The derby between Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers reflects two US cities that just embrace their soccer teams and thus help to build unique fan cultures. So, although the MLS and football (soccer) in the US is new in the professionalized version that we experience today, there are still great lessons to learn about sports […]
Archive | Sport Marketing
Collective action towards a better world through sports – case of the German national team in football
By Kenneth Cortsen on September 2, 2015 in Sport & CSR, Sport Economy, Sport Management, Sport Marketing
Professional sport speaks a powerful voice in terms of shaping people’s opinions. Football is the world’s most popular sport and the global super stars of the game are dominant spokespersons and opinion leaders. Assisted by some of these super stars like Mesut Özil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Toni Kroos, the German National Team featured in a […]
Is football a ‘public service’ product – a discussion of the professionalization of the football economy?
Recently, Borussia Dortmund’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke stated in the German newspaper Zeit that “Der Deutsche meint eben, dass der Staat neben der Renten- und Krankenversorgung am besten auch noch für die Fußballversorgung zuständig ist.” Of course, this is generalizing opinion that German fans think that the state must support its citizens in terms of retirement […]
Sports, strategic CSR and compelling storytelling
By Kenneth Cortsen on August 26, 2015 in Sport & CSR, Sport Economy, Sport Management, Sport Marketing
Today, the intersection between sports and business is a powerful way for corporations and other sports-related entities to place their resources while combining this investment with efforts of strategic CSR. Dick’s Sporting Goods presents a recent case example within this context in a new TV commercial, see video below. Through heartfelt storytelling, the sports brand […]
Going beyond traditional product offerings to win the hearts of fans in the football economy – case focus on fan relationship management
As part of the professionalization process of the football economy over the past decades, clubs have enhanced their focus on nursing fan relations. Fulltime fan coordinators have been a natural step in this development. This is a way to build a bridge towards meeting the recognition that competition in the football economy is about managing […]