Sports Marketing Summit: Engaging with fans beyond the live game
Fantasy leagues, sports betting, and documentaries are just a few ways those under 40 are engaging with their favourite sports beyond live coverage.
“The conversation of sport doesn’t stop at the final whistle, the siren, or the last game. It happens throughout the week,” said SHOUT Collective founder Liam Daly at Mumbrella’s Sports Marketing Summit last week.
Gen Z and millennials spend 62% of their time consuming sports content outside the live game, yet many brands remain locked into traditional live sports partnerships, he explained.
“There’s a no-brainer opportunity to start thinking outside the live window to complement your current activity,” he urged marketers in the room in his session, ‘Untap Brand Love: Rethink Sports Partnerships Beyond the Live Window.’
Liam Daly
“Fanatics want to engage with other fanatics,” he said, emphasising podcasting as an effective medium.
“Podcasting isn’t just about watching or listening; it’s about engaging and communicating with each other as a community. Half of the Australian population are podcast consumers.
“It’s huge, it’s mainstream. It’s an amazing opportunity for brands to think outside the live window.”
Clubby Sports director Dylan Buckley also stressed that post and pre-game coverage can draw in more viewers than the main event.
Dylan Buckley
Leveraging this information, Cubby Sports is focusing on areas where viewers crave variety, like the halftime show, which he describes as “typically boring”.
“[Sports fans] might not watch this broadcast with us, but they tune in at halftime, and we’ve got our own halftime show set up at that period.
“They watch the rest of the game, and bang, guess what? We’re the first ones to put out our own post-match show – straight up to the broadcast.
“We’re not trying to compete; we’re actually trying to find the gaps that they’re missing.”
Like Daly, he also noted that podcasts provide an “authentic” platform for engaging with sports fans.
He said it’s important to be selective with partnerships, ensuring they align with the brand’s core values.
“These days, people cut through the bullshit. The brands we work with and the content we talk about must be true to the community we’re talking to; otherwise, people won’t listen.
“If we don’t have them listening, we’re not sustainable as a business.”
Keep up to date with the latest in media and marketing
The Canberra Labor Club group operates more than 400 gaming machines. It was set up by ACT Labor to support the party and its articles of association require any profits to be paid to the branch
ABC News
User ID not verified.
Have your say