06-01-12 Major League Baseball is promoting anti-drug messages. The National Hockey League is concentrating on anti-bullying projects. And The National Basketball League is doing a little bit of everything under its “NBA Cares” umbrella.
Youth outreach is critical to sports leagues. It’s no secret that building affinity as soon as possible translates into lifelong — and paying — fan engagement. Sports leagues are also currently facing a potential loss of sponsorship support that has traditionally been a reliable way to reach younger fans. U.S. representatives are pushing a bill to ban military sponsorship from professional sports, claiming it’s a waste of money, according to USA?Today.?The paper reports that National Guard reportedly pays?$26.5 million for a year-long NASCAR sponsorship, while only 343 individuals cited NASCAR as the source of their interest in joining.
Sports leagues — also including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, and NASCAR — see youth outreach as one of the most effective ways to build the fanbase of the future (see spotlight on pages 2-3). And for the past five years, these efforts have largely focused on “health and wellness.”
In fact, it became nearly impossible to watch a professional sporting event without some type of branding or discussion about physical activity or nutrition. The Seventh Inning Stretch, for instance, turned into a youth-targeted workout.
Moving Beyond Health And Wellness
Youth initiatives must constantly evolve in order to stay relevant with children and teens. While childhood obesity is still an issue, sports leagues are moving onto other issues. Major sports leagues are still conducting health and wellness initiatives, but these efforts have become regular endeavors within their overall youth marketing portfolios rather than a key focus.
Although several of the leagues had joined forces — either literally or symbolically — to fight obesity and encourage fitness, they are now concentrating on their own areas of concern.
While it is uncertain whether it’s more effective for sports leagues to join forces to concentrate on one unifying issue or focus on individual areas of interest, what’s certain is that all the leagues face an uphill battle to hold the attention of children and teens. They’re competing not only with one another, but also with other attention-grabbers, such as videogames and even schoolwork.
Contacts and Connections: Team Marketing Report, Sean Brenner, Editor, 6600 W. Grand Ave., #100E, Chicago, IL 60610; 312-829-7060; www.teammarketing.com.
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