The wireless industry has had a long and lucrative history with sponsoring sporting events. According to a report released last year by Sports Marketing Surveys Ltd., the telecommunications industry signed 91 sports sponsorship deals in 2002, trailing only the automotive industry’s 124 sponsorship agreements. Another report from Openwave Systems Inc. found that wireless service providers spent more than $375 million on event marketing in 2002.
Nextel Communications Inc. made one of the biggest sponsorship announcements in recent years when it signed a 10-year, $700 million deal to replace R.J. Reynolds’ Winston brand as the primary sponsor of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing’s premier racing series, which will be called the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series beginning this year. That sponsorship deal has garnered some mixed press recently following NASCAR’s announcement that it would change the way points are accumulated toward the series championship, which some opponents claimed was tied to the new sponsor wanting to stamp its presence on the series.
While many question the financial return of such agreements, research numbers indicate that few events on television garner bigger results than sporting events.
Nielsen Media Research noted 88.6 million people watched the Super Bowl last year, compared with an estimated 35 million people who viewed the president’s recent State of the Union address broadcast across the four major networks. Nielsen’s research also showed the recent National Football Conference Championship game was watched by more than 40 million people, making it the highest ranked TV show for the week.
In addition to the sheer number of people watching sporting events both live and on TV, analysts note the wireless industry has found sports fans have attributes, including strong emotional ties and immense loyalty, that make them prime marketing targets.
“Sports fans are enormous communities that the wireless industry has aggressively attempted to tap,” said Linda Barrabee, senior wireless and mobile services analyst at the Yankee Group. “Sports fans are considered loyal and passionate and are exactly the type of customer wireless carriers are trying to attract.”
Barrabee noted beyond the traditional sponsorship of sporting events and venues, the wireless industry has aggressively introduced interactive campaigns designed to draw fans closer to their favorite events as well as increase awareness of advanced wireless services.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has launched a number of text messaging-based initiatives through its relationship with the National Collegiate Athletics Association and announced its “Cingular Fan in the Stands” interactive feature last month with CBS and the NCAA, which the carrier said would allow college basketball fans to share their opinions with CBS announcers using their camera phones’ multimedia-messaging capabilities.
“Each year, we find new ways to engage viewers and encourage them to use their Cingular phones to express their passion for and opinions of NCAA basketball,” said Daryl Evans, vice president of advertising and marketing communications for Cingular. “This year they’ll be trying out the next generation of messaging that combines photos, voice and text.”
The National Football League is also planning on getting more interactive with its fans this year, allowing them to vote for the Super Bowl’s most valuable players using text-messaging services through a number of carrier partners, including AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Cingular, Nextel, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular Corp.
“Text messaging and short codes have opened up a huge opportunity for carriers to both draw sports fans closer to their favorite teams or events and also drive more traffic and awareness to the different services available from their networks,” Barrabee explained, adding the link between sports and wireless should grow stronger with the continued rollout of higher speed data networks that will allow carriers to begin streaming content to customers.
While a number of wireless companies have hooked up with mainstream sporting events, smaller operators are finding great success with fringe sports and athletes that have helped them target more specific audiences.
T-Mobile USA Inc. sponsors a number of so-called extreme athletes and events that, while not generating the large number of viewers of traditional sports, still have attracted a dedicated following of youth fans that are often seen as the most difficult to target. Company spokeswoman Kim Thompson explained the growing influence of such athletes and events also has allowed the carrier to expand its presence to more mainstream audiences, citing recent segments on NBC’s Today show and CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman that included T-Mobile USA-sponsored athletes.
Thompson added that in addition to providing monetary sponsorship, many of the athletes T-Mobile USA sponsors use the carrier’s products, including camera phones and Wi-Fi HotSpot service, to update personal Web sites and keep in touch with fans when on the road.
Regardless of the size or popularity of the event, analysts expect the wireless industry will continue to align itself with sporting events in hopes of further penetrating these lucrative fan bases.
“As long as sports continues to have such an enormous influence over consumers, the wireless industry will continue to look for ways to leverage those relationships to drive growth,” Barrabee said.
