Eduardo Sonoda Explains the Importance of Marketing in Sports for 2022 — Widget Box

Eduardo Sonoda
4 min readDec 22, 2021

--

There are few commonly beloved activities in the world as popular as sports in today’s day and age. Whether we are talking about Premier League Football or the American Football and Basketball Associations, millions of fans around the world are ready and willing to line up at stadiums or on their couches to watch their favourite athletes compete.

As the founder of the Eduardo Sonoda Advisory, Eduardo Sonoda understands that athletics can make for the centrepiece of a high-quality marketing campaign. From the efforts put in place by Budweiser with Superbowl advertising to the logos that appear on the courts and stadiums of the world, there is money to be made and brands to be launched.

Sports marketing is at once as simple and as complicated as its name might suggest. Superficially, sports marketing is all about utilizing athletics to sell goods and services. While this is not limited to professional sports, it is less common in college athletics and in minor league competitions.

Thanks to the massive popularity of sports internationally, leagues and teams are all looking to take advantage of the advertising and marketing space available to them. Famous athletes might sign contracts as celebrity endorsers, while others may lend their images to marketing professionals. Some teams use marketing to build bigger fanbases, while others want to improve revenue to support the team.

The one defining disadvantage that most sports marketing professionals run into is saturation. The sports marketing industry is simply so large that it can be impossible to stand out in a crowd.

Currently, Eduardo Sonoda sees a ton of potential in the sports marketing industry. Sonoda says, “New strategies for digital marketing, and the growth and development of those strategies, are really exciting areas of business for me.”

Developing a Sports Marketing Plan

When developing a sports marketing campaign, Sonoda understands that longevity is key. Athletics are particularly prone to nostalgia and the right marketing campaign can linger within the minds of adoring fans for years. Just look at the work done by the Manning brothers with their marketing campaigns.

Sports marketing revolves around answering a list of questions so that companies can properly utilize their resources. How many years does this marketing plan intend to go forward? Will this be a season-long commitment or a multi-year advertising attempt? Who is the primary target in terms of demographics? Are we looking to reach sports fans aged 15–25? Or do we want to appeal to the over 25 crowds?

For Sonoda, working at the Sonoda Advisory Board meant focusing on what he knew best. Sonoda says, “I sought education in business and marketing. It only made sense to take advantage of my knowledge and experience in the marketing field to build a marketing agency that would serve global brands.”

Each demographic will come with its own share of challenges. A team of professionals at a marketing agency will be able to curate a list of marketing ideas based upon the targeted demo, building a plan that is as effective as it is efficient.

Importance of Sports Marketing

Sports marketing is part and parcel of the overall athletic conversation. As one of the most valuable assets that an athletic brand can own, a sports marketing plan can take a team to the next level with a consumer. Think of the natural association that people have with the Dallas Cowboys or the New York Yankees. Years of marketing campaigns have fueled the rise in these brands and it wasn’t by accident.

Here are a few other ways Sonoda suggests sports marketing can help benefit an athletics brand.

  • Developing Products — Through a marketing plan and campaign, sports brands can identify consumer insights, fuel ticket sales, and develop brand awareness. Product. Price. Promotion. Place. Remember the Four Ps and your business plan will go far.
  • Communicate Insights — We know what the New York Mets stand for when we see their logo. What does your brand stand for? Eduardo Sonoda advocates for clear communication through a smart marketing campaign. Sonoda points to the internet, social media, and our smart devices as the conduits to communicate insights to prospective clients.
  • Build Relationships — Sports exist in a special space within our lives. The love that a person shares for their favourite team can be passed down to their child, building important familial bonds based upon shared moments. Sports marketing can take advantage of this beautiful idea to foster a relationship not just between fans, but between the company and the fan.

Marketing With Eduardo Sonoda

Eduardo Sonoda is the Founder and CEO of Eduardo Sonoda Advisory. Born and raised in East London, Sonoda would move from Hackney to the campus of the London Marketing Academy to fuel his education. Upon graduation, Sonoda would spend time working with some of the biggest names in the international marketing arena before branching out on his own.

After establishing the Eduardo Sonoda Advisory with just 7 employees, Sonoda would oversee the growth of the firm as the business expanded to more than 700 employees. Now hosting some of the top startups and Inc. 5000 firms, Sonoda and the Sonoda Advisory Firm are in a position to lead by example within the marketing advisory industry.

Outside of his work in marketing, Sonoda is a prominent philanthropist in London, having also lent support via disaster relief to underserved regions of Central America as well as Asia.

Originally published at https://www.widgetbox.com on December 22, 2021.

--

--

Eduardo Sonoda
Eduardo Sonoda

Written by Eduardo Sonoda

Climbing that ranks at some of the biggest marketing firms in the UK, Eduardo Sonoda parlayed his expertise into a successful career as a marketing advisor.

No responses yet