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Driving Revenue Generation with Purpose-Built Marketing
Beyond “Image-Built” Branding & Marketing

This month, National Football League teams are beginning their quests for the Super Bowl in Detroit and each week will bring us closer to arguably the biggest day of the year in the marketing world: Super Bowl Sunday.

As that day in early February nears, the anticipation of the on-field match-up is likely to be equaled or even eclipsed only by anticipation for the Super Bowl advertisements, making it a stage not only for a battle of the best teams in football, but also a battle of marketing campaigns.

Super Bowl Sunday is the closest thing we have to a National celebration of marketing because it offers a platform unlike any other for launching clever, innovative and out-of-the-box marketing campaigns. The event typically puts a spotlight on only one kind of marketing: “image-built marketing.” Super Bowl ads have provided some of the most memorable marketing campaigns of our time but these image-driven campaigns are a luxury that brands simply cannot afford.

Image-built campaigns do drive revenue, but in order to do so a range of other promotions and product-benefit-focused campaigns that collectively translates those images into purchase decisions must complement them. These campaigns work very well for the large consumer brands we’re all familiar with, because those companies have the extensive resources needed to turn high-concept branding ads into consumer purchases.

Marketing with a Purpose

Outrageous, imaginative and inventive sports marketing campaigns can be fun, but in a world of limited marketing budgets and high revenue demands, most sports organizations need to be more practical.

For sports organizations with limited resources, the most powerful way to drive revenue with branding is to use “purpose-built marketing.” Purpose-built marketing is:

• Clear – Purpose-built branding and marketing has a clear set of financial objectives, a clear set of external audiences, a clear understanding of those audiences’ needs and wants, and clear, consistent messages

• Customized & Compelling – Purpose-built branding and marketing understands those external constituencies (season ticket holder, individual ticket buyers, sponsors, etc.) and adapts it core messaging and content to communicate to each audience in a compelling, customized way

• Organized around a Call to Action – Purpose-built branding and marketing also always has unmistakable call to action for each external audience, communicating why and how they should spend their dollars on your sports organization

• Creative – Purpose-built branding and marketing is also highly creative, both in terms of content, and in terms of how you reach the market. Visual and verbal creativity is critical for communicating your call to action in an attention-grabbing way. In addition, marketing creativity is critical for magnifying limited budgets by utilizing a range of traditional and non-traditional means to communicate with the market

Each of these qualities differentiates purpose-built marketing from the expensive image-building campaigns, making the former particularly effective as a tool for helping organizations with limited budgets achieve their revenue objectives.

Simply put, organizations with limited marketing resources need to focus on selling the steak first, rather than focusing only on the “sizzle”, and purpose-built marketing provides a means of accomplishing that. Our collective secret weapon in this approach is that we in the sports industry are fortunate to be involved with products that have their own “sizzle” built right into the steak.

What Does Purpose-Built Marketing Look Like?

As sports marketers, we have some of the most entertaining and exciting products around. And while our marketing efforts need to leverage this excitement, they also need to be constructed in a way that provides a clear, compelling call to action for each external audience in our revenue plan. Simply stated, sports marketing expertise requires straddling a line of both inspiration and persuasion. This means a lot of things:

Logos need to be designed in a way that moves merchandise and translates well to all sizes and formats. The Dallas Cowboys star, while not necessarily original, is a simple, clean icon with infinite staying power. It has resulted in what may be the most successful sports brand of our lifetime.

While television spots can be emotional, they also need to spell out what your product can do for the consumer. Season tickets get you a seat into the best action in town, which means fun for your client, your employees and your personal acquaintances. Some of the most impactful sports marketing spots are well-edited, and expertly-produced action collages, defining a distinct call to action.

Corporate marketing collateral needs to clearly communicate ROI for the sponsor. Demographics, impressions, and testimonials may not seem sexy, but they are often just the ticket to secure your next corporate partner. And interspersed with game imagery, your corporate assets tell a visually exciting and impactful story.

Print advertisements need to inspire the reader to pick up the phone, go online, or head over to the box office. Don’t overcrowd the format with multiple messages. Focus upon your offer and the benefits of acting now. Make it easy yet necessary for your customer to participate in your product.

5 Key Questions for Putting the Purpose Back in Your Marketing:
There are a number of key questions that a sports organization should ask in order to develop a purpose-built branding and marketing campaign that effectively drives revenue. Below are five of the most important questions to ask at the beginning of the process—whether you are building a campaign in support of an entire brand, or one simply for a small marketing initiative. For the sake of discussion, we address these questions below in the context of a logo redevelopment project.

• Start by asking the simple question: Who are we now?
As if through the eyes of your customer, ask yourself where you are now versus where you want to be. Are you a classy, traditional organization, or do you offer edgy, hip products? Sometimes the review of your current situation requires an outsider’s understanding of the market’s perception of your product. For instance, a new logo is often best developed by utilizing focus groups to understand the perception of your organization.

• Next ask: Where do we want to go?
Determine the core objectives of your project and campaign early. Establish where you want to and realistically can go, and maintain your grasp on this understanding throughout the process. A new team logo might be unveiled to demonstrate to the marketplace that a new youthful era has dawned for your team. In which case, your color scheme may change to represent a fresh new start.

• Once the objective is understood, we need to determine our target audience by asking: Who do we need to reach?
By asking this simple question, all components of your purpose-built marketing initiative will begin to take shape. With finite resources, we need to focus on the audience for whom a successful message will resonate. A new logo, if properly executed, will speak to the sensibilities of your audience. If your audience is regional, develop a logo that incorporates regional elements as opposed to a single municipality.

• At this point, the project is moving forward and we need to determine: Where do we tell our story?
Consider where your message will find its audience. This requires consideration of various mediums, events and platforms. With a logo, you need to work closely with constituencies such as the local media and your season ticket holders in order to keep them apprised of the new and exciting direction the organization is heading as represented by the pending logo launch. Develop a plan to maintain anticipation, as well as a newsworthy logo unveiling.

• After the branding initiative is underway, the payoff begins and every person in the organization needs to ask: What is my role?
Revenue-driven branding is accomplished only through a disciplined, consistent and integrated effort by all departments and organizational entities. It is often amazing how inconsistent an organization’s messages can be from one employee to the next. To make branding effective, every detail counts. Fax cover sheets, phone greetings, solicitation letters, etc. all need to reflect the campaign’s message. With a new logo, this means out with all the old. Nothing that incorporates the old logo should slip through the cracks.

By taking this approach, your branding and marketing efforts will provide powerful support for your business plan without outrageous external spending. With honest analysis, detailed planning, strategic execution and comprehensive cooperation, one’s brand can be taken to new heights. More importantly, revenues should see corresponding increases.

The best branding and marketing is not necessarily the most off-the-wall. The best campaigns are the ones that are carefully designed to directly drive revenue-generation and achieve your financial goals.

About the Authors:

Dave Smrek is the vice president of sale & marketing and Daniel Price is the president and creative director of Adrenalin, Inc., a full-service branding, marketing & design agency that specializes in supporting the brand-expansion goals of sports organizations.
Dave Smrek has more than 18 years of sports marketing experience, with a background spanning all sports revenue-generating activities. Smrek played an instrumental role in starting up (3) major league franchises; the Vancouver Grizzlies (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL) and Phoenix Coyotes (NHL). Additionally, he launched two sports technology providers, specializing in web-based CRM and Advanced Ticketing and Sponsorship applications.

Daniel Price co-founded Adrenalin in 1997 after working for the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche as Creative Director for almost a decade, where he oversaw all internal creative solutions for the teams and arena.

Founded in 1997, Adrenalin develops, expands and differentiates the brands with a single goal – to drive revenue for sports organizations. Adrenalin’s integrated brand expansion services include strategic planning, campaign development, logo design, collateral materials creation, advertising direction, multimedia design, sponsorships and other services.