In the run up to the summer of sport, Dark Horses and TBWA\Backshlash have shared fresh insights explaining how brands can tap into a changing sector.
Top insights in the newly released first chapter of the ‘Future of Sport’ report include that new, anti-establishment sports are shaking up the sector, that sport is shifting away from the west, and that women have a greater role to play.
Elevate fringe sports and amateur athletes
The report highlights the potential for unexpected fashion, media and art partnerships to step in and pull in underserved demographics who might be part of newer sports like skateboarding.
It also highlighted that everyday, amateur athletes could be tapped into to build on the trend in sports such as skateboarding.
“As niche games are legitimised and traditional sports become unstuffy, we’ll see outdated narratives get a refreshing rewrite. For brands, this presents an opportunity to reject the rules and turn sporting stereotypes on their head,” the report reads.
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Shifting eastward
Secondly, the report identified that while the governing bodies of most sports from football and rugby, to baseball and hocket are situated in the West, increasingly cultural control is shifting East.
With the 2034 FIFA World Cup likely to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, and an increasing number of other sports moving eastward, the ‘Future of Sports’ insights suggest that there is potential for brands to reach new audiences.
It also suggests that brands can lean into local stories, icons and traditions in order to create a sense of place and pride.
Treat women’s sport as more than just a cause
Finally, the report also identified that marketers are not just positioning women’s sports as a societal cause but are instead deploying the same strategies that have been used to successfully market men’s sports for decades.
It also highlighted that mixed sports are on the rise, and identified opportunities for men’s teams to take cues from women’s sports for a change, in order to turn established rules on their head.
