Sport/Event Product

• A: Describe the unique categories and characteristics of sport/event products.

• B: Explain how the characteristics of sport/event products affect marketing.

• Every time you participate in or watch sports, you are consuming a sport/event productExamples:

• Little League baseball

• High school track meet

• College wrestling

• Pro Hockey

• The X Games

• Essential component of sports

• Famous athletes become products

• A big-time athlete adds value to a sport product

• The setting has a big impact on consumers' perception of the event.

• Examples:

• Gymnasiums

• Fields/Stadiums

• Convention centers

• Essential to the sport event itself

• Examples

• Equipment

• Uniforms/Clothing

• Athletic shoes

• Although sports are America's best-loved pastime, we do attend many events that aren't games or athletic competitions.

Examples

• Concert

• Play

• Movie Premiere

• Televised shows

• Radio broadcasts

• Newspapers/Magazines

• Internet/Social media

• Any product that bears the name or logo of a sports team or league

• A multibillion-dollar industry

• Examples

• Coffee mugs

• T-shirts, jackets, hats

• Trading cards

• Goods

• Tangible, physical products

• Seen and untouched

• Services

• Intangible experiences

• Lessons

• Camps/Clinics

• Fitness classes

• Athletic training

Rented-Goods Services

• Involve renting a product for a certain period of time

• Example: Renting a jet ski for a day on the lake

Owned-Goods Services

• Involve repairing or changing a product that you've already purchased

• Example: Paying to replace the webbing in your catcher's mitt

• Is the product produced at the same time it is consumed?

• Hockey sticks are manufactured long before they are sold/consumed

• A football game is produced while it is being consumed

• Many sport/event products have a high degree of perishability; can it be stored & used later?

• Hockey stick - yes

• Football game - no

• If they're not consumed immediately, they will be gone forever

• That particular event/game will NEVER happen again

• Inconsistent: the quality of the product's performance is impossible to guarantee over a period of time.

• Panthers (from the Super Bowl to most losses in a season)

• Consistent: the quality of a product's performance is possible to guarantee over a period of time (Patriots winning Superbowl back to back)

• A combination of goods and services

• Can rarely be treated as either pure goods or pure services

• Most sport/event products have a multifaceted nature that combines elements of both types of products

• Makes products stand out from the competition

• Uses positive, memorable product names

• Uses instantly recognizable logos and trademarks

• Help products gain long-lasting consumer loyalty