From SportsBusiness Journal Review by Brandon Jones in KIN 332 (section 2) The owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Shad Khan, has finalized an agreement with the National Football League to play at least one home game for the next 4 years in London. Khan believes that this untapped market will be economical beneficial to both London and the United States. Khan is hoping that the publicity from these football games in London will lead to economic growth in the city of Jacksonville. Khan views this move as a win-win situation because the Jaguars will gain global recognition, which will in turn give the city a higher international profile, a global fan base, and an opportunity for Jacksonville and its businesses to grow.
In a recent interview Shad Kahn stated that “We’re serious about marketing Jacksonville as a world-class leisure destination and more importantly as a place to grow business, a great place to raise a family and to have the full power of the NFL to leverage this area.” Kahn argues that expanding the target market of NFL fans would be beneficial to all of the teams in the future because more fans equal higher profits.
After reading this article I began to admire Shad Kahn because of his passion towards bettering his community and his team. Kahn is trying to help every Floridian’s business by attempting to increase tourism and foreign relationships. Overall, I believe that the NFL and Shad Kahn’s decision to expand the football marketplace overseas will pay off in the long-run.
From ESPN FC Review by Heather Holston in KIN 332 (section 1) I found an article from ESPN soccer net that was talking about the popular game FIFA. EA Sports states that their game is helping make soccer more popular in the United States. They say consumers play the game and then want to follow the teams they play. Also with the help of World Cups and technology, soccer is becoming a sport of the future for America. Americans can keep up now with their favorite international teams because of the internet. Most of these consumers are ages eighteen to twenty four. FIFA is the second most video game behind Madden football to do well. FIFA 12 sold the most video games in retail in a week. The latest version of FIFA 13 just came out September 25th. EA Sports first tried to get FIFA into Americans homes by using international superstars such as Wayne Rooney from Manchester United to promote the product. However, Americans haven’t progressed that much in soccer. They had no clue who Rooney was. EA Sports then came up with a different campaign. They started using American celebrities to promote the game. Some of the first celebrities to promote were Seth Myers, Steve Nash, and Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson. This caught more American consumer’s eyes and worked better for the game. FIFA 13 had celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Andrew Luck and Barcelona Soccer player Lionel Messi. I believe that EA Sports fixed the situation of how to message to the market very well. They looked for people who Americans knew to get more consumers. If they had stuck with Rooney, the campaign could have continued to fail. I believe if they keep using American celebrities, they will keep being successful in the market. I believe FIFA could out sell Madden in the future if they keep up the success. Along with the continuation of the growth of soccer in America.
The article I choose to do my presentation on was about the marketing implications of the Red Bull Stratos Project. In the article they talk about a project sponsored by Red Bull where a man freefalls from space. The freefall jumper was Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgratner, who started working on the idea with Red Bull in 2005. Just the other day, October 14th, Baumgartner set breaking records for longest free fall of 4 minutes and 20 seconds, farthest freefall of 119,846 feet, and highest max velocity of 833.9 miles per hour (faster than the speed of light).
The question then is, why would did Red Bull sponsor something like this? Red Bull was able to expose their name and logo to millions of people. The event was streamed live through Youtube where it set the record of 8 million live viewers streaming. The event is also going to be featured in documentaries on BBC and National Geographic Channels. The fact that television networks like BBC and National Geographic are running special programs about this event shows the bridge Red Bull has successfully created in reaching new markets. Red Bull will be able to enjoy recognition and admiration in a setting that wouldn’t normally feature an energy drink brand.
I believe this was a great strategy by Red Bull. By now we are all accustom to seeing extreme sports athletes drinking Red Bull like Shaun White, and Travis Pastrana. Not only did the Stratos Project appeal to extreme sport enthusiast, but also it tapped into a whole new market. The event was watched by millions of people with all different backgrounds and interests. Viewers range from scientist all the way to professional football players. Red Bull was successfully reached millions yet never mentioned their actual product once.
As consumers we are constantly exposed to different kinds of marketing efforts. What’s so unique about Red Bull is how they go about their marketing. They sponsor snowboarding events, the flutag contest, a formula 1 team and now a man free falling form space. All of these are great exposure for the brand but have nothing to do with the actual selling of an energy drink. Through Red Bulls ingenious marketing plans they have successfully associated themselves with thrill seeking and action sports. This is a good strategy since much of Red Bull customers are from this niche and believe in Red Bull’s mission statement of: “Red Bull Energy Drink has been developed for people who want to have a clear and focused mind, perform physically, are dynamic and performance-oriented whilst also balancing this with a fun and active lifestyle.”
So why are so many extreme sport athletes sponsored by Red Bull? Is it because the drink helps them preform or give them wings? There might be some truth to the effects of the drink on performance but ultimately Red Bull is responsible for a lot of extreme sports popularity and growth. Red Bull has continuously put these athletes in the spotlight, and set the stage for them to continue to push the boundaries and limits of their respective sports. It’s a mutually beneficially relationship in which each side benefits. Red Bull creates the stage for these athletes to perform and return Red Bull continues to expose their name and further their company image. In an industry that doesn’t have a leader in equipment or apparel, Red Bull looks to fill that void of being the extreme sports sponsor.
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Review by Daniel Allen in KIN 332 (section 1)
Red Bull has been the worldwide leader in promotion of extreme sports and they just catapulted themselves even further in front of the competition with the stunt pulled off by Felix Baumgartner. Mr. Baumgartner successfully skydived from the edge of space back down through our atmosphere and back to earth. The jump was watched my many on live television and by millions through YouTube within days after the jump. This Red bull “stratos” project as it was called had been in talk since 2005 with equipment being built by 2007. It was the perfect extreme sport marketing event to thrust forward Red bull in front of all their competitors. Mr. Baumgartner, the 43 year old skydiver, pilot, and stunt coordinator was the perfect man for the jump. The jump was a whopping 24 miles or 128,100 feet above the earth and according to the preliminary data he reached speeds of 834 mph or a speed of Mach 1.24. In doing this became the first person to go faster than the speed of sound without a jet or spacecraft. Red bull had a strong fan base before the jump but this jump personified there label perfectly. Steven Addis, chief executive of Addis Creson, a brand strategy company based in Berkeley, California, said “the Red Bull Stratos project was a high-risk, high-reward event that not only meshed the jump with the brand by not only connecting the taste of the drink but the power it delivers its consumers.” Red bull is literally giving themselves wings. They were one of the first to start in the energy drink market and now they are flying high by being the sole sponsorship of the jump and having everyone seeing that crafty bull and his wings on the helmet of Mr. Baumgartner.
