Marketing and Advertising Lessons From 2020 That Could Make a Difference in 2021 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, December 28, 2020 - 12:47 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
If 2020 taught us anything, it was that the world of sports found a way to get through the pandemic with creativity, innovation and sheer force of will. It also doesn't hurt that the advertising dollars that fuel professional sports were that giant incentive to keep leagues, owners and fans aligned and the athletes on the field. Here too, we saw major innovations and creativity in sports marketing and advertising as brands found new ways to reach sports-hungry consumers. But how does the unique experience of 2020 shape the path forward into 2021? And how will next year be different - and perhaps represent a new normal - for sports marketers?
Matt Voda, OptaMine Software, CEO
Like almost every industry on the planet, much of what the 2021 sports marketing model will look like is predicated on how well the pandemic is controlled. Whether it be a vaccine, therapeutics or a combination of both, sports marketers will chiefly be concerned with whether or not teams are able to fill stadiums. That is a determinant as to whether marketers can rely on in-stadium advertising like scoreboard-related sponsorship or event activation.
But that's not the only consideration. Even after the pandemic is controlled, those looking to identify potential in-stadium activations will need to weigh whether the economic impact of the pandemic will cause a dip in demand for tickets in 2021.
For this reason, brands will also shy away from on-premise sponsorships. A brand's logo on the scoreboard doesn't matter if nobody sees it. Leagues, teams and broadcast networks will need to continue innovations in virtual and augmented realities, digital signage and second-screen in-game experiences to offset uncertain on-premise investments. Will 2021 be the year that brands' logos start to appear on all players' jerseys across all of the major American sports leagues? The Magic 8 ball says signs point to yes. And leagues trying new, innovative advertising mechanisms will look to the NBA for guidance on effectiveness as they lack their own ability to prove to brands that these innovations actually work. In this way, it will be a year of transition where the technology innovation outpaces the brands' ability to measure effectiveness. Expect 2022 to reconcile this disconnect, and continue the reshaping that began in 2020.
Unquestionably, though, the smart brands that shape their advertising plans with a foundation of flexibility will see success. Flexibility in 2021 means shifting more spend to digital, which can be turned off and on more precisely depending on the circumstances inside the stadiums. Flexibility also means that contracts and agreements allow brands to alter, adjust and opt-out of commitments if the market finds itself in wildly swinging and highly uncertain recovery mode. Lead times will be highly compressed, and advanced buys will disappear.
Ultimately behavior of audiences - in this case sports fans - will be that guiding North Star for marketers. What 2020 proved was that fans were starved for sports content, literally, of any kind. Adding to that phenomenon is the legalization of sports gambling. Several states have already legalized it with more state-specific legislation expected in 2021.
Regardless of how the in-stadium experience is impacted, the legalization of sports gambling increases engagement in second-screen experiences and overall across sports. That could present opportunities regardless of how the in-stadium experience is affected by the pandemic.
Audience engagement - and where they are engaged be it at the stadium or on their couch - is the critical piece to this puzzle.
Fans are the glue that make this whole market work and all participants need to do the right things for the audience. What 2020 proved is that when leagues did right by fans, they showed up - well, virtually anyway. And what that tells us all is that even when things are terrible, and in 2021 they could still be very bad, the fans make it all work, and make it all worthwhile.
Matt Voda is CEO at OptiMine Software, a leader in Cloud-based cross-channel marketing analytics and optimization. He's helped sports properties like the NBA measure the national TV ad impact on national broadcast TuneIn ratings. He joined the company from United Health Group, where he led consumer marketing and analytics within the $40B Optum division, developing and deploying sophisticated analytics-driven approaches to yield significant gains in consumer engagement and ROI. Matt also spent 11 years at Digital River as VP of Product Management, helping develop the world's first cloud-based e-commerce platform.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Marketing and Advertising Lessons From 2020 That Could Make a Difference in 2021 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
