Marketing is one of the crucial jobs for every organisation to reach a mass audience and increase the sales and revenue of organisations. Over the years marketing as a tool has grown in stature showing the rise in competition and the impact of effective execution of marketing strategies has been positive for companies. In order to effectively achieve the marketing objectives, it is important for organisations to make sure effective analysis of the market and immediate rivals is done in the best possible manner which would help to improve the marketing strategies and also help to generate sales and revenue (Shank & Lyberger, 2014, p. 10). Especially when it comes to the sports industry in the US it becomes extremely important for each sports organisation to maintain a strong consumer connection which would help to improve the reach of the sports.
The history of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing goes way back in the early 40s. The sport that started merely for personal fun was officially launched for public entertainment by William Henry France Sr. in the year 1948 headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. NASCAR since then has become a household and often considered the real sports in the US entertainment industry. NASCAR has since then been largely preferred by the sponsors heavily because of its attractive nature. As per the official reports, the total revenue collected by the company this year until February is $158million. NASCAR has received a fair amount of interest from the consumers over the years but it has also faced significant competition from the other sports organisations for instance like the Premier Soccer League or NBA has gained significant interest in the market (Jeffery & Williams, 2017, p. 27).
The National Basketball Association is a men’s basketball competition that pans American project. NBA is one of the most followed sports in the US just below NFL and followed by soccer. The NBA is the largest basketball competition all across the world and in fact, it is also considered as the third largest among domestic professional sports in terms of attendance all across the world. Founded in 1946 basketball has become the passion for US consumers that goes on decades. As per the latest report, 30 teams of the NBA has generated revenue of $ 7.4 billion in the financial year of 2017 (AÇAR, 2017, p. 22).
One of the major differences between NASCAR and NBA as brands is the way both the brands promote themselves. When the passion for NBA is almost in every house in the US NASCAR has failed to create that excitement among consumers only because of the marketing strategy. Both the sports are filled with higher adrenaline but from the business point of view, NASCAR has failed to utilise that in the marketing of the brand. Even though NASCAR is a renowned brand it is not able to connect in an effective manner with the youths and millennial which NBA has done in an effective manner. Pretty similar to the sports Golf which is considered the game of the riches have been sidelined and NBA has emerged victorious which clearly shows that it is all about the connection sport makes with the consumers. There is a number of other factors that create the difference. For instance, young basketball stars have been highly motivating for youths and even for older people where other sports stars have not been able to do. The reach and extensity of NBA are way higher than NASCAR because it is loved way too much which NASCAR has not been able to create (Duffy, 2018, p. 16).
The US economy has faced its ups and downs in the recent past. It is important to note that the economy has a significant impact on almost everything and hence it could be said that both the brands have been impacted by the economy. Both the brands breed on the healthy and growing economy which clearly means that anything negative with the US economy is likely to affect the growth and development of the brands. Especially since racing is a one-man game it largely is affected by the economy (Erb & Huatbois, 2018, p. 111). For instance, placing a racing team turns out to be expensive and so is an NBA team but the difference is there is a number of players to support in an NBA team whereas in racing there’s only one man and this is decided by the viewers which come with different consequences. There are several monetary reasons that are directly influenced by the economy which impacts both the brands equally. For instance increase in the entertainment tax and an increase in costs for the satellite, rights play a major role for both the brands (Hudgins, 2017, p. 81-23).
As discussed earlier one of the drawbacks for NASCAR is it is not able to motivate and influence youths and millennial which has been effectively done by NBA. This is where the latter gets upper hand. NBA targets young to middle-aged people from different income segment which means the segmentation of NBA is mainly done on age. On the other hand, NASCAR directly attracts with the help of income segment and targets people who make significant lifestyle choices (Shank & Lyberger, 2014, p. 76-77).
Sponsors are also exclusively chosen for NASCAR whereas NBA focuses on more sponsors and more money. NASCAR is particular about not putting more than two logos in the jersey whereas NBA doesn’t have any policy like that and more than two sponsors are welcome which makes it complex for NBA teams at times (Goldsmith & Walker, 2015, p. 45).
NASCAR has lacked effective sponsors in the recent past because of its failed promotional strategy so it can learn the promotional strategy from NBA. NBA has been excellent in going through the social media marketing which NASCAR could execute in its marketing model. NASCAR should also focus on creating Sporting icons as leaders like NBA does. The likes of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are idolised and NASCAR should implement. On the other hand, NBA should focus on understanding the marketing model of NASCAR and its insights on sponsor influence that would help NBA to improve its sponsor relationship and reduce confusion. The three-tier sponsorship concept of NASCAR could be effective for NBA as well (Davis & Hilbert, 2013, p. 21-23).
In order to maintain a good run and expand its fan base, NASCAR would have to reach the bigger mass of people. It is important for the organisation to reach consumers through effective social media marketing strategy and through better and connecting personalised promotion. NASCAR should invite more and more people through social marketing and creating sports icons for whom people would be interested to watch racing. This has been done in the world of F1 where racers like Hamilton, Vettel, and Schumacher have influenced people from various age groups to watch races (Jeffery & Williams, 2017, p. 123).
Conclusion:
NASCAR is a sports brand that has entertained the US audience for a long time now. In the recent past, the company has faced a number of issues which clearly shows that it is time to improve the marketing strategy of the organisation. The present study has put forward a critical comparison of NASCAR with the National Basketball Association that has helped to provide effective recommendations.
References:
AÇAR, N. (2017). SPORTS SPONSORSHIP IN SPORTS MARKETING: CASES FROM GLOBAL BRANDS.
Davis, J. A., & Hilbert, J. Z. (2013). Sports marketing: creating long term value. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Duffy, M. J. (2018). “I Wanna Be Like Mike:” A Synthesis of Sports Marketing from Babe Ruth to Michael Jordan.
Erb, G., & Huatbois, C. (2018, May). Sport Marketing Management and Communication. In Managing Sport Business: An Introduction (pp. 296-318). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Goldsmith, A. L., & Walker, M. (2015). The NASCAR experience: Examining the influence of fantasy sport participation on ‘non-fans’. Sport Management Review, 18(2), 231-243.
Hudgins, B. (2017). A Basketball World. Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 26(1), 4.
Jeffery, M., & Williams, J. (2017). DuPont-NASCAR Marketing. Kellogg School of Management Cases, 1-26.
Shank, M. D., & Lyberger, M. R. (2014). Sports marketing: A strategic perspective. Routledge.
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