As MD and owner at global content creator Zut, Mark Hancock and his fellow creatives/marketeers have been limbering up for a lively summer of sport for some time.
Here, he shares his thoughts on why authenticity will be key to standing out and scoring big over the coming months.
As a massive sports fan and a creative who works closely with some of the biggest global sports brands, this is a summer I’ve been looking forward to for a while.
It’s not often the sporting stars align so well. Euro ’24, the Paris Olympics, Paralympics, Wimbledon… there’s plenty to watch and enjoy.
For retailers the potential is huge – only recently, brand partner Unilever said it was expecting an audience of five million for the Euros alone, with another one billion tuning in to follow events in Paris.
For creatives and content producers, the opportunities – and challenges – are vast.
As with any crowded market, making work that cuts through and has verifiable impact will be what matters. And just like with big seasonal events like Christmas, finding smart ways to engage with people who care about sports and brands key to being effective and seen.
The power of connection
So how can we get it right? How do you make your voice heard in such a ‘noisy’ and busy brand space?
For me it’s all about authenticity. Without that there’s no meaning, no connection between users/viewers and the brand you’re representing and ultimately, no commercial success. Our work always starts with a gaining detailed understanding and insight into the real emotion felt by fans and translating these details into the work.
Finding that connection between fan and club or sport, understanding how it feels to be a fan, what it means to see, wear and the love the shirt and your team, to meet a star player, watch a race or hear the roar from the crowd with your mates.
Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest marketing news sent straight to your inbox each morning
From the earliest planning stage, we speak directly to fans and followers, sometimes casting them as models, actors or supporting artists. As a team we’re avid sports fans ourselves and we can test concepts against that genuine, personal passion.
Reflecting the breadth and diversity of fandom is important too. We recently worked with sports access campaign group, Level Playing Field, to create a powerful film, looking at the challenges facing football fans living with disability.
Going global
The global nature of much of this summer’s activities adds another layer of consideration – the challenge of speaking meaningfully to regional, international and online audiences at the same time. How do you create multi-platform work that will live and work in different territories, talking to massive international audiences, while retaining the regional differences that make it real?
Creating for a global audience doesn’t mean diluting a side’s regionality, if anything, it means dialing it up, bringing that authenticity, community and local feel to the fore in the right ways.
So when we’re working for a football club for example, we know that fans in Singapore or Dubai don’t want something neutral – they want to see a homegrown fan in the shirt, they want to hear accents, see the city. When they access content or buy the shirt, they’re buying in to that community, that sense of connection.
We’re looking forward to seeing some of the amazing work that’s bound to shine through this summer.
Whoever the audience and wherever the results, PBs and medals land, the creative winners will be those that tap into genuine joy of fandom, bringing it to life in ways that promote inclusion and visibility, conjuring up credible content, connection and ultimately, action.
Sporting content takeaways:
- Leverage the look and feel of genuine fandom, harnessing authentic experiences to create original content, with focus and attention to detail
- Work with real fans to create genuine passion and emotion
- Showcase regional experience and talent on a global stage
- Embrace and represent the diversity and inclusivity of sport
- Understand the emotional journeys – looking at sport through a historical lens, sharing memories, understanding fans’ connection to their individual clubs
- Use the power of individual sports stars to create candid and BTS ‘wow’ moments and highlights
