In the past few years, a strange phenomenon has entered the world of sports. No, it is not the emergence of super-teams like the Golden State Warriors and New England Patriots (although the rise of super-teams is definitely a strange case in itself). This phenomenon is the use of branding and advertisements in the actual names of sports events. Now maybe I was just too young to notice growing up, but I remember college bowl games being named things like the Rose Bowl and the Citrus Bowl, not the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl or the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Same thing with the NBA. I don't remember the Finals of the mid-to-late 2000s being presented by YouTube TV. So why this sudden change in promotion? It seems to come down to two things, changed responses to ads and improved techniques.
One possible reason for this influx of branding on big games is the changed responses of consumers to advertisements. As our world becomes increasingly more ad-friendly, it becomes harder and harder for advertisers to break through the clutter of advertisements that seem to flood our world. This conundrum puts advertisers in an increasingly tougher position as ads that years ago would be praised as inspiring are now simply not good enough. Knowing that they need to keep making their ads stand out, advertisers are forced to do one of two things; create a better ad (which becomes harder with each new ad that is made) or find a new route of communicating with the consumer. The latter option seems to be the one that advertisers are turning to with this invasion of sports branding. If every time you look at the parts of your favorite event and they are branded with a company like YouTube or Chick-fil-A, it's very hard to completely ignore the company like if you were just watching a traditional commercial. Thus, the changed responses of consumers to advertisements become a possible reason for the emergence of branded big games in sports.
Another possibility for this wave of sports branding could be improved marketing techniques by advertisers. In this case, it all comes down to one main technique: association. When someone watches a normal TV commercial, it is easy to get rid of any association to the show or event they are watching because the commercial could have easily been put there by the network and thus have no association with the thing that is being watched. However, when the branding is on the logo of the actual event itself, it is impossible to break the chain of association. When YouTube sponsors the NBA Finals and says "Presented by," it creates the image that YouTube is making the NBA Finals happen and that if you love the Finals and basketball, you must then love YouTube. Overall, it is this improvement in marketing techniques with an association approach that could be the reason for this increase in branding on sports games.
In the end, the expansion of branding directly on sports games comes down to changed responses of consumers to advertisements and advertiser's improved techniques. For better or worse, this shell of branding is now a part of the sports we love and it does not seem like they will be going away any time soon. So look forward to the future of sports where the Kentucky Fried Chicken Derby and Mastercard Masters Tournament hold court.
One possible reason for this influx of branding on big games is the changed responses of consumers to advertisements. As our world becomes increasingly more ad-friendly, it becomes harder and harder for advertisers to break through the clutter of advertisements that seem to flood our world. This conundrum puts advertisers in an increasingly tougher position as ads that years ago would be praised as inspiring are now simply not good enough. Knowing that they need to keep making their ads stand out, advertisers are forced to do one of two things; create a better ad (which becomes harder with each new ad that is made) or find a new route of communicating with the consumer. The latter option seems to be the one that advertisers are turning to with this invasion of sports branding. If every time you look at the parts of your favorite event and they are branded with a company like YouTube or Chick-fil-A, it's very hard to completely ignore the company like if you were just watching a traditional commercial. Thus, the changed responses of consumers to advertisements become a possible reason for the emergence of branded big games in sports.
Another possibility for this wave of sports branding could be improved marketing techniques by advertisers. In this case, it all comes down to one main technique: association. When someone watches a normal TV commercial, it is easy to get rid of any association to the show or event they are watching because the commercial could have easily been put there by the network and thus have no association with the thing that is being watched. However, when the branding is on the logo of the actual event itself, it is impossible to break the chain of association. When YouTube sponsors the NBA Finals and says "Presented by," it creates the image that YouTube is making the NBA Finals happen and that if you love the Finals and basketball, you must then love YouTube. Overall, it is this improvement in marketing techniques with an association approach that could be the reason for this increase in branding on sports games.
In the end, the expansion of branding directly on sports games comes down to changed responses of consumers to advertisements and advertiser's improved techniques. For better or worse, this shell of branding is now a part of the sports we love and it does not seem like they will be going away any time soon. So look forward to the future of sports where the Kentucky Fried Chicken Derby and Mastercard Masters Tournament hold court.
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