
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 ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/07/2026
With 50+ cameras, three trucks, 60+ EVS channels, RFID hole-card workflows, and ...
09/07/2026
A recent graduate from Westchester, NY, this experienced technician has already started her first gig in the industry, as a REMI A2 Comms Specialist at ESPN
In...
09/07/2026
Live sports production is a fast-paced industry with no signs of slowing down. W...
09/07/2026
From a rooftop studio in Manhattan, multiple Germany-based companies share respo...
09/07/2026
Overtime has announced a content partnership with FOX One to produce Race to Glo...
09/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced that Ross Production Services (RPS) has standardized on ...
09/07/2026
The NFL has announced that NetApp will return as Presenting Partner of the NFL Madrid Game, featuring the Atlanta Falcons against the Cincinnati Bengals at the ...
09/07/2026
The R&A and Cisco have announced a multi-year partnership making Cisco the Official Network Supplier of The R&A and its Championships. Cisco will deploy AI-read...
09/07/2026
Fox Television Stations, Extreme Reach (XR), and LTN have announced the completi...
09/07/2026
Kiswe has announced a partnership with Wynn Records to launch the Wynn Records Network streaming platform, debuting Saturday, July 11 with a Salita Promotions b...
09/07/2026
NEP Europe has announced a new multi-year agreement with Wimbledon Broadcast Ser...
09/07/2026
Thropic Games, a company offering casual mobile games tied to fan fundraising for sports programs, has announced a pre-seed funding round led by The Famous Grou...
09/07/2026
Game Creek Video has reached an agreement with Grass Valley to purchase 10 K-Frame production switchers as part of a two-year fleet expansion. Two systems have ...
09/07/2026
Gravity Media is delivering a three-hub remote production workflow for ITV's...
09/07/2026
A new report from Quickplay and Caretta Research, The Broadcaster Revolution Wi...
09/07/2026
DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has announced a long-term strategic partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation to serve as t...
09/07/2026
The regional sports network is staying busy this summer with broadcasts of the N...
09/07/2026
Latest analogue-emulation plug-ins revealed
Universal Audio have just added two new analogue-emulation plug-ins to their DSP-powered UAD line-up. Developed ...
09/07/2026
Limited-edition mic celebrates rock icon
Neumann have partnered with the Bon Scott Estate to create a limited-edition version of the U 47 FET that honours b...
09/07/2026
Handles organisation, updates, troubleshooting & more
Created by pro-audio software developer Julian Worden, Plugin Station from Julian Michael Technologies...
09/07/2026
Introduces new $1 million advance programme
LANDR have just announced the next phase of their Fair Trade AI programme, a pioneering opt-in music-licensing p...
09/07/2026
Four new titles now available
Spitfire Audio have just introduced four new titles in their Originals range, bringing the total count of libraries in the low...
09/07/2026
SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion
9 July, 2026
Media releases
SBS acknowledges the gravity of the matters before the Roy...
09/07/2026
08 July 2026, Johannesburg - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...
09/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces New UltraStudio Express 3G
Brie Clayton July 9, 2026
0 Comments
New extremely portable capture and playback models with 3G...
09/07/2026
Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card Management Platform for ...
09/07/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), one of Asia's most prestigious horse racing organizations, has significantly up...
09/07/2026
Leading North American mobile production facility provider standardizes on Grass Valley's fully IP-native K-Frame production switchers for its fleet of next...
09/07/2026
Miri Technologies Inc. is rolling out a new online portal that provides customers and resellers with self-serve management tools and usage analytics for the com...
09/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/07/2026
Cinematographer Aakash Subramaniam, WICA faced a conceptual challenge: how could he make a film about dying that doesn't feel like one? The film, Our Weird...
09/07/2026
Years in the making, this intimate documentary draws on rare access to Leah Crouchers family to tell the story behind one of Britains most high-profile missing ...
09/07/2026
Thursday 9 July 2026
Enjoy Gigafast speeds and Ultimate TV pack for less
The latest deals have dropped from Sky TV and Sky Broadband, the award-winning provid...
09/07/2026
Hands up who would like to dress up as a giant crisp packet?
The call that went out across the agency as our anti-litter campaign, Wish you weren't here fo...
09/07/2026
This GFN Thursday brings more games, more power and more ways to play on GeForce NOW.
The cloud gaming service is expanding with a new GeForce RTX 5080-powere...
08/07/2026
The end of the Big A' marks the demise of one more iconic sports venue and its signature sound
After 132 years as one of the preeminent horse-racing track...
08/07/2026
Memphis Athletics and Learfield have signed a long-term renewal to their 25-year relationship, which sees Learfield's Tiger Sports Properties continue repre...
08/07/2026
MLB All-Star Week returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 30 years as Amer...
08/07/2026
Former Wall Street Video event expanded to include all Enterprise sectors
SVG Enterprise has announced the inaugural Enterprise Video Summit, taking place Oct....
08/07/2026
An offseason project enhanced eight video displays around the venue in time for ...
08/07/2026
Kaseya Center has a ton of new features that weren't available to the indust...