The second episode of the Elusive Fan Podcast was hosted by Ben Shields. He is one of the co-authors of the book The Elusive Fan: Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace. The topic of this podcast was The Top 10 Best Sports Brands. There were a few on the list that were expected and then some that I had either never heard of or had not thought about being a top brand in the sporting industry.
Shields started off naming South Lake Carroll High School Football Organization as the number ten sport brand. Although I had not personally heard of this organization, it is apparently a leading high school football program when it comes to marketing its team. They have a $15 million facility. They sell sponsorship rights and the booster operations is impeccable. They even have their own apparel shop to sell Dragons gear to the community.
Number nine on the list was Maria Sharapova. Shields compared her to Anna Kournikova, but said Maria actually wins and makes winning her top priority. She mixes “athletics with Hollywood”. Currently, Sharapova’s net worth is about $135 million.
The National Professional Paintball League was number eight on Shields’ list. This league has 10 million participants in the US and they spend approximately $400 million on the activity. Later in the podcast, a young man was interviewed that participates in the sport of paintball. Changes to the original game are attracting young players. Technology is making the guns shoot faster and the fields have become more modernized rather than playing out in the woods.
Seven is the Chicago Cubs. Wrigley Field is probably on every baseball fans list of places to visit. I know it is mine. Wrigley has a revenue of approximately $457 million. According to Shields, Wrigley brings about a nostalgic atmosphere that takes fans back to the old days of baseball with peanuts and crackerjacks. The Cubs are historically known for winning, but the facility is still something that everyone wants to be a part of sometime in their life.
Notre Dame football was number six. Shields stated that the University used their football team “as a branding card to build academic recognition”. Notre Dame brought in $134.2 million dollars in 2017.
Number five, NASCAR. brought in $421 million in 2017. Shields tells us that NASCAR is national entertainment. It merges sports and entertainment with a sense of danger attached. With about 75 million fans, they have a lot of interactive capabilities to keep fans involved in their sport.
Four is the National Football League. Football is the most popular sport in the United States with $8.16 billion in revenue. Shields states that football stays up on popular culture and is branded for the American culture. The problem with the NFL, according to Shields, is its inability to expand to the global market.
I’m not even a family of soccer or futbol, yet, I have heard of number three on The Elusive Fan‘s list. Manchester United is a global name with 659 million supporters and they are only one team. MU has their own TV station, radio shows, and cell phone applications. They have many products and services specific to their name as well.
We all know and love number two on the list. It is Nike. Shields mentions that Nike has the best use of star power. Think about Michael Jordan. Nike created a brand within a brand by capitalizing on the Air Jordan brand. They place on emphasis on the youth. Nike’s revenue in 2017 was $8.7 billion. Nike keeps transforming their brand to fit the culture at hand.
Finally, number one is Tiger Woods. Shields calls Tiger “the most recognizable athlete on the planet. His net worth is estimated to be about $740 million. He is also an athlete under Nike, but has made his own name a brand within itself.
If I were to add to this list, I would probably include Under Armour. UA is not quite as strong as Nike at this time, but it is a growing industry that makes a net worth of about $1.4 billion. Under Armour has gained star power from Stephen Curry, Michael Phelps, and now Dwayne Johnson. As a mom of 3 boys, Under Armour has definitely become a household name. When I looked at Facebook on the first day of school, almost all of the boys and their friends were dressed in UA.
What I enjoyed the most about this podcast was the interview with Jeff Bail. Jeff Bail was originally a part of the team that created the Grey Poupon ad with the Rolls Royce and the saying “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” Bail added to the top 10 list, Gatorade. He talked about how Gatorade is always showing on the sidelines. He called Gatorade “the most successful sports marketing brand.”
Bail also gave advice to newcomers to sports marketing. His first words of advice were to not talk about how much you love sports in your interview. Funny thing is, I’m pretty sure I mentioned that a time or two in my application for this program. Oops. He also advised new job seekers to always have high energy, be creative, and self motivated. Finally, he recommended to start with an entry level position. Start from the bottom and work your way up.
I really learned a lot from this podcast and look forward to more from Ben Shields and his group.
KB Sports 