At the 2024 SportsPro Media conference in London, which took place April 23–24, the overarching themes included developing the right tone of voice for audiences; creating unique content that is accessible all year round; the potential of minority sports to expand; and the opportunities available to sports across Africa.

The conference featured sessions on investing in sports, women's soccer, sports sponsorships, fan engagement, the City Football Group, diversity and AI in sports.

➤ Original content that is available all year round helps keep conversations with fans and brands alive.

➤ Adopting the right tone of voice is key to communicating effectively with audiences.

➤ Women's sports continue to offer great potential but they must be managed differently than men's sports.

➤ Africa presents a significant opportunity for sports teams to tap into new markets and talent.

Opportunities continue to develop in women's sports

The growth and development of women's sports was a constant theme across the event as sports bodies, organizations and brands paid attention to the opportunities in the genre.

Nikki Doucet, CEO of the Women's Super League (WSL) and Championship, and Victoire Cogevina Reyna, CEO and founder of investment group Mercury 13, had a discussion regarding the potential for women's soccer in terms of fan engagement, media coverage, and investment. Reyna noted that while media rights have reached a plateau globally, women's sports present significant opportunities for growth.

Doucet and Reyna also spoke about the need to view men's and women's soccer as distinct events, with each requiring specific marketing strategies to attract their target audience. Doucet explained that a sold-out Emirates stadium at Arsenal for women's games would be "very different" from men's games in terms of atmosphere and opportunity, among other factors.

Doucet expressed her enthusiasm for the sport's current state, and she aims to drive it forward by engaging with stakeholders like Nike Inc. and gathering more insights from athletes and fans.

Doucet also identified three types of WSL fans: the core fan, who has held a season ticket and watched women's soccer for an extended period, the middle fan, who became interested in women's soccer through a men's team, and the new fan, who developed a passion for the sport following the recent success of the England Lionesses. She believes this last group is unique to the women's game and is not interested in men's soccer.

Asked about how women's soccer can reach its full potential, Doucet identified three key factors for success: creating equitable opportunities, understanding the fans to fill the stadiums constantly, making it easy to watch; and ensuring media visibility via clear broadcast scheduling slots.

For her part, Sally Moore, global head of sponsorship at The Sage Group PLC, which sponsors the Women's Six Nations Rugby tournament, mentioned that their relationship with their clients and customers was different as there were more women entrepreneurs involved in women's sports who required a different type of relationship. Moore said their sponsorship activation was very different to reflect their audience and customers.

Authenticity and speaking to your audience

Various brands and sponsors discussed how they use different tones of voice to target specific audiences effectively. PepsiCo Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Mark Kirkham talked about the company's partnership with the Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA) and the Champions League Competition. The UEFA wanted to expand its reach beyond the sports industry and Pepsi helped them achieve this by leveraging their reputation in the entertainment market. Pepsi's diverse portfolio allowed it to position UEFA differently in various markets, using the appropriate tone of voice to engage with fans in each market.

The City Football Group Ltd. is also using different methods and platforms to better engage with a global audience. Nuria Tarre, the club's chief marketing officer, said they are targeting female and younger fans to grow their audience beyond the traditional male soccer audience. Younger fans have a more flexible relationship with football, following players or multiple teams and viewing soccer as part of their broader entertainment mix, including clothes, music and lifestyle. The club's use of the Roblox platform is a good example, extending its brand and voice into new areas.

The club has also established an Esports team, pioneering fan engagement through this channel. The team was initially created based on the Electronic Arts Inc. soccer game EA Sports FC, but the club has now formed a Fortnite team, recognizing the importance of engaging with new, young fans.

In addition, the club physically interacts with fans through their "Trophy Tour" where actual trophies won by the club are taken on a tour for fans to see. This approach again highlights the importance of tone of voice in delivering the message effectively.

Content

Part of the appeal of sports is the excitement of live matches. The sports industry is trying to replicate that excitement by delivering fresh and exclusive content for fans so their clubs and events can exist beyond the Match Day experience.

For instance, City Football Group has created City Studios, a production facility that creates content all year round not only for local fans but for fans across the world who might never actually attend a match. The unique access that the studios have to players helps create authentic and realistic material. By creating the right environment for players to relax and feel natural, the cameras become "another player."

For their part, Six Nations Rugby Tournament Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Beattie and Ryder Cup Productions Director Tom Jackson recognize the importance of talking to their fans throughout the year despite their events having a short window. They spoke about the importance of authenticity in creating successful content, and how the story may be off the pitch rather than on it, as seen in the PGA/LIV development in golf. Beattie and Jackson said gaining effective access was vital, especially for reaching the younger audiences, but being editorially discreet was also important to be able to "read the dressing room" and gain the trust of the players.

The opportunity in Africa

Osi Umeyiora, a two-time Super Bowl winner, recently led a discussion on how Africa can become a new "sporting frontier" in the future. He is heading a new initiative by the National Football League Inc. to make American football the most popular sport across the continent by using their International Pathways Program to develop talent and to deliver players into the NFL via regional development camps. Umeyiora mentioned that there are more than 130 first- or second-generation African players in the NFL, and he wants to increase this number.

The African soccer governing body, Confederation Africaine de Football, was represented by its head of digital and marketing, Sherif Hassan, who said this year's African Cup of Nations tournament was its most successful ever. Part of this success was due to telling the story of not only soccer but also the wider African opportunity, based on three central pillars: music, culture and fashion.

The panel, which included Maureen Rosita Ojong Ebob Besong from the IOC, said the continent presents numerous opportunities, with 60% of the population under 25 years old and 55 countries linked yet all different, offering great potential.

Targeting growth in minority sports

During a discussion on popular sports such as soccer and the NFL, there was also talk about the potential of developing lesser-known sports. Sports such as fishing, netball, and especially gymnastics have a large following, particularly during the Olympics, where gymnastics has produced some of the most memorable moments in sports history, with stars like Nadia Comaneci scoring a perfect 10 in 1976 for her performances.

Emily Frazer, group director at Matchroom Sport, discussed how the company uses research to identify opportunities in the market. Once an opportunity has been identified, the group tries to control as much of the competition as possible to help drive the product forward through celebrity involvement and by creating new, global events that drive passion around the sport.

The recent success of darts was discussed as an example of this strategy. Professional Darts Association CEO Matthew Porter talked about the organization's 30-year journey to make the sport what it is today. He cited the importance of its relationship with Sky Sports, which recorded its highest-ever non-soccer audience with darts. Porter also shared that darts are moving beyond the realm of sports and becoming a broader entertainment-based business with how darts are consumed.

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