Sports

This is not a sports blog, but the story of Billy Beane and the record-breaking 2002 Oakland A’s streak of 20 consecutive wins which actually has a few things in common with running successful data-driven marketing campaigns.

They are both stories of finding value in data that others are not able to uncover or effectively utilize for competitive advantage.

A brand is a company’s greatest asset. Therefore, it needs to continually be looked after to make sure that it is visible and properly perceived by consumers. Focusing on improving brand visibility and increasing brand awareness among the target group not only strengthens the market position, but also has a positive impact on a company’s performance in the long run. What should be done to ensure proper brand visibility? How can we measure the effectiveness of branding efforts and the progress made in this area?

Sports are obsessed with precision measurements. Sprint times are measured to the hundredth of a second; Formula One lap times go down to the thousandth. In soccer, we now have stats for every player’s pass completion, goal contributions, distance run per game, and everything else imaginable. And it’s not just professionals. Amateur athletes and casual fitness enthusiasts track every kilometer they run, average times, altitude, and carbs burnt.

It makes sense that sports brands are leaning into the data that people generate. The first valuable source of data is online browsing information. However, sports brands are looking into ways to leverage other information that users are willing to share if they believe it will improve their performance.

In a recent article, we looked at how a deeper data-driven approach brings higher quality targeting opportunities. We looked at Billy Beane, legendary GM of the Oakland A’s baseball team, and showed how his fresh thinking and belief in data revolutionized the sport.

Along with addressing the question of what retargeting is, we’re going to dip into baseball one more time to explain what exactly those “targeting opportunities” are. Let’s talk about how you get three strikes for every customer, and three big opportunities for success.

Sports brands were already trendsetters but their relevance has increased over the last two years as lifestyles have changed. People have become health conscious and are actively taking part in fitness and well-being activities. Meanwhile, the global shift away from offices (and from more formal officewear) has turned sports clothes manufacturers into the de facto tastemakers of the entire fashion industry.