There are many areas of sports sponsorship that can elevate your marketing goals. College baseball and softball sponsorships are an area that is growing and will continue to grow in the next few years. In this article, Paul and Brandon break down what makes sponsoring college softball and baseball on the rise and why they are such a hit in today's market.
First, baseball and softball offer more time for brands to be seen. With more home games and breaks than other sports, baseball, and softball provide more opportunities to do something unique and different from a sponsor perspective. These games also have more natural and elongated breaks, which gives more time for fans to be captivated by the event or the promotion.
On top of that, getting fans to act on something is easier for baseball and softball sponsorships because fans are more engaged with promotions since there are limited distractions. At football games, there are usually different performances going on like the band or cheerleaders that take the fans' attention away from the promotions during breaks. Baseball and softball don’t have that, so fans will become more engaged with the promotions that are happening between innings.
Besides getting additional exposure and more engagement between innings, baseball and softball sponsorships offer higher bounce-back rates. The reason they are more successful at getting bounce back than football is because they have the ability to do something unique, be consistent, and have the ability to talk to people consistently for three months actively with multiple games a week.
Since several home games are played during a short period of time, marketers can be consistent in their promotions and are more likely to get fans engaged in them. For example, if fans know after a certain number of hits they are going to win free tacos when they get one hit away they are more likely to start a tacos chant!
Additionally, softball and baseball fans tend to overreact to sponsor offers because they realize that the client is spending money in particular with that specific team. The landscape of baseball stadiums isn’t as cluttered with advertising as football stadiums are.
According to Brandon Parks from the University of Tennessee, college baseball could be one of the greatest opportunities from the futuristic growth perspective.
As baseball stadiums are renovated more marketing opportunities will become available.
This was illustrated by ESPN as their coverage of college baseball and softball has expanded. At its peak, viewership can be in the range of millions with this expanded coverage.
“As marketers and as side hosts for events, we’ve got to do everything in our power to create as attractive and as appealing of an atmosphere as we can to where we get fans to come out and the baseball game is important and part of it, but there’s also all these amenities that make it this fantastic experience,” Parks said.
It’s inexpensive to market with college baseball and softball compared to other sports, it gives local sponsors an opportunity to activate where they don’t have the ability to do so. It also gives marketers an ample amount of innovative ways to engage this next generation.
According to Paul Sickmon, President and CEO of Knox Sports Marketing, people should invest in college baseball and softball because college students are the future sports fans and that’s where the revenue will come from in the future. Invest in those social areas, where the students are likely to spend most of their time at the venue. Invest in comfortable seating with seat backs and connectivity to Wi-Fi.
All in all, baseball and softball sponsorships are on the rise and a great investment for companies to dive into the sports sponsorship world. It offers great exposure, bounce back, and loyal customers all for an affordable price.
To learn more about baseball and softball sponsorships or to hear the podcast version, click here.