Sports Merchandising Is At The Present A More Robust Industry Than The Competitions Themselves

Growing up in New York, I not ever thought about marketing in sports. Everybody there was either a Yankees fan or a Mets devotee. You always loved one and hated the other, and so did your entire family. It was more of a tribal loyalty than a decision. The fact that, beyond the sports events, there was another competition going on not ever happened to me. I not ever thought about the truth that the teams were not only fighting for victory, but also fighting for enthusiasts. Til I fell into a sports marketer position, I was pretty much oblivious to how much capital changes hands behind the scenes. Pro athletic marketing is a multi billion dollar niche, and it is growing each year. Most athletic teams, in point of fact, earn more money off of selling athletic garments than off of tickets!

Finding myself in an athletic merchandising firm was a pretty odd development for me. In a number of ways, I do not fit in there at all. Although I majored in niche merchandising and advertising, I have not ever been a big sports follower. This placed me at odds with a business filled with athletic fanatics. Nonetheless, I have done my job pretty well. At the start, I was not up to date on the various teams. This made my athletic marketing job tough, since I didn't know the niche! People expect you to be able to talk athletic with them if you are going to promote their teams. Even if you are an effective marketer. If you cannot talk shop and socialize with fluidity, it's hard to keep your position.

Basically, I approached athletic marketing like I approached school. I sat down and studied for weeks at a time. Soon, I knew more about athletic statistics than many of the most die-hard followers in the company. After them, it was simple. Good sports teams sell them-selves, so it is just a matter of playing on existing brand loyalty. As for the lower ranking athletic teams, you can always play off of the underdog factor. There are a number of individuals who just love to root for a team that loses season after season. Merchandising sports to these kinds of followers is a smaller trade, But what they lack in numbers than make up for in brand loyalty. They are the most dedicated enthusiasts in the trade. The only time when sports merchandising is a tough sell is when a good team starts to slide. Suddenly, nobody wants anything to do with them. The rest of the time, though, the job is pretty much a breeze.