I must confess I am not the biggest fan of playing sport nor feel that comfortable in a sporting and recreation environment, having dabbled in netball and hockey at school, I soon came to realise playing sport was just not my bag. Watching sport, however? Now that’s something I can get behind and enjoy.
Hailing from the UK, Tennis at Wimbledon and the London Marathon were two of my favourite sporting events to watch, and since moving to Australia, the Australian Open and The Ashes have quickly become firm favourites. Major sporting events such as these generate a huge buzz and excitement amongst audiences and can be a great platform for sporting brands to leverage when it comes to their own PR strategy.
So, when we think of sports and entertainment PR, the question is, how does it benefit sporting brands and events such as these? Let’s take a deeper dive.
Sport and recreation brands can range between anything from a golfing range, a swimming club, perhaps the newly popular sport of axe throwing or even darts. It’s a huge industry that’s vastly growing and becoming ever more popular with consumers. It’s a billion-dollar entity that encompasses so many different aspects that go beyond just the sport itself.
At Agent99, we’ve rolled out a number of campaigns within the entertainment and PR sector and believe there is true value in engaging an entertainment PR agency for sports and recreation brands. For example, it could be for the launch of a new sports ground or a brand-new product – whatever it is, an entertainment PR strategy can have huge benefits for a brand that go far beyond the launch event.
Firstly, targeting relevant audiences is key to attracting consumers. Knowing your audience is crucial to attract consumers who will reengage with your sports brand time and time again. For example, if you’re a young swim-related brand you’ll most likely want to target a demographic of keen swimmers between the ages of 18-25 for example, rather than runners, right? Understanding this and knowing where to find them is where PR can help.
Driving foot traffic is a must. Sports and recreation is all about people, teams and groups, you’ll want to harness the power of PR to get people to your sports venue or activity so they can experience it for themselves. This could be through extensive media coverage, social media or a launch party – all of these elements intertwined can have a significant impact on getting people through the door.
Lastly, building good reviews is a must! Inviting key media and influencers to experience what the brand has to offer in a one-on-one scenario is an excellent way to achieve this. If your brand is a golfing range, inviting the right media and influencers to attend for the day to experience all there is to offer is a great way for them to understand your brand, and be able to share an honest and comprehensive review with their audience.
Other areas where an entertainment PR agency can assist include access to leading influencers and brand ambassadors in specific niches. The importance of such figureheads is second to none when it comes to raising awareness for a brand, especially when it’s a good brand fit as it allows you access to a much wider audience, on top of the platform that mainstream media offers.
Let’s put this all into practice and take a look at a case study we love.
Callaway Golf, one of the most well-known golfing brands in Australia, hosted a special VIP event to celebrate the launch of its new range of clubs. The brand invited top-tier media and influencers down to a golfing range in Melbourne for the ultimate golfing competition. Guests included a mix of media, influencers, brand ambassadors, golf retailers and major fans. AFL stars and other celebrities were invited to take part in a competitive play-off against a backdrop of music – creating the ultimate entertaining atmosphere!
The combination of the creative launch event, the attendance of media and influencers, and presence of retailers garnered a huge buzz in media and on socials, whilst encouraging the purchase of the newly launched clubs – genius.
This is just one of many successful entertainment PR campaigns within the sports and recreation industry which executed a well-rounded strategy.
So as you can see, there are many different industries that fall under the entertainment PR umbrella. It can have enormous benefits for a brand when a PR campaign is executed to the highest standards – not only does it drive buzz and media attention, it can have a direct impact on sales when done strategically well.
If you think your brand could benefit from an entertainment PR campaign, or you’re simply looking for increased brand awareness and positioning, please get in touch at info@agent99pr.com
Agent Hollie
