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Evan Stovall
Professor Jizi
UWRT 1102-009
10 April 2010
Research Essay
My inquiry subject is Sports Marketing. I chose this topic because it is what I have
decided to major in and pursue as my career. I asked myself one question, what does it takes to
be a successful sports marketer, because I want to be the best I can be at everything I do. Which
is why I chose that question as my inquiry question. I want to know more about sports marketing
and I want to know what it takes to be the most successful sports marketer. Sports marketing
interest me because I love sports, I love anything that is incorporated within sports and anything
that sports have to offer. As for the marketing aspect, I like to think of things that will attract
people, things that are well liked and respected and sports marketers fits that description.
Many companies, products, players, and teams can be affected by the turnout of a sports
marketing decisions. The billboards at your local stadium, the corporate sponsored tournament
you watch on TV, and the commercials with athletes promoting your favorite fast-food chain are
all products of the innovative thinking and hard work of sports marketing professionals. (Wake
Forest). If the work and outcome of a sports marketer, then the company, organizations, players
and teams are affected. Therefore, I want to be the best sports marketer, which is why I did my
research on what skills and key concepts are good to have and understand. The question I created
is significant because when the research answers the question, it will make me understand what
skills I need to master as I become closer to starting my sports marketing career. Sports

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marketing does have an impact on peoples lives. Sports marketers are in control of many task,
they have to be able to increase ticket sales and increasing the amount of fans that come to an
event. Furthermore, they have to promote the sales for the corporation, coordinate events and the
design of marketing materials. Without sports marketers promoting athletic events and games in
the media, people would not be as involved in sports. Organizations would not have as much
revenue from attendance because there would be less ticket sales. Sports marketing allows
people around the world to see promotions and advertisements of teams, products, and events.
Sports marketing can make a significant difference in athletes lives, fans live, and the sports
community. The promotion of sports can impact the lives of sports goers, it allows the fans to see
what the sporting event is going to be like. The athletes see the promotions and it can make them
feel like they are appreciated as a player. When the stadium is full of diehard fans, the game is
changed. Sports marketers are responsible for that sale out crowd that attends the games to cheer
on their team.
To be a successful sports marketer, certain skills are required. I read an abundance of
articles and all the skills discussed were very similar. The authors of my sources have made a
significant contribution in explaining what skills are needed. An athletic director of marketing
and promotion should have exemplary communication skills and have the ability to work with a
wide range of people -- from coaches, college administrators and athletes to media contacts,
alumni and corporate representatives. (La Bella). Marketers also need have the ability to pay
attention to detail and have tremendous writing skills, a promotion would not be appealing if the
grammar was incorrect. Many skills are required and many voices that I discovered had many
things to say. I discovered an article written by Brian Clapp. Brian went to sports marketing
firms and posed the question to them, what does it take to be a successful sports marketer? The

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four skills he wrote about were task management, think big picture, a plan or a vision, and
writing skills. As a sports marketer you will always be juggling multiple on-going tasks, which
means organization becomes a lynchpin to success. Youll need to be able to balance your tasks,
prioritize your to-do list and remain high-level and out of the weeds when applicable. (Clapp).
Task management is essential because many different task and activities are going on at the same
time and you have to be able to manage them correctly and efficiently. Thinking big picture is
being able to stay focused on the big goal, not getting side tracked with tedious activities, think
about the big picture that will help the entire corporation. Have a plan, dont have an idea or
argument without a plan. You have to be able to produce quality work that benefit the company,
so having a well thought out plan is crucial. Writing skills are necessary, you have to be able to
write in a way that is appealing to the people that are going to be reading it.
The discoveries I made within my five sources are very similar in regards to what skills
need to be in good standing if you want to be a successful sports marketer. A sports marketing
strategy can guide a company of any size into a new marketing arena, reaping good will, high
visibility and promotional excitement both for consumers and the sponsoring company.
(DeVous). Strategies are a key asset in the sports marketing field. You have to hit your target
audience, which means promoting in places that have the kind of people that will be interested in
what you have advertised. Sports marketers have to assess the return on investments, meaning
they have to know what the outcome will be or need to have clearly defined objectives.
Integrating the program is key, when you are choosing to sponsor a sporting event, you should be
committed to it by integrating all the marketing, promoting, and advertising.
The voices of my sources were all well convincing, each author described what I needed
to focus on in order to become a successful sports marketer. Each other provided me with a good

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sense of sports marketing, what is needed and what the goal is. After hearing their voices, I
understand what it takes to be successful sports marketer. I would add to the conversation of
sports marketing and what it takes to be a successful one is the location of your job, which areas
of the world are most successful for sports marketing. For sports marketing, I have to say that I
am extremely excited about pursing this career and I believe that I have what it takes to be
successful. I will continue to work on the skills that the sources explained to me and never stop
trying to better my skills.
The discoveries I made about my inquiry question will make significant changed in my
life. Now that I have discovered what skills are necessary to being a successful sports marketer
allow me to realize what I need to focus on throughout the rest of my life. I have to work on
having the best skills required for sports marketing. If I want to be successful, then I have to
focus on these skills that I discovered in my sources. The discoveries I made will not affect other
peoples lives until I have mastered the skills myself. Once I start my sports marketing career,
then the discoveries I have made will make a difference in other peoples lives. After my
findings, I still remain curious about certain aspects of sports marketing. I am still curious about
the main process of sports marketing, where I need to be to be successful in the sense of location,
which area of the world is the best for sports marketing. What city is the biggest for sports
success, where do the most dedicated fans live, which city of teams and sports are the most
loved? If I can discover that question, then it will allow me to be more successful because I can
relocate and focus on the city that produces the most sporting events and sports success. If I
continued with more inquiry, I think it would lead me in the direction of understanding every
aspect of sports marketing. If I continued my inquiry, I could only benefit from it. It would allow
me to know more about sports marketing and know even more about what I can do to be

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successful. I want to continue my inquiry on sports marketing so I can discover more about the
sports marketing field.

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Works Cited
Bella, Laura La. "Athletic Director of Marketing & Promotion Job Description." Athletic
Director of Marketing & Promotion Job Description. Demand Media, n.d. Web.
03 Apr. 2016
Brooks, Dominique W. "Careers in Sports Marketing." LoveToKnow. LoveToKnow Corp, n.d.
Web. 03 Apr. 2016.
"Career and Professional Development." Sports Marketing. Wake Forest University, n.d. Web.
25 Mar. 2016.
Clapp, Brian. "Sports Marketing Jobs: Do You Have What It Takes?"WorkInSportscom Sports
Career Blog. Work In Sports L.L.C., 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.
DeVous, Shelly. "Sports Marketing." ProQuest. New York, NY: Bill Communications, 9 Sept.
1994. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.