Business Monitor
This month, Paul Clapham, marketing expert, explains how you can gain business from the sports that came out on top at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Going for gold A
s I write the Tokyo Olympics have recently finished. Two weeks of late nights and early mornings (I didn’t think it would get me, but it did). It also represented an advertising programme for all those sports that don’t get coverage normally and where there are a lot of potential business opportunities for garment decorators. At the same time, it demonstrated which sports are probably best avoided.
Probably the biggest winner of new customers has been skateboarding. I understand that like all sports the basic kit comes with every possible price point, but the entry cost is much lower than most sports. What’s more dad can probably remember having a board himself. You don’t need pester power when you’ve got poppa power. It ticks a lot of boxes – outdoor physical activity, learning to cope with bumps and bruises, teamwork and club membership. What parent would not approve.? It is also unisex and accessible from a young age – note that Sky Brown was a medallist at 13. All in all, it is little wonder that sales of skateboards have rocketed. I would hunt up clubs ASAP and keep an eye open for local coverage of the sport. Note that skateboarding is a social activity at skate parks as well as a full-blown sport.
Take it seriously
Much the same can be said about BMX. The coverage of the success of Kye Whyte and Beth Shriever was such that some other sportsmen and women must have been green with envy. Again, the big success was Beth, winning the gold medal. Britain sent more women than men to Tokyo and it definitely showed on the medal lists. Buying a BMX bike is far more than buying a skateboard, but it’s cheaper than many other sports. Again, it’s a club-based activity if you’re taking it seriously. Kye gave repeated boosts for his South London club. Again, this is healthy activity for parents to approve of, while their kids are focused on how cool it is and we all know how important cool is to teens and 20 somethings. Let’s just look at the big issue of facilities. There’s not much point selling skateboards, BMX bikes and clothing if
| 20 | October 2021
there’s nowhere to use them. In fairness, there are a reasonable number of tracks for both sports, but not as many as demand is expected to drive in the coming months. I know little about construction, but building these facilities looks fast and inexpensive. The local authorities who invest in this are, in my view, onto a political winner. Parents and first-time voters will vote for the party which looks after them. I would suggest that there is potential for selling sponsorship of both new build and existing facilities – reaching teenage boys with advertising is notoriously difficult. The more tracks there are, the more medals can be expected in Paris.
Investment
The good folks who give lottery funding to sports should be keen on investing in hardware as well as people. There is a prejudice that it’s only the posh sports that get funding. Rowing is the classic example and despite receiving the most money the rowers won one silver and one bronze. Poor. Meanwhile Beth Shriever was working as a teaching assistant to get to Tokyo. I should add that Matthew Pinsent – top rower – owned up to this failure.
Lots of success
Britain had lots of success in the boxing ring. Personally, I am not a fan, but I know lots are, with plenty of new recruits now. Anyone who watched these men and women must have been impressed like me at the personalities that shone through. Ben Whittaker who wants to be mayor of
Wolverhampton was my favourite, but the team captain Frazer Clarke and his mini mate Galal Yafa weren’t far behind. Add to that the woman’s gold medallist Lauren Price and you’ve got a fun group of winners. All that said I wouldn’t care to be tasked with recruiting the next generation of Olympic boxers: I can just hear mothers having a fit at the thought. I speak as a retired rugby player who heard that same fit in connection with my favourite sport.
So, we come to the expensive success stories: equestrianism and sailing. The former demands serious financial commitment and there is no guarantee of a good outcome – it’s a sentient animal, not a machine. If every little girl who persuaded daddy to buy her a horse achieved Olympic standard the rostrum would be heaving. From a decorator’s viewpoint I doubt there’s much business to be had – it is elitist and hence attracting few participants. I’m aware, however, that involvement with the pony club is a serious commitment which could lead to sales, but unless you’re already involved, I’d look elsewhere for post-Olympic business.
Sailing means you’ll need a boat and not a Mirror dinghy. Yes, all the early learning can be done at a club in borrowed boats, but anyone who gets serious has a pricey purchase to make before sponsors come knocking. Still, sailing clubs are not elitist in my experience, but they are by the sea which you probably aren’t.
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