ISSPF Certificate in Soccer Business & Management
Course Provider
International Soccer Science & Performance Federation (ISSPF)
Module Presented by
Dr. Chrysostomos Giannoulakis
Module 5
Marketing and Sponsorship of Soccer Clubs
Module Summary
Sport Marketing Defined
Sport marketing consists of all activities designed to meet the wants and needs of
sport consumers through exchange processes within an increasingly complex and
competitive entertainment landscape. Consumers engage with sport across multiple
touchpoints, including playing, officiating, watching, listening, reading, and collecting
memorabilia.
The discipline operates through two primary thrusts: the direct marketing of sport
products and services to consumers, and the marketing of both sport and non-sport
products and services through sport promotions.
Marketing Myopia
Sport marketing myopia occurs when organizations focus narrowly on producing and
selling goods and services rather than identifying and satisfying the fundamental needs
and desires of their consumers. Typical symptoms include the mistaken belief that
winning fixes all operational flaws, confusing temporary promotions with
comprehensive marketing, ignoring internal and external entertainment rivals, and
seeking quick financial returns through price hikes or sponsorships instead of investing
in long-term market research and relationship building. It is further marked by poor
research, weak customer service, arrogance, and an inability to adapt to changing
consumer and market dynamics.
, Uniqueness of Sport Marketing
To overcome marketing myopia, organizations must treat sport as a unique human
experience that is unpredictable, inconsistent, open to subjective interpretation, and
operating under limited product mix control and modest promotional budgets. To
manage this environment, marketers blend the core tactical elements of the marketing
mix—Product, Price, Place, and Promotion—to connect basic human benefits with
generic and specific sport forms:
Course Provider
International Soccer Science & Performance Federation (ISSPF)
Module Presented by
Dr. Chrysostomos Giannoulakis
Module 5
Marketing and Sponsorship of Soccer Clubs
Module Summary
Sport Marketing Defined
Sport marketing consists of all activities designed to meet the wants and needs of
sport consumers through exchange processes within an increasingly complex and
competitive entertainment landscape. Consumers engage with sport across multiple
touchpoints, including playing, officiating, watching, listening, reading, and collecting
memorabilia.
The discipline operates through two primary thrusts: the direct marketing of sport
products and services to consumers, and the marketing of both sport and non-sport
products and services through sport promotions.
Marketing Myopia
Sport marketing myopia occurs when organizations focus narrowly on producing and
selling goods and services rather than identifying and satisfying the fundamental needs
and desires of their consumers. Typical symptoms include the mistaken belief that
winning fixes all operational flaws, confusing temporary promotions with
comprehensive marketing, ignoring internal and external entertainment rivals, and
seeking quick financial returns through price hikes or sponsorships instead of investing
in long-term market research and relationship building. It is further marked by poor
research, weak customer service, arrogance, and an inability to adapt to changing
consumer and market dynamics.
, Uniqueness of Sport Marketing
To overcome marketing myopia, organizations must treat sport as a unique human
experience that is unpredictable, inconsistent, open to subjective interpretation, and
operating under limited product mix control and modest promotional budgets. To
manage this environment, marketers blend the core tactical elements of the marketing
mix—Product, Price, Place, and Promotion—to connect basic human benefits with
generic and specific sport forms:
