A Piece of the Action
Advertisers see opportunity in extreme sports
By James Sullivan
Boston Globe Correspondent / January 20, 2011
The marketing staff at Paul Mitchell, the hair products maker, like to say — only half in jest — that their motto is “We run with scissors.’’
That kind of wry humor may help explain why John Paul Mitchell Systems Inc. is a charter sponsor of the Winter Dew Tour, the extreme-sports competition that arrives at Killington Resort in Vermont today for its only East Coast stop of 2011.
For the Beverly Hills, Calif., company, which also is a sponsor of the US national snowboard and ski teams, the Winter Dew Tour is an opportunity to sell to an active-youth market that spends an estimated $150 billion a year on outdoor equipment and other goods.
Read the rest of the article here:
http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2011/01/20/a_piece_of_the_action/
In a 2 paragraph response (a minimum of 5 sentences for each paragraph), answer the following questions. In paragraph # 1, the article talks about "active youth are a tough sell because they are naturally skeptical". What challenges does this create for marketers? What are the risks and rewards for marketing to "The millennial trend-seeker kids?" Be specific with your thoughts.
In paragraph # 2, the article also talks about one athelete "looks for potential sponsors that will support his sport with long-term commitments, not just try to buy into some of its buzz." What does this mean and how might it differ from other sports? Lastly, what is your general assessment of the marketing strategies being used by the Dew Tour? What do you like, dislike, and why?Be specific with your thoughts.
Please sign your name to the bottom of your blog entry.
Since they are trying to sell their products to teenagers ( trying to advertise it to our youth), they are trying to get most of the teenage population to buy their products. Let’s say the athletic teenagers are 45% of the population, and the non-active teens are 55% of the population. The marketers aren’t going to get as much money as they were expecting because most of the active youth will be skeptical about the product and their questioning for the product may spread to the other non-active teens. You know how teens are affected by their friends, if a friend doesn't like it, then the teenager will mostly change their mind. The risks would be trying to sell their products and actually start a trend, because if teens do not like your brand, you are wasting time trying to sell and advertise it. An advantage would be, if you actually appeal to teenagers, then it will become a trend and everyone is going to start buying it because everyone else has it.
ReplyDeleteI think that this means that this athlete wants a sponsor that is trusting and reliable, not someone who wants to feed of off his fame and hard work. Other sports, some other sponsors advertise athletes so that they could get recognition for their brand. I don’t like their marketing strategies. Selling ‘hair products’ when people have beauty stores around their area isn’t really the best choice. I think this because when girls have already found what works with their hair, they’re not going to try experimenting with other products to see what their hair looks like, and if they do, they’ll buy the new products from a place they know. I like that they’re trying to advertise something new and see how it works out but I don’t think it would be that successful.
Frankie Otete
Sports & Entertainment Marketing- 2nd block
Now we are talking about how the Dew Tour markets there products and who there target audience is. In one of the paragraphs they talked about how the youth is naturally skeptical. That brings more challenges to them because the youth is really who they are trying to reach, and the youth is also the hardest target to reach. That could be really hard.
ReplyDeleteWith the quote they gave above it could mean a lot of things. To me though it means the player wants a sponsor who will always be there. Not just while the player is doing really good, but even when the player is haveing a hard time or maybe even when he's injured. He like most people want a long term relationship. Not just personal relationships but bussiness relationships too. Thatsa what it means to me.
James Graham
I think in this day in age it's harded to set trends in teens for clothing. The way I usually find some cool clothing is by watching extreme sports and going to sporting goods stores. The coolest stuff is always asociated with the coolest person. If Ryan Sheckler is rocking Vans skateshoes to and x-games competition people see that and want a pair. That is where marketers could really succeed, by sponsoring extreme sprts athletes and them wear their product on television because that really appeals to teens.
ReplyDeleteI think that quote is trying to say sponsors want someone who isn't just going to die out in a year they want someone who is going to be a continuous top of the charts athlete so they will continue to make money off of him. I think that energy drinks getting into the dew tour kind of thing because people who watch extreme sports also like to do them thereselfs and they need energy so they see the sports drinks on t.v. and go out and buy them. The Dew tour and other sports in that genre are a very up and coming market that is going to be huge in the future. Corey
The challenges that it brings to marketers is that sometimes younger people get more involved in buying sports equipment, jerseys and other things that they're intersted in. Older people aren't as interested in buying certain things that younger teens do now a days. It's easy to get youth to go out and buy things that are sponsored because they tell their parents to buy it for them or to give them money to buy it themselves. Usually parents buy their kids the things they want, but normally under certain conditions. That's why it's better when kids are marketed because it attracts them and more items are being sold.
ReplyDeleteI think it means that he wants people to help him stay on the team because he likes the sport and doesnt want to stop. He doesnt want to be in the team just for the money, but because he truly likes to play. His sponsors probably only help him get more money and advertise him more but don't really talk about the way he plays or what he likes about being on the team. It's differnt from other sports because certain players are bidded to change teams because the captain of the team wants the player on his or her team. I think the strageties of Dew tour were good. A lot of people like Mountian Dew and the more the drink is advertised the more people go out to buy some
->Candida Castro
The challenges that marketers have to face because active youth are naturally skeptical are its harder to sell their products to them. And active youths are probably the biggest fan base of the dew tour so the people who are mostly there don’t want to buy the products and that brings a big problem. The rewards of targeting millennial trend seekers is that they will target a big group of people and that will get them more sales. The bad thing is that they might not like what they’re selling or what they’re selling might not be in style and they won’t want to buy it.
ReplyDeleteThey want a sponsor that will be there for a long time and not a company that just wants some attention to get them started or to get back on the scene. Some sports have sponsors for just that season. Like most of the time in the NFL the car company that sponsors the super bowl is different and the car the Super Bowl MVP gets if from a different company. I like how they get sponsors that would be there with them for a long time and wouldn’t switch it up. Mountain Dew also started getting big sales and I think some of that was because of the Dew tour. I also like how their sponsors aren’t just about action sports and its about other things like energy drinks and food.
Youth are some of the hardest people to sell to for many reasons. Youth always will try to have the new thing, but the new thing is always changing. This makes it hard to appeal to youth buyers because you can never tell what will be the next best thing. This creates problems because you have nothing to go off of. The best thing you can do is to be creative in your product and do a good job of advertising so hopefully it will catch on. If a company is lucky enough for there things to catch on there will be a large profit because of those trend seeking kids.
ReplyDeleteWhen the athlete says he is looking for a sponsor to basically stay with the sport, he means even if people start to lose interest in the sport they will still be there supporting. I think that's a good idea because extreme sports don't seem as stable as sports like football, basketball or soccer. those sports people will like and have like for a while. Lastly I think overall the Dew Tour does a good job in most perspectives. There advertising is good and it is partnered with one of the biggest T.V channels out there. Also being sponsored by company's like Wangler might help. Matt H
“We want to reach these consumers in a credible, authentic way, with something that adds value to their lifestyle,” said Julie Solwold, vice president of global sports marketing for Paul Mitchell. Solwold is simply referring to the fact that active youth are a tough sell. Why, do you ask? It is because, according to Solwold, active youths are typically naturally skeptical. These athletes have come to expect so much from their sponsors. There are many advantages and risks that come along with marketing these millennial trend-seeker kids. One advantage is that these sponsors would be promoting their products to millions of people. One disadvantage would be that these millennial kids seem to be expecting so much that it might overcome the sponsors.
ReplyDeleteSome of these sponsors just want to get in to the business for a short period of time, or to just feel some of the “buzz.” These athletes don’t like that and they seek a full commitment from these sponsors. This might differ from other sports because take football for example, they might get new sponsors every season and it wont matter to them, as long as the profit is good. These sponsors are very good at strategizing their promoting techniques. For example, some of them might show off their products during these events my handing out free samples. This is a good strategy because they need to show the consumers how efficient their products are and how good they are.
Active youth are a tough sell because they are naturally skeptical. This is a challenge for marketers when the company’s investment in action sports, it also sponsors a breakthrough tour has helped it earn a recognition among young men instead of only women. Some risks for the millennial trend-seeker kids can they’re pushing it. The athletes themselves have come to expect more from sponsors.
ReplyDeleteThe phrase can be meaning that people want the best but when it comes with money they’re loose with it. These will refer to other sports that people just don’t know how to manage them economically. In my perspective, Dew Tour, was trying and the products where successful like when he made diet coke popular. I didn’t like that his using publicity for his own benefit, it’s unfair for the other options. It was good that he made some changes after ten years, and was able to accomplish some things that he proposed.
Pamela Paredes
Companies who advertise at The Dew Tour make it obvious that there target audience is young people. Young people are probably the hardest people to sell to, because as Julie Solwold, vice president of global sports marketing for Paul Mitchell, puts it “they are naturally skeptical.” This makes them hard to sell to because they will always see the flaws in the product before they see its advantages. “The millennial trend-seeker kids” refers to young people who will grow up in the new millennium. The rewards of marketing to these young people are significant. Young people tend to like, or at least try what their friends like, so if an advertisement reaches one “millennial trend-seeker” then there is a good chance that a ripple effect may occur, and more young people will become interested in the product. The ripple effect also causes a risk, because If one of these young people says they do not like the product then the others may be scared to try it and the ripple will have a negative effect.
ReplyDeleteOne of the freeskiers, Simon Dumont, says that he "looks for potential sponsors that will support his sport with long-term commitments, not just try to buy into some of the buzz." This means that Dumont is not looking for a short term sponsor, he wants to be "tied to them to life." He wants a sponsor who truly cares about the sport like he does and is not just after the money, because he truly likes the sport. This differs from the NFL, who changes sponsors for the super bowl almost on a yearly basis. But whether they care about the sport or not the Dew Tour has tons of sponsors. Greg Herman, head of sports marketing for the soda brand said, "You can’t talk about, read about, or write about Dew Tour without thinking Mountain Dew." And it's true; I can't hear the word Dew Tour without visualizing Mountain Dews logo. Based off of the article it seems like the Dew Tour is aimed at advertising to young people and this makes sense seeing as though the majority of people who watch the Dew Tour are young people. Over all I think the Dew Tour is doing a good job of advertising.
-Chris Cornett
Paragraph #1
ReplyDeletei think that it is tough for marketers to market and advertise towards kids because they are always changing their likes and dislikes. alot of kids change their favorite sports every month making it difficult for marketers to market towards them. i think that in order for dew mount to market towards kids they have to really pull them in. dew mount has to really attract the kids in their productmers in order to have costumer loyalty. those re my thoughts on this article.
Paragraph #2
he is trying to get sponsored by dew tour becuase he likes the company and their products but also wants dew tour to be known more widely. when an athelete gets sponsored by a company they become loyal to that company and also helps that company advertise in a better way. i also think that dew tour has some very good edvertisement ideas in the way they are reaching out to teenagers. those are my thoughts on dew tour and their advertising methods toward the teenage group.
-Charles Bouharb
Marketing to young adults isnt always the easiest thing to do. Young adults change their minds constantly and marketing a certain product will not always be remembered. This can have its risks and its rewards. As a risk, a teenager might not like the product and might tell other teenagers their expierience with it. This could be very harmful especially when your product is supposed to be for teenagers. The rewards of this though could be very significant to a company because they might like it and then go their friends and so on.
ReplyDeleteWhile other sports have sponsers for teams and some players, action sports are more focused on the individuals in it. An athlete for this sport will mostly want a sponser for them not only that event. They want to represent that company and want to be a long term client. I like the way they are advertising the newer products that they think teenagers would like on these tours. When people watch these tours they are going to relate to the product and go get it. Nezam
The toughness that marketers make are what to desing and what to sell the majority of kids and teenagers were designers with like tap out n worded t shirts and plain t shirts n things with the stuff they like or stuff they do like soccer,basket ball,base ball, foot ball etc .the marketers have to plan n decide weathere there ideas are going to be good if there gona make a top sell or even if its going sell or not
ReplyDeleteThere pretty much trying to find athletes that the finds like and are trying to get him or her to wear the designer so then if they wear it every one else would wear it and they could make huge sells and there looken for athletes who are commited to do this not just for the money but to just help the company sell their products and get the fans to wear what they like
Angel Benavides
The challenge that it creates to the marketers is that they have to advertise better and make thier product look more trendy which attracts the teens. The risk of marketing to the millenium trend seekers is that they will move on to another trend while the product of the company will go down. The reward of marketing to the millenium trend seekers is that if they like your product they will keep and make it trendy for them and other teens.
ReplyDeleteI think this meas that atheletes loook for long term sponsers that are trusting aand they know how to promote and make money. This might differ from other sports because other sports advertise for short term and. mount dew advertises by their athletes, the athletes promote and help dew to sell their product.
sulman chuhan
i think reaching out to the teen society is typically hard!, but also easy if you know what your market is doing. Reason why is because the teen society is kind of half and half. 50% of teens are athletes and 50% are not active at all. so they will bring enough money or money that they suspected. Professional athletes saying that they need a sponsor is like them saying that they need a product to sponsor and to stick with so if they decide not to play the sport anymore they will still make money off that product. lastly, the dew tour does a overall great job of sponsoring there tour! with all the advertising and market products. they will be just lovely!
ReplyDeletetierre
Tierre Ash
I think that this means that this athlete wants a sponsor that is trusting and reliable, not someone who wants to feed of off his fame and hard work. Other sports, some other sponsors advertise athletes so that they could get recognition for their brand. I don’t like their marketing strategies. Selling ‘hair products’ when people have beauty stores around their area isn’t really the best choice. I think this because when girls have already found what works with their hair, they’re not going to try experimenting with other products to see what their hair looks like, and if they do, they’ll buy the new products from a place they know. I like that they’re trying to advertise something new and see how it works out but I don’t think it would be that successful.
ReplyDeletezach leinenbach
They want to reach the teens in a credible and authentic way because they say that teenagers are usually skeptical. They try to make things appeal to the young consumers by using such things as samples. The rewarding part for them is when such strategies like that work and their saes increase.
ReplyDeletelooks for potential sponsors that will support his sport with long-term commitments, not just try to buy into some of its buzz."
That athlete meant that he wants to stay commited to them. And he also wants them to be commited long term as well. I think the Dew Tour properly promotes their sponsors because it could get placed on their equipment, clothing, and anything that the camera would be focused on. This puts the products name or logo infront of the viewer ad in plain sight, which promotes it well.
-Nery Pacheco