
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 ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
25/08/2026
Open, Sustainable, Predictable: What Utah Scientific Is Bringing to IBC 2026 As broadcast leaders prepare to gather at the RAI Amsterdam for IBC 2026, the main ...
25/08/2026
NC State's Matthew Byrd breaks down how an IP-based infrastructure is delivering greater flexibility and scalability for Wolfpack productions...
25/08/2026
Deal expands the DTC reach in-market of Capitals, Wizards, Mystics games and oth...
25/08/2026
The two-year renovation period will create a stadium of the future for the NFL f...
25/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
25/08/2026
Shell Energy Stadium in Houston has installed a new L-Acoustics A Series loudspeaker system, designed and installed by LD Systems, a Clair Global brand. The 20,...
25/08/2026
FloCollege is expanding its distribution and product offerings for the 2026-27 season, covering more than 20 NCAA partner conferences across Division I, II, and...
25/08/2026
TNA Wrestling and REVOLT have announced a content partnership bringing exclusive TNA Xplosion matches and content from TNA's library to REVOLT.
Our indust...
25/08/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its Q3 2026 Data Hub analysis showing that FAST sports programming is growing at more than ...
25/08/2026
Amagi has appointed Thomas d'H rouville as Head of Sales for France, Benelux, and Nordics. Based in Paris, he will lead Amagi's growth strategy across t...
25/08/2026
IPC has appointed CCATech as its channel partner in Brazil, expanding the company's presence in Latin America. CCATech was founded in 2023 by Carlos Abrah o...
25/08/2026
FanConnect has announced the FC4, a multi-output media player designed to drive mid-sized video walls, multi-screen concession stands, and multi-display digital...
25/08/2026
JWX has launched JWX Content Hub, a platform for publisher video that combines content transformation, social distribution, audience engagement, and monetizatio...
25/08/2026
Techex has appointed Stuart Almond as Chief Revenue Officer. Almond brings more than 25 years of experience across technology, media, and telecommunications, ha...
25/08/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate infrastructure connecting SDI, SMPTE ST 2110, MXL, and software-based processing at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September...
25/08/2026
Franchises are taking greater ownership of production, distribution, and the fan...
25/08/2026
The first-year circuit for former professional athletes leans on LiveU, Starlink...
25/08/2026
Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Breakthrough | Focus Features Fellows
L...
25/08/2026
Auction Part 3 running until 9 September 2026
Soundgas have announced that the latest stage of their John Paul Jones Gear Auction is now live, and that bids...
25/08/2026
Over 60 award-winning artists, songwriters, producers, engineers
The MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo SF), San Francisco's premier event for m...
25/08/2026
All three versions receive firmware upgrade
Groove Synthesis have just launched a free firmware update that kits the 3rd Wave out with two major new feature...
25/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Lingopal, the AI-powered live translation and localization specialist, is unveiling new platform capabilities at IBC2026 (11 14 September, RAI Amsterdam), helpi...
25/08/2026
Bminty is supporting TV5MONDE in the evolution of its editorial processes through a new AI-assisted press information generation solution. Combining the Louise ...
25/08/2026
Two Cultures. Millions Reached. One Berklee Connection. Meet Annie Dickinson and Zhengxi Zhang-the couple who turned their creative partnership into music car...
25/08/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced that Law&Crime has migrated its Court TV channel, s...
25/08/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, is showcasing the breadth of its ca...
25/08/2026
Thatcham, UK 25 August 2026: Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, has announced that leading broadcast rental company Minitech has purchased a Le...
25/08/2026
Appear's X20 Platform enables visually lossless video contribution with sub-frame latency and full path redundancy for TVTEL's centralised VAR operation...
25/08/2026
World-first demonstration combines 5G Broadcast and Media over QUIC for seamless, ultra-low-latency hybrid media delivery
Big Blue Marble will showcase new dev...
25/08/2026
MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, will showcase its complete sof...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Company to Demonstrate Practical AI Applications That Add Value Today and Longer-Term Path Toward Agentic AI
At IBC2026 (Sept. 11 14, RAI Amsterdam, Stand #1.B...
25/08/2026
Serving South Florida with a unique blend of jazz, Latin jazz, salsa, reggae, blues, and culturally reflective programming, WDNA 88.9FM operates as both a tradi...
25/08/2026
GlobalM announced that it is integrating its GMX software-defined media platform with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), bringing together Oracle's global c...
25/08/2026
Siena Kelly, Connor Swindells and Sophie Wilde join Boyle in the eight-part series from Working Title Television and Story Films, directed by Emmy and BAFTA nom...
25/08/2026
The critically acclaimed thriller will return to Sky in NovemberTuesday 25 Augus...
25/08/2026
Wuppertal August 25, 2026
Scottish Rugby Expands Managed Coach Communications Partnership With RiedelRiedel Communications today announced the continued expan...