Sports Media and Advertising
It is fascinating to me how much the average sports fan is influenced by sports advertising without even knowing it, a lot of the time when we think of sports and their advertising we just think of athletes in certain commercials promoting a brand. However it is much more than just that. We as fans are influenced by many different styles of advertising whether it be a bud light cam on the jumbotron at one of the games or simply the name of the stadium for example Heinz Field. It is interesting how much a sports game can influence our daily lives sometimes without us even knowing. One quote I found from Serazios' book that emphasizes this point is that “Advertisers ask for sponsored reads to seem more natural in the conversion.” (Serazio 124) I thought this was extremely interesting because when we think of advertising, oftentimes we think of something that is very forced and somewhat of an annoyance depending on what the advertisement is. However, the style of advertising Serazio mentions in the book allows for a more natural way of advertising with sports and famous athletes. In a way it allows for an effective but less annoying and natural way of advertising because sports bring enjoyment to many people.
Another good strategy that Serazio mentions in the book is that advertisers use and is seen time and time again in the sports world is this idea of deepening and building a relationship with consumers. This is ultimately in my eyes one of the best strategies because it will keep the consumer coming back for more. This technique is seen many times throughout the sports world through teams and individual athletes trying to grow a brand. A lot of the time with advertising in sports the ads aim to be relatable to the general public while also being attention grabbing. Because many sports are team based and many people grow up playing sports this can be a very effective way to promote a product or sporting event.
Next I wanted to focus on bad advertising techniques. One that I think is mentioned a lot that is very clear is repetitiveness. One reason people love sports so much is because it is unpredictable and you don’t know what is going to happen on the next play. With the superbowl there are way too many commercials that are all repeated over and over again. I think that is part of the reason why this past year the NFL “drew an average of 96.4 million viewers — the smallest audience for the game since 2007.” Overall I think not just the NFL, but other sports as well need to do a better job at managing gameplay with the amount of commercials that are shown during an event.
Another thing is that sports betting, as fun as it seems, can be very dangerous. The U.S. has had many discussions in the past about banning sports betting because it almost turns into an addiction for some. I find this to be concerning as I have heard many stories of people betting what they can’t afford. I also think this takes away from enjoying sports, it almost makes them hard to watch as less focus is on the game and more focus is on making or not losing money. Despite this, advertisements on sports betting and winning big are constantly shown during game coverages.