Lesson 4.5 – Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning  Fixing company products in the Minds of Consumers  All about “perception”  Relative to competitor products Positioning: The fixing your sports or entertainment entity in the minds of consumers in the target market Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Positioning is important to all sports and entertainment products Sports leagues (NFL vs. Arena Football League) Sports teams (The Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980’s as “Showtime”) Sporting goods (Under Armour as comfortable performance apparel)

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Positioning is important to all sports and entertainment products Sports drinks (Gatorade as a performance beverage) Movie studios (Pixar as a leader in animated films) Entertainers (Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis and as iconic action film stars)

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Positioning is important to all sports and entertainment products Entertainment products (DVD vs. Blu-Ray) Facilities and venues (Premium seating vs. general seating)

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Positioning is About Perception In an effort to position its product as beverage that is as effective as traditional sports drinks in replenishing fluids after a workout, Vita Coco Coconut Water signed Major League Baseball star Josh Hamilton to endorse its brand in 2012 along with an announcement on the eve of the kick-off of the NFL season that they signed four NFL players ( Vernon Davis, Larry Fitzgerald, Eric Decker, and Devin Hester) as ambassadors for the brand

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Wheaties cereal has positioned itself as a brand affiliated with athletic performance and its slogan, “the breakfast of champions”, has remained since the brand’s introduction in 1924

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC With sales declining, General Mills (parent company of the Wheaties brand) introduced a new spin off product aimed to take advantage of consumer perceptions of the Wheaties brand. General Mills developed three formulations of the cereal (dubbed Wheaties Fuel) with the help of a sports nutritionist and five world class athletes: the NFL's Peyton Manning, the NBA's Kevin Garnett, gold medal-winning decathlete Bryan Clay, the MLB's Albert Pujols, and triathlete Hunter Kemper.

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications High (variable one) Low (variable one) Low (variable two) High (variable two) Product A Product B Product C Product D Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Positioning Map: Products or services are grouped together on a positioning map where they are compared and contrasted in relation to one another

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Reebok has engaged in a unique marketing initiative by positioning itself as a leader in “The Sport of Fitness”, a phrase it has incorporated into its cross-promotional efforts with the CrossFit brand

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC How might a sports and entertainment marketing company utilize a positioning map to help determine a ticket sales strategy? Positioning Discussion

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications High Price Client Entertaining Lower level seats for Disney on Ice Luxury suite at an NFL game “Cheap Seats” at a minor league baseball game Night at the movies Family Fun Low Price Club seats at an NBA game Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Ticket Sales Positioning Map

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications High Price Top Row Corners Mid/Upper Level Sidelines Upper Level Seats Low Price Lower Level End Zones Courtside Seats Lower Level Seats Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Strategy Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Identify all possible competitive advantages 1) Products, services, channels, people or image can be sources of differentiation 2) Organizations often position their products relative to competitor Weaknesses (5-hour energy)

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Strategy Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Choose the right competitive advantage 1)How many differences to promote? 2)Unique selling proposition (5-hour energy)

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC 5-hour Energy Drink focuses on its small packaging size and claims to provide a long lasting energy boost without the “usual jitters associated with energy drinks.” These purported features are intended to provide the competitive advantage necessary for distinguishing this energy drink from the many competitors on the market. Click here to view the latest endorsement from legendary pro athlete, Bo Jacksonhere

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Strategy Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Positioning errors to avoid 1)Which differences to promote? 2)Are the differences legitimate?

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC In 2012, Skechers paid $40 million in deceptive advertising charges to settle a claim made by the Federal Trade Commission that the footwear company’s assertion that its Shape-ups shoes would help people lose weight and strengthen muscles was unfounded

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Product Differentiation Product Differentiation: Refers to a positioning strategy that some firms use to distinguish their products from those of competitors Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC Kentwool (a 168-year- old company known for selling upscale niche clothing) recently introduced a $25 pair of golf socks to the marketplace, positioning the product as “performance” apparel for the golf aficionado

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications In an interview with CNBC’s Darren Rovell, Kentwool CEO Mark Kent explains: "Ninety-five percent of all socks are fashion based. Five percent are performance based. We basically set out to put ourselves in the top one percentile of that five percent to make the highest performing sock in any market segment. So to differentiate yourself you have to become in layman's terms the Ferrari of the market, you have to be the fastest car on the street or the best performing sock in the marketplace." Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications A private golf course may be suffering slumping membership sales. Management may choose to open up the course to the public, which will ultimately require a well planned re-positioning strategy Re-Positioning Re-Positioning: A marketer’s plan for changing consumers’ perceptions of a brand in comparison to competing brands Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications  Re-positioning involves identifying who the new target market is and a strategy for creating awareness and demand within that market  Part of the re-positioning effort in this case would require sending a message to the target market that the club is affordable by public standards Re-Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Slogan might be “Enjoy the benefits of a private club at public course rates!” Re-Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Chocolate Milk has adopted a re-positioning strategy in its efforts to communicate the product’s benefits as a post-workout recovery drink to fitness-minded consumers via its 2012 “My After ” campaignMy After Re-Positioning Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 4.5 Marketing Applications Blank Slide Available for Teacher Edits Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Marketing Applications LESSON 4.5 REVIEW (ANSWERS) 1) Illustrate the concept of positioning Positioning is the fixing of a sports or entertainment entity in the minds of consumers in the target market Copyright © 2013 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC