Playoffs Are Starting and We Aren’t Talking About Football

Why January is a Key Month for Sports Marketing

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The holidays have winded down and Christmas trees have hit the curb. People are now able to take a deep breath and go back to their day today. WRONG. If you’re in the sports marketing world the party is just getting started. You now may be wondering, wait, did I miss something? We sure hope not, but we know at white whale mktg and other sporting properties around the world it’s…

Game-on.

Executives are in the process of returning from holidays and marketing budgets have been renewed. Let me repeat myself: marketing budgets have been renewed. If you’re asking yourself: so, what? You’re in the wrong newsletter, my friend. This time of year is what makes up for the last quarter of 2021. When you get to Q4 of the year, budgets have already been spent, plans have been made and loose ends are being tied. More likely than not, if you’re in the sports marketing/ partnerships space you absolutely heard the line “Sorry, we’re interested, just we no longer have the budget for this project, can you reach back out at the beginning of next year?”.

Absolutely.

January is the time of year where you make up for a lost time, you look to close on deals from the previous year that have fallen through but it’s also the time to start targeting your white whales (see what we did there). Now more than ever, marketing departments are open to hearing new ideas. Plans have yet to be made, budgets haven’t been spent and they’re looking for new opportunities.

Now, with all of that said, there are two sides to every story. I’ve been speaking to the sport marketeers but what about athletes and brands looking to become future partners, what can they do in January to seek new opportunities? If you’re an athlete, you don’t need hundreds of thousands of followers to provide value not only to your audience but also to your partners. But, you do need a marketing team that knows how to properly formulate the value that you do have. So, contact us, we’ll make things happen. If you’re a brand reading this, we’re very much aware athlete partnerships are exciting but they haven’t always led you to success. The key difference between the past and the present is your ability, like the athletes reading this, to work with a curated sports marketing team.

It’s the year of the white whale, let’s make things happen.

Published: January 7, 2022 - Issue 21 of The Sport Marketeer