion marketing has been training for the gymnastics games, and they've done some stretching! With both budgets and strategy! With social media's popularity, every campaign ends up on one or more of them, whether YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. However, some brands are taking sports marketing a step further. TAG Heuer is one of them, devoting parts of its website to four different sports. 

I know you might say that it is obvious why "digital" has ended up here, but there is more to digital than meets the eye. With Vans opening its space on Roblox for a limited time, VR glasses, and other technological advancements, digital will play a multifaceted role in sports marketing.

Events also play a huge role here! London's Selfridges department store, for example, has hosted a summer-long "Sportopia" activation. Pop-ups that create immersive experiences are part of marketing campaigns, like what Nike X Jacqumues launched prior to the Olympics.

3.      New spaces are created: Have you heard of "tunnel walks"? It's a new medium equivalent to fashion shows and red carpets, only for athletes. Tunnels, which are the pathways connecting locker rooms to arena entrances, have become a place for these stars to show their personal taste and for brands to make money off! Who would've taught? CMOs people! CMOs! And to be more exact, CMOs, stylists, and others in the fashion industry. We would love to see other brands, beverages, or FMCGs here, but it seems they have not been as keen as fashion ones.

4. Equality is on the horizon:  As we've seen, Luxury brands aren't just dipping into the sports world—they're diving headfirst with some seriously inclusive moves. Gucci 's teaming up with Martine Rose and SKIMS is proof that fashion is all about diversity and inclusion these days. These collaborations are breaking down barriers, making luxury fashion feel more accessible and relevant to everyone, and I mean everyone! 

It seems that, according to PwC, sports sponsorship is booming and will reach $109.1B in 2030, in comparison to $63.1B in 2021, and we are happy to announce that it will be allocated to more women than before. We all know that the pay gap between genders is also an issue in sports (like everywhere else), as women athletes get fewer sponsorship deals and less payment:

But it is changing. As we have seen in the Olympics, for the first time, 50% of athletes were women! Hooray! A big win for us! It would help to know that the 2022 Women's European Championship attracted a record 360 million viewers, while the 2022 WNBA saw its regular-season viewership hit its highest level. So it seems that with eyes on women's sports, marketing budgets will follow. It may be better not to have high hopes, but to do whatever is in our power -even watching women's games- to help female athletes receive what they deserve. We know, by reading history, that most women ending on top would empower others! I don't know about you, but we are cheering for all of them!

As we mentioned in the previous article, this love affair between fashion and sports signals a huge cultural shift; maybe they'll even marry! The goal is not just to sell products (although a healthy bottom line is everyone's wish and hope now). It's much more than that: storytelling! All these brands leverage sports to tell a story and make a statement. Take Gucci's partnership with Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon; the photo is like a short story we don't fall asleep to; it keeps us awake all night!

So, whether it's a fancy hat on a tracksuit or a beauty boost built into your everyday running gear, fashion, and sports are here to stay, side by side, in a partnership that's as dynamic as it is stylish. Hold onto your sneakers; well-being is not a trend; it's a movement, a mindset shift we've all been waiting for!   Just remember, with sports marketing, i