Sports Business

Setanta Sports Cup 2012: It’s Here!

Saturday February 11th marked the beginning of the 2012 Setanta Sports Cup as the first of the Preliminary Round 1st leg matches were played. The games saw Derry City record a 4-0 away victory against Lisburn Distillery, whilst Glentoran defeated Bray Wanderers 4-2 at the Carlisle Grounds. Given the typically awful media coverage of the Setanta Sports Cup (www.extratime.ie aside), I say with a great degree of confidence that unless you are an ardent follower of Irish domestic football you would have heard little or nothing about these results. For those of you who don’t know, the Setanta Sports Cup is an all-Ireland football competition, which quite simply, sees teams from both … Continue reading →

Internationalizing a Sports Brand Digitally

“Branding is no longer lost on the periphery of the company… it is at the heart of everything the company does” (Richelieu, 2008). In a world where sport now accounts for 3% of global economic activity, it is safe to say sport is well and truly a business. Fans are no longer just fans, they are customers. It is the sports club’s job to build a connection with their customers and entice them to join them on their journey. Each organization has certain qualities that make them different, giving them a twist to their brand that their customer can relate to. For example, FC Barcelona has a historic Catalan culture with a … Continue reading →

Ice Hockey: A First Timer’s View

Although a lot of the posts in this blog are about football, considering it is my favourite sport, I still consider myself a big sports fan. This means, I am always on the lookout to experience live entertainment in another sport. In June, Conan and I visited Stormont, in Belfast, for our first cricket match, where Ireland played Pakistan. I enjoyed the experience, and learned a lot about the sport. It certainly quashed many of my pre-conceived thoughts. On Saturday 17th December, we got another chance to witness another sport for the first time in person. This time, it was ice hockey. I had always said I wanted to go to a … Continue reading →

All I Want For Christmas

I was walking to work the other day, with my scarf tightly wrapped round my neck. Whilst dandering round Belfast City Centre I realized something. It wasn’t the cold air smacking against my face, it was Christmas! Yes, it’s that time of year again. Time for Chris Rea and Shakin’ Stevens to dominate the airwaves. Time for the old TV Specials. Time for the dust to be blown off your board games. As companies try to push the latest toy in time for Christmas, the same can be said for the sports industry. Work time eases for the holiday season, so sports organisations look to take advantage of this opportunity by advertising … Continue reading →

Check-out the Sports Check-in

In my last social-media related post, I talked about how social media and sport are connecting to provide us sports fans with some completely new and innovative products, enhancing our sporting experience. Since Web 2.0 took off, the online world has become social. For anyone reading this that isn’t aware what Web 2.0 is (or Web 1.0 for that matter), I will try to explain. When the internet took off, businesses marketed themselves online solely through their website, providing information and hoping potential customers come across it. This is Web 1.0. Then, 2.0 came along and the world decided to interact with each other. Companies began to reap the rewards of spending … Continue reading →

Using Sport to Brand Your Business

What makes us choose Coca Cola ahead of Tesco’s own brand Cola drink? Why is Adidas more trusted than its 4 striped equivalent? If I guaranteed the same quality and longevity from a new make of car and a Mercedes, the Merc would still win hands down. The reason: Branding. The most important thing about branding is that it allows the consumer to distinguish one product from the other. It makes me, as a customer, want to spend my money on the soft drink with that infamous Coca Cola logo on it instead of another bottle of similar contents and generally cheaper pricing. The branding behind Coca Cola allows it to stand … Continue reading →

Social Media and Sport Kick Off

I have just finished my second week of my Masters course in Sport Management, at the University of Ulster. It’s great being back in full-time education, but this time round it’s even better as I’m doing a course I fully believe to be the course that will lead my to my career I want to pursue. One module in the course, Strategic Sports Marketing, has captured the minds of all my class. For me, the most exciting thing is how the lecturer has allocated a Twitter hashtag to the module for all Sports Marketing-related chat (#sls711). This led me to search for other Sports Business users on Twitter. #sportsbiz seems a very … Continue reading →

Cricket: A First Timer’s View

When I was 15 I played a Gaelic Football match for my local team in County Derry, Northern Ireland. It was quite a big game in which we won and brought us to the final, however the events that followed the match will always be remembered. Disgusting scenes of fighting between players, supporters and even parents overshadowed the victory after the final whistle. I recall a parent of the opposition players hit the sister of one of my teammates, and I would guess we were not just the victims that sour evening. My parents have said since they stayed on to make sure I got back on my team bus before they … Continue reading →

Tweeting Sports Stars, Pointless Memoirs?

Us sports fans have probably all had similar childhood dreams. Stepping out in front of thousands of fans wearing your team’s kit (Liverpool for me), maybe scoring the last minute winner and lifting the cup. I always wanted to be a professional footballer, and I think with some confidence I could have “made it”. Nowadays I always wonder what life as a footballer would be like. And I don’t mean the glamorous side. I mean the day-to-day training schedule, the diet, the strength and conditioning training. The closest thing to finding out the daily life of a professional footballer is through the medium of Twitter. Rio Ferdinand has an enormous following on … Continue reading →