Sport has immense significance - also in marketing

Because sport arouses emotions, the format is an ideal platform for advertisers.BY BETTINA BÜSSEROf course, there are fanatical one-discipline fans who are only interested in "their" sport and read up on it in specialist magazines, specialist programs and specialist forums. However, many sports fans are interested in a variety of sports and get information from a wide range of sources. For example in the "Blick" sports section. Because "Blick" focuses on sport: "The sports section makes up around half of "Blick"," says Felix Bingesser, Head of Sport at the "Blick" Group. This alone shows the importance of sport - it is the "most comprehensive, most up-to-date, most elaborately presented and staged" sports section in the country: "Blick" sport sets topics and shapes opinions on the major popular sports." According to Bingesser, there are no surveys on usage explicitly relating to the "Blick" sports section, but the editorial team receives dozens of "very insightful" comments and suggestions from readers every day. Bingesser can imagine that some readers read "Blick" primarily because of the sports section: "Sport has an immense social significance. It is therefore certainly the case that there are readers who perceive Blick as an actual sports newspaper and read it mainly because of the sports section."Sport is part of the lifestyleAccording to Beniamino Esposito, Head of Advertising Market, the high social significance of sport and its "affiliation with the lifestyle theme" has Ringier AGThis also has an impact on the advertising market: advertisers have recognized this development and are increasingly positioning themselves in this environment, "which has a positive effect on the development of the advertising market for us. There are also special offers in the "Blick" sports environment: "Sports sponsorship only makes sense if the necessary activation measures are also implemented," says Esposito: "We work very creatively to offer advertising clients the ideal environment and develop individual approaches for their communication needs. "The sports expertise of the "Blick" Group is also in demand on Sundays. That's why "SonntagsBlick" has a sports section. Just like in the other Sunday newspapers. The "SonntagsZeitung", for example, reports "quickly and competently on the most important sporting events, backed up with news, analyses and portraits of the winners and losers", according to publishing director Diego Quintarelli. Usage shows that the sports section is the "most male section" of SoZ, with 61 percent of readers being male. According to Quintarelli, 46% of the sports section readership is in the middle age segment, i.e. 35 to 54 years old, and 35% of the readership has a household income of over CHF 10,000. According to Quintarelli, "more and more individual customer solutions" are being offered in addition to conventional ad placements. According to Quintarelli, it is not possible to say how this is paying off in terms of revenue, as the Sportbund is not reported separately in the advertising market.Sportpanorama with 27.6 percent market shareSports fans who read the SoZ or SoBli-Sportbund on Sunday morning will often also watch the "sports panorama". According to SRF market and audience research, it reached an average of 295,000 viewers and a market share of 27.6% in 2013. This makes it the program with the widest reach. SRF-sports magazine, followed by "sports news" (ZS 121,000, MA 12.2 percent) and "sports lounge" (ZS 97,000, MA 10.8 percent). "Alongside live sport, which is becoming even more strategically important in times of new ways of using content, the three magazine programs are fixed elements in SRF's overall offering," says Nök Ledergerber, Program Officer SRF Sport. The daily "sportaktuell" offers "summaries, reactions, emotions and, depending on the news of the day, also portraits and in-depth stories." "Sportpanorama" summarizes the weekend events with a focus on Sunday, with a studio guest at the center. "Sportlounge" is the background magazine, "partly oriented towards current affairs, partly completely detached from them, it delves deeper into sporting events with longer reports and a discussion with exciting personalities from the world of sport", as Ledergerber defines.In addition to the advertising blocks around these three programs, there are also sponsorship offers; according to Romi Hofer, PR manager at SRF marketer publisuisse, these offers are well used, and consistently so. According to Hofer, the publisuisse offers relating to live sport on SRF are also "always well used": "For major events such as the World and European Championships or the Olympic Games, we offer complete packages alongside advertising and sponsorship, which combine the various commercial offers relating to SRG SSR's media offering so that advertisers can use them cross-media."According to Hofer, there are no clear industry trends among advertisers: "But it is clear that sports sponsors such as association partners are increasingly using the platforms. "According to Nök Ledergerner, SRF Sport is based on the three-pillar model of "Swiss athletes", "sports events in Switzerland" and "top international events". SRF reports on more than 60 types of sport "and is a reliable partner thanks to its rights portfolio".Supplement to the offerIn the live area, of course, the payment offer from Teleclub an important role, especially as far as football and ice hockey are concerned. In other sports, the "SportScene television" (SSf), the former Schweizer Sportfernsehen: "The programme is geared towards live sport as a supplement to the offerings of other channels, with a focus on handball, volleyball and running," says Philip Michel, Deputy Managing Director and Programme Director of SSf. Since its foundation in 2007, the station has offered a versatile platform for sport in Switzerland with live broadcasts, background reports and magazines; with the relaunch in 2013, the program concept was expanded to include the "scene" area: "SSf has thus opened itself up to content from the areas of business, comedy, art and culture," says Michel, noting that SSf is a special-interest channel whose content is aimed at specific target groups: "The viewer reactions show that SSf has established itself well among the target group interested in sport. We have received very good feedback on our new formats since the beginning of the year." According to Michel, SSf reported "positive EBIT" in the advertising market in 2013 and was satisfied with the development. "In addition to classic spot bookings and billboard sponsorships, we have a lot of experience in branded entertainment and offer our customers customized integrations and stage brands and products within the programs," says Michel. Sportal Groupwhich is already active with the sport.ch platform: "Our digital channel SPORTAL HD, which focuses on live sports productions, will be launched in the first quarter of 2014. The program core is the daily format "Daily Sport Show" from Monday to Friday, plus the "NewsCenter" format and live sport," says Alexander Grimm, CEO Sportal Group. The company will start with this offering, with a football and field hockey format to be added later. According to Grimm, SPORTAL HD will offer sponsorship/advertising packages for the programs, "we will then tackle the classic spot area in 2015".Fussball, field hockey, tennis, alpine skiingThe Sportal platform sport.ch reported 12.6 million page views and 1.9 million visits in November 2013 - reporting, according to Frimm's definition, "up-to-the-minute - with ticker and stream - on the major sporting events". It is a "classic sports portal that provides users with up-to-date information and news as well as a results service, tables and statistics anytime and anywhere," says Grimm, adding that larger key topics are enriched with background reports, interviews, analyses and commentaries. The most important topics for users are football and ice hockey, "tennis", Grimm continues, also enjoys increased attention thanks to Federer and Wawrinka, and winter sports, especially alpine skiing, is the fourth driving force behind the topics. "What is special about the sport.ch offering is that the content products generated on sport.ch are also offered on the market: "With the exception of Newsnetz, all relevant media platforms are now among our customers," says Grimm. In the advertising market, sport.ch has exceeded the previous year's figures: "In the mobile sector, advertising revenue is not developing in line with usage figures. However, we have been offering digital packages since 2013 that offer our advertising customers an extension into the mobile sector at no extra cost. The majority of customers take advantage of this offer." In each case, we work with the customer to define which environments they want to occupy, "because a campaign can take place in the environment of a sport or in the environment of a specific league". According to Grimm, sport.ch's target group is male and interested in sport, "and the industries that advertise with us are correspondingly male: Cars, consumer electronics, men's grooming products".