In very simple terms, this article is aiming to address one of the biggest issues that sports teams and organisations face in the modern era: competing for share of wallet. What I mean by that is that there are so many potential ways for people to spend their money entertainment-wise that sports have been sucked into this general entertainment category.
The problem has come from several rapidly accelerating issues that span both the entertainment sector as a very broad entity and the economic pressure being put on the world’s population and their wallets.
Years ago, sports (for both spectator and participation clubs) were very much a separate entity when it came to entertainment. If you wanted to watch sports, you had to go to a stadium and watch a game and, in order to participate, you had to leave the house and take part. Nowadays, the proliferation of sports channels on TV and the Internet/Streaming, as well as an increase in computer games, esports and free instructional or online mass participation events, has meant that it is increasingly difficult for the sports industry to offer the same value for money. Add to this the tightening of the world’s economies and the squeeze on each home’s finances and you have a recipe for financial difficulty.
In an ever more crowded space, it’s no wonder that more clubs than ever are feeling the pinch. As we discussed in a previous article, this has led to the continuing need for clubs to consider diversifying and straying from their core business (which is their particular sport, of course).
Burst The Bubble
The sports industry fascinates me. I personally have a love of all sports. Everything from football and cricket to the two rugby codes to volleyball, sailing, skiing, baseball, bowls and badminton. I mean everything!
What often astounds me about this industry is how insular individual sports are. They exist within their own sports bubble. They rarely look outside at the wider world of sports to try and take on traits that others are using effectively to increase their own sales or participation numbers.
What’s even more surprising is that some sports businesses won’t even look at their direct competitors, let alone work with them for the good of the sport. Some of this stems from the inherent competitive nature of sports. It’s a form of traditional tribalism, and rivalry between clubs is part of the joy of winning and the sorrow of losing. I get it. You want to beat your rivals on a match day. But once the match is over, you are all in the same boat. You are all competing for a share of that wallet. Doesn’t it seem sensible to pool your collective intellectual resources and come up with solutions that can help the sport as a whole?
I love introducing my clients to one another, especially when they are from different sports. Facilitating a sharing of ideas only adds to the openness of the industry, increases opportunities and hopefully leads to a sustainable future for all sports organisations.
Bat And Ball Makeover
Some sports have already made drastic alterations in order to try and compete with modern-day pressures on the sports industry. Cricket is the perfect example. Historically, most matches were played over several days. Test cricket was the norm. In the modern era, most spectators can’t spare four or five days watching two teams slowly clock up hundreds of runs. Cricket knew that this was a problem, and they used their core product to create a shorter, more intense, more exciting game: T20 Cricket. This far shorter version only allows each team to have a maximum of 20 overs, so scoring runs quickly becomes a priority.
This leads to more risks being taken and subsequently a much more exciting game, which only takes a fraction of the time to complete. Suddenly, going to a cricket match is a much more appealing proposition. Subsequently, Cricket has now been able to introduce new people to its sport: players, spectators, sponsors and suppliers. Lucrative competitions have spawned throughout the Cricket world, including the Indian Premier League, Australia’s Big Bash League and the Caribbean Premier League, just to name but a few of many.