Some key facts for your eyeballs:

• The sport product is inconsistent in its consumption
• The core element or performance is just one element of a larger ensemble
• The marketer typically has little control over the core product
  • We do not market that Michigan is #1, because next year we may not be!

Consider the difference between a core product and an extension

• Core Products:
  • Apparel and equipment
  • Rules/techniques
  • Star power
  • Fan behavior
  • Venue
  • Personnel and process
• Extensions:
  • Electronic products
  • Tickets, programs, other literature
  • Memories, artifacts
  • Hybrid products
  • Novelties, fantasies

Game presentation: the management of the core products and the extensions that together create the fan experience

Key issues in sport product strategy:

• Differentiation
  • Setting yourself apart from competition (other leagues, sports, etc)
• Product Development
  • Using focus groups etc. to find that which appeals
  • Consumers grapple with five separate issues that must be considered:
    • Relative advantage of new over old
    • Complexity or difficulty in adopting
    • Compatibility with consumer values
    • Divisibility into smaller trial portions
    • Communicability of benefits
• Product Position
  • The imagery and other materials you need to present your appeal is your position within the market. Manage these five images:
    • Trademark imagery (#BRANDING)
    • Product imagery (performance)
    • Associative imagery (be seen in good places)
    • User imagery (the image of the fans)
    • Usage imagery (where and how that logo shows up)
  • Positioning can be considered along two axes: cost and action
• Brands and Branding
  • Name recognition and awareness
• Product and Brand cycles
  • Population dynamics could be instructive here…
  • Product life cycle:
    • Introduction
    • Growth
    • Maturity
    • Decline

Come back soon!