Yutang Sports Released Sports Marketing Survey

In the pyramid of sports industry, what attract public attentions are always classic athletes, sensational performances and glorious championships that exist at the spire. However, it is the intellectual properties of sports events that constructs the foundation of the whole ecosystem. As the internal core of sports events, it brings the audience and enthusiasts with various viewing and participation experiences, provides social medias with valuable topics for publicity, as well as demonstrates inestimable business potentials to sponsors. In fact, the whole superstructure of sports industry, from collective bargaining agreement of professional leagues and operations of sports franchises to media coverage and the audience’s experience, can hardly exist individually without the existence of sports IPs.

However, the exploration of economic, social and cultural value hidden within the IPs is calling for practitioners from all walks of life to locate the entrance to resources and excavate from different angles. This is exactly the moment when sports marketing was born.

Unfortunately, the global spread of Covid-19, volatile situation worldwide, as well as economy depression, are bringing sports industry, especially sports events, with considerable uncertainties. The postponement and cancellation of events, slump of ticket revenues, and shifting attitude of sponsors have forced event organizers to jump out of the comfort zone and look for a new monetizing model under the new normal of Covid-19. As the year of 2020 comes to an end and a new year filled with international sports events approaching. It remains to be a significant issue in terms of how race organizers and sponsors treat the special sports year and their corresponding preparations.

As a result, under this general background, Yutang Sports, with years of experience in sports business, has conducted a research analysis of race organizers’ current situations and future expectations. During the past four months, more than 50 participants worldwide, including race organizers, professional leagues and clubs, have raised their constructive ideas and summarized their prospects towards the future. Through the sports marketing report, we dedicate to break practitioners’ misunderstandings towards sports marketing and help organizers and sponsors build their confidence towards the future, so that both parties can make the right choice when races are close at hand.

According to the survey, more than 40% of events hosted by these organizers are international events, followed by regional events or amateur events, indicating that top international sports assets are very optimistic about the Chinese market. On the other hand, the operating costs of such events are very high, so many medium-to-small companies opt for regional tournaments or amateur tournaments. 60% of organizers host one or more events a year, according to the survey.

The survey shows that 40% of the sports event organizers are losing money, while 36% barely achieve profits, which means they have not maximized business development for the events they host. In fact, the survey shows that nearly 70% of the organizers are dissatisfied with their business development of the events and the returns they produce.

The coronavirus pandemic has also had a huge impact on sports event organizers. All organizers surveyed have been forced to adjust their business operations under the influence of the pandemic. 25% of the organizers chose to cancel the current season's events, and more than 40% decided to postpone indefinitely. However, the pandemic has also caused some important events to be postponed to 2021, making 2021 an important year of sports events. The vast majority of sports event organizers have already sensed the opportunity for the further development and upgrading of the sports industry, and hope to take advantage of this opportunity to achieve further growth. Among them, 50% of the organizers hope to introduce new events to follow the changes in market demand and policy trends, in order to gain more spotlight and prepare for long-term development; nearly 30 % are open-minded and will make decisions based on future developments.

You can find the Chinese version of the survey here.